Arrow Season Three: Guilty

"I am Wildcat"

The episode begins with Arrow and Red Arrow going to stop a drug deal however they find the dealers dead and hanged with the word GUILTY written in blood, Roy then secretly asks Felicity to check for any Mirakuru still in his system. In a Flashback Oliver and Maseo tail a guy but when they lose track of him they find out the package they where supposed to get was not on him, in the present Arrow tracks down another hanged man which is in the Wildcat Gym and runs into Ted and Laurel. At the Arrowcave Felicity tells Roy there is no Mirakuru in his system so Roy tells her of his nightmares meanwhile Ted is questioned but Laurel vouches for him to Quentin and Oliver the latter is then angry that Laurel is in training. In a Flashback since Oliver can't remember where the package is Maseo asks his wife Tatsu (Rila Fukushima) to use a concentration technique on him which works. In the present Arrow tracks down Ted's storage locker which has another body but also evidence of vigilantism, Ted shows up and he and Arrow have a short fight but after Ted admits he used to be a vigilante but quit after he beat a drug dealer to death. The two go to the site of the murder where they find Ted's old crime fighting partner Isaac who is mad Ted abandoned him and wants revenge however he escapes and Ted is arrested by police.

Does he even have a vigilante name?

At the Arrowcave Roy tells the rest his nightmares of killing Sara and Felicity admits it is possible with the evidence, Oliver then admits to Diggle and Laurel he doesn't know what to do with Roy. Laurel then gets Ted free, after he admits to her Isaac killed the drug dealer and he abandoned him soon after, however the two are then kidnapped by Isaac. Arrow goes to rescue them (Laurel had her phone on) however Red Arrow shows up later and stops Isaac and asks Arrow not to abandon him, later Arrow goes to Ted to ask him to stop training Laurel however he refuses saying it is her choice. Oliver then tells Roy they should rename him Arsenal and then uses the concentration technique on him; it is revealed Roy didn't kill Sara but was mixing his memories of the time he killed a cop while on his Mirakuru rampage, this still upsets Roy. The episode ends with Laurel asking Ted to train her not just to fight but to be a vigilante and Isaac is later killed by female archer Carrie Cutter AKA Cupid (Amy Gumenick).

FIGHT!

Another episode on a character who I wanted more background on and that was Ted Grant and I am really glad that this episode confirms that he was a vigilante because even of he has retired he could always don his mask again. I liked that this addresses that there where vigilantes in Starling even before Arrow came in to the picture and I liked the whole story between Ted and Isaac and that it mirrored what was happening between Oliver and Roy. Speaking about Roy he too had an interesting subplot and it was good he teamed up with Felicity because I don't think the two have interacted much. It also keeps the mystery of who killed Sara still going however I feel that Roy's subplot could have had more of a focus as well. Then there was Laurel and she is still getting to be a better character now with the way she stuck with Ted and I hope the two team up when they are vigilantes.

Where are the ears?

As for the rest of the episode I admit I didn't like Oliver's attitude much (the boxing glove arrow was great though) because he constantly thought the worse of Ted because he killed one drug dealer but honestly who is he to judge people about killing? It just got on my nerves and him also constantly telling Laurel to stay away from him and to stop training didn't help either. Then there is the Flashbacks and I didn't like them at all because they where just really slow with that whole concentration technique and I find Tatsu to be an annoying bitch; I know she is portraying Katana from the comics but all I see is someone whose attitude I didn't like and can barely stand to watch. I  am not enjoying these Hong Kong Flashbacks that much (except for the Tommy one) because they are just feeling like a waste of time, especially this one which that could have focused more on Roy instead of the bitch Tatsu. However I did like the end of the episode with the introduction of Cupid who I'm really looking forward to seeing and if she is like her comic counterpart she will be a complete nut case.

