History YMMV / ArrowS5E13SpectreOfTheGun

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Rory would have definitely had a worthwhile perspective on the issues discussed given his strong religious beliefs and history with mass death. Unfortunately, he left the team last episode.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Curtis commenting on how the chances that a black man like him is going to get shot are much higher than somebody else comments on the tense situation still prevalent in the United States.

* BrokenAesop: [[CaptainObvious Obviously,]] this episode is about the gun-control debate in American politics, and aside from the episode's A-plot, the topic is also directly discussed InUniverse by Curtis and Rene. Curtis represents the pro-gun control side of the argument advocating for stronger restrictions, while Rene represents the anti-gun control side. According to him, "If I had my gun, my wife would still be alive." The tone of the episode suggests pretty strongly that the audience is supposed to feel BothSidesHaveAPoint. Thing is, the flashbacks to the murder of Laura, Rene's wife show that he ''did'' have his gun that night. He had it stored high up off the ground, unloaded, in a safe, exactly how a responsible gun owner should, and it was no help to him. In fact, after he finally got his hands on the weapon, his shot caused the home invader's own gun to go off, ''killing Laura.'' So not only did Rene having a home defense weapon ''not'' keep his family safe, it was also the indirect cause of his wife's death. Despite the reaching-across-the-aisle tenor of this episode, it's almost like they went out of their way to concoct a scenario that shows keeping guns in the home is inherently unsafe and even the most responsible owners cannot help but hurt innocent people if they have access to firearms.
** The implication that Rene would have been able to save his wife if he'd only stored his gun loaded in an easier-to-access place might push this fully into FamilyUnfriendlyAesop territory.

* BrokenAesop: [[CaptainObvious Obviously,]] this episode is about the gun-control debate in American politics, and aside from the episode's A-plot, the topic is also directly discussed InUniverse by Curtis and Rene. Curtis represents the pro-gun control side of the argument advocating for stronger restrictions, while Rene represents the anti-gun control side. According to him, "If I had my gun, my wife would still be alive." The tone of the episode suggests pretty strongly that the audience is supposed to feel that BothSidesHaveAPoint. Thing is, the flashbacks to the murder of Laura, Rene's wife show that he ''did'' in fact have his gun that night. He had it stored high up off the ground, unloaded, in a safe, exactly how a responsible gun owner should, and it was no help to him. In fact, after he finally got his hands on the weapon, his shot caused the home invader's own gun to go off, ''killing Laura.'' So not only did Rene having a home defense weapon ''not'' keep his family safe, it was also the indirect cause of his wife's death. Despite the reaching-across-the-aisle tenor of this episode, it's almost like they went out of their way to concoct a scenario that shows keeping guns in the home is inherently unsafe and even the most responsible owners cannot help but hurt innocent people if they have access to firearms.

* BrokenAesop: [[CaptainObvious Obviously,]] this episode is about the gun-control debate in American politics, and aside from the episode's A-plot, the topic is also directly discussed InUniverse by Curtis and Rene. Curtis represents the pro-gun control side of the argument advocating for stronger restrictions, while Rene represents the anti-gun control side. According to him, "If I had my gun, my wife would still be alive." The tone of the episode suggests pretty strongly that the audience is supposed to feel that BothSidesHaveAPoint. Thing is, the flashbacks to murder of Laura, Rene's wife show that he ''did'' in fact have his gun that night. He had it stored high up off the ground, unloaded, in a safe, exactly how a responsible gun owner should, and it was no help to him. In fact, after he finally got his hands on the weapon, his shot caused the home invader's own gun to go off, ''killing Laura.'' So not only did Rene having a home defense weapon ''not'' keep his family safe, it was also the indirect cause of his wife's death. Despite the reaching-across-the-aisle tenor of this episode, it's almost like they went out of their way to concoct a scenario that shows keeping guns in the home is inherently unsafe and even the most responsible owners cannot help but hurt innocent people if they have access to firearms.

* BrokenAesop: [[CaptainObvious Obviously,]] this episode is about the gun-control debate in American politics, and aside from the episode's A-plot, the topic is also directly discussed InUniverse by Curtis and Rene. Curtis represents the pro-gun control side of the argument advocating for stronger restrictions, while Rene represents the anti-gun control side. According to him, "If I had my gun, my wife would still be alive." The tone of the episode suggests pretty strongly that the audience is supposed to feel that BothSidesHaveAPoint. However, the flashbacks to murder of Laura, Rene's wife show that he ''did'' in fact have his gun that night. He had it stored high up off the ground, unloaded, in a safe, exactly how a responsible gun owner should, and it was no help to him. In fact, after he finally got his hands on the weapon, his shot caused the home invader's own gun to go off, ''killing Laura.'' So not only did Rene having a home defense weapon ''not'' keep his family safe, it was also the indirect cause of his wife's death. Despite the reaching-across-the-aisle tenor of this episode, it's almost like they went out of their way to concoct a scenario that shows keeping guns in the home is inherently unsafe and even the most responsible owners cannot help but hurt innocent people if they have access to firearms.

* BrokenAesop: [[CaptainObvious Obviously,]] this episode is about the gun-control debate in American politics, and aside from the episode's A-plot, the topic is also directly discussed InUniverse by Curtis and Rene. Curtis represents the pro-gun control side of the argument advocating for stronger restrictions, while Rene represents the anti-gun control side. According to him, "If I had my gun, my wife would still be alive." The tone of the episode suggests pretty strongly that the audience is supposed to feel that BothSidesHaveAPoint. However, the flashbacks to murder of Laura, Rene's wife show that he ''did'' in fact have his gun that night. He had it stored high up off the ground, unloaded, in a safe, exactly how a responsible gun owner should, and it was no help to him. In fact, after he finally got his hands on the weapon, his shot caused the home invader's own gun to go off, ''killing Laura.'' So not only did Rene having a home defense firearm ''not'' keep his family safe, it was also the indirect cause of his wife's death. Despite the reaching-across-the-aisle tenor of this episode, it's almost like they went out of their way to deliver the message that keeping guns in the home is inherently unsafe and even the most responsible owners cannot help but hurt innocent people if they have access to firearms.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Marc Guggenheim wants to say something about gun control, and he doesn't care how much he has to cram it down your throat.

* OneSceneWonder: Vigilante, the second-most prominent recurring antagonist this season after [[BigBad Prometheus]], appears to try and finish off the {{mook}} that Green Arrow has just interrogated for information, [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment but isn't heard from again or mentioned for the remainder of the episode]]. The scene appears to exist purely to throw doubt on the badly injured Adrian a series the most obvious suspect.

* OneSceneWonder: Vigilante, the second-most prominent recurring antagonist this season after [[BigBad Prometheus]], appears to try and finish off the {{mook}} that Green Arrow has just interrogated for information, [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment but isn't heard from again or mentioned for the remainder of the episode]].

* OneSceneWonder: Vigilante, the second-most prominent recurring antagonist this season after [[BigBad Prometheus]], appears to try and finish off the {{mook}} that Green Arrow has just interrogated for information.

* BrokenBase: The episode is this. Either you thought this was a powerful episode or you thought it was boring and the theme was way too [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed]].

* BrokenBase: The episode is this. Either you thought this was a powerful episode or you thought it was boring and the theme was way too [[heavy-handed Anvilicious]].

* BrokenBase: The episode is this. Either you thought this was a powerful episode or you thought it was boring and the theme was way too [[Anvilicious heavy-handed]].