Wow, things certainly spiraled a bit out of control there, don’t you think? That leaves plenty to process, that’s for sure.
First though, I once again seemed to have missed a week, so let me share a few thoughts about episode 3.17, “Suicidal Tendencies.” Just like the first time, I loved the Suicide Squad adventure. It’s interesting that Cupid was in the mix this time, and her crush on Oliver was instantly replaced by one totally awesome Deadshot. It’s funny too, since he and Oliver proved to be very much alike after this week’s flashbacks took a right turn and decided to focus on a soldier named Floyd Lawton. The flashbacks actually made me like this guy more, and I hope that they served a purpose other than us finding out how he came to be just before he met his end. That would be a time waster. I’m assuming the reveal that A.R.G.U.S. wanted him to kill Andrew Diggle means that another important nugget has been planted in the long drawn out mystery behind John’s bro. At this pace, we’ll find out everything in the series finale.
I don’t believe that Floyd, aka Deadshot, is really dead. I think he staged his death so he could disappear off the grid. (I’m relying on you Comic Book geeks to tell me if this is what happens in the pages). He probably arranged to take the blame with the government or A.R.G.U.S. or something for a nice payoff for his family. Right? He and the Diggles must have more adventures. Speaking of the Diggles, why did it take a dangerous suicide mission to some remote country for them to figure out, “Oh, we have a baby girl at home, maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.” You think? So then Lyla quits her job? Um, doesn’t she have the one that pays? Why didn’t John quit his then too? Body man for a vigilante isn’t exactly safe work let alone one done for free. Plus I don’t think A.R.G.U.S. is going to let Lyla quit so easily, which is why I still think she’ll be dead by seasons end. And Diggle will get mad.
As for the rest of the episode, the John/Lyla wedding was lovely, but the show naturally used this setting for love triangle posturing between Oliver, Felicity, and Ray. Ugh. Those three really needed to come to an understanding, especially when Ray put on the A.T.O.M. suit and scanned Oliver’s hood to figure out his true identity. Yeah, once those reveals happen, things unravel (see next episode). After that Felicity had to come clean about her involvement on Team Arrow and things got really ugly when Oliver and the A.T.O.M. duked it out in an alley, or rooftop, I can’t remember which. I’ll give Oliver credit for having more experience, but how did he know how to take out the A.T.O.M. suit? Did they teach that on the island? (Shh, don’t give the writers ideas, that might end up in the season 4 flashbacks). Of course Ollie spared Ray, then gave him and Felicity his blessing. Now everyone is best buds and all is cool. How nice. I like closure. This to me was the cheesy part of the episode and Ray really has a lot more testing to do on the suit.
But yes, all warm fuzzies were pretty much erased within the first two minutes of “Public Enemy,” one really freaking intense hour. How things unraveled so quickly from point A to point B could be a sign that Ra’s Al Ghul knows how to hit pressure points with dead on accuracy, or the plotting this season has been suspiciously shoddy. I’ll say it’s a bit of both.
It’s very interesting that the focus fell heavily on Captain Lance and his crusade for justice, but it makes sense to me. This has been a long time coming. I’m sure Lance never really liked the idea of letting a vigilante keep the city streets safe instead of the police, as he eluded to in his numerous speeches to Laurel. After all, unintended consequences happen when vigilantes are in charge. They don’t exactly fraternize with the best people. Couple that with his intense grief over losing his other daughter, again, and Lance isn’t going to handle this ordeal passively, that’s for sure. Last time he became a drunk. This all out assault on the “bad guys” is likely more therapeutic.
I’m freaking disappointed that Lance didn’t figure out on his own Oliver Queen was The Arrow and that Ra’s told him instead. I wish he at least did it with some whiskey and a nice father to father chat – you know, a ‘your daughter is dating my daughter’ sort of thing – instead of the cloak and dagger stuff. Still, Lance had to have known! I mean, the clues were flashing at him like a neon sign. The coincidences were too unreal. The Arrow shows up the same time Oliver comes back from the island, where Sara disappeared, where Sara became a member of the League of Assassins. Then there’s recently where Oliver just happened to leave town and come back from being dead the exact same time as the Arrow disappeared and came back. Has Oliver been seen in any room when the Arrow was around? Or how about all those mysterious liquor clouds over Verdant? (Simpsons reference there if you catch it).
