Arrow Episode 3.17 Recap, Suicidal Tendencies

Wedding bells are in the air as Lyla and John are tying the knot, again, and everyone is in attendance, except for the priest. Luckily for everyone, Ray, who is attending as Felicity’s date, is an ordained minister and performs the ceremony. Oliver watches the happy couple dance and talks to Laurel, who teases her new trainer. She exits and Oliver speaks to Felciity where he tells her he’s happy for her with what she’s got in Ray. Right about then everyone on Team Arrow gets an alert – apparently the arrow has started killing again (as we saw at the end of last week’s episode).

Team Arrow watches a press conference with Captain Lance, Laurel, the Mayor, and Ray Palmer in which he promises to bring the Arrow to justice. Ollie reveals that Ra’s prediction is coming true, the city is starting to turn on him, even if it is by Ra’s own hand. As the team gets ready for their mission, Oliver tells Diggle and Lyla to sit this one out and head off to their honeymoon. The pair enter their limo and who should they see but Floyd Lawton. Diggle and Lyla meet with Amanda Waller at ARGUS and are told that Senator Joseph Cray (a character created by Suicide Squad maestro John Ostrander) has been taken hostage in Kaznia (a fictional country in the DC canon). Lyla tries to convince John to meet her later, but he signs up for the mission, right before learning that Cupid (from earlier this season!) is still on the team.

Oliver practices his sword moves in the Arrow Cave and despite all of her computer hacking skills, Felicity can’t turn up anything on the assailant. Roy enters with details of a shipment that will likely be attacked, so Oliver suits up to go it alone. Meanwhile, the Suicide Squad walks around Kaznia and their topic of conversation is love, which Lawton says cannot exist in their line of work. They find out what part of the hospital Senator Cray is being held in. Then we flashback, not to Oliver in Hong Kong, but the secret origin of Floyd Lawton, a soldier who returns home to a daughter (Zoe) that doesn’t recognize him.

Felicity alerts Oliver that satellite footage shows the “evil Arrow” watching the deal, which happens to be gang members stuffing drugs inside teddy bears, that old chestnut. The evil Arrow enters and takes down all of the targets, only for Oliver to pop in and tag him with an arrow. The pair have a fight, which would certainly be the cover of this episode if it were a comic book, only to have two more evil Arrows enter for a 3v1 brawl. Just as Ollie takes them down, Maseo enters, telling him the murders aren’t to prove a point but to persuade Oliver to change his mind, and poof the ninjas are gone. Floating about outside is none other than Ray Palmer in his A.T.O.M. suit. He uses some of his fancy tech to see the Arrow’s true identity, Oliver Queen.

The next morning at Palmer Tech, Ray confronts Felicity about the Arrow’s identity, citing that everything about her all makes sense now. Though she tries to convince him that it wasn’t Oliver, but an imposter, Ray isn’t having it, and switches gears to “you still love him, huh?” All of Ray’s trust with Felicity is tarnished and he says he’s going to keep his promise to the city. Back in Kaznia, the Suicide Squad approaches the hospital, and Lawton takes out some guards. We flashback once again where Lawton isn’t adjusting to regular life and lashes out at both his daughter and wife, who calls 911 after he pulls a gun on her.

In the Arrow Cave, Oliver examines the arrows that the League is using against his own, and they’re identical. Felicity enters in a frantic state and reveals that Ray knows everything and he’s going to tell the police. Like the lady said, Ray speaks with Laurel about his accusations against Oliver, which Laurel deflects with ease but Ray is still convinced he’s correct on the matter. As things bubble up in Starling, the Suicide Squad busts into the hospital and kills some terrorists, but this wasn’t the plan. To make things more interesting, Senator Cray pulls a gun and reveals that he hired the mercenaries to boost his popularity so one day he could run for president, and win. Deadshot saves Cupid by taking a bullet for her, and her affection immediately shifts to Floyd. John patches him up, despite the grim reminder that his teammate killed his brother.

