Arrow: Season 3, Episode 11

Arrow

Episode Title: “Midnight City”

Channel: CW

Director: Nick Copus

Writers: Wendy Mericle and Ben Sokolowski

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 42 min

Rated: TV-14

Original Air Date: January 28, 2015

This week's Arrow continued to chronicle the struggles of Team Arrow regarding their attempts to continue Oliver's work without him. The newest crime boss in Starling City, Brick, is making his play for power; this time kidnapping several city officials and threatening their lives if the police presence in the Glades isn't withdrawn. Meanwhile, Oliver is convalescing in a cabin tended to by Maseo and Tatsu.

The crisis in Starling City has reached new heights, the newest threat to the city has escalated quickly and it wasn't long before the remaining members of Oliver's team, along with Laurel as the Canary, decided to take action. I'm actually really liking the way the team is functioning without Oliver. Roy is becoming more comfortable with taking the lead in the field. Harper has been an underutilized character this season, so seeing him with something meaningful to do is an improvement. Laurel's first few appearances as the Canary have not gone well for her. I'm glad that she hasn't been thrown into the fight and shown that she's somehow become a fighter of the caliber of the rest of the team. Besides the physical abuse that she's received she was also confronted with the consequences of her failures. At the moment that she's at her lowest Felicity comes into play to remind her that although their mission comes with a huge price to pay it's something that has to be done. Diggle and Roy's moment over drinks after a long day served to show that everyone that Oliver has left behind are finally coming to grips with his absence.

The one major negative I saw in the scenes from Starling City involved Laurel's interactions with her father. I know that she's convinced that learning of Sara's death would kill her father, but the way in which she's deceiving him is sure to have dire ramifications going forward. When the ruse is is revealed it seems like it is going to do irreparable harm to their relationship. That's a moment that I'm dreading.

Thea has refused to flee Starling with Malcolm Merlyn; setting up and inevitable confrontation between them and Ra's al Ghul. A seemingly useless plot point from much earlier in the season finally showed some purpose when it was revealed that the new DJ at Verdant is at the very least a League of Assassin's informant, or possibly a member himself. Maseo's role in the current plans of the League is a little unclear but we've been led to believe that he's somehow spearheading the League's eventual confrontation with Merlyn. Between his actions regarding Oliver and his involvement with whatever is in store for Merlyn I found myself wondering; could he be setting Ra's up for a fight with Oliver and Merlyn fighting side by side. I think it's possible that whatever caused the separation between Maseo and Tatsu was the result of something Ra's did. Maseo's insistence that he return to the League may be the result of his desire for revenge. It's just a crazy theory, but you never know.

That brings us to Oliver and his recovery. The words “Lazarus Pit” haven't been uttered yet, to my disappointment. There's no other way to explain Oliver's recovery, I refuse to accept that some penicillin tea somehow saved him from his wounds and the elements. The flashbacks in this episode served to highlight the dramatic change in Maseo and Tatsu's relationship. While nothing notable was discovered this week during those flashback they have the feeling that they're setting the audience up for tragedy.

Conclusion: I actually could have done with less Oliver this week, as the more compelling moments of “Midnight City” revolved around his friends and the way they're coping/carrying on following his death. Laurel's blunders during her first forays as a vigilante are also managing to soften the disbelief I had feared would surround her shouldering of the Canary mantle.

Rating: 7.5/10