And apparently I'm doing reviews of TV-shows now, next up Arrow S3E17

I watched the latest episode of the Arrow yesterday morning. It was with some apprehension that I clicked play as the episode was called ‘Suicidal Tendencies’ but even though Arrow can be really dark sometimes, this episode wasn’t darker than the usual.

I read through reviews after I’ve seen the Arrow just to digest the episode properly, but the review I usually read isn’t published yet so I guess I’ll just write my own.

So – what did I think of this installment?

I liked it. I’m biased though. I love the show and this episode remains consistent with the tone and the feel. There were some plot developments that I found lovely (spoilers ahead…).

Getting Lyla to quit her job was perfect. I just wished I could have seen that interaction between her and Amanda Waller. I always wondered why she stayed in that job. I supposed it gave her character something to do. And I guess one could argue that her being Diggle’s wife and then immediately resign to be –what a house-wife? – is kind of weird. Hopefully they will get something fun for her to do besides just changing diapers. There are so many strong women on this show so I trust that Lyla will continue to play a part in this universe.

Felicity finally had her two worlds collide as Ray Palmer decided that the Arrow must be caught and set upon doing it with his super-duper Atom suit.

He managed to identify Oliver Queen as the Arrow remarkably fast, confronted Felicity, and then continued to disregard her input and pursue the Arrow. It was kind of stupid. Ray had up to that point not seemed like a person who would do stupid things because of pride. I’m surprised Felicity didn’t explode in anger at him. That seems to be something she reserves for Oliver.

Of course, the Arrow was far superior than Atom. And just the fact that Oliver didn’t kill him, made Ray trust him. Guys are weird like that. They had the perfect opportunity for Oliver to scold Ray for putting his life in danger and thus putting Felicity in the position of getting her heart broken, but even though it’s something that Oliver and Felicity talk about, Ray is kept out of it for now. I suspect that will change.

I always enjoy watching Oliver being all formal. His relationship with Laurel this season is 

also much improved from the first two seasons.

Laurel was superb in this episode, sticking up for Arrow as a lawyer, reminding us that she’s not just a pretty face, or a masked vigilante. She’s a lawyer as well, and a damn good one. There are also continued hints to her ongoing training and it gives her character more depth that we as viewers can allow ourselves to imagine her as living outside of the narrative of the show-

I didn’t like how useless Roy/Arsenal was this episode. The only thing that happened to him, was Atom knocking him out with a power-blast thingy. Roy is a really good character, and really under-used. But I guess that’s the consequence of having a large cast. Imagining an off-screen life for Roy is one of things I have trouble with – and that’s unfortunate.

 

The first and last appearance of Deadshot - Floyd Lawton. Source for GIFs

What else? Oh yeah. The flashbacks this episode were not centered on Oliver, which was a relief. Having him run around Hong-Kong has gotten tiresome. For the Hong-Kong story line we all know what will happen: The kid will die and it will be tragic. And somehow Oliver will end up in Russia. That Shadow was revealed to be alive last episode was just – weird. I’m glad they didn’t follow up on that thread.  I’ll reserve my full judgment of that plot-line when I see it unfold. Until then, let’s get back to the episode at hand.

The flashbacks where on Deadshot. I really like that character. And having the flashbacks on him was a wise choice, providing more depth to him. What can I say? I like my characters deep and sarcastic – and Deadshot is both in spades. He seemed to blow up though in a final redeeming act of saving the rest of the squad. But this is a superhero show and I’ll hold on to the hope that he survived. He deserves freedom from Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad.

Thea didn’t have any lines this week and I’m anxious to get back to her. How is she dealing with her pain? Is it possible for her to get better without being destructive?

So what was the theme of this episode? It was whether or not you can be a hero and still have a life outside of that calling. For Felicity and Ray, they still believe it to be possible. For Diggle and Lila, Lila decided to stop running around getting shot at. I don’t even know why they risked their life for the Suicide Squad in the first place, so I’m happy about this development. And for the Arrow? He’s always chosen to be alone – to sacrifice his own chance of happiness for the greater good.

Speaking of greater good – I find it interesting that Oliver isn’t considering becoming the next Ra’s for the greater good. Oh no. He has decided that his city and his own life if more important. That choice is bold and evidence that he’s starting to value himself and his life. Good for him that he’s developed some sort of self-love and self-acceptance. But I don’t actually support the choice he’s making.

Oliver’s selfishness caused an important character to get an arrow in her chest. This unfolding of events should have been anticipated by Team Arrow. I can just imagine Malcolm Merlyn lecturing Oliver on this (speaking of which - where was my favorite devious wizard?)

It was only a matter a time before The League of Assassins would upgrade from killing criminals to targeting innocents. Oliver knows how the League operate and his inefficient attempts to stop the fake-Arrows (let’s call them Farrows, ok?) were just stupid. You cannot fight of the entire league. You need to either outsmart them or submit. Oliver knows this. So why is he not changing his tactics?

And seriously – what would be so bad about the Arrow becoming the next Ra’s al Ghul? I’d love to see that.