Bratva
- Episode aired Feb 8, 2017
- TV-14
- 42m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
A mission sends Team Arrow to Russia where Oliver encounters an old friend.A mission sends Team Arrow to Russia where Oliver encounters an old friend.A mission sends Team Arrow to Russia where Oliver encounters an old friend.
Willa Holland
- Thea Queen
- (credit only)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTalia al Ghul is not only Ras al Ghul's daughter, but in the comics she was also in love with Batman and through deception had his son Damien who is the current Robin.
- GoofsWhen Felicity was texting Alena at the end of the episode, the keys that she taps do not correlate with the message that appears.
- Quotes
Anatoly Knyazev: John Diggle, it's good to see you. Now you're my favorite American.
John Diggle: Thanks.
- Crazy creditsThe end card was LEGO-fied showing not only a Batman LEGO figure in front of the Berlanti Productions logo but also a LEGO Green Arrow with WB logo.
- Alternate versionsThe home media release and syndication airing on TNT did not feature LEGO variants of the closing logos.
Featured review
An Imperfect Union
Oh, how I love the yearly trips to Russia. This time, Team Arrow had to take care of General Walker as he was caught dealing nuclear weapons in Star City's sister city in Russia.
The flashbacks have been exciting thus far, but I liked that tonight's episode chose to implement them in a more fluent way. In fact, it was actually flashbacks to other points in the show's history that could have informed us more so tonight. There weren't forced quotes or lessons Oliver learned in the past that appeared magically in the present like there usually is. Instead, the flashbacks just enhanced the present with an added focus put on Russia.
Not everyone made the trip though as Rene and Quentin had to fight off the feisty interviewer Susan Williams with Quentin's return to Oliver's office. Boy it's been awhile since Quentin has had any role in an episode, and pairing him with Rene was brilliant. Finding out Quentin inspired Rene to be a better person way back in the day was a nice touch, even if it did feel like yet another thing taken right from The Dark Knight trilogy. No matter, I would like to see more of these two going forward.
Part of the reason why I like these Russia episodes so much is that they feel aesthetically different from the main show. For some reason, the writers have an easier time using the entire team's strengths better in Russia than in Star City. Seriously, even Rory had some nice moments tonight. Or maybe I'm just tired of Ragman so I was happy to see him depart. The episode also played well as a foil to the flashbacks as we got to see Oliver act more like he usually does in the flashbacks (torturing and taking chances with Bratva) and vice-versa (Oliver suited up as Arrow in flashbacks). Speaking of which, I'm really enjoying Talia, but I'd like to see further explanations as to her ultimate purpose.
The only time the episode failed for me was when Felicity continued to her take on the "Dark Felicity" persona. Oliver's speech about moving past his mistakes worked on Diggle but apparently not on Felicity. I've defended her when I felt the criticism wasn't valid, but this is something I can't get behind. Does anybody honestly care about her hacking vigilante stuff? I'm so tired of stupid secrets within the team. Overall though, this was an improvement on the last two mediocre episodes. Dinah, Talia, and Susan have been welcomed additions to this show, and tonight highlighted those additions.
+Russia is always fun
+Quentin & Rene
+Dinah fitting in well
+Everyone got their chance
-Come on now, Felicity
8.6/10
The flashbacks have been exciting thus far, but I liked that tonight's episode chose to implement them in a more fluent way. In fact, it was actually flashbacks to other points in the show's history that could have informed us more so tonight. There weren't forced quotes or lessons Oliver learned in the past that appeared magically in the present like there usually is. Instead, the flashbacks just enhanced the present with an added focus put on Russia.
Not everyone made the trip though as Rene and Quentin had to fight off the feisty interviewer Susan Williams with Quentin's return to Oliver's office. Boy it's been awhile since Quentin has had any role in an episode, and pairing him with Rene was brilliant. Finding out Quentin inspired Rene to be a better person way back in the day was a nice touch, even if it did feel like yet another thing taken right from The Dark Knight trilogy. No matter, I would like to see more of these two going forward.
Part of the reason why I like these Russia episodes so much is that they feel aesthetically different from the main show. For some reason, the writers have an easier time using the entire team's strengths better in Russia than in Star City. Seriously, even Rory had some nice moments tonight. Or maybe I'm just tired of Ragman so I was happy to see him depart. The episode also played well as a foil to the flashbacks as we got to see Oliver act more like he usually does in the flashbacks (torturing and taking chances with Bratva) and vice-versa (Oliver suited up as Arrow in flashbacks). Speaking of which, I'm really enjoying Talia, but I'd like to see further explanations as to her ultimate purpose.
The only time the episode failed for me was when Felicity continued to her take on the "Dark Felicity" persona. Oliver's speech about moving past his mistakes worked on Diggle but apparently not on Felicity. I've defended her when I felt the criticism wasn't valid, but this is something I can't get behind. Does anybody honestly care about her hacking vigilante stuff? I'm so tired of stupid secrets within the team. Overall though, this was an improvement on the last two mediocre episodes. Dinah, Talia, and Susan have been welcomed additions to this show, and tonight highlighted those additions.
+Russia is always fun
+Quentin & Rene
+Dinah fitting in well
+Everyone got their chance
-Come on now, Felicity
8.6/10
helpful•124
- ThomasDrufke
- Feb 8, 2017
Details
- Runtime42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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