TV Review: Arrow – Season 3 Episode 17 “Suicidal Tendencies”

Join us each week as we review the latest episode of ARROW. Warning: the following review contains major spoilers for the newest episode of the show.

Episode 17: "Suicidal Tendencies"

Synopsis: It’s celebration time as Diggle and Lyla get married. However, Deadshot interrupts their honeymoon and tells them the Suicide Squad has been given a new mission – rescue United States Senator Joseph Cray from a hostage situation in the Republic of Kasnia. Amanda Waller breaks down the mission and introduces them to the newest member of the Suicide Squad, Cupid. Meanwhile, Oliver learns about Ray’s new Atom costume and the two have a heated stand-off. Felicity and Ray hit a rough patch.

In Starling City: It is a time of celebration in Starling City as John Diggle and Lyla Michaels get remarried with their family and friends in attendance and Ray Palmer officiating. As Oliver pines over Felicity having found love in her life, the team is alerted to the recent murders by R'as Al Ghul disguised as the Arrow. Captain Lance and Ray Palmer hold a press conference where they vow to bring the former vigilante to justice. Oliver and the team decide to try and find the next target he will be framed for while sending the Diggles off for their honeymoon in Fiji.

As the couple enters their limo, none other than Deadshot himself is waiting and declares the Suicide Squad is needed once again. Amanda Waller informs them that Senator Joseph Cray has been abducted in a wartorn nation and Lyla is tasked with heading the Squad, but Diggle refuses to let her go alone and asks to join Deadshot and Cupid on the mission. The team arrives and surveys the location. Deadshot cautions the Diggles that family and attachments are a death wish for people like them but Lyla says having something to fight for makes them stronger. She then reveals their mission is to rescue the Senator only as the hostages are not U.S. citizens.

Oliver and Felicity search for possible Arrow targets when Roy arrives with news of a drug shipment coming in that would be an ideal attack for them to investigate. As Oliver heads there, R'as Al Ghul's follower attacks and kills several criminals before Oliver stops him. Then, two more archers arrive along with Maseo who tells Oliver he cannot stop them all. Oliver pleads with Maseo who says this is alll to persuade Oliver and he needs to rethink his final answer. Flying above the city, Ray in his A.T.O.M. suit searches for Arrow and uses his technology to scan the vigilante and learns he really is Oliver Queen.

The next day, Ray informs Felicity he knows Oliver's secret identity which catches her off guard. Felicity tries to explain that Oliver is no longer a killer but Ray is reluctant to believe her since she has lied about her work with the Arrow. Felicity asks what he is going to do and Ray recommits to his promise to bring the Arrow to justice. Felicity arrives and tells Oliver and Roy that Ray knows about their secret. Oliver argues with Felicity why she didn't reveal that he was building his own suit. Ray brings the evidence to Laurel who says it is not enough to take action but he then challenges her allegiance to Oliver. Getting no help, Ray says he will seek justice on his own.

The Squad infiltrates the facility and rescues the Senator who says no one was supposed to be sent and pulls a gun on Lyla. Deadshot knows Cupid out of the line of fire while the Senator escapes. They take refuge and Diggle patches up a bullet wound on Lawton despite seeing his brother's name tattooed as a victim on his body. As they radio for help, Cray radios in saying he was staging the entire hostage situation to try and inflate his poll numbers for a potential Presidential campaign.

Oliver confronts Ray about their secret identities, but Ray dooesn't buy that Oliver is in control of what he really is. Oliver cautions Ray that he doesn't know what Starling City is up against, but Ray says he does. At the Arrow Cave, Oliver tells Felicity that Ray is stubborn and unstable. Felicity says Oliver wants Ray to be dead but Oliver says he doesn't want her to be with someone just like him. A signal comes in ofan impeding attack at the power plant, but when they arrive, no one is there but Ray Palmer in his A.T.O.M. suit. He tries to apprehend Arrow and Arsenal, whose arrows are useless against the suit, but Oliver gets the upper hand and disables the suit with a well-placed arrowhead. Drawing on Ray, Oliver says he is not the killer he thinks he is and tells Ray to trust Felicity and use her as a true partner.

Lyla and John discover that the hospital is rigged with explosives and they lament their decision to partake in the mission. Deadshot says they will make it out and promises they will get back to their daughter while Cupid continues to pine for the new man in her heart, Lawton. The Senator apologizes to the hostages as the Squad enters the room and opens fire. Cray threatens to detonate the bombs and die a martyr but before he can, Lawton takes out the mercenaries and the Squad get the hostages out. As they get out, Lawton says he cannot get out alive and wants them to all get to safety. As the bomb counts down, Lawton looks at a photo of his wife and daughter. At that moment, the building explodes.

At Palmer's office, Felicity walks in and asks how he is doing. Ego and body bruised, Ray apologizes for not believing Felicity and says he still wants her to be his partner. Back home, the Diggles hear a news report blaming Lawton for the terrorist attack. Lyla says Waller blocked the truth and something needs to change. Diggle tells her he is leaving Team Arrow and Lyla reveals she resigned from A.R.G.U.S. as neither of them wants to be away from their daughter. At the Arrow Cave, Felicity tells Oliver that Ray has informed the Mayor the Arrow is not a threat. Diggle shows up and they drink to Lawton's memory.

As Palmer tells the Mayor he now thinks the Arrow is innocent, Captain Lance challenges that thought and Laurel argues back. As they go back and forth, an arrow shoots through the window, killing the Mayor. As everyone scrambles to safety, we see the shooter is Maseo and he takes aim at Felicity, unleashing an arrow as the screen cuts to black.

Flashbacks: Returning from war, we see Floyd Lawton return to his wife and daughter, a child that doesn't remember him. Later, Lawton tries to make food for his daughter and drinks while losing his temper. His wife asks what happened to him and pleads for him to get help. Lawton creams at her and says she doesn't understand and pulls a gun on his wife. In tears, she pleads for him to stop. Ashamed at what he has done, Floyd runs when his wife calls 911. In jail, Lawton is approached by a woman who offers to pay him for his skills on behalf of H.I.V.E.. Lawton originally turns her down but when she informs him he will never see his wife and daughter again, Lawton agrees to the new job.: to kill Andrew Diggle.

Review: At last, Arrow is getting back to form! While it may be a bit of a stretch to truly call this the return of the Suicide Squad when we only get to see Deadshot and new team member Cupid in action, it still is a nice story that offers the origin on how Floyd Lawton became the assassin we met in season one. Their mission and the way it ended was a nice cap on Lawton's arc on the series and I wouldn't count him out for a potential return in future episodes. The long awaited showdown between Oliver and Ray Palmer in their superhero guises was short but sweet and powered by a stronger bond over their mutual love for Felicity. The murders R'as Al Ghul has been undertaking through Starling City has started giving Team Arrow their first serious threat since Deathstroke last year. If this had been where the show headed from the outset, season three may have been more consistent than it has been, but I will take this as a solid entry in the better second half of this run.

Final Verdict:

Next on ARROW: "Public Enemy" airs April 1st: During an attack on the mayor’s office, Ray is critically injured. Felicity is pleasantly surprised when her mother, Donna Smoak, shows up at the hospital to offer her support. With the SCPD out in full force looking for the assailant, Oliver and his team work hard to stay one step ahead of the police to find the man responsible. However, things come to a head when Ra's al Ghul kidnaps Captain Lance.