Arrow New Episode Review: 'Midnight City' Brings Oliver's Team Together

The CW's Arrow returned with a new episode for Season 3 on Wednesday night entitled "Midnight City." Oliver Queen is still recovering after his duel with Ra's al Ghul, and the rest of his team continues to pick up the slack in Starling City. But things go terribly wrong, especially for Laurel.

Your mileage may vary on this episode depending on how you feel about Laurel suiting up as the Black Canary. If you're on board with the idea, then you probably enjoyed "Midnight City" a great deal as you watched Laurel wrestle and struggle with what it means to put on her sister's costume. But if you're one of the many fans who vocally oppose Laurel's transformation, then you likely spent much of the hour frustrated and rolling your eyes.

Team Arrow was against Laurel's decision for much of the early portion of the episode, but one by one they came around to support her. Roy and Diggle somewhat reluctantly backed her, but Felicity was the one who really threw her support behind Laurel, even after she had watched Brick kill a man right in front of her.

The scene between the two leading ladies was the most important one of the episode. Laurel worked through the complications in putting on Sara's costume. She thought becoming the Canary would bring her peace, but instead it only brought her more pain and suffering. Laurel almost had the shortest superhero career in history, but Felicity helped her realize that she needed to keep going.

And so she did, and the team rescued the city officials Brick had kidnapped. Of course, the Canary's reappearance led Captain Lance to ask questions, and Laurel had to go through some technological fakery with Felicity's help to make him think Sara is still alive. It's a messy situation that is only going to get worse, so Laurel's newfound sense of purpose is not without its drawbacks.

In turn, Felicity realized that she was integral in keeping her friends alive, and so she decided to help Ray with his A.T.O.M. suit. She admitted she was wrong when she said there is no mission without Oliver. The mission is bigger than he is; it's about all of them working together now to carry on his legacy.

The episode also showed how the team is almost utterly hopeless without Oliver. Diggle, Roy, Felicity, and even Laurel are all capable on their own, but Oliver was the catalyst that made them better than who they are and made them a functioning unit. Without him, the recipe is missing its key ingredient. Roy made a decision that got a city official killed, and Laurel got beaten numerous times. The look on Diggle's face after that disastrous mission said it all.

Meanwhile, Brick continues to wreak havoc and has gotten his wish by removing all law enforcement officials from the Glades, which have now become prime territory for the criminals of Starling City. Things look dire for Team Arrow, but their fearless leader seems to be preparing to return home just in time.

On the other side of the world, Oliver recovered thanks to help from Maseo and Tatsu. Of course, the League of Assassins quickly tracked them down, and Maseo has now faked Oliver's escape. We'll have to see how Ra's reacts to this situation, but it appears there are more elements at play here than the show is letting on.

The flashbacks showed Oliver and Maseo's confrontation with China White and their rescue of Tatsu. Maseo was prepared to deliver the real bioweapon to her just to get Tatsu back, a plan Amanda Waller recognized and stopped. Something horrible clearly happens in Hong Kong, as present-day Oliver points out that Maseo and Tatsu are on bad terms. But what could it be?

"Midnight City" is the second part of this unofficial "Life Without Oliver" trilogy. Next week should conclude this mini-arc, but how will Team Arrow take down Brick?

Notes:

- Quentin said he doesn't know what he'd do if something happened to Sara. You see what you did, Laurel?!

- Malcolm spent the episode trying to convince Thea to leave Starling City, but she threw his own lesson about not being afraid right back at him, and he decided they should stay. It seemed a bit too easy, which leads me to believe this was part of Malcolm's plan.

- The DJ is tied to Maseo and the League of Assassins. Okay, sure. At least he has something to do now other than summon lasers and drop beats at Verdant.

What did you think of "Midnight City"? Let us know in the comments section.