“Mine’s bigger,” spoken by Arrow himself, is the quote that perfectly sums up Ollie in this week’s episode “Guilty.” While it was laughable that Oliver Queen has to always prove he is better than everyone else, it was a nice change of pace to have a story where the Arrow was featured as more than just a side character, considering the show is named Arrow.
We finally got to go back to the format of Oliver and crew investigating crime in Starling City. It was a nice reminder of how the show first started, without the distractions of who fathered who or who used to date who. The team investigates a gang who is notorious for selling heroin. They find all the gang members dead, with a message written in blood…”Guilty.” Then we get to delve right into an investigation on Ted Grant, Laurel’s boxing coach.
Although there were drug dealers killed, there was also a trail of bodies, all incriminating Laurel’s mysterious coach. I really liked how everything concerning Ted was revealed through Oliver’s investigation. The episode flowed well because of it, and the viewers, comic fans and television fans alike, experienced all the reveals without being overwhelmed. And we finally have Wildcat! Former vigilante, current boxing coach, and all around badass. I’m excited to see if he will be incorporated into the “group” more than just being Laurel’s trainer. There was a hint of the story arc concerning his son, Tom Bronson, earlier this season, so it could be cool for that to be part of his plot.
The other main aspect of this episode was Roy admitting to the team that he thinks he killed Sara because of the dreams he has been having, in which, well he kills her. While it was obvious that Roy did not kill Sara (at least to me), I really liked the way the storytelling was done here. Roy’s story nicely tied in the flashbacks from Oliver’s past in Hong Kong and the use of meditation to evoke correct memories. It also tied together the parallels between himself and Ted’s aka Wildcat’s former sidekick, Isaac Stanzler.
Stanzler stands for nothing else other than what could be when it comes to Roy. Isaac was Wildcat’s guy who went a little too far when it came to beating the bad guys: literally beating one man to death. Wildcat cut him loose, only for Isaac to be captured and tortured. He attempted to get revenge on Wildcat only to have it backfire. Isaac Stanzler is not a character in the comics, but it was nice to see the comparison of Isaac to Roy. We have not seen nearly enough from Roy this season, which is a shame because he is one of the best characters on the show. By using Isaac, we get to see the difference in morality that Roy and Ollie hold. Plus, we got to see a stunning sidekick vs. sidekick battle!
Laurel’s involvement in this episode was refreshing. Not once did I roll my eyes at her, which is a rarity. She is getting stronger, both physically and mentally. In the wake of her sister’s death, she is taking stepping into the Black Canary’s shoes seriously. She is not afraid to defy Oliver, who is totally jealous that Laurel is getting trained by someone else, and learn how to fight on her own. She was also unafraid to stand up for what she knew was right: Ted Grand didn’t kill anyone. I like this new Laurel, and I hope her character continues to develop into someone the audience wants to root for the way they did for Sara.
And this:
- Freaking boxing glove arrow. Comic fans had a nerdgasm. See the above picture for one of many references to this in the Green Arrow’s career.
- The game Memory looks way cooler in China.
- Apparently the name Paco is pretty common in Starling City, as Felicity cleverly points out. There are at least 86,000.
- There is more we don’t know about Mirakuru than what we do know. Good to know.
- Laurel made the smart move of calling Felicity in order to get help. She finally admitted she needed help!
- But, Laurel was not scurred of Isaac when she was forced to drive. Not at all. Not one bit.
- Was Diggle a little too quick to say, “Let’s get rid of Roy!”? I think so.
- Roy asked Ollie not to abandon him, to which Ollie told him it would never happen. All the feels!
- Roy certainly had his meditation breakthrough quickly. Most people spend a lifetime getting that right.
- Roy also said that he was gonna turn himself in, but the police don’t know that Sara is dead. kinda weird.
- Is it just me, or is Cupid’s bow too big? She was struggling to hold it up!
Hush Comics gives “Guilty” a B+ for finally including Roy more, for delving into the history of one of the oldest comic characters in superhero history, and for using Oliver as the main character instead of a fleeting thought.
Easter Egg Hunt:
Wildcat, Vigilante: We finally go confirmation that Ted Grant, gym owner and boxing coach, is in fact Wildcat. Six years ago, he was a vigilante. He did exactly what Arrow does, even wearing a mask. After a drug dealer was beat to death by Wildcat’s sidekick, he hung up his cape, so to speak. Now he trains Laurel, future Black Canary. In the comics, Wildcat also trained Batman. Will we see a reference in the show? We will have to see.
Princess Training: Ted agrees to train Laurel beyond boxing, but to give her the tools to avenge Sara’s death. He says the last time he trained a princess, it didn’t go so well. What could this be a reference to? It could be to Yolanda Montes, WIldcat’s Goddaughter, and Wildcat replacement. Unfortunately she died, but this could be another way to go into his past.
He’s in your Arsenal: Roy Harper finally has a nickname! Isaac Stanzler tells Roy that he is just an Arsenal in Arrows toolbox, thus giving him his new name. Just an Arsenal, huh? Sometimes I think Roy is more badass than Ollie.
Street names always matter!: The investigation led Ollie to 9th and Hasen. Hasen is the co-creater of the character Wildcat.
Cupid, Stupid: Who was that girl who showed up at the end?! She had been hovering around in the background all episode and showed up at the end to make her presence known in Starling City. Cupid is a woman who is obsessed with the Arrow, and let’s just say, she goes pretty far for him. She wants him to love her, so she helps him by killing his enemies. But she also does things like carving a heart in her chest from the tip of one of his arrows and cutting out the eyes of her hairdresser. Creepy!
Hush Comics 