In last week’s episode of Arrow, Oliver broke John out of jail and the Team Rookie attempted a rescue in his absence. Curtis took a knife in the back and Wild Dog covered the escape. Tobias Church caught him and began torturing him for information. All in all, things went badly.
Hunting
Things are not going well for the captive Rene. Church and the gang have spent the past 20 hours – I assume they rotated out – torturing him for information. Even Oliver would probably be reaching the end of his rope, but there’s some bite still left in the Wild Dog. It appears that his admiration for Green Arrow runs deep. Trying to track him down, the team has been attacking stray criminals.
Enough clues come about that they can track a van from a possible location and Green Arrow launches a one-man attack to save Rene. But instead of fighting, Church runs. Whatever torture he carried out worked as Rene accidentally gave up Oliver as the Arrow. Thankfully, John happens to know a guy. A guy with a very specific skillset. Just a shame it’s not Neeson.
The Buried Past
Although Arrow features a flashback storyline, some parts are only told in passing. Details like how his father took advantage of a rezoning commission similar to the one that Oliver wants to implement now. Or maybe that Papa Rene used to beat his son. Although these small parts are slipped into the story in passing, they form crucial backstory that makes them all the more relatable.
Speaking of ‘back in the day,’ Flashback-Oliver was just fully accepted into the Bratva. Maybe not moving up in the world, but it’s definitely progress. To celebrate, Anatoly takes him to the only pub in town. Even though he was accepted by the others, Victor – one of the leaders – is against Oliver’s initiation.
Back in the present, Church receives another threat from Prometheus. Only his new hired muscle, a kiddie-Deathstroke-wannabe called Scimitar, saves his life.
Target
Prepare yourselves for some next-level acting. After discovering that his opponent in the rezoning commission is mildly corrupt, Oliver pressures him to let the vote pass. He also attempts to negotiate a ceasefire with Susan Williams, the reporter with the vendetta, to make some progress as Mayor and earn a fresh perspective. Things are going well until he leaves for the night. Both his guards are struck down, and Oliver himself is shot to death.
Psych! It’s actually Christopher Chance – DC’s Human Target. You might remember the show based on this unpowered hero a few years ago. Chance adopts the identity of his target and takes the bullets. Wil Traval – from Jessica Jones and Once Upon A Time – was the man who was shot. At least Amell played Chance being Oliver Queen. Acting-ception! Chance reveals that he observes his target carefully to fully become them and realises that this target would sooner be a vigilante than a mayor. It also comes out that Felicity is dating Billy Malone, now working on the Anti-Crime Unit. The new boyfriend working for the old one. I think this could work out well.
The Trust
A freshly returned Diggle helps Rene undergo some meditation to remember what happened when he was held by Church. Enough is pieced together that he remembers Church is organising a criminal group called ‘The Trust.’ They are meeting at an airstrip to finalise the arrangements. Despite not feeling capable, Diggle brings Wild Dog along.
The fight at the airstrip goes about as well as can be expected. For reasons unknown to those with half a mind, Church’s men have brought along a bazooka. To a bow fight. Despite Scimitar gaining the upper hand in the fight against Artemis and Holt, Chance disguised as a goon steps in to save them. As Oliver finally defeats Church, the threat is finally revealed. Despite knocking Church around a few times, Prometheus has not yet revealed himself to Green Arrow.
Loose Ends
Mayor Queen makes an announcement that reveals his faked death resulted in the capture of Church and his associates. His cheap-housing part also went through. Despite things patching up between Oliver and Felicity, some minor problems arise. Reporter Williams has an inside man in Oliver’s staff. An old photo from Chance’s previous jobs shows Oliver in Russia when he claimed to have been on Lian Yu.
As Church is relocated to Iron Heights, his convoy is attacked by Prometheus. Despite making a bargain for his life by revealing Oliver Queen as Green Arrow, Church takes a throwing star to the neck.
Observations
“Human Target” has a similar vibe to “Flash’s Monster.” Both heavily focus on character progression but “Human Target” doesn’t divert from the ongoing plotline while doing so.
Although Church did make for a good villain while Prometheus works in the background, he was little more than a thug. With previous villains Malcolm Merlyn, Deathstroke, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Damien Darhk to compare with, Church could have only ever been a temporary foe.