Recap / Arrow S 3 E 10 Left Behind

Three days after Oliver went off to fight Ra's al Ghul, Team Arrow is struggling to make do without him. Meanwhile, Laurel and the police are working to apprehend a few small-time criminals who appear to have connections to something larger.

This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

• Anger Born of Worry: Right after Felicity learns Oliver's dead, she yells at Ray for going through with the A.T.O.M. suit. It's pretty obvious she's worried that Ray will join Oliver should he actually use A.T.O.M. to fight crime.
• Artistic License – Law:
  • Criminal law has gotten a little... weird with the Arrow's team running around. The courts should dismiss any case where the suspect was brought in by a vigilante, but Starling City is willing to let that slide so long as they have actual hard proof, usually in the form of physical evidence. With no evidence, the courts have little choice but to let the suspects go.
    • The prosecutor could argue that this was a fight between two criminal gangs, and the police just arrested the suspects they found when they turned up. If they didn't catch Team Arrow in the act as well, too bad.
  • Brick threatens the goons he released that he would send the evidence back to the DEA if they don't work for him. By stealing them, he has already broken the chain of evidence and therefore all of that is worthless. Of course, it's doubtful the blackmailed thugs know this.
• Bad Boss: Brick kills Anton for killing a cop and bringing police attention just before the robbery they are planning. He does give the man a pistol and the opportunity to shoot him, though no-one has ever succeeded before.
• Back from the Dead: The episode ends with Tatsu bringing Oliver back from the dead. No, that's not metaphor or spiritual stuff, he was actually dead, and she actually brought him back.
• Badass Boast: Laurel makes a bold statement in her initial outing as Black Canary.
  Mook: Who the Hell are you?!
  Laurel: I'm the justice you can't run away from! (proceeds to beat the shit out of him)
• The Bad Guys Win: Brick and his goons succeed in looting the evidence warehouse, with many criminals being released because of lack of evidence. With a small army at his side, Brick now states his intention to conquer the Glades.
• Bait-and-Switch: Flashback!Oliver lets a Triad mook escape when he has him at arrowpoint, looking as if he's still reluctant to kill in cold blood. Turns out he slipped the GPS tracker from the Alpha onto him, so they can follow him back to where China White and Tatsu are.
• Big Entrance: Laurel shows up as Black Canary for the first time via surprising two Mooks with the Canary Cry device and beating the crap out of them.
• Book Ends: When a criminal asks Arsenal, "Who the hell are you?", he doesn't answer. When another criminal asks the same of the Black Canary, she gives the appropriate Pre Ass Kicking One Liner expected of a masked vigilante.
• Boom, Headshot!: When Brick challenges Diggle to drop him with his own gun, Diggle tries to take him out with a headshot. Brick shrugs it off but points out that Diggle is the first man he's faced who is smart enough to go for the head.
• Chronic Evidence Retention Syndrome:
  • Brick actually keeps all the evidence and case files intact and in his hideout, in order to incentivize full cooperation from his new crew, so if anyone decides to double-cross him, that person's evidence might wind up back in the law's hands.
  • The 9mm Beretta that Brick uses to kill Anton is the same one he used to "drop his first body". This becomes a literal Chekhov's Gun for "Uprising".
• Continuity Nod: This episode is the first chronological use of the zipline arrow and uses an almost exact Homage Shot of the zipline arrow from the first episode.
• Darkest Hour: With Oliver gone, Team Arrow is falling apart, allowing for Brick to build an army of criminals to take control of the Glades with. On the plus side, Oliver is alive again at the end of the episode, and Laurel is stepping up into the hero mantle as the Black Canary.
• Destroy the Evidence: Brick has the body of a mook who failed him burnt up along with their burner phones and their plans for the robbery, though enough survives for Team Arrow to work out what it is. Turns out Brick is planning to steal files from upcoming trial cases, so the criminals concerned will be released and Brick can use them as muscle to take over the Glades.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Thea knows Roy is Arsenal, so when she gets worried about Oliver, she asks him to talk to the Arrow about it. Yeah.
  • Thea is also unknowingly the main reason Oliver is missing/dead to begin with.
  • When Felicity tries to warn Ray how dangerous his vigilante idea is, he points out that the Arrow has been doing it for some time now without any problems.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Roy hits the booze after learning about Oliver's death.
• Dual Wielding: When Diggle draws a gun on Malcolm in the Arrowcave, Merlyn simply dismisses it. Diggle immediately whips out a second gun and Merlyn is a little less smug.
• Faux Affably Evil: When Thea gets worried that she hasn't heard anything from her brother, Malcolm assures her that he regards Oliver as family as well and he'll make enquires to find out what happened to him. When Malcolm tries to express his remorse to Team Arrow, they flat-out don't believe him and Felicity even accuses Malcolm of Evil Gloating beneath his façade.
• Five Stages of Grief: Felicity is clearly in stage one as the others begin to brace themselves that Oliver could really be dead. Noted by Merlyn when he gives her Ra's al Ghul's sword slaked in Oliver's blood and runs down the further reactions she'll experience in trying to keep the hope that he's alive.
