Arrow (TV Series) Public Enemy (2015) User Reviews

Yet another great episode let down with final 10 seconds

[jasluvthegreat · 10/10 · 2 April 2015]

Yes, you read that correct. Normally known, and famous, for hiking your interest in the final moments of the episode, this one fails to deliver that show stopper punch. But on a whole, it's an electric 42 minutes of entertainment, and sort of better than any previous episode after mid season.

The episode takes off with flying colors, just like any arrow episode does. The recap links it to the story line very well and hooks you up. It is in the very first five minutes of this exhilarating show that you get the episode's first major eye opener. Not a jaw dropper, but an eye opener. Then your adrenaline experiences a sky fall and you feel normal for the next few minutes.

The flashback of Oliver's 'I know what you did last summer' typo past in this episode is a brilliant one. After a long time I enjoyed a glimpse of Oliver's past tbh. It is intriguing, captivating and most importantly it makes full sense. More loose ends are tied.

But the episode breaks the roof suddenly out of nowhere at exactly two different scenarios. First one appears somewhere between 10-20 minute mark and will make your eyes forget to blink but will force your heart to race. Unlike any other trouble Team Arrow has fallen in, this one takes the cake. And you haven't even fully absorbed it when the second major turnover of the episode occurs. AND IT IS JAW DROPPING, EYE OPENING, EAR SHATTERING AND HEART BURSTING. Totally out of the blue sort of thing. And if you don't mutter "What the F##k" then, well you got issues.

I told myself many times while watching that this is truly a remarkable arrow episode. And although the final 10-20 seconds of the episode fall short in comparison to level of awesomeness the entire episode slams at you, yet it successfully delivers a gem of entertainment and leaves you wondering what will happen next!? Especially after how The FLash's recent episodes have been( yes they have been EPIC), this episode of arrow- 'The Public Enemy', is no less than EPIC too.

Action packed, brilliantly acted, romance-lite, character driven episode which brings back the show's greatest moments in a season highlight.

[DarthTARDIS · 10/10 · 1 April 2015]

Probably the best episode of this season. (Review contains spoilers.)

I know a few people have been disappointed with this season of Arrow. I've thoroughly enjoyed it, personally, even if it has been weaker than the previous two, but "Public Enemy" just highlights what this season has been missing and brings it to the fore. Foremost, Ra's is now a very real threat who follows through with his promises, and the consequences are severe.

Oliver's identity coming to the fore changes the show dramatically, and probably in a way which will be for the best and introduce an entirely new dynamic, moving one step closer to the Green Arrow at the end of the tunnel. The performances throughout the episode were all at the top of the game. After several episodes of finding Felicity to be irritating, the return of Mama Smoak proved actually to be a great thing, introducing comic relief into a high stakes, very tense episode. The interaction between the two was excellent. Felicity's interaction with Ray and the introduction of shrinking technology, the prelude to the Atom that's certainly coming, was also excellent. While Ray's character has been met with some hatred this season, in tonight's episode he had no company thieving, no vendetta against Oliver- he was a very likable and funny character to the point I don't know how one could DISLIKE him.

On a similar note, perhaps what made this episode so good was it downplayed the romance and upped the story and action. Romance is crucial to any superhero show, but forcing "Olicity" rather than allowing its natural occurrence and making Felicity the lead rather than Oliver has seen some of the season's weaker moments. This put Oliver back in charge of his loving team, who all were at the top of their game, from Emily Bett, to David Ramsey, to Colton Haynes. The action scenes, particularly the manhunt, were excellent.

The scene between Paul Blackthorne and Stephen Amell three seasons in the making was a perfect pay off and brilliantly done by both of them. The cliffhanger brings Roy to the fore in a way his character never has been, and his sidelining is what makes it so brilliant- it's the sidekick who swoops in and saves the day, and we realise that Roy has had so much to offer and so much respect for Oliver all along, and I can't wait to see more interaction between them and more room for Roy's character in the next episode.

The only downside is an agonizing week long wait, but that's the last one until the finale- top episode.

Follow Me Until It's Over

[ThomasDrufke · 9/10 · 2 April 2015]

My favorite episodes of Arrow have always been the ones that focus on characters interacting with characters in a more intimate and personal way. That's why season 2 was so great. They focused on the Slade-Oliver conflict without going over the top with epic scale of any sort. Public Enemy was a great example of an Arrow episode that had one main goal and the show-runners executed it to perfection. We knew from last week that Captain Lance was officially out to get the Arrow for his supposed crimes on the city. It's really hard to argue with Lance's motives because of how much destruction and death the Emerald Archer has brought to the city. So it was just heartbreaking to watch this relationship go to the gutter after how much the two have gone through the past few seasons.

