ARROW “Prochnost” Review: From Russia With Love

Arrow — “Prochnost” — Pictured (L-R): Katherine McNamara as Mia and Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow — Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW

Arrow “Prochnost” Review

From Russia With Love

By Justin Carter

The high point of Arrow’s flashback-heavy earlier seasons was its fifth. In those, we finally got to see how Oliver became a member of the Russian mafia. It was both ridiculously stupid — we’re talking about Dolph Lundgren fighting Oliver and becoming a super zombie — and both incredibly awesome to see how it all rather seamlessly wove into that first episode.

“Prochnost” serves as a return to Oliver’s Russian lifestyle, with the added bonus of using this trip to Russia as a family trip for his adult kids. 

It’s a standard setup for an episode of Arrow where the team has to leave the States for a few days. Nothing about this, from Oliver getting involved in a Russian fight club to Laurel and Anatoly’s banter, is new, and it’s presented in all rather solid fashion. I’m even fine with Mia doing something stupid that leads to her and Oliver getting kidnapped, and nearly killed, and the argument about it that ensues. Even the B-story that sees Diggle team up with Roy to hunt down some plutonium, and have a heart to heart about Roy’s bloodlust, feels like a comfortable beat to hit for a final season. 

All of this ties together thematically; recall that the fifth season and its last episode in particular served to show how far Oliver has come from being a hooded serial killer. The various conversations about change, perceived conceptions and growth this episode between characters all feed into the overall point from that season. It’s nice just to see everyone deciding to talk things out like rational adults and hear each other out instead of instantly lashing out; even when Mia blows up at Laurel, it’s from real misconceptions around her family. 

“Prochnost” is very clearly a transition episode, what with it ending at Oliver, Diggle and Laurel getting knocked out by Lyla when her connection to the Monitor is revealed. But it’s a solid one that comfortably lets the characters ease into things after the emotional heaviness of the last two weeks, and it’s hard to get mad at that. 

Additional Notes

• Promos for Crisis are starting to roll out across the Arrowverse shows, so keep an eye out for them. 
• Anatoly truly was the “fun uncle” this week, and if this is the last time we see him, he went out on a good note. 
• It’s really sad that Colton Haynes never had a chance to be Roy while his ex-Teen Wolf costar Tyler Posey got to be Jason Todd. 
• Next week: another alternate reality?