Romance authors react to 'Arrow': 'Suicidal Tendencies' rocked

Paste BN and New York Times bestselling romantic thriller author Allison Brennan and bestselling historical romance writer Lavinia Kent are back to dish about Arrow!

AB: Yes! Suicidal Tendencies rocked. This season is proving to be epic. The last two episodes in particular are leading Oliver toward the inevitable finale against Ra's al Ghul. After Oliver was defeated on the mountain in Nanda Parbat (The Climb), he has risen to be stronger — in both actions and emotions. There are so many things I loved about this episode I don't know where to start!

Two simultaneous stories were wound beautifully together, completely separate stories but complementing each other. I'll start at the beginning: the wedding of John and Lila. Perfect. Not too much, not too little, and I loved their vows. Basically, "Do you really want to do this?" "Yes, I do." And when Diggle leaned over to Ray Palmer and whispered, about Felicity, "If you hurt her, they'll never find your body."

LK: We are in complete agreement this week. It all came together without a hitch. I was even back to loving the backstory this week.

The wedding at the beginning was a true reward for viewers. I was a little nervous that the writers would have some tragedy happen during it, but was relieved to have it all go smoothly — and beautifully. And I enjoyed the wonderful humor of Ray performing the service when the minister couldn't make it, and Ray says, "I am a minister. It's a long story." Perfect. Ray's first chance to "save the day."

I also loved the moment at the wedding reception when Oliver is standing with Laurel and Felicity, who are in similar dresses. It was a true fan moment, letting everyone have their own little dream. Oliver's smiling satisfaction with Felicity's happiness, while at the same time he can't keep his eyes off her, tugged at my heartstrings.

The wedding was a moment of lightness in the midst of the dark drama of the recent storylines. And that is not even talking about how perfect Diggle and Lila were together (I, too, loved the vows) or how good it was to see Thea and Roy just looking happy and comfortable together. Thank you, writers, for our moment of fun and joy.

Of course, all happy things must come to an end. First, when everyone receives the texts that the Arrow is killing again (more on that later) and then second, when Lila and Diggle are interrupted on the way to their honeymoon by Deadshot, "the suicide squad rides again."

AB: I have loved every Deadshot/Floyd Lawton episode. The Suicide Squad is a terrific concept, and I really enjoy bad guys who have depth and complexity like Lawton. We should not like him. He was a paid assassin. Yet ... sort of like Red Reddington on The Blacklist, there is something so compelling about Lawton that we want him to find redemption. We want him to be a hero, and in this episode we learn about his backstory because the flashbacks are his.

LK: I saw a lot of parallels between Lawton and Oliver in this episode. We can start with something as simple as Lawton's view that there are no happy endings and that love isn't for people like them (the Suicide Squad, Diggle and Lila). This is very similar to Oliver's feelings about himself and Felicity, his belief that he can't do what he does and have a happy ending.

After gathering up Lila and Diggle, the Suicide Squad (with the addition of Cupid this time) is trying to rescue a senator from terrorists. They burst in, ready to save the day, only to discover that the senator has set up the whole thing.

AB: Believe me, when the senator said, "No one was supposed to come," I hit myself. I have a similar story as a set-up to my novella Aim to Kill in the charity anthology Sweet Dreams where a candidate for governor sets up the assassination of one of his staff members for two reasons, one of which is to make himself look like the target. It's true that there is nothing original in fiction, just in the execution! And the execution of this twist was pitch perfect. By forcing the Suicide Squad to retreat and regroup, to learn that they were essentially sitting on a bomb, forced both John and Lila to address the fact that they are in a battle together and, if something bad happens, their daughter is an orphan.

This is also a turning point for Lawton, as we see in his flashback how when he first came home from war to his wife, they were so happy, but how what happened to him made him violent and unpredictable. Plus, his daughter wouldn't talk to him — she'd been a baby when he left. My heart went out to all our service men and women who have to leave their little ones behind. So we can see how he deteriorates, how he ends up in jail, and the perfect recruit for "the hive."

LK: You are so right about that turning point. This is where I see the biggest parallels with Oliver's story. The backstory this week deals with how Lawton moves from being a sniper to being an assassin. He comes home from the war to have a brief happiness with his family before being unable to handle everyday life and ending up in jail. He is given the choice to get out and become an assassin. He takes the offer. Although, it is not exact, I feel this is in many ways very similar to the choice that Oliver is being offered. It is a choice that will define who he will become and what his ethics will be. Ra's is trying to set up a situation where Oliver will feel the only choice is to be the new "Ra's."

