Arrow
Episode Title: “Public Enemy”
Channel: CW
Director: Dwight Little
Writers: Marc
Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle
Genre: Action,
Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Runtime: 42
min
Rated: TV-14
Original Air Date: April 1,
2015
“Public Enemy” occupied both ends
of the spectrum that Arrow
has managed to occupy this season. When things are good they're
still really good. But when something isn't working it's almost hard
to watch. Lets start with the big reveal from two weeks ago, in the
flashbacks Oliver has run into Shado! Only it's not Shado it's her
twin sister, Mei. It didn't signify a change in direction for the
Hong Kong flashbacks. Oliver and Akio are still fleeing ARGUS's men,
and Mei allowed them to take refuge in her home. She is
understandably perplexed by the American that seems to know her
sister and when no answers are forthcoming she calls the police. Of
course the police don't show up, an ARGUS goon squad does instead.
Luckily for Oliver and Akio, the Yamashiros pick that moment to pick
up their trailer and fight the goons off. They decide to leave, and
on the way out Oliver tells Mei that her sister and father are dead.
She's grateful to him for finally delivering the truth, the reunited
Yamashiros and Oliver leave her in a destroyed house. How many more
weeks can the flashbacks consist solely of running from ARGUS? After
how well the flashbacks of the first two seasons complimented the
present day story this season has been a major disappointment in that
arena.
Back
in the present day things are getting really bad for team Arrow.
After Maseo's hit on the mayor, Captain Lance has mobilized the
entire police department in an attempt to capture the Arrow. The
team believed they had tracked down the League's safe house, and
after a brief fight during which, surprise surprise, both Laurel and
Roy held their own, Ra's showed himself. He gave Oliver another
chance to assume leadership of the League, and upon being refused
again revealed that the authorities were on their way. The team's
desperate flight from the scene was one of the highlights of the
episode, and despite a couple of wrinkles they all managed to get
away. Later on Lance was captured by the League and had a face to
face meeting with Ra's, who revealed the Arrow's secret identity.
Armed with his new information Lance redoubled his efforts to catch
Oliver Queen.
In the
attack on the mayor's office Ray Palmer was severely injured. He has
a clot that could cause a stroke, but the surgery to remove it is
very likely to kill him. He has his nano-tech back at his lab that
could solve the problem, but the doctor won't allow it. Surprising
no one, Felicity brought the nano-tech to him anyway and Ray was
cured. What followed was a bit of soap opera that felt like another
show entirely. Ray confessed his love and Felicity ran away. Her
mother stops her and muddied the waters further by extolling the
virtues of both of the men in Felicity's life. These scenes all felt
out of place in the rest of the episode. I think it would have been
better if there had been a few Palmer-centric episodes, and not this
awkward attempt to have him in every episode. With the desperate
straits team Arrow is dealing with the Ray/Felicity material just
doesn't feel right.
Oliver,
faced with no where to run made a decision regarding his next move.
I'm not sure if Ra's' plan was to force Oliver to accept his offer,
with no where else to run, or to see Oliver captured. Clarification
in that regard would have helped the audience know whether to be
excited that Oliver had outwitted the Demon's Head or to despair
because he'd been driven right where he was wanted. Oliver has
apparently confessed everything to Lance and the Starling City Police
in return for immunity for the rest of his team. The team of course
is unwilling to let things go that way. We saw Lance and Oliver
riding in the back of a police van, and having an intense discussion
regarding Lance's feelings towards Oliver and all the lies that have
been told. Paul Blackthorne really brought it in this scene, sadness
and anger alternating on his face. There's a thump on the roof of
the vehicle and it stops. Lance got out of the van in time to see a
man in the Arrow costume jump down and confess his identity. Roy
then pulled the hood from his face, to the surprise of everyone,
especially Oliver. This scene was a little problematic, Lance knows
Roy isn't the Arrow, he's even called him out on his identity while
wearing the Arsenal get-up. Somehow the audience is supposed to
believe that this ruse is going to work, but the writers of the next
episode are going to have a hard time convincing us of that.
Conclusion:
Ra's al Ghul's plan seems to finally be coming to fruition. Oliver
is left with very few options as the manhunt for the Arrow finally
nabs him. Although the season has finally gotten to a point that
feels as dire as last season's Slade Wilson arc the build up has been
far less interesting. I feel like the Ray and Felicity content would
be better off contained to a few episodes instead of so drastically
altering the tone of each episode. The flashbacks have got to
improve, it seems like they've been spinning their wheels for weeks.
Rating:
7.75/10
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