Of course we didn't know that Lance would find out about Oliver's identity this week. Though it seemed like an obvious fit before watching an episode entitled Public Enemy with the cops going after the Arrow. I thought it was pretty much guaranteed that by the end of the show Lance and Oliver would shake hands in agreement that the city needed him. Not only was I wrong, but there were plenty of other surprises along the way as well. This week saw the return of Celina Jade, although this time she played Shado's twin sister 'Mei'. I will say it was nice to see the actress back in the show but I don't know how necessary her inclusion was other than to further the character arc of "you don't know how powerful the truth can be". I did think the flashbacks were better than they have been in the past month or so but I just feel like they are delaying the Yamashiro storyline to the finale.

This week's ATOM subplot gave us a little bit of a break from the depressing nature of the rest of the episode. Brandon Routh has brought so much joy and charm to the series and has become a good compliment to Felicity. It also seems as though we may finally get the real ATOM powers with this new symbiote type thing he has in his blood. Felicity's mother had a random appearance this week but I enjoyed her presence as much as I did the first time around. Her personality may be different than Felicity's but I can see where she gets her quirkiness. Even with all that going on I would like to think that Felicity was definitely needed back on Team Arrow. Especially during the escape from the cops scene.

Paul Blackthorne had probably his best performance this week with the incredible amount of range he displayed. Whether it was the disgusted "I knew it" look on his face when Ras told him who Arrow was or the last scene in the truck with Oliver. That was one of the best scenes of the entire show with Quentin telling Oliver exactly what he needed to hear. I was surprised Oliver turned himself in without a plan but I also thought Ras would somehow break him out and save him if he still really wants him to become his heir. Speaking of his heir, Nyssa made a brief appearance. I don't know if it was just that I never noticed it or just how she looked this week but wow Katrina Law was stunning.

Roy took all of us by storm in revealing himself to the cops as the 'true' Arrow. That was a big moment for his character and although I don't necessarily believe that the cops would once again let Oliver go. Especially because I thought by turning himself in, Oliver signed documents to let the rest of his crew go without any consequences. Overall a great episode even if the logic doesn't quite add up.

+Blackthorne's performance

+Intense drama & chase sequence

+ATOM's powers

+Lance vs Queen scenes

+Roy steps up

-Some logic issues

9.0/10

Do it like this all the time!

[yvonneshusband · 8/10 · 9 April 2015]

A strong central story, with subplots that hang off the central narrative and flashbacks that contribute to the main plot. This episode is such a contrast to the last one that they could almost be from different shows! Ra's takes his plan to have Oliver succeed him to it's logical extreme; to drive Oliver out of Star City altogether by revealing his secret to Lance, who duly takes the bait hook, line and sinker in his desire to punish the man whom he believes is responsible for the death of one of his daughters, and for leading his other one into the life of a vigilante. His monologue to Oliver in the police van does bear some truth to it though, particularly when viewed from a lawman's perspective. One has to feel sorry for Ray Palmer though, not only does he have to wear that ridiculous suit for his hero escapades, but he takes an arrow for Felicity, then risks death at her hands from his nanotech medical kit only for her to baulk at his declaration of love for her. And as for Felicity! How dare this harlot look down on her mother for the way she dresses when she's bouncing from one hero's bed to another! Nyssa is already feeling protective of Laurel, as we see her step in to keep her out of jail (and welcome back, Miss Law), the plot is thickening nicely there. Roy has been looking to redeem himself all season, so his throwing himself under the bus for Oliver isn't totally unexpected. I'm not too sure he'll be able to keep his story straight enough for it to bring about Oliver's release, and Ra's is still waiting in the shadows anyway. Maybe Oliver has a red phone tucked away somewhere in the back of the Arrow-cave, if he does, maybe it's time he used it!

Public Enemy

[SpideyVerse23 · 9/10 · 20 January 2023]

This was a brilliant, character-driven and action packed episode and exactly what we expect from Arrow.

After the ending of the previous episode, Ray gets shot with an Arrow, so Quentin launches a full manhunt to catch the members of Team Arrow, mainly the Arrow himself. Quentin starts acting out of his anger at Arrow for hiding the truth about the death of Sara from him and we get many twists in this storyline, including a long overdue moment involving Lance. The action sequences were really well done, and the scenes with Lance were really well acted.

We also had a little fun side plot with Ray and Felicity, with Felicity's mom providing some much needed laughs.

The ending was an excellent twist, very well done, but the damage is already done at this point. Ra's has succeeded in destroying the Arrow's reputation in the city and left Oliver little choice in his actions.