by Chelsea Dee Doyle, Editor-At-Large

I feel like there’s been a lot of negativity in these reviews since it came back from the break, but that’s because the quality has seriously dropped. Arrow was one of my favorite shows on TV, and I still have a lot of affection for these characters. But I’m also frustrated. Sometimes shows have a rocky season here and there. It feels like maybe they had a very clear picture with what they wanted for season one and two, and then blanked out here. The flashbacks have been unnecessary and ultimately boring, to the point they could switch to an entirely different character this week and it doesn’t matter. It’s a shame because at the end of last season when we saw him get off the island, it seemed very exciting. It doesn’t help this season started with the death of a great character to prop up a mediocre one (Sara and Laurel). Or that Felicity’s been relegated to love triangle yet again, as if her identity is wrapped up in the men around her.

Sigh.

Previously on Arrow, Ra’s al Ghul offered for Oliver to become his heir, but he was turned down. In retaliation he killed a bunch of people wearing the suit. Nyssa’s furious with her father, and bonded with Laurel, offering to teach her how to fight. Felicity started dating Ray who is really irritating, and he made the ATOM suit. Diggle got back together with his ex and they had a baby. He proposed.

This episode was partly centered on Diggle and Lyla, and I liked that a lot. They were called in by the Suicide Squad for their honeymoon; should’ve said no! They were teamed up with Deadshot, Diggle’s former nemesis, and the Arrow obsessed Cupid. Bring in Harley Quinn! They are on a mission that goes sour because of a corrupt politician trying to stage a disaster to come out the hero. We get flashbacks of Deadshot’s story after coming back from a war and losing his family due to his PTSD. He’s unhinged. He agrees to work as an assassin because he basically gave up. In LOST form, he had a flashback only to get killed in the episode. He sacrificed himself for the others. It’s possible he isn’t dead, there was no body shown, but it was a satisfying end to his arc so it doesn’t seem necessary to bring him back. Diggle and Lyla realize they are not being great parents and both plan to quit their jobs. Well she already did, and Diggle said he would, but he hasn’t so far. I doubt he’ll stay that long, because we need him. Unless he’s being set up to die. I hope not. Someone major is probably going to die, from the sad tweets the cast were doing from the set.

So the rest of the episode, ugh, Ray figures out that Oliver is the Arrow thanks to his suit. He hadn’t told Felicity he got it to work, which surprised me. I thought he did as soon as it did, I can’t see why he held back. For drama? He’s angry because everyone thinks the Arrow is killing again. To be fair Oliver did used to kill people left and right so it’s not a wrong suspicion to jump to. He makes it personal with Felicity though since he feels deceived and knows she has feelings for Oliver. Oliver is angry because he chose not to be with her to protect her from vigilante relationships, and now she’s in one with Ray instead. As if you get to make choices for her! At least they’re openly talking about their issues. It still feels like this entire episode is about them fighting over her, so she’s just back and forth. Her chemistry with Ray is abysmal, and considering how much of a jerk he is to Oliver and then to Laurel, I can’t believe they tried to salvage that relationship. Yuck. It’s strange that Ray was very intense about the Arrow being a bad vigilante, and any concerns he had were just let go because … he’s dating Felicity? Was he really just jealous and that’s why? That feels like a wishy washy way of looking at it.

Plus he electrocuted Roy! They had a face off with him in the armor. It was very short, and as many people have pointed out, Ray basically feels like an Iron Man knock-off here. With much less charm.  But Oliver stormed off and we didn’t get to see what happened with Roy. I assume he was fine. Roy’s another person I think might be dying. He hasn’t gotten good storylines for awhile. It would be a real blow to the team since we’ve had him for awhile, and he means a lot to everyone. I can’t imagine how Ray is getting a spin-off at this point since most people can’t stand his stalker ass. But Oliver tells him to trust Felicity and get over it. At the end Ray, Laurel, Quentin, Felicity, and the Mayor are meeting to talk about the arrow, and then the mayor gets shot through the heart by the “Arrow.” But it’s Maseo in disguise. He aims his next shot at Felicity and we don’t see it. I’m surprised they still think it’s the Arrow after this; believing he would kill criminals, sure. But a good person? He doesn’t really do that. Well next week it looks like he’s being hunted by them. This show really feels dramatastic now but without any real development of pay off. It’s soap opera-ish, when it used to be a gritty and gripping vigilante story. They’ve really lost their way. I really hope this is just a bump in the road. I’m giving this a low grade because I spent most of the episode bored or irritated. I hope somewhere people are actually enjoying this season.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Arrow Season 3 Episode 15 2 out of 5 Pointless Love Triangles

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