• The Heart: Team Arrow is able to limp along without Oliver, but it's not until Felicity walks out that the team really does look finished.
• Legacy Character: Subverted; Diggle is wearing the green hood but can't match Oliver's skill with a bow, so in the end he ditches the Arrow costume and just fights in plainclothes with a Glock pistol.
• London Gangster: Brick. Being off his patch doesn't affect him in the least.
• Made of Iron: Brick shrugs off bullets, but his skin can be pierced by arrows. He's little more than annoyed by them, though.
• Multi-Character Title: The title refers to Oliver's friends and family who he left behind before his initial death. Likewise, Laurel is still grieving Sara's death.
• Never Found the Body: One of the main reasons Felicity refuses to believe Ollie is dead.
• One Size Fits All: Somewhat averted. While at first sight, Dig can pass for the Arrow by wearing the suit, and has previously been shown as being able to fight in it, he complains in this episode that the suit is too tight. Also averted by Laurel as Black Canary, who is shown wearing a different costume than her sister, mask and wig aside.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When an upset Felicity tries to guilt Ray out of his plans with the A.T.O.M. suit by bringing up his deceased fiancée, his usual disposition disappears and he sternly tells her never to bring up his fiancée again. Even through her grief, she knows she crossed a line and apologizes in the next scene.
• Our Hero Is Dead: Until the last moments of the episode, anyway.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Felicity's rage over Oliver's possible death actually inspires her to get right in Malcolm's face about how it's his fault.
• Refusal of the Call: Felicity, having already lost friends to vigilantism, refuses to help Ray in the end.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: This episode being a Darkest Hour episode is what finally pushes Laurel to become Black Canary.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After getting a talking-to from Roy and Dig about letting Brick get away, coupled with the reality that Oliver could really be dead, Felicity reaches the end of her rope and quits the team, calling their operation dead and turning out the lights on them. Merlyn also tells Thea they need to leave Starling and never return once he realizes they could be back in the League's crosshairs.
• Super Window Jump: Oliver's first attempt is an Epic Fail initially, even though Maseo shot the window right before he tried to go through it. After kicking the glass for a bit, he ends up entering.
• Swiss-Cheese Security: Malcolm Merlyn casually strolls into the Arrowcave twice.
  Felicity: We have got to change the locks.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Laurel starts using her sister's equipment to deal out some vigilante justice after the criminals she and Team Arrow helped bring in ever since they stopped Deathstroke are released, due to evidence being stolen by Brick. As she's seen Team Arrow lose heart after thinking their leader is dead, she's also taking up the mantle for them.
• Talking Is a Free Action: Diggle shoots Brick in the head only to have Brick laugh it off. Instead of trying to shoot him again or attack him some other way, Diggle lets Brick get in a Pre Ass Kicking One Liner before Brick attacks him.
• This Is the Part Where...: Having brought in the bloody sword that killed their leader, Malcolm tells Team Arrow that they'll now run a DNA test, then exhaust themselves thinking up conspiracy theories on how he faked everything before accepting the inevitable conclusion.
• 'Tis Only a Bullet in the Brain: Brick isn't a metahuman and doesn't appear to have any Mirakuru enhancement—he's just tough enough to shrug off anything, including bullets. In fact, he gives minions who fail him a chance to save their lives by grabbing his gun and killing him instead, such is his confidence.
• Trespassing to Talk: Malcolm, usually accompanied by a Badass Boast.
  [Diggle pulls his gun]
  Merlyn: Can you please put that away? Guns are less of a threat than an annoyance to me.
  (Diggle pulls a second gun. Merlyn puts his hands up.)
  • Thea throws a knife at the shadowy man in her apartment, only for her dad to do an Arrow Catch.
  Thea: But I could have killed you!
  Malcolm: It's cute that you think so.
• Trick Arrow: We see the first use of a zipline arrow in Hong Kong, showing that Oliver developed them while working for ARGUS.
• Tranquil Fury: Ray likes Felicity a lot, but there are some lines she cannot cross.
  Felicity: This isn't something Anna would have wanted!
  Ray: I can see that you're upset, but do not ever tell me what Anna would have wanted. That's not something you get to do.
• Weapon Tombstone: Ra's left the sword he used to kill Oliver stuck in the ground as a memorial. Malcolm brings it back to the Arrowcave as proof of Oliver's death, so they can run a DNA test on the blood.
• What the Hell, Hero?: The example in Tranquil Fury above aside, Felicity is on the receiving end of a minor one from Dig and Roy after she stops them from going after Brick because she wants to keep them safe after losing Oliver.
• You Owe Me:
  • Brick after stealing the evidence that could have been used to convict the men he wants for his criminal organisation. Of course, he lets them know he's holding onto that evidence to ensure their continuing gratitude.
  • When Flashback!Oliver comes up with a plan to save Tatsu behind Waller's back, Maseo makes it clear that he's in Oliver's debt and will repay him some day. Years later, he and Tatsu save Oliver's life after Ra's kills him.

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