Arrow continues to be the best live-action television adaptation of Batman—with one or two minor quibbles this week.
My assistant DA is a junkie!
Title: “Blind Spot”
Cast and Crew
Director: Glen Winter
Writers: Wendy Mericle and Beth Schwartz
Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
Katie Cassidy as Dinah “Laurel” Lance
Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
David Ramsay as John “Dig” Diggle
Alex Kingston as Dinah Lance
Colton Haynes as Roy Harper
Bex Taylor-Klaus as Sin
Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance
Dylan Neal as Anthony Ivo
Willa Holland as Thea Queen
Caity Lotz as Sara Lance
Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen
Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood
Jesse Hutch as Daily
Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson
Full cast and crew may be found here.
Premise
At Laurel’s request, the Oliver and his associates investigates Sebastian Blood. The investigation gets hampered by Slade’s manipulations and Laurel’s drug problems. Meanwhile, Roy and his own support team turn vigilante.
In the past, on the island, meanwhile, Oliver and Sarah make a decision.
High Point
This episode features some excellent direction, camerawork, and settings (whether sets or locations). From the noir opening shot to the movement during Ollie’s talk with Roy, we had a subtle but darkly beautiful visual feast. Strong direction, combined with strong production values, bring Arrow closer– in look, at least– to the level of the prestige shows.
Low Point
I liked Roy’s foray into vigilantism as a concept, and I look forward to its long-term consequences. But how wrong was the “catch the slasher” plot? Let me count the ways.
1. A successful prostitute-obsessed slasher (who is, apparently, also a lawyer) does not find 2. an overly-well dressed, unfamiliar prostitute suspicious (Sin’s appearance screams police plant, even if that’s not, strictly speaking, what she was) and 3. he picks her up first time out (before she’s had to turn away other clients, thus making herself even more conspicuous) so that 4. Roy can somehow follow and kick the crap out of him.
Really?
The Scores:
Originality: 2/6
Effects: 6/6
Story: 5/6 The slasher-bait plot made me roll my eyes, as did the swift dropping of charges against Laurel. Overall, however, we have better plotting than last week, and we’re clearly heading for a major confrontation.
Acting: 5/6 Arrow takes place in a stylized world, and we should accept that the acting and writing will be stylized as well. The acting, like the writing, does not consistently hit the balance between realistic and appropriately stylized, and comes off as, in places, as television and cheesy.
I liked Katie Cassidy this week; she played the addict without resorting to histrionics.
Emotional Response: 5/6
Production: 6/6
Overall: 5/6
In total, “Blind Spot” receives 34/42
Lingering Questions
Should Ollie dress so much like the Arrow when he’s in his civilian identity?
The low point does strain credibility, true. But it is not strictly impossible that that could have happened. I suspect they did it for narrative expediency to avoid having the situation become boring as it develops over multiple episodes, or to avoid a jarring time jump.
I suspect the charges were dropped be cause a corrupt cop was involved in the situation. There’s also the possibility that either Blood or Oliver or both pulled a string or two. We know there’s corruption in Starling so it’s not terribly surprising. Could also be that a certain villain has some involvement in that outcome. One should note that there were consequences to the drug use, however. I can’t imagine getting fired from the DA’s office looks good on a resume. It could also be that people in the know want to give her a second chance given the hell she has been through recently. Most likely, though, it’s just a narrative expediency.
the swift dropping of charges against Laurel
She’s an ADA and her dad is a cop, what’s unrealistic about it?
The charge drop made sense given that she never actually admitted they were hers, and presumably a corrupt cop finding the drugs makes the case a wee bit shaky. So they know they were hers because of other factors, but they can’t actually prove in court that she took them given the circumstances.
The speed with which the would-be vigilantes encountered the villain, now that was a bit ridiculous.
I was also a bit surprised that Oliver immediately dismissed the idea of Blood being bad just because of Laurel’s issues. There were plenty of other fishy things going on that made it more than just a drug-addled conspiracy theory.
Oh, I think the charges would have been dropped, and lost is quite correct– Laurel’s troubles aren’t nearly over. I just found that the dropping of those occurred dizzyingly fast. The justice system is not speedy, and tends to be more than a little concerned with appearances.
Still, a strong episode overall.
I forgot one more high point for me: Slade/Deathstroke’s costume. I prefer the masks they had on the island, but overall I thought it looked great.
While I’m appreciative that for once they had a security guard who was competent at his job, I do wonder why they felt the need to break in and get those records in the first place when Laurel had legitimate access to them and could’ve just walked in.
I’m seriously confused why no one else suspects something is off with Sebastian Blood…..
Well, Rob Ford still has a higher-than-you’d-expect approval rating….
What kind of crack is that?