Furthermore, I’m more disappointed that Lance instantly shared to the world who The Arrow was once he found out. Any good cop doesn’t convict a man before he’s had his day in court, so I think Lance’s reaction was definitely one of betrayal after also finding out from Ra’s that Sara was on the island with Oliver. Despite that though, the Captain almost had me on his side. He does make sense in a grief crazed sort of way. Oliver may not have directly caused Sara’s death, but he had a part. She got on that boat with him, which ultimately ended up getting Sara involved with the League of Assassins, and it’s all led to this. The Arrow may not have created the Mirakuru and the wrath of Slade, but they wouldn’t have attacked the town if it wasn’t for him. The Arrow may not be doing the current killings, but he got the group who are involved because of him. Plus The Arrow never got to answer to the murders he did commit. In his mind, the Arrow isn’t saving lives, he’s destroying them. He isn’t a hero, he’s a villain.
Of course Lance’s sudden urge to do the right thing meant he could put every resource under his power (which is a lot when you’re the Captain) toward hunting down this band of costumed outlaws. This made for some very exciting action sequences, and of course one chase would result in Lance pursuing Lance, as in Laurel, in Black Canary form. He wanted to take her in, but new girlfriend Nyssa would have none of that! Plus doesn’t hiding Laurel’s identity make Lance an accomplice in the whole thing he’s trying to stop? Why didn’t he issue a warrant for his own daughter’s arrest too? After all, The Canary has killed people, even if it wasn’t Laurel. This is just one totally screwed up situation that will likely be eluded to at the next awkward Lance family dinner.
Yes, the team does eventually make it back to the cave, but it was obvious, they were trapped. Roy had to shoot two innocent officers just to get away, which only fueled his raging guilt situation and decision at the end. Ra’s made Oliver’s choices pretty clear, take his place or go to jail. The choice was not hard, Oliver could handle jail. Turning himself in was the only choice, and he only had to listen to the berating words of Lance in the van while in chains. Oliver may be a villain, but he’s also an inspiration to those that know him and believe in his cause. He inspires everyday heroes. Like Roy, who raised doubt by putting on the hood and coming forward as the Arrow. It’s not like you can dust for Arrow costume prints, so who’s to say he won’t be believed?
Where does Roy’s confession put Oliver with Ra’s Al Ghul though, assuming the police even believe Roy is The Arrow? Doesn’t this mean out of the frying pan into the fire? Is he truly saving Oliver or making things worse? We know that Roy is doing this because they’ve been hinting for weeks now he would jump at the first chance to alleviate the guilt he feels over killing that cop, and taking the wrap seems to do that. I’m just not convinced it’ll hold water or result in the outcome he had hoped.
Given all this drama, I’m a little thrown back that we got so much fluff from Felicity and Ray, and the return of Felicity’s “comic relief” mother. The scenes were cute, but they so didn’t fit with this episode. Way to shoehorn in some buzzkill. Why wasn’t Felicity with the team where she belonged? Ray would have understood instead of this whole crazy nanotech stuff. They also chose this moment for Felicity to struggle with her relationship with Ray because she loves Oliver? The timing was weak. I’ll definitely dismiss this week’s flashback, which was pretty pointless. The show really didn’t need those this week. They should have stuck with the immediate action. So nice that Mae got closure, now what does this have to do with Oliver’s current predicament?
This week we get a break from all the action (and we need it after “Public Enemy”) and then we go all the way to the end of the season. I’m still dying to see what happens next, so the show continues to do its job. Look for more Flash and Arrow crossovers! Gotta keep the geeks happy. I am.
