*Contains some spoilers*

"Great, we can add irony to the list of charges against Brick."

Brick has finally taken over the Glades (because why not?) and it's up to team Arrow to stop him. Seeing as it was announced Brick's story would be a trilogy and the previews blatantly revealed who appears in this episode, there aren't any real surprises when it comes to Brick's tale. However, this isn't Brick's story; it's Malcolm Merlyn's. Yeah, didn't expect that, did you? Don't worry, I didn't either.

Unfortunately, the backstory with Merlyn didn't make me care more about him. His bits with Thea and his scenes were a certain archer were absorbing, but the backstory didn't feel like time spent very well. It wasn't bad, but I feel like we've already seen his emotional side and, unlike some members on team Arrow, we know he's not a heartless monster. If anything, all I took away from it was how he earned his nickname. I don't want to be mean here, but the performances from the kid actors weren't helping. Still, what it produces in the modern era has a lot of potential. How long can they keep the big secret from Thea, though? Hopefully the answer is "not much longer."

I can picture many of you saying Felicity's becoming annoying and I'd understand why, but at the same time, I also understand why she's acting the way she is. The amount of powerful emotions she's had to experience would make anyone act differently or take off their filter, so to then find out someone she admires has thrown away their principles (or so she believes) is certainly enough to make her lash out and push the individual away. It's a frustrating thing to witness because you want them to just sit down and talk it out, but again, I at least understand why she's acting this way and I hope things soon cool down a bit so they can have a more rational discussion about what's going on. Wait a second, this is going to push her right into Ray's arms, isn't it? A plot about jealousy isn't what this show needs, but I'll wait to see how it's handled when if it comes up.

When it comes to the action, the highlights were easily a stealth sequence and Wildcat's brawl with Brick. Watching Arsenal and Black Canary swiftly take down goons and then rush back into the shadows was good fun and it didn't require any suspension of disbelief. Meanwhile, Wildcat's punchfest with Brick was wonderfully brutal. It seems like Brick was just around to get punched, punch others, and taunt someone, though. I'm happy the show didn't use him as a villain-of-the-week, but I was left wanting more from his conclusion. The scene between him and Merlyn was solid, but he didn't feel like a key player in this story. It was almost like he was along for the ride and there to showcase others. Still, Vinnie Jones was an entertaining villain. Here's hoping this isn't the last we've seen of him.

I'm sorry, but I'm having a tough time accepting how quickly Oliver has recovered from this injuries. Sara took three arrows to the stomach and fell a few stories. That resulted in her death. Oliver was stabbed in the side, impaled right below his chest, fell a ridiculous height, smashed against a rocky surface, and then remained there for quite some time. Maybe Sara should have used the salmon ladder more frequently? And to think some of us thought Batman's recovery in The Dark Knight Riseswas a little too easy. Bruce Wayne would look at this and say, "When did you gain a healing factor, Oliver?" Yeah, they mention it's been about a month or so of rest, but jeez. It just really fells like rushing him back after a mere three episodes takes away from that fight with Ra's. I don't know about you, but I would have reacted very differently if they showed him still breathing or with his eyes open after he fell. Maybe they'll later elaborate about what Katana used to heal him? It doesn't seem like it, though.

Minor criticisms: If someone has an assault rifle or a shotgun and there's a group of enemies in front of them, wouldn't they fire the weapon instead of rushing in for hand-to-hand combat? Just have the guys use melee weapons and it wouldn't be as distracting. What was stopping the police from going into the Glades since the hostages were rescued in the last episode? Why not strike before Brick can get more politicians as hostages? So, does Brick just have a really high pain tolerance since we know now that gun doesn't have weaker bullets? If the detective can immediately recognize Roy Harper is Arsenal, it's baffling why he doesn't realize Oliver Queen is Arrow or how he didn't notice the difference between his daughters in the Canary outfit. Could it be he knows Oliver's secret and he's just playing dumb about it? Hopefully? Maybe? Lastly, the opening action sequence had some major shaky cam and quick cuts going on. It was brief and the shot of the guy going through the window was good, but prior to that, it was tough to appreciate what was going on.

"Uprising" marks the end of Brick's trilogy and it has a huge clash in the Glades, but in the end, it just felt like an okay episode that sells setting up the future more than delivering an epic conclusion for a current story arc. The focus on Merlyn worked well since John Barrowman's a solid actor, but it kind of seems like they quickly put everything back in place just so they can set up a new dynamic or two and focus on the upcoming dilemma with Ra's al Ghul. But hey, at least Wildcat and Brick had one hell of a fight, right?

