By: Marc Guggenheim & Drew Z. Greenberg (story)
The Story: Starling City takes the integrity of the political process to a whole new low.
The Review: Have you ever noticed that even though ninety-five percent* of all hiring decisions are based on how closely the candidates followed rules and conventions, the people who rise to the top are usually the ones who break them? Fiction tends to follow suit. Characters who stick to the program more often than not become the dutiful, straight-man sidekicks to the rebellious heroes, with the possible exception of Star Trek’s Spock.
So the chances of Roy actually following through with Ollie’s training regimen were pretty much nil. Part of the issue is that instead of explaining how each exercise is supposed to help Roy, Ollie just repeats the same stale line about “control” a dozen times. On the other hand, just taking Roy out in the field proves to be counterproductive as well. What Ollie fails to recognize is that as serious as his new protégé’s physical symptoms are, Roy’s problem is essentially an emotional one.
It’s kind of funny that it takes Ollie as long as it does to realize that, considering the experience he had working out the same problem with Slade back on the island. At any rate, Guggenheim-Greenberg ought to be commended for not only weaving the flashbacks into the episode, which is rare to begin with, but also for making them crucial to resolving the present conflict. “Love is the most powerful emotion,” Past Sara remarks, concluding that this also makes it the most dangerous. But she’s speaking in a setting where love of another person can hinder one’s own survival. Ollie attempts to use the power of love for the opposite effect on Slade, but it’s only with Roy that he realizes love requires something more to win the day: the truth.
Spoiler alert—this is how Ollie seems to rationalize giving away his secret identity to Roy, anyway: “[T]he Arrow couldn’t get Roy to think about Thea. But I could.” This isn’t the most convincing excuse, honestly, especially when Ollie himself accurately calculates the number of people who already know who he is as “[t]oo many.” Besides, it doesn’t feel like the show has fully capitalized on just the trio of Ollie, Felicity, and Diggle yet; adding Roy disturbs a dynamic we’ve only just started getting comfortable with.**
I suppose, however, we should already know that Arrow likes to move fast, which is preferable to dragging out plotlines beyond their breaking point. But this kind of haste does make you call into question the credibility of certain developments, like Moira’s mayoral prospects. Looking at the big picture, sure, you’d rather have Moira in charge than the totally psycho Sebastian, but talking about choosing your lesser evils. Even Moira scoffs at the idea (“I’d think you could find someone not responsible for destroying [the city] with an earthquake machine.”), then proves the point by hinting at disposing her former gynecologist to keep the political piranhas away from Thea’s true parentage. To think that “43.6 percent” of Starling citizens can let Moira’s part in the Undertaking go this quickly, even after a (phony) not-guilty verdict, requires a pretty hefty suspension of belief.
If there’s one character arc that benefits from Arrow’s high-speed pace, it’s Dinah’s downward spiral. After taking away all three of her romantic interests, her job at the D.A., and her self-control, the show now threatens her with disbarment, an onslaught of tragedy that still doesn’t succeed in making Dinah all that interesting. None of these things allow Kate Cassidy to display dramatic range beyond a numb, dazed look, her expression of choice these days. Let’s hope—spoiler alert—Sara revealing herself will prompt her sister to find some real purpose. Everyone else has, even Roy.
Conclusion: Big changes abound in the episode, though some aren’t sold quite as well as they need to be.
Grade: B+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: * According to totally made-up statistics by me.
** And what’s going to happen to Diggle once Roy achieves a higher threshold of competence? I’d hate to see the ex-soldier reduced to third banana on Team Arrow.
– Happy to hear the reference to Markovia, as it may signal a future appearance by Terra or Geo-Force.
Grade
Conclusion