Tonight was an interesting episode with a couple things I want to jump into, but before I do, I think something needs to be addressed first…

The award for the WORST bus driver possibly ever goes to the guy in tonight’s episode. I mean, you just get out of the bus in a traffic jam and tell the kids to stay in their seats while you go check out what’s going on? No way that dude is ever working for the Star City Public School District again. Ha!

While we’re on the subject, how about William’s super strength to kick the bus’s back door open and free the kids? Guess no one told him you can just use the handle to open it up…

William is kind of a funny character to me. I mean, I get him being scared his dad will be hurt or killed and not liking that his duty as Green Arrow has taken him away from his responsibilities as a father, but I don’t know too many kids who wouldn’t be psyched their dad was a superhero. Not only that, but when you finally get to see the secret hideout, you just sulk? Man, that place is so cool. Any kid (or adult for that matter) would be exploring every inch of it. Think of all the cool stuff you could do, and all the gadgets you can play with there…  I was relieved to see his character grow a bit and finally come around to the idea that his dad being Green Arrow is not only important, but that it’s a major commitment—one in which he needs to look beyond himself in order to comprehend.

Cayden continued his reign as the most smug and pompous character in Star City, reminding us that he’s out for Ollie because he blames him for his son’s death. To be honest, I had forgotten that was his whole motivation. I’m glad they threw that little piece in there tonight. It helped to kind of give a little direction to Cayden’s character and remind us that there’s a reason he’s doing all this. The only thing I didn’t get was when Ollie asked him why he doesn’t just out him as Green Arrow and Cayden says that’s already been done. I mean, sure it has, but it obviously was only a minor inconvenience for Ollie, seeing as how he’s recovered from that and is back as the acting Green Arrow with little fallout from it since.

There’s obviously something more up Cayden’s sleeve, but he hasn’t revealed it. I guess we’ll just have to keep dealing with his insistent tech-savvy attacks until he makes an actual move that eliminates Ollie. Right now, he’s just sort of falling into the cliché bad guy category of not killing the good guy when you have the opportunity—and he’s had plenty!

Also, in case you forgot, Cayden really needs a knuckle sandwich…

I thought the coolest thing tonight was the Vigilante double-agent swerve. I like that he’s a good guy (or so we think for now) and is behind-the-scenes working Cayden’s operation from the inside. He’ll make a good ally for whichever team he decides to aid.

And that, my friends, leads into my final thought…

Last week I talked about how silly and childish I felt Curtis, Rene and Dinah were acting by leaving to form their own team. I also predicted that it was only a matter of time before they ended up disbanding.

I feel the same way this week, with tonight serving only to strengthen those thoughts.

What I don’t understand is that they decided to branch out and do their own thing; yet, they’re working closely with Oliver, Felicity and John—sharing important and vital information pertaining to Cayden’s attacks. To me, it’s like double-handling a process. Why not just all be one team? You’re more than halfway there by sharing info back and forth and winding up at the same places to stop the same thing from happening.

Not only that, but the cracks are already starting to form in that team, which was shaky (at best) to begin with. It was on display when Curtis mentions he obtained the information they needed to save the people on the train. Dinah, who is incredibly calm (not!), flies off the handle and Rene gets fired up, too. Both are mad that Curtis didn’t inform them about his interaction with Vigilante, who provided the information. Curtis explains that he needed time to validate the info before he said anything.

Hmm…sound familiar??

It should. That’s the same thing Ollie did last week regarding Cayden spying on the team, which caused Curtis, Rene and Dinah to freak out. The irony is through the roof with this one! I’m just glad Curtis got a little taste of his own medicine. Maybe now they’ll start to realize that not everything is always black and white, cut and dry

I’m not holding my breath, though…

Until next time!
Matt
 

Matt Ross covers Arrow as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. Catch new episodes of Arrow Thursdays at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. CST) on The CW.