TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Arrow Season 03 Episode 18: Public Enemy

Wow, that episode was amazing. “Public Enemy” literally did everything it could to change the dynamic of Arrow forever, and in many ways it succeeded.

If I was to boil it all down to one concept, this episode was all about giving Ollie no escape from his foes. Whether it was the SCPD or the League of Assassins, there was no way out.

There are so many things you can talk about in this episode. Ra’s continuing to try and manipulate Ollie into joining him, both through words and by actions, which inevitably led him to telling Lance about Ollie’s true identity.

Which obviously bring us to Quentin, who had to deal with being played for years, and finding out that Sara was with Ollie on Lian Yu, and that Laurel knew about Ollie as well. Quentin has been through the ringer this season in many ways. Sara was the straw that broke his back, but all this? This just added insult to injury, in the meaningful way of course. His relentless pursuit of Ollie and crew was thrilling, and led to some great action.

The flight through the streets at the beginning was wonderfully choreographed, especially since it allowed Team Arrow to split up and show off their skills. My favorite part was Nyssa disarming Quentin to save Laurel. I’m glad their connection is growing at least.

Seeing Ollie getting cornered brought up some great interactions with the team, not the least of which was when Lance put a warrant out for him, and everyone asked for one of his plans…only for him to not have one. Or at least not one they liked. The twist of him turning himself in was great. Especially when the others found out, and they then wanted a plan to do Ollie some good.

The other interesting storyline was Ray being severely injured due to Maseo’s attack, which led to Felicity having to make a choice between a risky procedure to save his life…and risking serious damage to Ray by not doing it. This storyline as a whole was both interesting and frustrating. On one hand, we got to see the mechanical genius of Ray Palmer at work again. Possibly leading to a modified version of his suit somewhere down the line that’ll…”size” up and down the competition?

On the other hand, Felicity’s mother came back. My gosh. I’ll admit, she did talk Felicity into giving Ray the cure to his clot. However, the rest of her dialogue? My gosh…

Also though, why is Felicity struggling to say “I love you ” to Ray? She’s honestly been more with Ray than she was with Ollie. Seriously, she slept with Ray, she didn’t do that with Ollie, yet she…can’t say she love him? Really? Yeah…

Moving on, the flashbacks were surprisingly good as we met Shado’s twin sister. Yes, her twin sister. Yeah. But instead of a predictable storyline, we got a more heartfelt one. One that reunited Maseo’s family, and gave May (Shado’s sister) some closure. Also, did any notice how calm Maseo was when he said “The bodies are taken care of”? That’s comedy gold.

The ending brought yet another twist to the episode, with Roy coming to Ollie’s aid and “confessing” he’s the Arrow. This could go may different directions, so we’ll have to see how it all plays out.

In the end, “Public Enemy ” delivered a thrill right from start to finish, with numerous twists throughout. This will definitely be one of the highlights for season 3.