Deadshot Returns

Dear Wal,

I had forgotten about Floyd Lawton. I almost didn't recognize him when he showed up again in this episode of Arrow. Of course, I was foolish enough to believe he was dead. Stupid me. No one ever dies in superhero stories. Nope, instead they just get sent back in time or suspended in a super fancy Kryptonian stasis. I'm getting distracted.
Anyway, instead of being dead it turns out that arrow didn't actually pierce Floyd's skull. It just blinded him in one eye. And thanks to an artificial red prosthetic from courtesy of the Triad, Lawton is back. Still, however, Lawton can't seem to actually shoot and kill someone. If he's a good enough assassin that the Triad is calling him in to take out Merlyn, then he should be able to kill someone instantly, right? Nope. Instead, he's relying on a poison that obviously has an antidote now, thanks to Oliver. But that glowing red eye is cool, right? Much better, I think, than the weird lens he used before.

Why it's raining bullets, I don't know.

In a twist of fate, the Hood ends up saving Merlyn: the man who nearly killed him just a few episodes ago. And in the process, a new member has been added to the People-Who-Know-Who-Hood-Is-Club (PWKWH....IC!). It's not who you think. I promise. The fact that the Triad and Merlyn's people were going at it, with Hood, Tommy and the police caught in the middle, made this episode completely action packed. I had to stop and remember to breath, occasionally.
I was starting to worry a little about the main story arc, so it's reassuring to get back to Merlyn and his super secret gang of super secret people. Everything was floundering for a while there, I was worried they might pull a Smallville on us and wait until the beginning of next season for the climax for the current season. That could still happen, in fact I think it's probably more likely than the season getting a tight ending. After all, they have to keep us coming back for more. Something I will most definitely do, however the season ends.

One of the better parts of this episodes is seeing the dynamic between Malcolm and his son Tommy develop. Sure, we know Tommy hates Malcolm's guts, and we know Malcolm is the bad guy. But is he really? This episodes brings that into question in a big way, showing that maybe Malcolm's motives might be in the right place, even if his methods aren't exactly honorable. Then again, the Hood's methods aren't exactly honorable either. He's hunting down people and killing them, treading even closer to the fated line of good and evil than Batman usually does. (Since we all know Hood is basically just a Batman replacement. Why don't they just make a Batman show already?)

/endrant

P.S. As a Doc Who fan, I don't know about you but I'm having a hard time not seeing Jack Harkness in Malcolm Merlyn. I know, I know. Different characters, even if they are played by the same actor.