by Chelsea Dee, Editor-at-Large

I love Arrow, and that’s why I’m getting frustrated quicker than I do with most shows. Maybe it’s because I know it can do better, and I feel like this season has been a lot of drama mongering without any real emotional resonance. I’m not sure, but I do know that I found myself grinding my teeth through this episode. And it took me days to write about it because I was uncertain what I wanted to say. Outside of that it made my teeth grind. Previously on Arrow, Malcolm Merlyn drugged and brainwashed Thea into killing Sara. He did this so Oliver would have to fight Ra’s al Ghul to keep him from hurting Thea. Oliver instead was “killed” by Ra’s, but somehow survived, and apparently we have to accept that he survived just because the show wanted him to. Oh and that he was able to get on his feet a few days later. And now back to being the Arrow in a month. Like he never had a sword stuck through his chest. Okay. Okay. I’m already starting to grind my teeth again.

Apparently Laurel only really struggled with being Black Canary for one episode, because she seems to be doing just fine this episode. The Glades are a nightmare since the police all left, and Brick’s taken over completely. Team Arrow is trying to put out the fires wherever they can, but it’s very difficult. They find out that Brick’s weapon was the same weapon that killed Rebecca Merlyn all those years ago, which was what set Malcolm off. We get to see his grief over her death, ,him murdering the man he thought might have killed her, and then joining the League. Now he knows he was wrong, so he wants to join Team Arrow. He saves them when they nearly get killed infiltrating the police headquarters where Brick is holing up. However, Felicity says firmly there’s no way they’re teaming up with Merlyn considering he’s the reason Oliver died, and that Sara is dead too. Apparently the other people on Team Arrow have gone collectively crazy and decided Merlyn’s not that bad after all. Or Roy just parrots Thea’s brainwashed words that he really only meant to save the Glades when he nearly murdered everyone in them. Grinding. Teeth. I don’t have a problem with them saying they could use more help. Trying to act like redeeming Malcolm is possible when he is responsible for all the worst things in the city/show, that’s infuriating.

Anyway Laurel suggests that they look for help in other places. I salute you for that one. Sin reappears in this episode, and it was delightful to see her. They have all the Glades people take to the streets to fight Brick with Team Arrow, and Ted/Wildcat shows up to help too. Sin is probably just showing up again so they can have her tell Quentin that the current Canary is not Sara. DUH. I appreciate she knew that right away, and that she always is like ‘how the hell don’t you know this right away.’ It also makes me side eye him, because he says to Roy that he knows who he is, while in Arsenal garb, and I’m like … you have to know that Oliver is the Arrow. You know Sara is Canary and Roy is Arsenal. There is literally no one else the Arrow could be than Oliver Queen. He better be like Gordon and knew all along, I swear, otherwise he is stupid beyond belief. I hope he confronts Laurel soon enough on her lying to him.

Anyway Oliver comes back and despite having been stabbed through the chest, he’s magically healthy enough to swing into action. He talks Merlyn down from murdering Brick, and asks him to help teach Oliver how to kill Ra’s. What. LOL. What. First of all. FIRST OF ALL. If Merlyn could kill Ra’s, he would have already. He is not capable of killing Ra’s. Second of all. I don’t buy in to this nonsense that only the student can defeat the master, because Ra’s is very old and it’s probable being surprised by someone is the better way of handling him. Third of all. He is the reason why you’re in this position. Give Merlyn to Ra’s, see if that sates him, and if he goes after Thea then deal with it from there. But I get the sense if Oliver explains what happened with Merlyn, Ra’s will just be so glad to kill that prick, he’ll probably shrug. Okay maybe not. Because he won’t like Oliver being alive. I’m just saying. This is a stupid plan. Felicity calls Oliver out on how stupid and insensitive this is, considering Merlyn’s past, and that she doesn’t want to be a woman he loves, since he’s betraying the women he loves by doing this. Truth! Also that she hoped if he came back, he would have gone through an epiphany and changed. I would have thought so too, instead of him regressing this way, but the show needs drama.

And that’s what it feels like. Unnecessary drama. I can’t pinpoint what exactly is bothering me about the show this season, outside of the fact that it feels like a lot of drama without as much character development. It feels a little more sloppy than in the past. I don’t feel as much of an emotional connection as I’d like, and I feel like they’re floundering in finding new storylines for the show to use. Something’s just off, and it’s irritating me. I also think the whole Oliver dying plot has been pointless. Since he didn’t die, he’s barely freaking injured, he came back almost immediately, and he’s only regressed in character development. I am not impressed with what they’re currently doing, but I hope it turns around. Also why does Dig keep getting sidelined? Why is he letting Laurel and Roy out in combat all the time when he’s the most experienced of the three? Is anyone going to tell Thea what Merlyn did? COME ON. Apparently next episode Oliver tells her he’s the Arrow. FINALLY.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Arrow Season 3 Episode 12 3 out of 5 Merlyn Manipulations

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