Arrow S06E21 Review: Tommy Returns

Arrow, Season 6, Episode 21: Docket No. 11-19-41-73

Trial episodes has never been my favourite plot point in any TV series, and especially not superhero TV series. The only trail in a superhero show that really has an excuse to exist, in my opinion, has been the Daredevil series and that's because being a lawyer is intrinsic to Matt Murdock's whole backstory. But credit where credit's due, this episode of Arrow certainly played out the trial in a more engaging fashion than the sorry excuse of a trial that ran in The Flash earlier this season. And we get the bonus point of the episode being pretty solid, too. The thing is, it's also a bit exhausting, although even if I don't particularly care for the trial, I did appreciate that we do have a bunch of plot threads that were dragged on and on ad nauseum resolved here. Rene and Oliver finally reconcile at the end of this episode, at last, whereas Evil Laurel finally gets the figurative balls to stand up against Ricardo Diaz and unleash the true power behind a sonic-screaming metahuman upon Ricardo Diaz's operation.

But clearly, the best part of this episode is the sudden appearance of Tommy Merlyn, dressed in the suit of the Green Arrow, crashing in and spinning up a story about how he faked his death at the end of season one, and has been operating as the Green Arrow and Oliver is merely his ally, keeping his secret identity a secret. Of course, while Colin Donnell returns with an amazing performance in his swagger and intense confidence, it turns out to be merely the Human Target impersonating Tommy -- and later on the Human Target impersonates the judge. As much as this is a bit of an ass-pull, what with the Human Target not having been seen for nearly two whole seasons and not necessarily being the most memorable character in the Arrowverse, it's still a pretty damn strong appearance by Colin Donnell.

There's a lot of strong moments that makes me wish the events preceding this episode earlier in the season were a bit better. For instance, Rene being ready to testify in Oliver's favour only to be forced to back away because Diaz shows up with his daughter in tow would've worked a lot better if Rene actualyl had appearances thinking or angsting about his conflict with Oliver instead of being MIA for nearly the entirety of the episodes between the Arrow Civil War and this episode. Another one would be (as badass as Colin Donnell returning is) the random inclusion of the Human Target with little to no buildup. Plus, my own ambivalence about how Black Siren and Ricardo Diaz have been handled all season isn't particularly inspiring a lot of goodwill towards this series either.

Still, taken on its own, this episode is definitely a pretty solid one, delivering a pretty reasonably interesting trial episode and ending with a couple of huge developments -- Oliver's trial being postponed due to Chance's machinations, Not-Laurel attacking Diaz (and subsequently failing and causing Diaz to be super-pissed) and we are seemingly setting up for a final showdown between a reunited Team Arrow and Ricardo Diaz. 

DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• Christopher Chance, a.k.a. the Human Target, has not been seen in the Arrow series since his debut (and prior to this, only) appearance in season 5's fifth episode, Human Target.
• The numbers in the docket that Oliver is being charged with, 11/19/41, is the date that the Green Arrow first made his debut in the comics. 
• The fact that the Arrow and the Green Arrow are initially supposed to be different people, with the latter succeeding the former, is handwaved away this episode as the civilians apparently putting two and two together and realizing the two of them are the same person.