Can't believe I'm saying this, but Felicity is the most annoying character right now. Who gives a crap about morality?? A man is holding a part of the city hostage, and you refuse Merlyn's help because you don't like the guy??

And will they, PLEASE give the Olicity stuff a break???

Lastly, how dumb is Thea that she still can't figure out her brother is the Arrow, especially since they keep disappearing and reappearing at the same time.

That moment when you realize that Season 3 Felicity is more annoying than Laurel.....

She has done very little this season that I approve of now that I think on it

I'm annoyed at Arrow, I was promised Oliver rising from a glowing green Lazarus Pit coming back to life, not waking up from a nap and hiking back to Starling City. There better be Lazarus Pit soon, it will be the only I survive Felicity's downward spiral as a character.

I appear to be the minority among the internet this week, because I thought this to be one of the best episodes we've gotten from the series.

First of all: I LOVED the Team Arrow dynamic. I wasn't crazy about it in episode 10 (Left Behind), and episode 11 (Midnight City) helped to redeem the slow start. But here, they felt like an actual, functioning team. It even came to the point where I almost didn't want Ollie to come back, just because I wanted to see more of this new team dynamic.

The action and humor were both solid and not overbearing. And I half-appreciated Merlyn's developments (but more on that later). And Roy and Laurel were FANTASTIC.

Getting to the negatives: the flashbacks didn't do much for me. I pretty much have the same opinion as the review there.

I was not a fan of Felicity's development. Honestly, I still like her. I think she's one of the best characters and actresses on the show. But I really think that her relationship with Oliver has been tearing the character down. I hope she reverts back to season two Felicity sometime soon. I appreciate an emotional outburst from time-to-time, but all she's done this season has been crying and flip-flopping.

Ted's inclusion here felt strange to me. I'm glad he was brought back, because his absence in the past few episodes has been strange. But there wasn't enough spotlight on the character to make his inclusion (and potentially fatal injury?) meaningful.

Similarly, Sin's inclusion was underdeveloped. Now, if this was just set up for future episodes, I will gladly eat my words. But if this is all the Sin we're getting for a while, then I am thoroughly disappointed. Sin was such a great part of season two, jiving with Roy, Thea, and Sara's stories. It'd be a real shame if she just shows up here to drive Lance's story forward and then doesn't do much else. But only time will tell, I suppose.

Merlyn's developments were appreciated, but perhaps taken a bit too far. I'm reluctant to say anything at this point, just because I want to see where things go. But something just doesn't sit right with this direction they're taking him.

And Thea. She, herself, was good for her limited inclusion. But the second Oliver walked in and said that he was in Bludhaven, I wanted to throw something at the TV. I'm becoming very pissed at how they're keeping Thea's story at a standstill. Even something as simple as Thea doubting Oliver's word here would have been enough. But having her blindly accept the lie is a disservice to the character.

In spite of the negatives, I really did enjoy the episode. I'd give it an 8.5/10.

Note: I greatly appreciated Lance knowing that Roy was Arsenal. I noticed a lot of people have been quick to poke fun at that detail, but it's a service to the character. Unlike Laurel, Roy has a history of vigilantism AND a history with the Arrow (of which Lance is aware). It seems perfectly natural to me that Lance would pick up on Roy being Arsenal, if only because he used a RED ARROW in season two before Ollie took him under his wing. The same applies to Thea figuring it out. She was well aware of his training with the Arrow, and even saw his bow and arrow before leaving for Corto Maltese.

Who else hates felicity now?

I never really understood the "Killing the bad guys, makes us like them" Line of thinking. In actuality it really doesn't. The bad guys do bad things because they are selfish and evil. If I kill a bad guy, am I truly becoming one?

Joker has the highest body count of any villain in the DC universe.... Is batman somehow a better person because he refuses to kill him? I personally don't think so. Because after your refusal to deal with the problem every thing that bad guy does in the future is blood on your hands anyway. People say Joker has the highest body count. I say Batman shares the achievement.

