Arrow Season 5 Episode 15 – “Fighting Fire with Fire” Review

Prometheus is finally back on the screen, and in a episode filled with action and revelations, Fighting Fire with Fire was an episode not to be missed. Last week’s episode left Oliver Queen trying to save his career from the cop killing scandal that could possibly destroy him as the mayor, as well as destroy the Green Arrow as a hero. However, Arrow went in full throttle this week, exposing a lot of crucial information for the rest of the season.

To salvage Oliver’s political career, Oliver recruits Adrian Chase to be his lawyer. Star City is in shock that the mayor tried to cover up the death of Detective Malone, and the press has been on him 24/7. Unable to put on the mantle of Green Arrow, it is up to the team to protect the city, especially when the villain The Vigilante is targeting Oliver Queen. Even without the presence of Oliver as the hero, season five has shown time and time again of the different adversities the group has to face. The group has proven to be a worthy opponent to all villains, and this week episode showcased how tight their bond has become.

One particular sidekick who has stepped up is Mr. Terrific. A fantastic episode for Curtis to realize what kind of hero he has to become to help benefit the team. Inspired by Rene’s talk last week of how Curtis should use his strengths, Curtis decides to focus on creating superhero fighting tech. After great banter between Curtis and Rene, his new crime-fighting tech is revealed to be the much anticipated T-Spheres, coming right out of the comic books. His gadget manages to stop The Vigilante from killing Oliver and Rene, making Mr. Terrific the hero Star City needed this week. Acknowledging that Curtis has so much more to offer to the team, more than a past Olympic medal and comic relief from time to time. However, he gained as much as he lost this week. Mr. Terrific might have won the battle, but Curtis lost a personal war. After getting a call from his husband, Curtis is in hopes that Paul wants to rekindle his relationship. Turns out he just wanted to meet to give Curtis divorce papers, reminding us that no matter how much the characters improve, there is always something else to put them down.

One character who is continuously put down seems to be Thea Queen. After destroying Susan’s career and relationship with Oliver, it seems she has not learned anything. She confides with Felicity to blackmail a member on the court to help Oliver. The council ultimately votes against Oliver’s impeachment, but Oliver still loses one of his closest allies. Thea decides that her political obligations to Oliver can not be morally justified, and she resigns from her political career. There does not seem to be more options for Thea to help Oliver or Team Arrow, but only time will tell if she will have a future role.

After Thea’s request, Felicity realizes the potential of Pandora. Starting to entertain her hacktivist path; Felicity’s descent into digital power is a mysterious and exciting one. She decides to officially join Helix. A very confused Felicity is probably finding solace in something she comprehends fully, a group that is able to gratify her tech needs. A compelling story line with a more than mysterious group. It would be fascinating to find Helix to be an ally for Team Arrow in forthcoming episodes. Prometheus is possibly Oliver’s greatest villain, not only for his frightening persona, but for using information and attacking Oliver. Prometheus has managed to plant a seed inside his team, caused him to kill a cop and, whilst unsuccessful, made a massive blow in the city’s trust to Oliver. While dark and mysterious groups in the universe are never a good thing, Prometheus isn’t a villain that they can defeat by brute force alone.

The biggest bombshell audiences got, whilst unsurprising, is the reveal of Prometheus’ identity: Adrian Chase. The only real candidate to be Prometheus, Chase showed his darker side this week. In addition to all the villainous activities he’s done already, it seems Oliver does not suspect a thing, almost acting as Oliver’s new confidant. Chase knows exactly who Oliver is and how he works. Prometheus is a very methodical villain, planning everything to exact detail, its seen now how he has manipulated everyone around him, especially Oliver. Adrian has been by his side for a majority of the season, so his dark and slow torture inflicted on Oliver is a very scary one. He has known his identity as the Green Arrow for a good while now, so it will be extremely intriguing to see exactly what he has planned for him. In the last moments of the episode, Adrian Chase confronts Susan Williams, who manages to get back her career after Felicity’s anonymous help. An extremely ambiguous ending, especially when Susan had just repaired her relationship with Oliver, also in the know that he is the Green Arrow.

Meanwhile in Russia

Compared to the main story line, this week’s flashback did not seem to serve much purpose. An extremely brief plot, understandably with everything that just happened in Star City, Anatoly spouts a few Russian words that force the Bratva to complete a traditional custom. The Bratva men must vote on either Gregor or Anatoly. On first round, Gregor seems to be getting all the votes, but after infiltrating Kovar’s mansion as The Hood, Oliver shows up with evidence that Gregor has been embezzling money. Anatoly wins the people’s vote, but Gregor wins the political vote by shooting everyone.

Arrow airs on The CW on Wednesdays.