Arrow - 'Human Target'

"It's like looking in a mirror, only..." Actually, you know what, I think I've
officially done that line to death.

In a break from custom, and because I'm a bit behind on viewing, I'm hitting Arrow first this week.

Oliver is finally getting some traction on Star City, but runs up against a councilor unwilling to budge on zoning ordinances. Woo! That's what we're here for, folks. Superhero action and inner city development law! As the Green Arrow of course, Olly is focused on getting Wild Dog back, cue a montage of NuTeam Arrow shaking down Church's organisation, but major points off for the lack of Johnny Cash. They do manage to find and rescue him, but not before Rene has been tortured to the point of giving up Green Arrow's secret identity.

While Diggle helps Rene deal with his guilt and try to pick out anything he might have heard while Chruch thought he was going to be safely dead soon, Oliver braces for the inevitable assassination attempt on the Mayor. He cracks the recalcitrant councilor and scores digits from Thea's media nemesis, only to be gunned down on the steps of City Hall (I assume a new one, since the old one was a) destroyed and b) built on top of ancient evil,) by Scimitar, a masked assassin working for Church.

Seriously; this guy.

Now... Here we come to my big problem with this episode. Not the fact that the 'dead' Oliver is actually professional body double and getting shot loads survivor Christopher 'Human Target' Chance - that is ludicrous, but totally in keeping with the universe - but Scimitar. Introduced - briefly - defending Church from Prometheus, he then shows up, incapacitates Olly's bodyguards and shoots Olly/Church repeatedly in the chest, and is taken out at the end of the episode without us ever finding out a thing about him. Who is this masked man who looks a bit like Deathstroke? What's his whole deal? And if he's good enough to leave our series antagonist looking like a chump - seriously, he steps in to block an arrow Prometheus shoots at Church with obvious lethal intent, and Prometheus is all 'This was your last warning.' Come on, Prommie! Do you want villain decay? Because that's how you get villain decay - then how come his solution to the Mayor Queen assassination is to spray and pray at the chestal area and not notice that... I mean... Gah!

I was actually convinced that the only way this could have gone down this way was that Scimitar (only named in the credits, btw) was the friend Diggle mentioned, infiltrating Church's gang to fake the hit like that soul-stealing sorcerer dude in Buffy. I mean, the fact that Chance is alive is pure luck, since his bullet proof vest wouldn't have helped against head or limb shots, knives or the arrows that, what, 6 out of 10 assassins prefer these days?

Where was I?

Right; with the Green Arrow seemingly dealt with, Church moves to consolidate all crime in the city and beyond, but NTA shows up - Rene having recovered enough memory to give them the lead - and takes out the so-called Trust as neat as you like, even if most of the recruits spend the first minute of the fight watching Spartan and sighing dreamily. Rene reclaims his power by forcing Church to retreat and Green Arrow nabs him. Unfortunately, media nemesis is onto the Human Target substitution, and through this connection is given footage of Oliver unknowingly being rescued by Chance during his Bratva initiation.

Finally, the police convoy transporting Church is ambushed by Prometheus, and its no surprise that there are so few good cops left in Star City because damn if that's not another dozen or so dead. Church tries to buy his life with Green Arrow's secret identity, but Prometheus kills him anyway, because now he wants to look badass.

So, yeah, 'Human Target' has some issues, although bizarrely not really connected to the ludicrous concept of the Human Target himself. Scimitar is a problem, albeit one that might be lessened if he - or she; there's deffo some voice modulating going on with that helmet - turns up again with an identity and some... point. But also, without ever having met the Green Arrow, Prometheus has lost face with the audience by letting Scimitar scare him off. It's a tough gig being a season-long villain, and this does him no favours.