In a Laurel-centric episode, we get to see her expand her outings as the new Canary and learn an important lesson in regards to vigilantism: It ain’t easy.

Midnight City gave us an episode of superhero TV that we don’t really ever get to see very much, and that’s a new superhero really sort of sucking at their job. The impact is lessened, due to the huge contribution Ollie’s flashbacks have given us over the past few years, but it’s still an important one to see. Quite a few shows have stressed how difficult it is being a hero, but once that suit goes on, everything’s gravy. We got to see Laurel’s arm slashed, her eating shit on top of a van, and just all around sort of letting the bad guys get away. But then there was that pretty sweet move where she jumped out of a window onto a rope ladder and flew away in a helicopter. I rather liked that.

Her trouble adapting to the actual physicality only raises another concern I had about Roy’s training. I get that he had pretty specialized training from Oliver for months, and even if his excuse of years on the street were to back that up, the parkour he exhibited on last week’s Left Behind came from none of that training. So Roy’s transition from non-hero to hero, while fun to watch, is just another example of how once that mask goes on, a hero is good to go.

But all that aside, watching Laurel come out of that swirling pit of addiction last year (which just awful to watch; not because I felt for her, but it was just bad TV), to friend/ally to Oliver/Arrow, to her training with Ted Grant, and now finally to her assuming the role she was always destined to have has been one of my favorite parts of this year. She’s no longer the person just waiting for someone to break into her apartment, no longer the person blaming everyone else for her problems. She’s taken those problems, focused on an outlet for them and realized that compared to the cesspool that is the rest of Starling City, her problem as a single person is not that great. But if she can go out and help those who can’t protect themselves, night after night, she’s found a way to stop innocents from being hurt and found meaning for herself that she never really had before, especially after the murder of her sister.

Of course, with all that awesome character motivation, as with anyone donning a persona in the midst of others who have already done it, we get to have the less-than-fun “You don’t know what you’re doing” speeches from everyone else. I’ll be honest here. I love Batman, and I hate it from him, too. So hearing it from Diggle and Roy was tiresome from the beginning, especially from a series that has excelled at turning character reaction expectations on their heads. I’m just glad it was done by the end of the episode. By the end, they’re a team. An imperfect team, but none of them have been forged by the crucible that was the Island. Just like how anyone will never quite reach the level of Bruce Wayne. His conviction borders on almost a supernatural level, as does Ollie’s in his portrayal on Arrow. And I’m not saying that Laurel can’t or won’t have that same level of conviction, or that her conviction isn’t 100%, but it just can’t match Oliver’s. Not yet. I think, for the case of a vigilante, it’s a matter of conviction growing over time, a fire that only burns hotter. Give Laurel time to master her craft, to learn how the city moves and thinks, and then she’ll be there. And, frankly, we need her to not be ready right off the bad, or else we don’t have a character arc or development. Just like any hero starting off, it’s always more interesting when they suck right off the bat.

There were other storylines in this episode, as well, including Brick making some forward momentum in taking the Glades for his own. In crime movies or shows, I’m always amazed at how police officers, attorneys, judges, or whoever always just get home and everything is safe. If I’m a bad guy, I’m following that person or just Googling their street address, and I’m taking the fight to them when they least expect it. And that’s what Brick did here by storming City Hall or the police station or wherever that pow-wow was between the mayor, Captain Lance, Ray Palmer, and the Aldermen. So far, we’ve seen Brick as both a physically capable villain and a smart one. And while we just got through with an entire season of a bad guy just like that with Slade, that presence has been missed. Only two episodes in, Brick can’t possibly replace Manu Bennet’s Slade Wilson, but he’s certainly delivering a hell of a performance as a crime boss who actually is on the street level instead of in the penthouse. Shooting that Alderman as they escaped in the van was an added punch to the gut for the fledgling duo of Arsenal/Red Arrow and Canary. Would that have happened if Oliver had been there? The scenario certainly would have played out differently, but would the outcome have been different? Tough to say.

And as much as I’ve loved the new tough, badass Thea, her bickering with Merlyn over whether or not they were going to flee the city didn’t quite grab me as I imagine it was supposed to. I’m not sure why, either. At this point, I like both of these characters. I don’t know if it’s just a matter of Merlyn lying to her, and since we’re in on the lie, 2/3 of the parties involved know the whole thing is based on a lie, but we’re still subjected to having to go along with the 1/3 who has no idea what she’s talking about, through no fault of her own. And their discussion at the end where Thea convinces Merlyn to stay and fight, when he announced his decision, “We’ll stay and fight…” I have expected him to pick it up a second later with, “…and die.” Thea can’t understand why her father is so terrified of Ra’s, and for some reason, Merlyn’s not just saying, “Because, daughter dear, he’s an immortal martial arts badass who could take on Neo without breaking a sweat.” All he’s telling her is that he’s scary, not why, a point Thea tried making, but probably not as best as she could have. But in the end, she got what she wanted, so I guess she made her point well enough.

Oh, and DJ D-bag is with the League of Assassins. So that’s a thing.

Final Thoughts:

– Loved that Thea was reading Brad Meltzer, author of DC’s Identity Crisis, a story which heavily featured Oliver Green, as well as the rest of the Justice League.

– THE LADY ON THE NEWS SAID “RED ARROW.”

– The whole time Laurel was fighting Brick at the end, I couldn’t help but think, “Gee, some of those canary cry grenades would sure come in handy.”

– There was a whole thing going on with Oliver in this episode, and all I could think was that I wish his character was absent longer, so we could spend more time with the team back home.

– So, like, really? No Lazarus Pit? All right…

@kent_graham