*Contains some spoilers. Don't proceed if you haven't watched the Season 3 premiere!*
This week's episode, "Guilty," juggles a lot of elements and somehow manages to move forward with all of them. It even manages to connect some of them and, as if that wasn't enough, it finally included Hong Kong scenes which benefit the episode instead of seeming random and unfocused! What's really funny is you're going to be thinking about one swift moment when the episode is over. Not how several arcs are moving forward, but just one ridiculously great dose of fan service. It's just a handful of seconds long, but it's probably the most fun you'll ever have watching Arrow. Anyway, let's talk a bit about each arc.
One of Roy's flips finally seemed to make sense! Huzzah! But really, it was cool to see him put his agility to use to seemingly cover ground faster instead of just doing it because, well, it looks cool. More importantly, it was great to see they didn't drag the dilemma out with Roy. Whether he actually committed the murder reaches a clear conclusion and it gives Colton Haynes a chance to deliver a more emotional performance. It feels like the secondary story in this episode and it doesn't receive that much love, but it's still a pretty satisfying follow-up to the cliffhanger. There's also a nice bit of fan service as they figure out what his vigilante name should be. This storyline also draws parallels to what's going on with Ted Grant, but to say any more about that would really spoil it. It doesn't have that much of an impact on the dynamic between Ollie and Roy (they're back to the status quo), but it does impact Ted's mentality as we move forward. Now it's just a matter of seeing how that's handled. Anyone out there on team Wildcat?
"Guilty" finally puts the flashbacks to good use. Prior to this episode, the looks at Oliver's past haven't helped the episodes' themes all that much. In this one, it's pretty obvious how it'll eventually benefit the story, but what's important is it gives Katana a little more focus. She doesn't play a pivotal role, but I'm happy to see she's finally getting more of the spotlight. Here's hoping she doesn't fade away in the next set of flashbacks. Also, the quick interactions with the child was a very appreciated moment of levity and the connection to Roy's story is a fitting one.
Love or loathe Laurel, her path has been set and there's no turning back. All we can do now is hope she grows enough -- both mentally and physically -- before she slips into a costume. Thankfully, this episode does an adequate job handling her arc and it ends on a pretty strong note. Assuming they keep things moving at this pace, I'm thinking way more of us will be more accepting of when she eventually becomes the new Black Canary. A big issue -- for me, at least -- has been her somewhat immature responses and that would make her a terrible vigilante, but that's slowly changing. Man, Laurel's becoming a heroine and Thea's becoming a badass. Maybe Season 4 will be all about Felicity training with Lady Shiva. Okay, probably not, but it is kind of cool they're populating this world with new heroes and villains (I'm anxiously awaiting Brick's debut).
There's one amazingly cheerworthy moment in this episode. It's not that long, but it's something we've all been waiting to see. Well, it turns out the display was well worth the wait and totally hilarious. Seriously, it's one of those moments where you're going to rewind just to watch it all over again. This will probably only happen once, but man, it was glorious. Without question one of the happiest moments this show has produced and it was amazing to see they could pull it off with the show's tone.
The conflict between Oliver and Ted felt pretty forced at times. Yeah, I'm thrilled it resulted in a hugely anticipated trick arrow and a fun melee, but there are times where the drama felt over-the-top and occasionally the dialogue didn't feel organic. At one point, Oliver claimed Laurel isn't "thinking clearly on this," but that was stated after Laurel had dinner with the guy while the murder was committed. Even if he thinks she has her blinders on about Ted, it's kind of tough to chalk that one up to "you're not thinking clearly!" Also, maybe it's noticeable because of how much the regular cast has improved over the seasons, but the more emotionally-driven scenes between Ted and the real killer (come on, you knew it really was't him) felt a little stiff and not that compelling. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the character is getting a push, but it was tough to really connect with those scenes.
Can anyone explain to me why Laurel pulled such an epic fail while driving? Or how the guy was oblivious to her using her phone even though it would have illuminated in his line of sight (or so it seemed)? Yeah, Laurel had to take some abrupt turns, but she couldn't regain control and avoid crashing into parked vehicles? Next time try the brakes? I couldn't help but think of the time in The Walking Dead when Lori had a totally preventable crash. Oh, and did anyone else want to exclaim, "DUDE, PUT YOUR MASK ON" when Ollie takes off his hood and mask to talk with Laurel out in the open? Better safe than sorry, man. And the following doesn't impact the score, but it is a bummer there's no follow-up with Thea whatsoever. It's understandable since the narrative was so busy, but I'm finding Thea's story to be one of the more interesting ones this season.
"Guilty" has quite a few developments which make the show's future a little more promising -- something that I think will give many of you a more positive impression of the episode -- and it was cool to finally see them firmly stand by a theme this season, but aside from a seriously magnificent moment, this episode just felt okay to me. Despite having a good message, the acting with Wildcat's scenes felt a bit wooden, it seemed overly dramatic at times, and several small things (like Laurel randomly crashing) began to add up for me. There's some fun action and a good amount of fan service, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the drama and some of the performances. So, who else is thinking Cupid could be Sara's killer? After it was announced she'd appear in the season, several of us joked she could be the murderer but it was nothing more than a joke. Now it's looking like that could be the case. Jealousy can make a person do ugly things.