Whether you like tonight’s episode or not is going to depend largely on one thing: how you feel about characters Laurel and Roy. I’m not convinced yet that either actor or actress is capable of such performances as the rest of the cast, but I certainly admire the storylines that have been laid out for both characters. They’re intriguing and they’re going to require them to up their game. But it will also be weeks before we know if they’ve succeeded.
Unmasking the Man in the Skull Mask
Sebastian opens the episode by visiting his mother in the insane asylum. He wants to know all about Laurel’s visit. She quickly confesses to telling Laurel everything and while Sebastian says he forgives her, after he leaves, he returns in his Brother Blood mask and presumably kills her.
He did of course, kill her, as Laurel learns when someone from the asylum calls to tell her.
Laurel then realizes the only person who can help her is the Arrow. So she convinces her father to call him on her behalf and meets him on top of a roof to show off all the evidence she’s collected thus far.
Oliver later meets Felicity and Diggle in a Queen Consolidated conference room, (any reason they weren’t doing this in the hideout?) to talk it through. Felicity is slowly convinced that Laurel is right, but Diggle isn’t. In fact, he thinks Laurel is setting a new trap for the Arrow.
They decide the only way to know for sure who Sebastian really is and what he’s done, is to steal a file containing info on his father’s death–the father he supposedly murdered. Arrow and Laurel break into the building holding it, with help from Felicity over Bluetooth, but they’re barely able to get away from what appears to be twenty cops.
Of course, when Laurel open’s the file, it’s empty, and Laurel is unable to find out who erased the security footage so they could steal it. (We learn it was Slade later.)
Sebastian sends Officer Daly (AKA Brother Daly) to arrest Laurel. (Side note: completely forgot about the Daley character, but a quick Google search proves he’s been around in other episodes.)
Laurel’s father tries to talk sense into Laurel while she’s in handcuffs, but she also can’t explain the drugs she’s found with. It’s not long until she’s taken again as she’s kidnapped from her apartment by Brother Blood and his men.
Arrow is able to track down her location quickly and fights Brother Blood. He’s about to use a gun on Arrow, but Laurel shoots him first. “Take off his mask,” she tells Arrow. “I need to see.”
He complies and it’s Officer Daly’s face underneath. He smiles as he dies.
(I have to admit–I did not realize it was Daly at first. Am I the only one who thinks the actors who portray Daley and Sebastian look very, VERY similar?)
Lance again goes to talk to his daughter Laurel and even tell her she was wrong about Sebastian because of the booze and drugs. Not long after that, her boss comes by and basically tells her she’s fired. Laurel has truly hit rock bottom.
Oliver, meanwhile, tells Diggle and Felicity he’s upset because he truly believed what Laurel was saying. They try to tell him to focus on the good–namely that he destroyed all the Mirakuru in town.
Oliver Is Going to Start Training His Partner
Even with all the Mirakuru destroyed in town, Oliver still has to deal with the person infected with it: Roy. The other big part of tonight’s episode was Oliver finally coming to terms with the idea that he’s going to need to train Roy.
Roy, of course, doesn’t think he needs a partner or a trainer. He shows off his new powers to Sin and they decide to test what he’s capable of doing by convincing Sin to be bait to trap someone who’s been hurting prostitutes.
Sin gets picked up relatively quickly and when the “John” is about to attack her, Roy rips off the car door and beats him up. It’s exciting until it escalates too quickly and Roy nearly kills the guy. He even hurts Sin when she tries to stop him. Clearly, he can’t control his anger from the Mirakuru.
At the hospital later, the “John” is very, very hurt and after Thea comes to see Roy, he has to leave, clearly very upset with what he’s done.
After destroying the Mirakuru near the end of the episode, Oliver knows he needs to check in on Roy. Thea tells him about what he did to the man in hospital, so Arrow visits Roy.
By shooting a red arrow near him. It’s an absolutely amazing comic book-style moment.
Arrow tells Roy that he’s not in control and offers to teach him.
Rather than blow him off, Roy responds, “When do we start?”
Well in next week’s episode of course!
Other Odds and Ends
– Loved that Arrow had Felicity on the Bluetooth as a virtual lie detector when he was questioning bad people in the city about the man in the skull mask. Genuinely laughed out loud when she asked him to ask a control question: “Ask him what color his shoes are.”
– The island flashbacks were largely inconsequential this week. Sarah tries to convince Oliver that they should take Ivo’s deal, but she eventually realizes that’s a mistake and that they both should go look for Slade.
– The one interesting thing about the island flashbacks, however, is that when Ivo started to talk about a darkness in him, and how only Sarah could help him, I couldn’t help but wonder if he himself has taken Mirakuru before.
– Thea is supposed to be angry at Roy for most of the episode. So why isn’t she angry when he suggests she give Sin a slutty dress? Shouldn’t she be mad that he thinks she owns a slutty dress? (Even though she clearly owns at least one.)
– Even though Slade only gets to threaten Sebastian not once, but twice in this episode, it’s menacing and thrilling both times–especially the second time when he’s wearing his iconic Deathstroke costume.
– And finally, sorry no special section on the Oliver and Felicity relationship. They worked together a lot in tonight’s episode, but aside from one little glance, there was no progression on that front.
Arrow airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on the CW.
(Image courtesy of the CW.)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
