Arrow Review: Broken Arrow (Season 3 Episode 19)

I think the term ’emotional roller coaster’ was built exclusively for this episode of Arrow.

Anyone else fighting shock, sadness, anger, and about a dozen other things after “Broken Arrow”? Well, get used to it, because there’s way more to come.

Roy’s surrender had me worried, I won’t lie. That kid is too self-sacrificing for his own good. But seeing Felicity and Diggle slip and slide around the issue kept my worries at bay.

But then, poor Roy gets a knife to the gut and bleeds out on the prison floor. WHAT?

Not to worry, Arsenal fans, it all turns out to be a ploy to “kill” the Arrow and clear both Roy and Oliver of any charges. Phew!

You know, there have been rumors circulating for a while now that one of the Team Arrow members was leaving the show, and I’m a little proud that I pegged Roy from the start. I’m not happy to see him go, but Felicity and Diggle just seem too integral to the show right now. Farewell, Roy Harper, may you come back for many cameos!

Thea, on the other hand, has been slowly making her mark, and it might be time for Arrow to follow up on the clue they dropped in the very first episode. Her nickname is “Speedy” after all, and anyone who knows anyone in the Green Arrow Comics knows that Speedy is Oliver Queen’s true sidekick.

Of course, that might be hard now that there can’t really be an Arrow anymore.

Felicity: There is no more Arrow. Ra’s took that from you.

Oliver’s existential crisis plays out beautifully, manifesting as anger and frustration for Roy, Ray, and just life in general. But as always, Felicity cuts to the heart of it. She knows Oliver is upset about the loss of the Arrow as much as anything else, especially considering how much he has given up to be that champion.

Oliver: I’ve already lost everything. I’m not going to lose Roy.

That’s not the only obstacle in Thea’s way to becoming Speedy, though. She is, after all, dying.

She puts up a brave (and totally kick-ass) fight when Ra’s attacks her, but Thea Queen falls to the Demon’s Head eventually. Promos for next week have her at death’s door, actually.

Arrow Promo: “The Fallen”

Someone get that girl a Lazarus Pit, stat!

Pivoting to another new team member, Ray fires on all pistons in this episode as The Atom. I’m constantly surprised that his potential spin-off hasn’t been green-lit for fall. Both Arrow and The Flash have been pushing him hard lately, but The CW seems content to push that pilot back to spring of 2016. Interesting.

Oliver acts as Ray’s instincts in a team up for the ages, thanks to some helpful tech. That doesn’t stop him from seeming like he wants to throttle Ray more often than not, but sometimes it’s a good look for Oliver. Especially where Felicity is involved.

Oliver: If you rely on that suit more than you rely on yourself, it’s going to get you killed.

The weakest part of the episode comes from Captain Lance again. His nearly pathological obsession with bringing down Oliver has reached strange levels. Barely five episodes ago, Lance was working hand in hand with the Arrow, happy about their partnership as ever.

Now that Sara is dead and Oliver’s identity is out, I can understand Lance feeling upset and betrayed.

But it’s manifesting as a nonsensical rage and slightly puzzling vendetta. He was fine with Oliver for the most part. He was more than fine with the Arrow. Somehow putting the two of them together regressed him back to his Season 1 persona? I don’t know, guys. It’s making him a very ‘cardboard-cutout’ character, which is not what I like to see from my favorites.

Usually when they demonize someone this quickly, it only means one thing… death.

Save Papa Lance 2k15!

Other Thoughts:

• A wild Cisco appears! Seriously, are The Flash and Arrow even separate shows anymore?
• Meta-humans invading Starling? Someone tell Barry to get his house in order!
• Colton Haynes is developing a bad habit of getting super popular on a show and then cutting out after two seasons. Just saying.

Do you think Lance is headed for death’s door? Will Oliver finally become Ra’s Al Ghul? Let us hear your theories in comments below, and be sure to give “Broken Arrow” your own rating.

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Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.