Arrow 4.18 “Eleven-Fifty-Nine”

Of the four shows that make up DC’s television universe, Arrow is perhaps the easiest to take for granted. It’s the oldest series and has been the weakest link this season. Also, it suffered from a third season that almost sent it off the rails for good, and did lose it some fans. But the show is the foundation on which this television universe is built and it is fitting that it pulled the WTH!? moment to end all WTH!? moments for the 2015-2016 Season in its latest episode. This is the one that no fan is going to be able to walk away from without feeling the impact. But I will get to that in a moment.

“Eleven-Fifty-Nine” centers around Malcolm Merlyn’s efforts to break Damian Darhk (Neal McDonough) out of prison and reunite him with the totem that is his source of power. At the heart of this is Diggle’s brother, Andy (Eugene Byrd) who may either be the lynchpin needed to stop Merlyn or the means by which Darhk’s plan to escape will come together. John believes he is the first, Oliver thinks he is the latter.

Meanwhile, Laurel gets an offer of a lifetime by the newly-elected mayor, Ruvé Adams (Janet Kidder) to be Star City’s new D.A., a position she is willing to take because she hopes it will get her inside the inner circle of Darhk and his wife and get her intel she could never get as the Black Canary. As Darhk makes his move and initiates the prison break, Laurel decides to suit up as the Black Canary one last time.

Team Arrow arrives at the prison and finds that Darhk has his totem, minus a piece of it that had been hidden to keep it incomplete. When Andy shows up, though, he delivers the missing piece to Darhk and reveals the sickening truth that he was Darhk’s inside man the whole time. Now back at full strength, Darhk reveals that he knows who the Green Arrow is, as well as the other members of Team Arrow.

And then it happens. The WTH!? moment I mentioned before. Knowing that Captain Lance has betrayed him, Darhk makes good on his promise to go after his daughter and he stabs Laurel with one of Oliver’s own arrows.  And with that move, the Black Canary sings no more and I predict that Arrow will never be the same and that is a good thing.

Like I said, this season has been the weakest link in the DC television universe, but this might be the game changer (and kick in the ass) the show has needed. Killing off a beloved character like Laurel, one so integral to the Green Arrow mythos, is a bold move. And it is the one thing that is sure to bring things to a head as the show winds down its current season.

For certain, Laurel’s death will have an impact on the rest of Team Arrow, especially for Oliver and Diggle. First of all, Laurel confessed her love for Oliver on her death bed. That has got to resonate with him and drive him to bring down Darhk once and for all. As for Diggle, he is the one who trusted Andy and let him get what Darhk needed, which allowed him to kill Laurel. Remorse and guilt are powerful motivators for people. I’ll be curious to see what the writers do with it here.  While I am sorry to see Katie Cassidy go, the death of her character may not have been in vain. For certain it is the spark that will save Star City, and maybe, just maybe, Arrow itself.

Because Arrow usually just bunts, but this time it swung for the fence and got a homer, I’m giving this installment 4.5 Stars.