Diggle dropped a line in tonight’s episode that I feel I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t start the column out with it. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or heard a hero in a comic, TV show or movie say this and it’s too good to not repeat. Here it goes:

“We don’t hire criminals and pay them with diabetes drugs!”

Haha. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on…

Tonight’s episode had a lot of moving parts—probably the biggest being Anatoly stepping out of the flashbacks and into the present storyline to take care of Ollie’s dirty work.

But before we get to that, let’s break down what’s going on with Ollie.

It’s obvious that Adrian succeeded in his mission to mentally break down Oliver—at least, for most of this episode—since it opens with Oliver disbanding the team and questioning himself and his actions; but it ultimately ends with him getting back on the proverbial “horse,” by reuniting the team and carrying on as the Green Arrow.

I think it would have been nice if they carried it out for at least an episode in order to have Oliver really examine himself, his team, their actions, etc., but I understand the need to move forward due to time/episode restrictions and so forth.  But ultimately, this is why we read comics and watch these shows: We want to see our heroes redeem themselves, succeed and come out on top. So, if it happens a little quicker than you expect, so be it.  

I liked the team coming together to carry on—making a little makeshift hideout in Felicity’s apartment—even though Ollie wanted them to stop. That’s the sign of a good team and people dedicated to the mission.

What do you guys think about this whole Felicity and Pandora thing? The vibe I get from the episodes since she started working with them is that there is something that’s most likely bad about them—there’s a feeling of impending doom. The show hints that they may not be quite on the level. Have you picked up on that, or am I reading too far into it? Why would this worldwide network of hackers, who are clearly more advanced and talented than Felicity, need her? It seems they’re roping her in for something else. For as tech-savvy and smart as Felicity is, she seems completely oblivious to things that would probably raise a red flag to you and me. The most obvious is that if they hacked into my secret network in Oliver’s hideout and have all this information about me, wouldn’t it stand to reason that they would know I’m involved with the Green Arrow and most certainly know he’s the mayor of Star City and has a vast network of other individuals who work together to fight crime and so forth? The rest of the team is clearly concerned about them, too, while Felicity remains ignorant.

I don’t know. Stuff seems way too easy and sometimes ridiculously convenient with Pandora.  I mean, the whole thing with the optic scrambling tech Adrian was using… How perfect that they could find the video footage of him, mention Kord Tech develops the device, then Curtis retrieves said device and Pandora unscramble it in a matter of minutes, when it would have taken Felicity over a year to do.

I just feel like something will be revealed about them and we’ll all end up dropping the Wayne Campbell line from Wayne’s World: “Aren't we lucky we were there to get all that information? It seemed extraneous at the time.”

But let’s hear your thoughts on it.

Switching gears a bit, I’d like to talk about what I mentioned a bit earlier in the column: Anatoly.

This was the bigger point of the episode and the catalyst that eventually saves Oliver. By Ollie calling Anatoly and his men to Star City, it allowed Arrow to explore the whole idea of Ollie believing that he is nothing more than a killer and if he truly believes that, then why not sink more into self-loathing and hire your old pals to come in and kill the dude who is giving you problems?

It’s this same deed that also allows Ollie to redeem himself. By understanding that his past does not need to dictate his future, he then knows that he’s much more than what he perceives himself to be. This realization is the driving force that prompts him to approach Anatoly and call off the hit—even if it means he’s gained a new enemy in the process. His killing days are behind him and he no longer has to wrestle with that dilemma. By deciding to bring Adrian to justice, rather than seeing him killed, he’s essentially starting a new chapter in his metaphorical life book—at least, that’s how I understand things.

The big question I have is if they are able to bring Adrian down through non-lethal measures and take him in, what would be stopping him from spilling the beans on Oliver? He literally has all the evidence to show Ollie is Green Arrow and link the entire team to him. How would they prevent or get out of that if they bring Adrian in? It almost seems like he’d have to be killed if Ollie has any chance at preserving his secret, right?

With only a few episodes left, it should hopefully make for some interesting TV!

Until next episode,
Matt
 

Matt Ross covers Arrow as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. Catch new episodes of Arrow Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST) on The CW.