This review was supposed to go up last Friday, but my family was in the midst of a three-day power outage, so it had to wait. Is the episode worth the wait? Dig in and find out!
1. Roy!
Aside from some really shitty CGI in the 100th episode, it’s been a minute since we’ve seen Roy Harper on the show. I’m happy he’s back for a lot of reasons, but mostly because his presence is instructive on a few levels. Roy represents four really important possibilities/ideas for the team. First of all, he represents an actual, honest to goodness, exit strategy. He’s been on the lam for awhile now, and even Team Arrow can’t find him. This gives hope for if Ollie, Felicity, and William ever wanted to truly live happily ever after.
Secondly, he represents a sidekick/team member trained as close to competition as possible. Even more than Diggle, Roy was shaped from a parkour loving hoodie street kid into a formidable crime fighting machine. He is the purest representation of Oliver’s mission to save the city in human form. He was a victim of Starling City’s problems, and rose to be a beacon of its hope. He’s the Arrowican dream.
Roy also represents someone who has set aside goals for himself that are more focused and less nebulous than Oliver’s. Sure, ‘saving the city’ sounds really great, but Roy’s desire to protect Thea is far more relatable and achievable. He may actually accomplish his goal, while Oliver seems destined to wallow in failure for the rest of his life. It seems like Rene has a similarly personal goal and, not surprisingly, he is the only team member who has even begun to achieve his goal. It took becoming a rat, but you get my drift.
But most importantly, Roy represents a loyalty that none of the ‘new’ team members could match. No one on Team Arrow even begins to think that Roy would flip on Ollie. I thought it for half a second, and then said “nah, there’s no way.” Roy almost went to prison for Ollie, Roy disappeared for Oliver’s benefit, and now he’s taking a beating for him. Roy is as loyal a team member as Ollie has – perhaps, even more so than John. Roy is the gold standard for a team member.
2. An uneasy alliance
Oliver and Dinah have to temporarily put their differences aside to try to deal with the corruption at the SCPD. This, obviously, involves both of them, and Dinah seems willing to recognize that this is a bigger deal than actively trying to take out Ollie, at least in the moment. We’ve talked in the past about how Dinah’s gripes are legitimate but, perhaps, blown out of proportion. But Dinah is still a cop, and still has the ability to see the big picture at times.
3. Who is Diaz?
I know he’s the big bad, but can the show give us anything that isn’t just him chewing scenery? The show has absolutely suffered this season for not having Diaz be very compelling. Say what you want about Cayden James, I understood his position, his abilities, and his limitations. Diaz? I know even less about him than I do Anatoly, and despite spending the better part of 2 seasons with Anatoly, I still don’t really know why he was after Ollie again.
4. Do you think Laurel is really struggling?
I have to give Arrow props for legitimately walking a delicate line with Black Siren Laurel. On one hand, there’s no way she’s going to suddenly reform herself. On the other, I don’t think she’s immune to all of Team Arrow, especially Quentin’s, attempts to help her. Put yourself in her shoes: she’s walking around a funhouse mirror version of her home, absent all the folks she cared about. Oh, it looks like they are there, but they’re weird versions of her loved ones.
But Quentin and Ollie are clearly being played, even if Diaz may be as well. They all should be smarter than this.
5. An exit for Thea?
Thea’s role on the show has been significantly diminished over the past few seasons, and her reunion with Roy was genuinely moving and earned. The show has the opportunity to let them ride off into the sunset together, though still available for big crossovers in the future, and give them a happy ending. They need to do this, for a variety of reasons.
More than anything, it gives the characters a sense of hope, and something to aspire to themselves. Even if it seems like trouble will always follow them, give us the illusion of hope. This is important for Roy, sure, but it is especially important for Thea. From finding out Merlyn is her dad, to dating DJ Dip Shit, to needing the Lazarus Pit, to being in a coma, this girl has been through it all. Let her have this moment. The show has clearly run out of things for her to do anyway. Give her this exit.