People would hate it if I was a superhero in the DC universe. Joker would have been dead AGES ago. Every villain that was undeniably evil and everyone knew it. I'd take every single one of them out. And At the end of my quest. I'd lie down. And feel like I just made the world a far better place

So,

• Out of nowhere, Felicity just stole the most annoying character of the week title from the undefeated Laurel lance. Bravo Felicity, bravo! Now GTFO!! I literally just fast forwarded through her conversation with Ollie at the end. After a few minutes my curiosity got the better of me and I watched the last 30 seconds, and I actually fist pumped when she said she didn't want Ollie to love her.
• Oh, since we're talking about Ollie, he had a really lame, anticlimactic return. He just kind of showed up....it's almost as bad as Bruce Wayne just somehow showing up in Gotham at the end of TDKR. The situations are actually kind of similar haha
• Thea is hot
• I was holding out for hope, butt his episode confirmed beyond a doubt that Ollie did not actually die. What a wasted opportunity....and in a few weeks Flash is gonna be going to the future, I don't see why the Lazarus pits couldn't be used.
• Was Ted Grant brought back just to die??
• Where was Palmer???
• Malcolm was awesome but I fear they're trying to make him into an anti-hero now. Keep him a villain!
• Diggle was wasted...again.
• Thea is hot
• The child actors sucked...but eh...it's to be expected.
• Oh, and Felicity was f*cking annoying!!

I agree, if I were a hero-i would take him out too. If you think about real life-if i cop/soldier takes out a serial killer-they are usually considered a hero. I actually think Captain America or Maybe pre-new 52 Barry Allen would consider killing the Joker or capturing him to be killed. At some point letting someone like him live threatens others. But they can't truly kill him cause of his popularity.

On Arrow-I really liked the dialouge in this episode. There were many clever lines and funny moments. I thought this was one of the best episodes this season. I didn't hate felicity-i still like her-I think she is the conscience of the team-but I think she may need to leave team arrow and go to team Ray or team flash.

Let the hatred flow through you Viners...

I love Felicity more than ever now!

She's absolutely right.

Everyone says they miss Sara and wants her back, but it seems to be ok, that the hero works with her man who was behind her murder.

Everyone hated Laurel , and now everyone says she's perfect and more likable than Felicity???

I hope Malcom Merlyn gets killed soon!

For someone who was suppose to be a good fighter Wildcat sure went down easy. Man anyone else go wtf when the criminals didn't just start blasting away

@dernman: I was thinking that. The bad guy army had guns, why not just shoot the Arrow army??

Dark Knight Rises flashback when it came to the Glades rumble... everyone charging in n all... would've been good if they employed some battlefield tactics... defensive lines etc.. but given what little screen time that event had, i doubt they'd even consider it...

I have to agree with this review. This episode wasn't spectacular. It was good, but not great.

The Malcolm flashbacks were interesting but largely ineffective for me. On a plot narrative level sure, showing and sequencing the series of events that led up to Malcolm going to Nadaparbat makes sense and could be a vector foir creating sympathy for the devil. But it didn't, it was the present day stuff of Malcolm realizing all his actions (terrible as they were) were built upon a foundation of lies. Also he had to wear a bad wig and The Americans is the only game in town that can do bad wigs well.

Cheap Plug to USER REVIEW

Felicity has fully transformed into a drama queen at this point. She is slowly replacing Laurel as the most annoying character on the show which really sucks because for most of the series she was my favorite character. Now she is just annoying. I also found the whole execution of Oliver's rise and return to be extremely poor. Overall I found this episode a massive disappointment. I guess I shouldn't have let my imagination go crazy about how epic Oliver's return from the dead could have been. Instead, as others have pointed out, he woke up from a long nap and then hiked back to Star(ling). This season has been so hit or miss for me. It goes from a string of 2 and 3 star episodes to a few 4 or 5 star episodes and this week dropped back down to a 3 for me. Maybe I am being too critical because we have Constantine and Flash that are consistently great imo but Arrow needs to step it's game up.

3/5 sounds right to me. Felicity..is getting to be a bit too much. She is still a good character in my eyes and what she is trying to get at all makes sense (in the superhero world) but its just getting to a point where yea its annoying. Im hoping that they do move away from the whole Felicity Ollie thing but it probably won't last too long. This show really needs to shape itself up. I really enjoyed the first 2 seasons of this show but now with characters like Laurel, Detective Lance, Ted Grant, and Ray Palmer Im really not into it.

Green Arrow is probably my favorite comic book character and Ive always been on the fence with what this show does but its always remained for the most part enjoyable. I still would like them to do a solid 5 seasons to show all of Ollie's time after being stranded on the island but now that Ive seen the Daredevil trailer Im losing a lot of faith with this show.

This is Arrow's weakest season. IMO. IMO!!!

~MiB

I feel like all the good writers moved to the flash.

Arrow, you've changed!

The Flash has more interesting characters and better acting than Arrow. I'm excited to watch it every week..

I'm not as excited to watch Arrow..

Sarah was the definitive Black Canary, all she lacked was the Canary Cry. Laurel is the comic incarnation, but the actress isn't very good or believable.

