The city-wide assault on Team Arrow was a thing of beauty. The show's production team did an absolutely incredible job of making Arrow, Arsenal and Black Canary's escape across Starling City feel like a big-budget spectacle. Thanks to the scene's scope and ambition, I was glued to my seat the entire way through, worried and uneasy about the fate of our heroes. This is how you amp up the excitement leading up to your season finale.

Of course the overall success of "Public Enemy" rests squarely on us buying's Detective Lance's sudden turnaround. It's a bit tough to swallow after all the development Quentin has undergone, but I guess the narrative just wouldn't work without his bloodlust and stubbornness. I was never really a fan of Lance being a thorn in Arrow's side in the show's debut season, but in the aftermath of Sara's murder and all the lies he's endured, I'm willing to accept this change. It definitely helps that Paul Blackthorne was certainly up to the task, as he got a number of weighty scenes to dig into this episode. Chief among them? His phenomenal final outburst at Ollie in the van where he painted a vivid picture of our hero and all the supposed "good" that he'd done. That scene singlehandedly managed to make me question my outlook on the heroes and villains of Arrow; kudos, writers, for a job well done.  



Which brings me to the episode's final twist: Roy surrendering himself while claiming to be the Arrow. Will this move actually clear Ollie's name? That would be far too convenient, but I love that the show took a series-finale-type risk and revealed our hero's identity to the public (thanks to Quentin on freakin' live TV). Whatever happens, this arc is bound to be good for Roy, a character who's been sidelined for far too long, and who needed to do something in order to gain some relevancy. 

Unfortunately, the whole subplot with Ray in the hospital and Felicity's mom derailed the episode's urgent momentum; some moments felt like they were lifted straight out of a romantic comedy! But at least we can rest assured that Felicity injecting Ray with the nano-teach will have enormous ramifications going forward. Will Mr. Palmer start exhibiting some out-of-this-world abilities soon?



Finally, while this episode's flashbacks were admittedly entertaining, I found bringing in a twin for Shado to be a really pedestrian soap-opera tactic. It felt like an excuse that merely existed to create parallels with the present day storyline (oh look, someone called the police on Ollie in both timelines!), instead of an organic development. Can we please get to the good stuff already? And by good stuff, I mean the undeniably traumatic death of Akio which Ollie will probably get blamed for.