Have you had enough of Oliver moping and wallowing in self-pity and opining about his rotten soul? Were you glad when that whole, long, laborious story arc about his descent into self-doubt and self-destruction was resolved? Well, too bad, because all that's back in this episode. Oliver's crazy old archery mentor is also back, and he's Dr. Sexy from Supernatural, aka Dark Archer, about whom we have never heard one iota even though he apparently played a major part in Oliver's training and mental molding. He takes aim first at Lois, landing her in the hospital with an arrow through the shoulder; then he goes after Chloe, but inflicts naught but a flesh wound [This was Oliver's teacher? He's not a very good shot. -- Angel]; then he kidnaps Mia (the teen hooker/fighter from a past episode who Oliver is training) and drops her off in a hedge maze that looks like a Spirograph. All this is supposed to be because Oliver took some vow when he belonged to Dark Archer's Dark Archery Cult of Darkness, about how he would never have any lovers, allies, or disciples. Dark Archer lures Oliver to the hedge maze and taunts him about that old Smallville chestnut, the "darkness within" or some crap like that. Then he challenges Oliver to kill him for the inane and out-of-left-field reason that he's getting older (he's, like, ten years older than Oliver) and is mentally and physically not what he used to be. Oliver shoots him, but just to debilitate him so that he can then grow even older in prison.
You may notice I haven't even mentioned Clark yet. That's because he's basically relegated to the background. He fusses at Zod when the latter goes to visit Lois in the hospital and he fusses at Chloe when she confesses she once kidnapped Oliver in order to save him. He's also apparently dating Lois for real, which for about two seconds they think might be driving Oliver so insane with jealousy that he's formed an evil split personality. That potentially interesting subplot is almost immediately dropped and they quickly discover that Dark Archer is the one to blame for all the mayhem. Question is, who's to blame for this episode? Stay tuned for the full recap to find out.
Kristen Kreuk is more tolerable on Chuck. We think the rest of the cast should make the move.