Yet another low-level hero is introduced into the show – at this point, Star City is lousy with masks!
1. Ah, Gene! You got me again!
Human Target is a character with a long history in comics and television, and the concept is a simple one: Christopher Chance will assume your identity in order to protect you from danger. Last night, we saw Chance assume a number of guises, each time dramatically pulling off a mask in a way that has to evoke Martin Mull, aka Gene Parmesan, on Arrested Development.
I know that the ‘pulling off the mask’ bit is sort of essential to the character, but it was so hokey, bah gawd man. It doesn’t help that the character was reasonably one dimensional and yet seemingly better than Oliver at everything mayoral – he gets a reporter to back off, he gets his affordable housing bill passed, and he even gets shot better than Ollie does. Maybe that’s the solution to the show’s dilemma of how Oliver has enough hours in the day – Chance is mayor, Ollie is the Green Arrow.
2. Ollicity
Look, even if Felicity and her new beau had a modicum of chemistry, the show would be missing the Oliver/Felicity romantic dynamic. It was a rare instance of the show having to adapt to something real that was happening on screen, as I’m pretty sure Ollie and Laurel were supposed to be the couple on the show, but the chemistry between Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards was too palpable to ignore.
It makes total sense why they needed a break, storyline wise, but we’re all kidding ourselves if we don’t think they will be getting back together by the end of the season, right? Especially after the scene in Ollie’s office at the end of the episode, where their magnetism was on full display, the show can’t keep them apart for that long.
Wait a second! Let’s go full Multiplicity here: why doesn’t Chance also date Felicity? Let Ollie go full vigilante, and let Chance be all other parts of Oliver Queen.
(I can’t wait for the inevitable “She touched my pepe, Steve” scene)
3. Dog Days
While the new crew had their personalities established last season (or, in the case of Ragman, have had substantial time this season to work out), Wild Dog still feels a little undercooked. This episode did a nice job filling in some of those gaps, especially talking about how he feels like a failure in so many aspects of his life. That’s a relatable feeling, and makes him more than just ‘shitty vigilante with an attitude.’ He and Diggle make an interesting pairing, as both are disgraced by their past sins, but are working through them.
One of the problems with the expanded roster on the show is that no one has the time to really shine, and this episode did a nice job of giving Wild Dog an opportunity to be a little more. Hopefully, future weeks embrace that as well.
4. A flashback that actually relates to the episode? Huh?
I’m on record as hating just about every flashback on this show, and 99% of tonight’s was just as bad. Ollie getting indoctrinated into the Bratva and then a series of scenes of him drinking booze don’t make for fascinating TV, even if the obnoxious cuts and fades make them seem important. But two things happened at the end of the episode that made the flashbacks mean something, even if they were both extraordinarily silly.
First up, we saw Chance doing his “ahhhh, Gene!” thing in Russia, meaning that he, and by extension, Diggle, may have had some ties to both Ollie and/or the Russian underworld five years ago, which is an interesting and unexpected turn. Do I think it will go anywhere? Nope, I think the producers just love Chance pulling masks off. But it is a tease, and one that I like.
But more importantly, we see Ollie’s new reporter nemesis get a photo of Ollie in his Bratva days, greasy hair and all. While yes, that is a photo of Oliver Queen, it isn’t like no one else looks sort of like that, nor is he wearing a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be on an island.” This will create a little bit of drama, and then blow over.
Continued belowBut hey! This was a flashback that didn’t just metaphorically or spiritually connect to the episode at hand, but actually played into it. I honestly didn’t think the show would ever get here.
5. See ya, Church
I loved two aspects of the Tobias Church stuff tonight: first of all, we know why Wild Dog, Curtis, etc. have struggled with him: they’re newbies and untrained. So, it was nice to see Oliver have no problem whatsoever taking him down when it was a one on one battle. Oliver fought immortals and assassins and, yes, he’s a solid gang leader with brass knuckles, but he’s no match for Ollie.
The other part that worked so well was how quickly he gave up Oliver’s name to Prometheus. Sure, he’s got no loyalty to Oliver whatsoever, but to see just how quickly he went from terrified prisoner to cooperating witness to try to save his skin was a nice character touch.
And seeing how little Prometheus cared showed that Ollie is in for a very different battle for the rest of the season.
A final note on the episode: for a show that has tried to be scary and build tension, perhaps the best the show has ever done in its five years was the scene of Church’s prison convoy being taken apart. By focusing on Church’s eyes and his guard’s palpable nerves, it showed us a rare human side of a villain. It was tense and well shot, and super effective.
What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
