Arrow’s ‘Beacon of Hope’ is an un-bee-lievably campy effort

Bee prepared true bee-lievers. For this is an “Arrow” episode with a veritable hive of dramatics as Oliver Queen suffers the sting of having to rely on a new ally to take down a swarm of enemies he can’t simply kung-fu his way past, all while having to listen to other characters drone on about his lost love, his one true queen Felicity.

OK, I’ll stop now. As long as your promise me you’re buzzing with anticipation for ... OK, no really. I’ll stop now.

I promise.

...

Bees.

“Bee-con of Hope” (that wasn’t even intentional) has enough insect puns to send your ears into anaphylactic shock. The episode’s dialog is a maddening swarm of awfulness, and this week’s villain is a forgettable Season 1 “Flash” baddie sporting a knockoff Wolverine jacket and honeycomb blouse thing, who commands an army of robot bees.

That description might sound like an episode pitch CW plucked off the slush pile, but here in the doldrums of “Arrow’s” fourth season, the chapter is more than passable. It’s been that kind of year, folks.

“Beacon of Hope” (I’m legally obligated to spell the episode title correctly now because someone just sued me for felony assault against humor) actually had a similar effect on me as the vastly superior Constantine chapter from the season’s first half. It brought a necessary injection of fun to the series after weeks of doom and gloom.

Is Bree Larvin’s (Emily Kinney) Bug-Eyed Bandit a camp festival best left in the ‘80s? Of course. Did we really need a stand-alone episode this late in the season, when we still don’t have any idea what the main antagonist is up to, or possibly even who that main antagonist is? Nope.

------------

FOR THE RECORD

March 31, 11:25 a.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to actress Emily Kinney as Emma Kinney.

------------

But, at the very least, I smiled a few times watching “Arrow” this week, and that’s something that’s been sorely missed. To echo a point our fearless Hero Complex head honcho made about the Flash/Supergirl crossover, we all need a few “aw shucks,” palate-cleansing moments here in the nuclear winter of the post-”Batman vs. Superman” world. I was left physically ill by the wannabe noir murderfest I witnessed on the big screen a few days ago, so the more bee puns and Donna Smoak fashion reports, the better.

The plot is almost irrelevant here. It’s the tone of “Beacon of Hope” that makes things tick, from the team arguing about reading the “Harry Potter” novels vs. watching the films in the opening sequence, to Curtis’ giddy fanboy fill-in as Overwatch to Donna being Donna, the episode is (for the most part) too fun to criticize. The action sequences suffered a bit from the sheer ridiculousness of Larsen and her abilities (the walking Bee Sentinel thing not only made no sense, but it also completely eliminated the possibility of a traditional “Arrow” fight scene) but that was offset by smart use of the flashbacks to fill the weekly pugilism quotient.

While the plot’s shrug-worthy nature didn’t drag down the episode, it still represents a bit of problem. We’re 17 episodes in, and “Beacon of Hope” had maybe three scenes of consequence. The A-plot moved Curtis into the Team Arrow fold, which is a nice touch to give the crew a substitute tech wizard while the writers insist on making us pretend Ollicity is no more. Merlyn’s theft of Darhk’s position in H.I.V.E. was rendered inconsequential by a trailer that gave it away last month. The final reveal that Andy Diggle is still a bad guy was a nice touch, at least, since it will give his older brother something to do again after weeks in the background.

The episode only felt like a slog during the flashbacks, which continue to spin their wheels in an attempt to stretch a thin arc across the entire season. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this was a six-scene cut of Oliver and Reiter punching each other, right? When you spend more time on a flashback fight no one cares about than you did portraying Oliver and Slade’s wonderful throwdown inside the sinking Amazo back in Season 2, you done messed up. Also, Laurel/Diggle/Thea’s attempts to play marriage counselor to Oliver and Felicity are just bad. They’re an amalgamation of every friend who ever Facebook chatted you to check in after you posted a Morrissey track on the heels of a break-up. No, that’s not too specific, or from personal experience, and on an unrelated note, shut up.

Overall, “Beacon of Hope” provides just enough humor and silliness to stop the bleeding of the last few “Arrow” chapters. Now, if the show can just remember how to make the serious stuff entertaining again, we might have some hope down the home stretch.

Left in the quiver:

• Time for your weekly “Who’s in the flash-forward coffin” power rankings: 1) Quentin, 2) Diggle, 3) Thea, 4) Zach Snyder (a boy can dream).
• I can own up when I screw up comic knowledge: I accidentally referred to Larvin’s Bug-Eyed Bandit as Queen Bee last week. We regret the error, even if it’s an error involving C-list DC Villains.
• So Darhk lost his powers, and his resources, but he’s still able to blackmail his way out of a prison shanking? This character’s motives, limitations, etc., still make no sense, and Darhk is basically surviving on my affections for Neal McDonough at this point.

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT because he makes 90% fewer bee puns than most other Twitter accounts. Also for commentary on Netflix’s “Daredevil,” barely articulate hate rants about “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Dumpster Fire,” and for police and crime news in the real world.