ARROW - Season 7.3

REVIEW:  ARROW - SEASON 7, EP. 3: "Crossing Lines"

The Emerald Archer is still battling his way through prison life, and having to learn how the game is played behind bars, Felicity enlists the aid of Agent Watson, the woman responsible for putting Ollie away, Lila, Diggle, and Curtis run an operation to get some intel, but NO flash forward moments with William and Roy this week.

The main focus of this episode was about the extent our heroes will take in order to bring down Diaz and The Longbow Hunters...what lines are they willing to blur and actually cross.  

Ollie's stint in prison has been nooooo pleasure cruise.  Having to dirty deal with Brick to get information about Diaz, and protect not himself, but his new pal Stanley.  Ollie had completed the task last week of having the guard Brick hated removed---although Brick wanted him dead.  Brick decided that he was going to play hardball with Ollie, make him jump a few hoops, and give him a morsel of info about a man named "The Demon", who seems to be running the show behind these walls.  Brick sends Ollie on a wild goose chase through the prison in order to bump him off.  He ends up running into Bronze Tiger, and the two fight, only for Ollie to beat him down enough and hold him at knife point to get more info out of him.  Tiger tries to tell Ollie he's just like them, but Ollie says no.  Tiger says you don't know him at all.  Tiger manages to get Ollie into Brick's little "clubhouse", only to find out that Sampson and the other members of Brick's gang are in a "Fight Club" kind of gang.  Brick makes Ollie fight Sampson, and Ollie not only beats him, but breaks his shoulder in the process.  Ollie then leaps up and goes after Brick.  Brick informs him that the only way Ollie can get to this "Demon", is to get sent down to Level Two.  Ollie roughs up some guards to get sent down there.  Brick taunts him one last time, and lets him know that he'll never make it out of there.

Felicity going to Agent Watson is a bold move.  She tries to convince Watson that sometimes you have to color outside the lines in order to get justice.  Agent Watson remains true to the system and says they'll get Diaz by the book.  However, she later finds out that Diaz isn't exactly on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.  He's not a priority.  But with him looking for more Marakuru, which would infect the whole city, time is wasting on stopping him.  Felicity is willing to break into the CDC with Rene to get Diaz, since there's a shipment coming in.  Agent Watson agrees to help out, along with Dinah for support.  They pose as FBI Agents (except Watson), to get into the CDC, so Felicity and trap Diaz, and grab him.  Diaz manages to get in with the rest of the Longbow Hunters, but Felicity can't manage to lock down the doors to trap Diaz.  Dinah and Agent Watson go to make sure they can get Diaz.  Diaz is securing the vials of Marakuru as Agent Watson battles Red Dart, while Rene had his hands full with Kodiak, and the big battle was Dinah taking on Silencer once again.  Silencer manages to get the best of Dinah, and drag a shelf on her.  Rene gives chase, but Diaz and the Hunters managed to get a clean getaway.  Agent Watson pays the price as she's transferred to Washington, and away from the Diaz case.  Felicity and Watson come to an understanding.  Later on, we see Rene and Felicity talk as they head down to some lower level of a wherehouse, and there we see a captured Silencer, who gives them a warning that it's not over yet.

Diaz got his Marakuru, and injects himself with some as he continues to plot against Team Arrow.  He's unconcerned with Silencer's capture, he says she'll handle herself.

Diggle and Lila reminisce about their honeymoon, as they plan a new mission with Curtis.  They head to Zurich to secure some information from a bank that apparently has been doing some shady dealing itself.  They managed to get the intel needed and successfully return home.  Later on, however, Curtis makes it known to Dig that their info has been copied, and only him, Dig, and Lila have access to that information.  And since NEITHER of them did it, it only leaves one person---Lila.  When confronted, Lila admits to Diggle that she's tired of seeing the bad guys get away, and the system failing them.  She completely understands why Diggle did what he did with Ollie.  All Diggle wants is to be in on the action.  

This episode did a nice job of balancing all three stories and keeping things moving along.  While Agent Watson still is bent on doing things the right way, I think she finally understands why Felicity was willing to cross the line to get Diaz...and she admitted she liked it.  Also, this woman is pretty damn capable of handing herself in a fight.  While she may have been transferred, I feel it's NOT the last time we see her.  Felicity is showing more of a leadership role and improvisational skills, managing to capture Silencer without the FBI knowing.  Rene is all in on the plan to use a little vigilantism to get justice done.  One thing I can say is that we're not bogged down by Rene, Curtis, or Dinah's personal issues this season.  They're there for support for Felicity, and they're helping the story move along, as well as provide some comic relief---which has fallen on Rene a little, and Curtis A LOT.  

Diggle, Lila, and Curtis also have an interesting arc going on---as Lila is willing to seek help outside of normal channels to get information on some other form of evil going on out there, but have no idea what it is.  I kind of wonder if she's getting ready to reassemble the Suicide Squad just in case she needs the help.  The man she handed the info to...I wonder if he's The Monitor---who was the main character in DC's Crisis On Infinite Earths back in 1985?  Is she closer to becoming the Harbinger?  This is an interesting development.  Curtis, as always, provides great comic relief.

Ollie has been through the darkness before, and isn't afraid to get down and dirty when he has to.  But is he going to cost himself a chance to reunite with his family.  Brick has done well to make Ollie's life difficult.  Great fight scene with him and Sampson (Cody Rhodes is always fun to see when he guest stars on the show).  It showed how vicious Ollie can be when pushed to his limit, but refuses to kill.  His new prison friend Stanley has stuck by his side...but I have to wonder.  This was a theory thrown out to me from a friend, and he said "What if the Demon is Stanley".  It would provide an interesting Verbal Kint-kind of twist.  The man sticking close to Ollie at all time is the guy pulling the strings.  I won't be surprised to see it coming.

It's great to see all the players involved facing that dilemma of whether or not to blur the lines, cross over, and take risks to your moral compass in order to seek justice.  They have given just enough to the supporting players to help the main characters along, and give the story more depth.  A friend of mine mentioned just how tired of Diaz they were, but I had commented back that Diaz's story didn't start until late last season, and this is the middle of his story---and I feel his arc WILL end at some point.  With what's going on with Lila and the conspiracy with ARGUS there, I feel there's something bigger coming along.  Like I had mentioned in my Supergirl blog...this could be the season where they don't have just ONE "Big Bad" to fight.  There's more meat on this bone, and it's going to hopefully pay off well.

That's it for this week's worth of Arrow---feel free to comment and leave your thoughts...would love to hear 'em.

Until then:  keep your sights on the bullseye!