We are in the homestretch of season one!!!

Seems like just yesterday we stumbled into Starling City and learned that Oliver Queen had a family and an ex-girlfriend named Laurel Lance and a best friend named Tommy Merlyn and now look where we are. There’s an entire Arrow posse that is teaming up to take down the baddies and looking fantastic while doing so. Hard to believe there’s only three episodes left until next October (I’d say September but the CW started in October this year and I imagine they’ll do the same next year), but let’s not focus on the long Arrow-less summer, rather let’s dive right in to this week’s episode, Home Invasion!

I’m going to start with Thea and Roy because there were a small side story this episode with most of the time going to Laurel and Oliver and a hired gun but I felt it necessary to lead off with this moment from Felicity. I think she just gets better each week! Now she’s going from one moment lamenting a trip to Guantanamo Bay and the next she’s reminding Oliver what she could do to him if he were to let it be known she dyes her hair. This chick is just awesome.

Okay, Roy and Thea. If I wasn’t already certain that Roy Harper was going to be THE Roy Harper, I am after this episode. He thieves a police radio so he can try and track down the vigilante, somehow Detective Lance who was completely unaware of a bug on his phone for an unknown period of time (for all we know it could still be there as they’ve never mentioned it again – annoyance) noticed this and devised a way to trap the hoodlum. Of course that leads to him telling Thea how much he feels he owes the vigilante and blah blah, he’s going to be Speedy, I imagine they’ll have both Thea and Roy find out about Oliver in the season finale.

I feel like it’s been way too long since we had a nice workout scene. This one was way too short thanks to that jackass fun ruiner Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot. Let me just say, unlike the Count from episode 19 who sadly came back as a non-issue, I’m really liking how they’ve played Deadshot through the season. Of course, at first it seemed as if they were going to make him a one shot wonder, but the story line of Diggle distancing himself from Oliver’s list to start his own is really appealing. Of course he wants to go after Deadshot and of course Oliver will help him… or will he?

This week’s bad guy was an assassin hired by another dirtbag businessman Rasmus. Enter the home invasion of “Home Invasion”. That dude was rather efficient. You’d think as a seasoned assassin he’d at least attempt to go after the 10 year old that he wants to kill, but let’s not be foolish, it’s not as if a grown man can outrun a gradeschooler. No it is much better to just go ahead and leave that loose end to be finished off later.

Speaking of really bonehead moves…

I am really glad that Laurel’s father taught her how to handle a gun. However, I’m fairly certain that he probably also told her to make sure that if you are going in with only one shell, make sure it counts. Otherwise you do this badass move to pump the shotgun only to look like an idiot when it’s empty. Thankfully Oliver swoops in to save the day, somewhat to Tommy’s chagrin. Of course this was after Tommy had a little heart to heart with the poor little orphan boy.

Look at those teary eyes! If that doesn’t make you sigh then you have a heart of stone. That was a very endearing moment. Of course Tommy is having a very emotional couple of weeks. First his father is an ass, then his best friend tells him he’s been lying/withholding truth, and now he’s having to deal with now ex-best friend being the human equivalent of Mighty Mouse and swooping in to save the day. Poor guy, I just want to give him a hug.

So now Tommy, Laurel, and the kid are at the Queen mansion. How awkward is that? Nothing like playing house in the house of your ex-boyfriend while his mother tells you how much she liked her son dating you. Yea, that’s not cool. Even less cool would be Oliver, again. Although I do concede that this was a crappy decision to make, I’d probably go after the guy who has names of everyone he’s killed tattooed on his body, but I do recognize that it would be difficult to ignore the fact that your ex-girlfriend that you still love is target by proxy of the other contract killer. Really, when you are dealing with two assassins, perhaps it’s better to just flip a coin. Either way, someone is going to get hurt.

Unfortunately this time it was Diggle, quite literally. Well Diggle was hurt and his ARGUS cohorts were more than a little hurt. Best line of the episode was Deadshot telling Diggle that the reason he wasn’t going to kill him was someone hadn’t paid him to. Foreshadowing maybe? Hmmmm. What’s really got to chap Diggle’s ass though is yes Rasmus was jailed which was Oliver’s doing but in the end his assassin went off the reservation and went after the kid anyway. Well he did until Oliver stuck a fire poker through his chest. Ouch.

So not only has Deadshot gotten away, again, but the assassin his killed anyway. I sort of can’t blame Diggle for leaving. I mean I feel badly for Oliver, but Diggle has a better leg to stand on with this one. Of course I want him to stick around but man, Oliver might have to do a bit of groveling. Diggle isn’t the only one leaving because in a move everyone saw a mile away, Tommy is leaving Laurel. So now he’s working for his father, he’s kaiboshed his friendship with Oliver, and he’s dumped Laurel. He’s either going to take a long walk off a short pier or he’s going to go into the real family business. I’m banking on the second.

The island story was short but full. We get to see more of the shaping of present day Oliver as Shado is teaching him to shoot. Oh and how to awkwardly tell a woman that there’s someone else. Awkward.

Speaking of people dumping other people, Yao Fei and I are OVER!! Fool me once and all that. How many times is he going to give up Oliver to Fyers? How many?!?!? I’m officially disbanding the Yao Fei fan club. No more Fei, no more.

Overall, I really liked this episode. Moved the plot along quite a bit and sets up quite a bit of action for the remaining three episodes. Going to have to go with a four out of five.

Like Mr. Amell said, there are no breaks until the finale so we’ll be back next week – see you then!

Just because –