"I'm Cupid stupid....that rhymes"

Overall glad we got an episode focused on Ted Grant and Roy.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Ted Grant focused episode
                   Roy subplot
                   Cupid introduced

Let - Downs: Oliver's attitude
                       Flashbacks
                      Tatsu

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/

Arrow Season Three: Corto Maltese

"My young apprentice"

The episode begins with Arrow chasing down a lead on Sara's death however it was a dead end but back at the Arrowcave Felicity tracks down Thea's location to Corto Maltese. Oliver and Roy decide to go and later Diggle when A.R.G.U.S has a missing agent named Mark Shaw there they want him to find. Meanwhile Laurel meets with Ted Grant (J.R. Ramirez) owner of the Wildcat Gym about a crime involving one of his gym members, Ted denies this and then offers Laurel to come train because he notices her pent up anger. Oliver shows up at the house Thea is staying but leaves when she is not there however Malcolm was aiming an arrow at him in the distance, in a Flashback Malcolm begins to train Thea by pouring boiling water on his hand to show how to deal with pain. Oliver then finds Thea but she refuses to go back with him (even Roy tries talking to her later) while in Starling City Felcitiy is given a brand new office from Ray and asks her for all the files from the Applied Sciences Division. Oliver and Roy then decide to help Diggle with Shaw but they are lead into a trap by them however they manage to fight their way through it and Diggle completes his mission.

There is no better trainer than Wildcat

In Starling Laurel attends an AA meeting with Quentin and listens to the story of a woman beaten by her husband while in Corto Maltese Thea has a Flashback to where she failed the boiling water test so Malcolm came to the conclusion he is going easy on her and decided to hit her. Laurel then goes to beat up the wife beater however she is severely beaten up instead and while in the hospital Quentin says she was stupid for doing that and that Sara handles stuff like that (still not knowing she is dead). Oliver then talks to Thea once more, this time saying how both of their parent scarified themselves for them, which causes her to ask Malcolm if she can go home which he lets her. With everyone back in Starling Laurel approaches Oliver asking him to train her to be a vigilante however when he refuses she ask Ted, meanwhile at Queen Consolidated Felicity asks Ray for time off so she can visit a friend who woke up from a coma (Barry Allen) and Ray is seen going over certain blueprints. The episodes ends with Oliver and Roy discussing Thea but are interrupted by Nyssa Al Ghul who is looking for Sara.

"I think I'll stick with my gun thanks"

Looks like even Team Arrow likes to do some work outside of Starling City for once which is good because it is a welcome change for a different location. Thea was the main focus of this episode and I have to say she does have a nice haircut lol. Unfortunately one of the biggest problems this episode was the lack of the Thea/Malcolm relationship; a lot more screen time should have been given over to them, their Flashbacks and their training (all we got was the boiling water test!). However she did have some nice scenes with Roy and Oliver, especially the one where Oliver talks about their parents which was really well done. The other big problem with this episode was Diggle on his A.R.G.U.S mission and even though I like Diggle focused episodes I just don't like A.R.G.U.S that much except for their Suicide Squad. Maybe that is because I hate both Lyla and Waller so compared to the Thea/Malcolm subplot I honestly didn't care for Diggle's mission at all.

I wonder is Thea will be a Dark Archer soon?

As for everything else Laurel is still continuing to be an interesting character; her attempt at stopping a wife beater might have been a bit silly but it is a good character arc of her noticing the evils in the city and unlike Sara not being able to do anything about them. However looks like she might be able soon with the introduction of Ted Grant AKA Wildcat; a great hero in the comics who has trained many heroes such as Black Canary, Superman and Batman to name a few. It also looks like Ray really might be ATOM some time soon too with the look at those weapon blueprints he has been looking at so I am excited for more of that. All in all I think I more enjoyed the moments in Starling than I did in Corto Maltese if I'm honest. Finally looks like the League is coming back next episode now that Nyssa is back in town!

"I'm used to darkness not all this light an heat!"

Overall this is the weakest episode of season three so far because it's main storyline with Diggle's mission wasn't that good.

SCORE: 6/10

Highlights: A little insight to Thea's training with Malcolm
                   Laurel starting to become Black Canary and the introduction of Wildcat
                   Ray may also be ATOM soon

Let - Downs: Not enough background on Thea and Malcolm
                      Didn't care for the A.R.G.U.S mission

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/