ARROW: Suicidal Tendencies {Recap}

Sorry this recap’s a little late – I was off seeing a pilot with Rueben.

It should be known that any wedding is doomed when your planned officiate is sent off to Africa and someone else must take their place. But maybe that won’t be true for John and Lyla as the episode opens up on their wedding with Ray as officiate (long story) before Felicity catches the bouquet.

However, that doesn’t matter when a man with arrows goes through killing eight people while the reception goes on. Team Arrow thinks that the League of Assassins is behind it as a way to get Oliver into being R’as al Ghul. Diggle wants to help, but Oliver sends him on his honeymoon just before someone from the Suicide Squad tells them that they’re not going to Fiji. They’re really not going to Fiji, because Waller needs Lyla for a mission and Diggle won’t leave without her. Deadshot and Cupid are part of their team too. Just what Diggle wanted, I’m sure.

Felicity and Oliver find out who this fake Arrow is, but one fake only brings out more and Maseo arrives to tell Oliver that when one dies two will take its place and that R’as is behind it all.

Ray figures out that Oliver is the Arrow, with some help from Felicity’s coding and Ray’s tech. Ray’s not very happy about Oliver’s position as the Arrow despite some pleading on Felicity’s part. And her feelings – that she admits to the guy who likes her. As she should do, Felicity goes to Oliver to tell him what Ray’s going to do, even if Oliver is annoyed that he hadn’t learned of his claim before. Good for Oliver, at least, that Laurel isn’t trusting Ray’s statement or testimony.

Leave it to Ray, however, to take Laurel’s advise about not going after Oliver the legal way to suggest he’ll resort of his own form of vigilante justice. So now who’s become like Oliver, Ray? Who?

Diggle’s mission is not all that it seems – the Senator who was held hostage wanted to be a hero and now that’s ruined by their arrival.

Ray wants to b a hero and it sounds far too sanctimonious and self-serving. When Felicity and Oliver talk about what Ray’s doing, Felicity and Oliver have to admit that they have a fundamental problem for their relationship: Oliver can’t be both boyfriend and hero at the same time. But then Ray has to prove his point about being better than Oliver at being a vigilante by faking a 911 call and having a fight with Oliver. It doesn’t go well for Ray but Oliver gives up on his feeling for Felicity because she’s chosen Ray over him. Ray gets to have Felicity and she doesn’t seem to mind that at all.

Deathstroke’s had all these flashback moments that lead to one conclusion: he’s the man responsible for killing Diggle’s brother. But that might not matter if he can get the evil Senator out of this situation with a ruined reputation. Deathstroke does what he needs in the moment: he stays behind so that Cupid and Lyla and Diggle can live because his own life ruined his family.

Back in Starling City, Diggle makes the decision to leave Team Arrow for Sara, but Lyla resigned from her position before she’ll let Diggle leave Team Arrow. Just as Oliver worries that the imposter Arrow will kill a civilian, Maseo kills the mayor.

Arrow airs on Wednesdays at 8 PM Eastern/ 7 PM Central on the CW.

Feature photo: Katie Yu/The CW – ©The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.