Spectre of the Gun
- Episode aired Feb 15, 2017
- TV-14
- 41m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
Following a traumatic attack on City Hall, flashbacks show how Rene became Wild Dog.Following a traumatic attack on City Hall, flashbacks show how Rene became Wild Dog.Following a traumatic attack on City Hall, flashbacks show how Rene became Wild Dog.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first of the CW/DC shows to get a parental guidance warning in front of the episode.
- GoofsThe weapon used by the shooter, was not a mass produced AR15. AR15's are not full automatic. .AR-15-style rifles are NOT "assault weapons" or "assault rifles." An assault rifle is fully automatic, a machine gun. Automatic firearms have been severely restricted from civilian ownership since 1934.
- Quotes
Oliver Queen: Prometheus' mother. We find her...
John Diggle: We find the name for this son of a bitch.
Felicity Smoak: Eh, unfortunately, the - the son of a bitch's father went dark after he met with the point head of an arrow four years ago, and mommy went off the grid.
Oliver Queen: Why would she do that?
Felicity Smoak: Probably she knows that he turned into a serial killing psychopath nut job.
- ConnectionsReferences Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968)
Featured review
Politically Charged
For the most part, I like my movies and TV shows to stay out of politically-themed stories. Now, this doesn't mean there can't be entertainment made specifically to tackle political topics. But Arrow isn't that. I've always considered Arrow to be great escapist entertainment. I can escape the daily chaos that is our current world and enjoy an hour or so of a comic-book show. I have to be clear here: I certainly can appreciate what this episode was trying to do and the conversations that it sparks, but there's a particular way to go about those conversations. I don't think this episode effectively tackled the topic of gun control.
It would be one thing if the writers wanted to give Mayor Oliver Queen something to do in his day-time job rather than at night, but there was nothing about this episode that felt natural. I mean really, why have we not seen Prometheus since the mid-season finale? 4 straight episodes without a season's central antagonist? The episode's message actually had the opposite impact on me. I felt like a message was being shoved down my throat unexpectedly.
As far as the rest of the episode goes, I really enjoyed finally seeing Rene's backstory before he became Wild Dog. It turns out he had a wife and a daughter before all of this vigilante nonsense. Rick Gonzalez has been a bright spot this season and he showed once again why he will be a welcomed regular on this show for quite some time. To me, the idea that Rene had a particular stance on gun control because his wife was murdered felt way more earned than forcing this issue into the present day plot. I would liked even more focus on Wild Dog.
There wasn't a ton else going on tonight. Dinah signed a lease for an apartment (random), Felicity told more lies involving her hacking, Thea made her not-so memorable return, and Vigilante made a pointless cameo. Overall, it wasn't executed as well as it could have been and I think found itself too obsessed with a political message that wasn't earned. I'm all good for an underlying message in TV and movies, but not one that forces conversation into a show that was never meant to be a show that covered those sorts of issues.
+Rene backstory
-Political message shoved in our face
-Where has Prometheus been?
6.3/10
It would be one thing if the writers wanted to give Mayor Oliver Queen something to do in his day-time job rather than at night, but there was nothing about this episode that felt natural. I mean really, why have we not seen Prometheus since the mid-season finale? 4 straight episodes without a season's central antagonist? The episode's message actually had the opposite impact on me. I felt like a message was being shoved down my throat unexpectedly.
As far as the rest of the episode goes, I really enjoyed finally seeing Rene's backstory before he became Wild Dog. It turns out he had a wife and a daughter before all of this vigilante nonsense. Rick Gonzalez has been a bright spot this season and he showed once again why he will be a welcomed regular on this show for quite some time. To me, the idea that Rene had a particular stance on gun control because his wife was murdered felt way more earned than forcing this issue into the present day plot. I would liked even more focus on Wild Dog.
There wasn't a ton else going on tonight. Dinah signed a lease for an apartment (random), Felicity told more lies involving her hacking, Thea made her not-so memorable return, and Vigilante made a pointless cameo. Overall, it wasn't executed as well as it could have been and I think found itself too obsessed with a political message that wasn't earned. I'm all good for an underlying message in TV and movies, but not one that forces conversation into a show that was never meant to be a show that covered those sorts of issues.
+Rene backstory
-Political message shoved in our face
-Where has Prometheus been?
6.3/10
helpful•3418
- ThomasDrufke
- Feb 15, 2017
Details
- Runtime41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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