I've never liked felicity. The episode proved me again that I am right

I love Felicity, she is still the adorable and funny character from the first two seasons. I do hope more is explained about Oliver coming back from the dead.

Malcolm turn was waaay too quick - just because same gun popped up from twenty years ago automatically means that exact guy killed his wife? O_o

PS, also yeah, Felicity...

PPS, *after watching till the end* Jesus, I start to suspect this episode kinda sucks.

Ollies return was done awfully, really underwealming. Plus why the hell did they send laurel and not diggle into the glades?

these neighbourhood brawls are dumb as shit. if they do anymore they're going to become part of the show's drinking game rules.

i really hated most of this episode. the only parts i liked were Arsenal, Black Canary and Wildcat. and i didn't really like how pwnd Wildcat got.

Does anyone else feel like the events that brought about this turf war are kind of weird? The idea that Starling City would pull its law enforcement out of the Glades and completely abandon its people just doesn't work for me. For one, Brick references a police strike from 1974 as precedent for police abandonment, but that very event caused the creation of a federal law that prevents police abandonment from happening again. Involving the mayor was irrelevant, because it wasn't even her call to make.

Stranger still, Brick only had a couple hostages at the time, right? Why would Starling City risk the lives of thousands to save a handful, especially when they had no guarantee that Brick would ever keep up his end of he bargain. They didn't even agree to release terms, just "Get out of the Glades or I kill these men I have captive." Presumably Brick still had them captive while he had control of the Glades, so what was the mayor's plan exactly? Doesn't Brick kill several people while in control of the Glades? So did the SCPD really, seriously sacrifice untold numbers of civilian lives for the ambiguous safety of a few people?

Tatsu´s look is very similiar to New 52 maybe Katana will appear on Arrow.

@gokuss4z: For whatever it's worth, I don't hate Felicity now. I think that she's coming to the conclusion I've had for a very long time. Despite how cute they are, a relationship between her and Oliver ends with her being a woman in a fridge. Whatever she feels for him, there is no way that a relationship between them ends in any other way than disaster. I think her actions are as much her coming to this really pretty terrible realization and not just a start swing in character for her.

I gotta say... I haven't been enjoying this season as much as the first two seasons

Felicity has been so f**king annoying over the last few episodes. She's only cried and moaned about Oliver being gone and the team adapting to their situation.

Also no Lazarus Pit? Still no Lazarus Pit? Am I really supposed to believe that Oliver survivied that!?

This ending makes the last few episodes just look like a rip off of The Dark Knight Rises finale.

It appears I'm in a minority, since I also enjoyed the episode *and* never wanted Arrow to use the pits at all.

However, I do agree that Oliver's recovery has been extremely rushed, and I didn't like the fact that he appeared at the end. Laurel and Roy have been picking up the slack during the month he disappeared and him talking Merlyn out of murder and giving a super inspiring speech over a defeated Brick felt like it diminished their contribution. The speech was unnecessary and after the discussion he had with Thea Roy should've talked to Malcolm.

I think the highest body count belongs to darkseid or braniac :p

I think the highest body count belongs to darkseid or braniac :p

I think the highest body count belongs to darkseid or braniac :p

This

Is it too unrealistic to hope that this episode marks the beginning of the end for Olicity? I used to like Felicity okay, but I just don't like her much anymore, especially with Oliver. I'm actually digging her interactions with Ray a lot more right now.

This episode serves as a great highlight for all the things that make vigilante stories fall apart:

• People should always be able to recognize characters they see all the time
• The writers can't have it both ways and keep the story believable. Sin and Wildcat immediately recognized that Black Canary wasn't Sara, Lance didn't.
• Killing is not something to be afraid of when innocent lives are in danger.
• Violent criminals were quick to shoot in one scene, but ran up to fight in the next. It's a convenient way to disguise the TRUE degree of the threat being posed to the heroes.
• There isn't "another way" of dealing with extremely violent criminals. Felicity keeps talking about how "there is another way", but she offers no solutions.
• Wildcat is a trained fighter and he lost to Brick quite easily. They never established what the heck Brick is and I didn't like that scene.
• Merlyn may have done bad things in the past, but his tactic for handling the current situation was appropriate. They keep focusing on Merlyn's character and not his logic.
• When people kill in self defense...it's bad? What about police officers?
• Heroes being near dead and somehow returning stronger than everyone else. Nope.
• Oliver and Arrow return at the same time...and yet...seriously Thea!?

That being said, there isn't much better on TV so I will just have to keep watching Arrow even though the logic is falling apart.

