TV Review: Arrow – Season 5 Episode 14 “The Sin-Eater”

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Episode 14: "The Sin-Eater"

Synopsis: China White, Cupid and Liza Warner break out of Iron Heights and head to Star City for revenge. Oliver tries to bring in the newly formed girl gang but the ACU intervenes mid-fight. To his surprise, they are there to arrest the Green Arrow for the murder of Detective Malone. Meanwhile, Lance feels responsible for the prison break after Warner tells him she heard about him working with Damien Darhk.

Review: Arrow has been under the influence of a spectre all season; the villain Prometheus has barely appeared over the last half dozen episodes of the show but his impact has been felt through almost every narrative. Tonight's episode is no exception as the masked archer impacts both of Oliver Queen's identities as superhero and Mayor of Star City. The ultimate problem though is that we are well beyond the halfway point of the season and the Prometheus arc still feels like it is a half dozen episodes in. That coupled with another lackluster week of flashbacks and a trio of subpar villains makes this episode feel like a low point for Arrow despite some elements that would have felt a lot more compelling if the main plot was handled well.

The subpar villains this week were comprised of Liza Warner, Carrie Cutter and China White who team up with the goal of stealing $100 million left behind by the slain gangster Tobias Church. All three villains have had run-ins with Team Arrow in the past but none of them have really been all that special or worthy of revisiting. By combining their efforts, none of the three feel like worthy foes for Oliver Queen. Warner is the lone compelling character as she argues her actions against Quentin Lance's work with Damien Darhk last season. Still, the only reason these three last as long as they do this week is because of the fact that Oliver Queen is handcuffed thanks to both Prometheus and Susan Wells. One one hand, Prometheus seemingly leaks that Green Arrow was responsible for the death of Billy Malone which puts the ACU on the vigilante's tail while Susan reveals to Oliver that she has evidence that he is the Green Arrow.

In both cases, Oliver takes a truly convoluted path that merely stretches this story to hour length. As Mayor, he denies that he is Green Arrow which forces Thea to enlist Felicity to plant evidence on the reporter's laptop which in turn discredits her as a journalist and ends her relationship with Oliver. By episode's end, Oliver is equating Thea's poor decision with many made by their mother Moira but that does not solve Oliver's relationship woes. As Green Arrow, Oliver cannot try to stop the trio of deadly female baddies because the cops are after him. Oliver, as Mayor, informs the ACU's head, Captain Pike, that Green Arrow divulged his innocence and that the Mayor and the DA covered it up to allow the vigilante to continue defending the city. Why this makes any sense is beyond me but that is the path the writers have taken. By episode's end, Oliver has regained the trust of the ACU leader and they team up to take down the escaped criminals.

Ultimately, they stop Warner and her compatriots with relative ease. We do see Rene get clipped in the crossfire which may be the first team injury we have seen in a while. Most of the supporting focus is taken by Dinah Drake who dons a mask for the first time, still apprehensive to become the new Black Canary. Despite Quentin Lance's blessing, Drake is still learning her new role as an SCPD officer while moonlighting as a superheroine. Still, it is nice to see her in action using her meta-powers effectively to help save the day. We also get a fair amount of focus on Quentin Lance and Thea who are given the most screen time they have had since the start of the season and since their return after multiple episodes away from the main story. But it still feels like there are way too many characters of midding importance and not nearly enough about Prometheus.

I would reference the flashbacks but they are once again a total and utter waste of screentime. I still have no idea why they keep showing them unless it has a direct connection to Prometheus we have yet to be made aware of. By the end of this episode, Oliver is in hot water as someone leaks his cover-up of the Billy Malone slaying which could jeapordize his administration. But, maybe that was already jeapordized when Queen decided to use the exact same phrasing about living with Malone's death on his conscience both as Mayor and as Green Arrow when addressing Pike. These lapses in logic abound on Arrow and have become more and more difficult to accept as the show moves towards the end of it's fifth season. Those are rookie scripting mistakes that a series like this should never be making.

While this was not the worst episode of Arrow it was pretty damn close. There were good things about this episode to enjoy but the plot-holes have gone from being the size of an arrowhead to so big you could drop a truck through them. Arrow still has so much potential but the writers have saddled themselves with an awful arch-villain this season who has no true menace and has barely appeared on screen. Oliver Queen is becoming less and less focal each week which detracts from his being a powerful character. Arrow needs to quickly cut the dead weight and return the narrative to a tighter focus on Queen himself rather than expanding the roster of talent. With less than ten episodes this season, Arrow is not doing a great job of making a case for viewing another season.

Next on ARROW: "Fighting Fire With Fire" airs March 1st – Oliver faces his biggest challenge yet as mayor. Felicity continues down her dark path with Helix. After Vigilante attacks Oliver while he's acting as the mayor, Diggle leads the team in a mission to stop Vigilante once and for all.[1]