Arrow S2 E16 - 'Suicide Squad' Review


What, OJ and Charles Manson Weren't Available?
Arrow brought back a number of villains in the Arrowverse's debut of the Suicide Squad, a fun episode with plenty of heart but lacking in execution despite its best endeavours. 
Diggle once again took centre stage this week, as Amanda Waller recruited him into Task Force-X, alongside returning rogues Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel and Deadshot. I always love seeing Dig take the reigns and this week was no exception, with his relationship with Lyla being explored much more thoroughly and his complex friendship/rivalry with Deadshot becoming more amicable as we learned about Lawton's daughter. The assassin was in dire need of some humanising and 'Suicide Squad' provided this, giving the character much more depth and better dialogue to suit, which resulted in a fitting arc for the infamous sniper.
The mission itself was dull however, using familiar tropes to frame a bad guy buying bad things but posing as a good man. Gholem wasn't fleshed out nearly enough, settling as a 2D villain who was largely forgettable. The Squad themselves were fine overall, Deadshot being the highlight with Bronze Tiger providing an ocasional cool moment or line, although he was largely relegated to a support role here. Shrapnel left the show the same way he entered it - without any real emotional impact whatsoever. He was clearly just a plot device to show off Waller's fancy brain bombs. In all, the Squad played it safe with their first ever mission, opting instead to focus on Deadshot rather than the group as a whole and thus producing a sub-par plot to boot.
Back in Starling, we see Ollie flail around Starling in a desperate attempt to track down Slade. I enjoyed seeing the Bratva pop up once more, although seemingly for the last time considering Slade executed their leader much the same way Ollie 'executed' him on the Amazo! That creepy set up, with the body in the chair and videos of Shado projected on the wall, was effective in its delivery of its message - Slade is far ahead of Oliver and can predict his every move. Meanwhile, Ollie went through a mini-arc of learning to open up to Sara and those closest to him, as he gears up to take on his most challenging adversary yet.
Overall, 'Suicide Squad' is a bit of a mixed bag. The introduction of Task Force-X into the Arrowverse is much appreciated and helps expand the DC universe further, however ultimately the plot falls flat in its ambitions and is overshadowed by the shorter, but more enticing arc surrounding Oliver tracking down Slade. A fun episode sure, but hopefully the Squad's second outing will live up to the hype.

 STARRING: Deathstroke, Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel

 AWESOME MOMENTS:

  • Oliver disarming and then taking command of the Bratva was badassery at its finest
  • The flashbacks were minimal and felt a bit hollow this week, but still nice to see the first meeting of Lyla and Dig and also appreciated the cameo of Ted Gaynor
  • Nice continuity linking the sale of the prototype earthquake device with Gholem!
  • THAT HARLEY QUINN EASTER EGG THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!
  • Deathstroke leaving his mask with the arrow in the eye on the rooftop to taunt Ollie was also a cool nod to the pilot episode
  • We finally get an episode set in Markovia!
  • The reveal at the end that Oliver and Waller know each other was intriguing, as it opens up questions around when the two first met
  • We finally get Deathstroke name-dropped by Waller!!!
EASTER EGGS:
- When assembling the Suicide Squad in the prison, pay attention for a "cameo" by Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka "Harley Quinn" who offers her service as a therapist to Diggle and Lyla
- Amanda Waller said that the hydroxy-cyclosaran nerve agent was manufactured in Khandaq. Khandaq is a fictional middle-eastern country in the DC universe ruled by villain/anti-hero, Black Adam
- The 'Ostrander' suite is likely a reference to DC Comics writer John Ostrander, who worked on both the Justice League and Suicide Squad titles. Ostrander is also co-creator of Amanda Waller, leader of the Suicide Squad
- After saving him, Deadshot tells Diggle "That's two you owe me, junior." It's a reference to the line Han Solo tells Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back
- The activation code for Shrapnel's implant is "BATB-25". This is a reference to Brave and the Bold Vol 1 #25, the issue in which the original incarnation of the Suicide Squad made its debut
- Felicity tells Oliver about a robbery in progress at Fifth and Giffen. This is a homage to Keith Giffen, who co-wrote the 2001 Suicide Squad comic
- Waller mentions that the nerve agent was tested in southern Qurac. In the comics, Qurac is a small Middle Eastern country on the Persian Gulf. It serves as the home base for Quraci terrorist group the Onslaught, a frequent adversary of the Suicide Squad

RATING: 7.9/10

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