I'm not on the hate Felicity bandwagon, and I disagree with @theacidskull about taking a humorous tone, that would make the show nearly unwatchable for me, I like that the characters have to deal with emotion and drama, don't get me wrong the show needs humor here and there but I wouldn't want it to be the focus, I was drawn to Arrow because the characters take themselves seriously.

I overall agree with the review in that it was good not great, but we can't expect a great episode every single week, nothing about this episode has made me think I don't want to keep watching, the show overall is just awesome in my opinion, and Flash has been doing a good job as well.

I don't mind that the Brick arc finished after 3 episodes cause they moved things along at a good pace in the previous 2 episodes but I don't believe Oliver should have come back yet. It would have been far more powerful for Roy to be the one to stop Malcolm from killing Brick as a great way to show just how much Roy has risen under Oliver's tutelage and guidance.

Also still upset by the way which Oliver was brought back, not actually having died (which is physically impossible given the fall alone) or not. Knowing he would be brought back/healed part of me held out great hope of getting a Batman connection to the Arrow universe not in actually meeting Bruce Wayne but in an older Damian (how cool would it have been for Liam Neeson to have played him) using his knowledge of the Lazarus Pit/Serum to save Oliver. It would have tied in nicely to the "no one has challenged me in 67 years" line from The Climb and given us a nice nod to a wider and older universe (also connecting Cisco's line of "the world was strange long before metahumans" from Brave and the Bold) without needing to have Batman or his rogue's inhabit it. Bruce would have been what came before and Damian would be the means of acknowledging Oliver is carrying on that fight/tradition (bringing in the classic DC "never-ending battle" line).

But that's just, admitedly, fanboy service there. Really it should have been Ra's bringing Oliver back as recognition of his respect for him and also seeing him as potentially a great ally and protege. This would have showed us that more "fatherly" side of Ra's that was teased in creator interviews and also been a great training period for Oliver, whose rather reached a pinnacle in his skill as the Arrow but clearly needs to rise another level in the wake of his defeat. Letting him stay in Nanda Parbat for a few more episodes and train, struggling with the concepts of the League in relation to his own new ideals, would be a great contrast to what Malcolm would be going through with Team Arrow and Thea. That would have made for a far more powerful return around, say, episode 16 or 18 when the final big arc of the season goes down.

But we'll see how things go.

"Because Felicity doesn't like Malcolm." That's understating it a bit... He drugged Thea to murder Sara. So actually, he murdered Sara, and used Thea as a weapon to do so. Would you happily team up with someone who murdered one of your close friends? Put put a hit on your sister's head? Imagine if someone did that to you. Not to mention the whole trying to destroy part of the city thing. Sure you can sit back and say she's being annoying cause none of this is happening to you, but holy crap... The dude's a prick.

That said, I'm really not cool with Oliver's magical healing. Especially contrasted with Sara's death. And I was already stinging from the fact that Thea, heavily drugged, and with only a few months training, was able to sneak up on Sara and kill her.

It absolutely warms my frickin heart that people are getting annoyed with Felicity nowadays. I've never liked her character and every time I bad mouthed her during season 1 or 2 I would always get attacked for it -- but now more and more people are finally being more vocal about many of the same problems I've had with her for ages now. So happy that I'm not the only one anymore..

Tired of the moping and pointless lies and idiotic drama in this show. I used to be there at 8:00 sharp to watch this show but now I have to convince myself to watch it. I don't like Flash better but I can understand why some do, they have a sense of humor and the characters seem to a have a positive attitude most of the time. Also tired of the constant lying to loved ones about their secret identity thing that happens in all these superhero shows. Going to get irritating as hell when Daredevil and Supergirl debuts. Anyway S2 may have been cheesy, and ultimately pretty stupid but at least it was entertaining, but this season has just been plain boring. And I HATE the guy they got for Ted Grant.

I enjoyed the episode and still like Felicity but she did get on my nerves towards the end a little.

Oh,and I'm pretty sure Lance is just playing dumb with not knowing who The Arrow is. I mean he did arrest him in season 1.

There's also the whole untrustworthy thing. The dude used his own daughter for murder. There's no way it ends well. This is gonna end in team arrow tied up with Merlyn laughing about how they fell for it before he and Ra's play a game of rock paper scissors over who gets to find out how many stabbings it takes to actually kill Oliver. (That prooooobably won't be the actual scenario but you get the idea.)

In all honesty, I didn't like that she expected Oliver to come back all boyfriend material. He's a bit broken. And I did tune her out at the end when she turned Oliver's revival all about her... But I don't fault her for being the voice of reason about not teaming up with Merlyn.