"Sometimes death is preferable to the agony of life."
Either I'm an emotional mess tonight or "Midnight City" did an exceptional job with a few very powerful scenes. Sure, there's some cool stunts in here and Brick makes his move, but this one is all about the raw emotion the heroes are experiencing in a post-Oliver Starling City.
Who else was completely surprised by the opening sequence? First, it felt like a flashback. A few seconds later, it was clearly a dream and I was certain about who was having it. But nope, I was totally wrong and honestly, it was the best scene to come out of this character's arc in this episode. You can tell just how hard I'm trying to be spoiler-free here, can't you? It was a great way to prepare us for an episode that's full of compelling conversations. Honestly, the show can be overly dramatic at times, but they really nailed it with this one. From brief bonding between Diggle and Roy to Laurel's pain to Felicity and Ray, this one delivered one captivating, character-driven scene after another.
I have no problem eating my words and admitting I was wrong about Laurel's story. She's been a frustrating character for quite some time now, so when it was officially announced that she'd become Black Canary, I couldn't help but feel skeptical about it. I know she's had one rough development after another one, but nothing made me want to root for her and give her my empathy. It's not a jab at the actress -- she does a great job in this episode -- but watching her deflect and lash out time and time again wasn't the best thing around. Now, the show recognizes all of our concerns. Whether it's someone else talking to her about the costume or her own responses, the path felt like a natural and powerful one. Yeah, it's a little silly she can suddenly hold her own better because she's more determined, but it's not like they're treating her like she's a master combatant.
There's a more intimate scene between Ray Palmer and Felicity that really impacted me. Everything from the music to a certain line or two made it so blatantly obvious they wanted to tug at our heartstrings. Because of that, part of me wanted to think they were trying way too hard to get me emotionally invested. That part of me really wanted to think it's a cheesy scene. But you know what? It worked. Thanks to the performances, the scene really got to me and made me care even more about the two. Not only did this episode really sell Laurel's touching story, but it also sold the developing bond between Ray and Felicity. There's even a couple of good scenes where Roy's personality and not just his impressive agility gets to shine. Watching him stand up to Malcolm while blatantly being afraid of him was a nice surprise.
When the DJ character first appeared, I thought there were two possible paths for him. The first is he's simply there for drama. It'll get to Roy and produce even more relationship problems. The second is there's more than meets the eye with him. No, he's not a Decepticon, but he is working for someone to keep an eye on Thea. Well, right when we saw he's still around and Merlyn wants to leave the city with Thea, there was only one possible person this kid could be working for. This reveal is saved for the big cliffhanger and honestly, it's a surprising decision since there's no way I'm the only one who thought that twist was coming a mile away.
Laurel modifying her voice to reassure her father with a phone call was a surprisingly powerful scene. I've no problem admitting the "I don't know what I'd do without you" line really got to me. Laurel later showing up and talking to him in person was a baffling decision to me. She obviously wants to reassure her father, but awkwardly saying she's okay and blatantly hiding the truth would only make this detective more concerned about her. I also think it's a little odd he doesn't notice the physique is different, but that's not a big deal since she kept her distance. I'm also wondering how he hasn't noticed Oliver and Arrow have vanished at the same time. But hey, I guess he's been busy.
So, Oliver can already kind of walk after being stabbed twice in the torso, falling a ridiculous height, and then laying in the cold for quite some time? We all know Oliver is going to come back, but it's being handled way too soon. "If you know it's coming, why not get it out of the way now?" Valid question, random reader! Since everything else going on is so interesting, it's a shame we can't focus purely on them because these arcs certainly deserve the extra love. I would have loved to see more time spent with Brick (especially since his arc apparently ends in the next episode) or more time with Roy and Diggle. It's safe to say Oliver has had plenty of time in the spotlight, yeah? I like what they're doing with Matseo and the one fight scene was badass (it was more of a slaughter than a fight), but they seem to be blatantly telegraphing the death of his child.
Minor criticisms: Firstly, why'd the first bad guy wait to pull a gun until Laurel was close to him? Human error, I guess. Secondly, maybe Thea isn't afraid of Ra's al Ghul because she knows nothing about him, Malcolm. I'm glad they're going to hold their ground and I obviously understand the point of the scene, but if he explained just how powerful and dangerous Ra's is, Thea might have a second opinion. Probably not, but it's worth letting her know just how dangerous things are and how vast his resources are. I know he thinks he can protect her, but he's smart enough to know he cannot underestimate Ra's and should let Thea be fully aware of just how alert she must be. Thirdly, the crime boss agrees to meet in a public spot, and Starling City's police force can't put together a unit to track his vehicle in an effort to help narrow down where the hostages are being held? They're really going to just throw away an entire part of the city without even trying to come up with a counter-plan? They're obviously facing budget issues, but it seems like they had no plan whatsoever. Lastly, I'm tempted to give "Midnight City" 0-stars for not playing the song Midnight City by M83. Okay, I'll do my best not to hold it against the show.
Did I want Laurel to become Black Canary? No. Is Laurel's story about becoming Black Canary handled well? Yes, it absolutely is. "Midnight City" has a decent amount of fun action, but it really makes an impression because it does such a great job handling most of the characters. The cliffhanger isn't a huge shocker and it's unfortunate Oliver's already getting so much attention, but everything else in tonight's episode was surprisingly strong.
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