Ray types at his computer when who should enter, but Oliver Queen. They have a great exchange where Ray calls him Arrow and Oliver replies, “Super Suit.” All the pieces have come together for Ray, too, who has figured out that Laurel is the Black Canary and is convinced Oliver is a crazy person, especially after all that time he spent on the island. Oliver doesn’t have much to say to Ray on the matter, other than trust Felicity. Back in Kaznia, the Suicide Squad retreats deeper into the hospital and discover the building is wired to explode, which triggers much regret in Lyla, but Lawton believes in them and thinks they’ll return safe and to their daughter. Back to Lawton in prison, we see why he thinks this, because it’s something he never did. Despite being arrested he was set free and hired by a company to kill people, his first target being Andrew Diggle (a reference to “Green Arrow: Year One” scribe Andy Diggle).

Felicity is distraught in the Arrow Cave but Oliver’s presence calms her, despite his “meeting” with Ray not going well. He begins to tear into Felicity for choosing Ray, not because he’s jealous, but because he and Ray are two sides of the same coin, Ray just doesn’t realize it yet. She deserves better than someone like that. Just then, a 911 call from the Meltzer (a reference to Green Arrow writer Brad Meltzer) which could be another evil Arrow attack. Roy and Oliver meet at the power plant but it’s empty, save for the now flying Ray Palmer. He attacks the two of them and appears to have the upper hand but Oliver hits him in the sweet spot to disable the power to his suit. He extends a hand and tells him to trust Felicity, which he accepts.

The mercenaries in Kaznia set more charges as the Senator gives his bad guy speech to the hostages. Lyla, Diggle, and Cupid bust in and take some of them out but the Senator already has the detonator in hand, and he’ll take his own life to create the legacy he wants. Just as he starts to get wise to their antics, Floyd takes out more of the mercs from a rooftop across the way and he even shoots the detonator out of Cray’s hand. As the squad gets all of the hostages out, Deadshot reveals he’s not coming with them and looks at a photo of his family as the building explodes. Lest we forget the first rule of deaths in fiction, if you don’t see it that means they’re probably not dead.

Back in Starling City, Ray works on his suit and licks his wounds, not literally, and Felicity enters to apologize. Ray counters with his own apology for not trusting her, and Felicity secures her place as his partner. Diggle and Lyle get home where we hear on the news that Floyd Lawton was framed as the leader of the terrorists and that Senator Cray managed to escape. Lyla reveals that she tried to set the record straight but Waller overruled her. The two of them have clearly had enough with playing these games and Diggle reveals he’s going to quit Team Arrow, just as Lyla reveals she resigned from ARGUS.

Felicity and Oliver have a pleasant chitchat in the Arrow Cave and she leaves with a smile on her face, possibly for the last time. Diggle enters, and though he doesn’t disclose his intentions just yet, he laments that Oliver was right about what they do and having families simultaneously. He offers a toast to Lawton and asks for an update on the imposter, who is still out there. Felicity and Ray have a meeting with the Mayor, Laurel, and Captain Lance, where he tries to convince them he was wrong. Just as things get heated, an arrow flies through the window and strikes the Mayor. We see Maseo fired the bolt and has another target, Felicity, in his sights. As the episode fades to black, we hear the arrow being released and flying through the air.

You can check out the promo for Episode 3.18 of “Arrow” in the player below. Titled “Public Enemy,” the April 1st episode is described as follows:

“During an attack on the mayor’s office, Ray (Brandon Routh) is critically injured. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is pleasantly surprised when her mother, Donna Smoak (guest star Charlotte Ross), shows up at the hospital to offer her support. With the SCPD out in full force looking for the assailant, Oliver (Stephen Amell) 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 (guest star Matt Nable) kidnaps Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne).”

Directed by Dwight Little and written by Marc Guggenheim & Wendy Mericle, “Public Enemy” is set to air April 1. “Arrow” airs Wednesdays at 8 P.M. EST on The CW.