Arrow (3×06) Review - “Guilty”

Boxing gloves and arrows anyone?

This week’s episode of Arrow was more on the weak side of the spectrum. There were some cool things to see, specifically the iconic boxing glove arrow that the fans of Green Arrow are very familiar with, and it was one of those scenes we found ourselves rewinding over and over again. The Arrow team also created a somewhat comical take on Green Arrow, more similar to his comic persona with his sarcasm and sometimes immature comments. The fight scene between Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Ted Grant (J.R. Ramirez) was solid, revealing that Oliver may have someone to match him in hand to hand combat. Why did they fight in the first place? People are being killed and strung up, and it’s all falling on Ted, but is he responsible for all of this? Let’s recap.

Arrow featured stories of two different sidekicks this week, with unexpectedly less of Roy

Last week’s episode revealed the Roy may have been the one who killed Sara (Caity Lotz). Having Roy (Colton Haynes) become more of a focus on the show is what many of us are excited to see, but after that big reveal there was s shift in direction as there wasn’t nearly as much focus on him as anticipated. Did he really kill Sara? When he eventually revealed this to Team Arrow they could not believe it. It felt a little off to hear Diggle (David Ramsey) explain to Oliver that he should let Roy go – not just from their lives, but the team as well. Diggle’s always been the type to hear reason and get all the facts together before coming to a conclusion. This was very non-Diggle like. The story of Roy was pushed up against the story and some history of Ted.

Ted was discovered to be a former vigilante himself, and because of a previous conflict with his old partner, things were getting out of hand in Starling. Oliver was hot on Ted’s trail when everyone suspected him. Oliver actually found Ted’s hideout with all of his equipment, where their fight went down. This is where Ollie – in quick succession, managed to get one of his arrows onto the boxing gloves and fire it straight at Ted’s head! This scene was totally awesome, as Oliver took quite a beating himself in a fair match up, only to gain the upper hand with his adaptability. Ted explained the story to the Arrow, knowing he could easily relate. Ted’s sidekick, Isaac, was a very weak character in this episode. Even though he was on a trip of revenge, feeling all sorts of anger because Ted cut him off a while ago, he still seemed emotionally weak and wasn’t really intimidating, if at all.

Isaac: “Don’t you get it? He’s using you! You’re not a human being man, just another weapon in his arsenal. The second you do something wrong, he’ll turn his back on you. He’ll abandon you!”

Roy: *Knocks Isaac out* “I’m not you.” *Turns to Oliver* “Don’t abandon me.”

Oliver: “Never.”

This penultimate scene where Isaac had Ted and Laurel hostage resulted in Roy returning to help save the day, with style. It was exciting to see him full of natural anger riding the bike and using his true abilities to take on Isaac. There was a moment where Isaac had Roy rattled, explaining that the Arrow was just using him as an extra weapon in his arsenal. This was a huge fanboy moment as his superhero nickname was dropped for the first time. Anyhow, Roy beat him down with rage and had an emotional moment with Oliver at the end. This was a nice moment, but it felt rushed, as if they were running out of time and just had to fit it in somewhere.

Are the writers trying to give fans more of the classic Green Arrow?

Oliver was a little different in this episode. He was very hypocritical in that he accused Ted almost immediately, because he had a history in which he killed someone and also was a vigilante – though less known of course. Oliver has killed tons of people throughout his crusade before making the non-killing vow, so is he possibly becoming jealous of the relationship between Ted and Laurel? Only time will tell since the two have somewhat patched things up and helped each other.

Oliver did, however, help Roy with his emotional struggle by use of the meditation he learned in Hong Kong through the flashbacks. If Oliver knew the entire time that Roy’s memories of killing Sara were actually tampered by those of him killing the police officer, why didn’t he just tell him to begin with? Why did he have to go through the whole master apprentice tai chi vibe instead of allowing Roy to learn of this situation, and strengthen himself emotionally? Oliver made some weird moves in this episode, and viewers are used to seeing the more grounded take from Stephen Amell on this character, but the Green Arrow quirkiness when he saw Ted’s hideout was much needed. I’m sure many fans want to thank Andrew Kreisberg for that.

The flashbacks were a nice installment after last week’s drama, and it seems they’re definitely leading up to something big. Oliver’s bond with the Yamashiro family is becoming stronger, Tatsu aside that is, and it feels like when there may be a point in time that she feels sympathy for him, she will eventually regret it.

Final Verdict

In “Guilty,” the focus shifted more on Ted Grant and his back story, rather than elaborate on Roy’s pain. He was brought into the scuffle somewhat abruptly, but J.R. Ramirez has done a fine job in the role. Since Ted’s already been made a big focus, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him have bigger roles with our characters in the near future, possibly alongside Oliver. Will he discover his identity accidentally, or will the Arrow formally introduce himself to Ted? With Laurel to eventually become the Black Canary the doors have opened up even more, and the influence from producer/writer Andrew Kreisberg who wrote substantially on the “Green Arrow & Black Canary” comic series definitely showed here.

Speaking of Mr. Kreisberg, he actually created the DC villain Cupid, who appeared at the end of this episode. She’s been known to be a huge admirer of the Arrow, and hunts down anyone who appears to be one of his enemies – maybe “obsessed” is the right word of choice here. Amy Gumenick will have her work cut out for her in portraying a different type of woman who distracts Ollie from his goals. Remember Helena (aka the Huntress)? Cupid is the one who can put her to shame and really be a major thorn in Oliver’s side. Plus she hates the Black Canary, so the jealousy should create for new rivalries and possibly some all out woman to woman action, which would be awesome for Arrow diversity moving forward.

This week viewers felt pain for Roy, and he was absolved of it, rather quickly that is. There wasn’t enough focus on Roy after last week’s big reveal but Ted Grant’s position in this episode was rather solid. The plot with Isaac was weak as it could’ve been developed a little bit, but Ted may possibly be needed in the bigger picture sooner than later. The big arc in Season 3’s story is having some trouble getting on its feet, and establishing new characters along the way. There were some bright spots with the boxing glove Arrow, and the fight between Oliver and Ted, but the script was kind of all over the place, which is expected after such a rapid change from last weeks episode to this. Hopefully the writers can move on from this with a fresh outlook on where the characters stand, and better develop them for the big danger on the way

Questions, Comments & Concerns…

• Is Oliver becoming more like the comic-stubborn Green Arrow?
• Will Ted eventually become a part of Team Arrow?
• Laurel’s continued growth is a great sign of things to come
• We still need to see more of Roy and his struggles