Arrow: "Suicide Squad" Review

Laurel...provided insight?

This week on the CW's Arrow, we got ourselves a very nice treat. Not only did we see the first appearance of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad, not only did we see Oliver go through some troubles, not only did Laurel not be dumb, not only did we see another Deathstroke cameo, but, most importantly:

Harley Quinn is a real thing. And where there is Harley Quinn there is the Joker. And where there is the Joker...

THERE IS BATMAN.

But enough of that for now. We're only on episode 16 and we've got confirmed Flash characters for episode 19, so let's keep a level-head here, people.

It's pretty obvious what this episode was about. The Suicide Squad. They even called it Task Force X, as it was called in the cartoons, for a moment before Deadshot officially labelled it the Suicide Squad. And while this episode was not perfect, it's no "Heir to the Demon" or anything, it's still a strong episode to say the least.

It's also a very Diggle-centric episode. Apparently he wasn't kidnapped at the end of "The Promise" as we see him hanging out and making sure Felicity is safe. Meanwhile, Oliver is having Shado nightmares. Cool.

Anyway, Diggle gets recruited by Lyla to come into A.R.G.U.S. and take care of some business. Lyla and Dig are placed in the Squad with Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, and Shrapnel. Harley Quinn makes her appearance while Lyla and Dig argue, and we don't even get to see her face for a possible re-casting. Yay!

So, while Dig and the gang are off to stop one of the most powerful nuclear deterrents in the world, what's our good buddy Oliver up to? Beating up Russian people and making his relationship with Sara difficult.

Yeah this isn't really one of Oliver's brightest episodes, but, his story arc is nonetheless interesting. I'll cover it here so I can get to the more Diggle-centered stuff soon. Oliver, as we see through most of the episode, is terrified of what Slade is capable of. He tries to stay away from Sara and his family in an effort to keep them safe. But with the helpful words of Laurel (that's right), he comes to his senses and knows that he is gonna need more than just himself to take out Slade. We'll cover just how he plans to do so at the end.

The flashbacks this episode are about Dig's time in the military. They're pretty weak as they only show how he saved a warlord he mentioned in season one for a brief moment. Well, that warlord apparently turned his life around and has become a man of art. Diggle seems to even feel some sympathy. The first mission to take him out goes awry when Shrapnel splits the scene, though he is killed in an explosion by Waller because he didn't follow orders.

The squad seems to be aware of it, but Diggle doesn't like it. Thus they plan their second mission, headed by Diggle once more. Deadshot goes in to find the small dose of the deterrent they are sent for, but, instead finds the entire source. It's revealed that Waller knew this and just needed Deadshot to confirm it. The mission goes haywire anyway, leading to the death of the warlord.

Deadshot is ready to let himself die until Diggle snaps him out of it and they rush away, only to find out that Waller sent the drone not for the deterrent but after Deadshot to make sure he died. Lyla manages to save them and Diggle leaves the Squad, knowing Waller can't be trusted.

So while this is a pretty big Diggle episode, it's also a fairly reasonable Deadshot episode. It seems every time Diggle is the star, Deadshot is his opposite. I say keep that formula going, though. Deadshot's gone from a lame assassin to a character with a lot of story. We find that he only does his job to support his daughter, but also is ashamed that he is her father, that such a bad person could be a father. Instead of sympathizing over Dig's brother, Diggle instead makes Deadshot remember his daughter and I think that kind of forms a bond between them. There's also a throwback to when Diggle had his gun pointed at Deadshot but didn't kill him because of honor. And H.I.V.E. is name-dropped for a quick second.

The strengths of this episode definitely came from the final mission, where the squad had to get in and out of the building in a hurry. It showed how flawlessly they could work and how quick on their feet they had to be to survive, just like how the Suicide Squad should be. That's not to take away from Oliver's moments, as when he pointed the gun to his Russian friend (rest in peace, by the way), it was interesting to see how far he was willing to go to find Slade.

Speaking of which, we have the final scene in the episode. We return to Amanda Waller as well as a couple of bodies on the floor. At first glance, the scene appears something of Deathstroke's making. Then the assailant turns around, and it turns out to be Oliver. The final scene is largely insightful as we find out that Amanda Waller knew Oliver before he became the Arrow and that he really does want to kill her. My guess is that she has been the one behind Fyers, Ivo, and whoever else Oliver is going to fight on the island (besides Slade, of course). However, we also learn that Waller knows Oliver 'killed' Slade.

This scene is satisfying in that it raises a whole lot of questions. How'd they meet? What did Amanda really do to make Oliver want to kill her? How does she know Slade? When did Oliver 'kill' Slade, was it just before he was rescued or is it sometime soon this season in flashbacks? Where did Oliver go instead of the island and why did he return?

I think most of those questions won't be answered just yet, or even this season, but, I think we can get a few of them by season's end. What we can probably confirm is that the Suicide Squad will be returning, this time to hunt down Deathstroke alongside Team Arrow (probably) before going about their business. But let's not forget Brother Blood's potential pet, Solomon Grundy, is also at Deathstroke's disposal, and that Roy is not a full-fledged hero. Oliver's family is wide-open for the killing, and now that Slade knows Sara is alive, the Lance family is in grave danger. We also can't forget Merlyn's potency with the League of Assassins very ready to make a move, as Ra's al Ghul might want to have a say in Deathstroke's resurgence (since he is classified a 'mercenary').

Plus with the Huntress returning next week to undoubtedly get revenge on Oliver and maybe kill her father for real this time, Starling City is ramping up for a full-on war.

I better not miss a second of this.