Arrow: Guilty Recap

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaOsE_V6n6E]

Arrow: Guilty (3×06)

Synopsis: Ted Grant becomes the primary suspect when a body is found in the Wildcat gym and Roy shares a secret with Felicity.

Rating: ★★★★★

Well, another week, another late Arrow post.

All I can say for this episode is… BOXING GLOVE ARROW.

I mean, obviously there is more I’m going to say but hell yes to whoever decided it was the right time for boxing glove arrow.

So the biggest hits this episode were the storyline of Ted Grant aka Wildcat, the battle of the sidekicks, and of course, the aftermath of Roy’s nightmare of Sara. There were also some pretty big news items that dropped from this episode’s Arrow After Show on theStream.tv, in which Stephen Amell was available for some questions.

I have been loving J.R. Ramirez’s recurring role as Ted Grant, or Wildcat, as we know him from the DC Comics. In this episode though, we learn that he has not only already donned the cowl of Wildcat, but his vigilante days are far behind him. That’s right ladies and gentleman, the Arrow wasn’t the first vigilante of Starling.

He stuck to the Glades, helped the people who needed it. He didn’t make papers, but he did the same job that Oliver is doing, and he has walked the same path. Knowing this about Ted immediately makes him a potential mentor figure to not only Laurel, but Oliver. Implicated as a suspect of a murder, Ted, Laurel, and the Arrow must work together to figure out who is trying to frame him.

I love the storyline of Ted training Laurel. He’s been her anchor this season in a life that is definitely tearing her apart. He looks out for her, respects her wishes, and helps her work out her problems. I loved hearing Ted’s advice, because he’s becoming a voice of reason that is needed, especially involving Laurel. The takeaway from this episode with Laurel was that not only does she not need Oliver to make her choices for her, but the more he tries to hold her back the farther he’s going to push her away.

The “villain of the week” is Isaac Stanzler. He was Ted’s apprentice, and worked as his sidekick during Ted’s vigilante days. He was abandoned by Ted and returned to exact revenge by framing Ted for murders. His story not only helps flesh out Ted as a character, but also the relationship between Roy and Oliver. After Roy reveals his memory of killing Sara, the team is splintered on how to deal with Roy.

Diggle suggests abandoning Roy, and it seems like Oliver is ready to agree. It’s only after dealing with Stanzler; after seeing the result of abandoning someone, that Oliver reaches out to Roy to help him. He also gives Roy his DC vigilante “official” moniker, Arsenal. Making him the first one on Team Arrow to get his “real name”. We know that by episode 10, we’ll be hearing the name Black Canary being thrown around as well.

That leads to Roy. Man, I really thought that he murdered Sara. But that ties things up a little too well doesn’t it? As the two timelines of the show weave together, this episode we witness (in past Hong Kong) Tatsu helping Oliver with his memories through meditation and a candle. Using this same technique with Roy, Oliver is able to reveal to Roy the truth of his memories.

What he thought was a memory of him killing Sara, was really the memory of him killing a cop in a similar way. Startled by the fact that he is still a murderer, this opens up the possibility of who killed Sara once again. What we know from Felicity’s autopsy is that it is someone of a similar height to Roy that could do what he did with the same force. It’s up in the air as far as who killed her, but I feel like my money is on Cyn? If only to see her again playing a major role in the story.

The episode ends with the introduction of a character named Cupid, a female archer, aiming her bow and arrow at Isaac Stanzler. Cupid, in the comics, was created by Arrow showrunner Andrew Kreisberg for the Green Arrow comics. She was a stalker obsessed with the Arrow and killed people to get his attention. Throughout the episode, you might even be able to catch her (making me wonder how many cameos I might have missed in the past episodes) but she finally made her appearance!

From the After Show, it seems like Cupid’s story arc will also bring Olicity back into play and we might see a development on that. Stephen Amell has said that episodes 10-13 are going to be the heavy hitting episodes that will be the game changers of the show.

If you have the time, I would definitely reccommend watching this specific Arrow After Show. Stephen Amell gives some great insight into characters as well as his opinions on more than a few big topics, such as the Warner Brothers’ casting for The Flash (hint: he wasn’t really ok with it).

All in all, an awesome episode, from the chemistry between Ted, Laurel, and the Arrow, to the dawning of Arsenal, to that boxing glove arrow.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC8peLThhXI]