I think one of the most touching moments was when Diggle saw his brother Andy's name tattooed on Lawton's chest (and then at the end when we find out that Andy was Lawton's first target). I am wondering when Diggle will start to wonder who hired Lawton for the hit.

I've gone back and forth on Deadshot/Lawton. I am not sure that I've seen as much good in him as you have, Allison. I've always seen him as a man who made the wrong choices, but I have to admit that when it was his turn to "save the day" (clearly my phrase of the episode) at the end of the episode by sacrificing himself to provide cover fire, I did start to come around.

AB: I wouldn't say that I see the good in him, only that I understand him and how he came to be "Deadshot." Understanding how villains are made is one reason I love thrillers and romantic suspense, so I'm always looking for the inner conflict, the backstory, the motivation. With this subplot, it was done so well. I'm hoping there's some way he comes back, but it seemed like he was still on the roof when it blew up. I can hope, though, because Arrow always finds a way to bring people back from the dead!

What I loved about the ending of this storyline is that John was willing to leave Team Arrow for his family. And that Lila resigned because ARGUS spun the story to make Floyd Lawton the bad guy and the senator who stages the whole thing paid the hostages off to keep silent. (I suspect we'll see more of him in the future!) John tried to convince Lila that she was too good at her job, and she loved it, to quit ... but she said she couldn't work for ARGUS when the senator could get away with what he did. Because she wanted her daughter to be proud of her. Lila has been in many controversial missions, but having a child re-prioritizes life for most of us. It wasn't the violence, it was the moral purpose of what she did that shifted, just a bit. Normally I'm not OK with the girl giving up everything for the guy, but in this case it worked.

LK: I felt exactly the same way. I don't like it when it's the woman who gives up her career, but here, you had Diggle making the same offer and it was so clear that Lila's job was becoming something she no longer loved and believed in.

I think it's a sign of what a great episode it was that I can reach this point of the blog, feeling finished with the story — and then have a moment of excitement as I realize we still have the main storyline to talk about.

At the end of the last episode we saw Ra's, pretending to be Oliver, kill several villains. I was curious to see how this would unfold, and the writers did not disappoint. From the moment at the beginning when everyone receives texts during the wedding reception, to the multiple "Arrows" running about and making it clear that they will continue as long as needed, to the police turning against Oliver, to the moment that Ray uses X-ray technology to discover Oliver's identity (I did want to know how he happened to choose the right Arrow), I was eagerly swept along, waiting to see what would happen next.

AB: When Ray confronted Felicity with the Arrow's identity, I was on the edge of my seat. Both were true to character — Ray standing for "truth, justice, the American way" (OK, he's not Superman, but still ... he is very rigid in his moral view, which ironically is exactly how Felicity was when she started on Team Arrow in season one — she was only going to stay until Walter was found because she didn't approve of everything Oliver did.) And Felicity telling him the truth, that there was an impostor. Ray didn't believe her, and he ends up setting Oliver up. Not for the police ... but for him in his Super Suit. (I loved that when Roy/Arsenal found out about the Super Suit, he thought it was cool. LOL.)

Oliver won the brief battle because he's adaptable and figured out the weakness in the Super Suit. And he didn't kill Ray. He explained that he isn't the killer, that there is more going on than Ray can comprehend. He told Ray that Felicity picked Ray, that Oliver wanted her to be happy. And he walked away.

LK: I was really glad that they let Ray and Felicity come to terms. I wasn't ready for it to be over yet. It was another case of the writers making me think they were going to let things drag out — and then working problems out with speed. How can you not like Ray when he understands Felicity so well, and returns to trusting her so quickly?

AB: I, personally, think that this triangle works very well. I can see Felicity with both Oliver and Ray, they are two sides of the same coin. Ray believes in all that is good and just, a little Pollyanna, but his heart is in the right place. And that's why I can't hate him. Oliver believes that there is evil and he has to understand evil to defeat it. He doesn't want// to kill, but he will// kill if there is no other alternative. I really love that even though Oliver makes mistakes, that he is sometimes defeated (like by Ra's al Ghul in The Climb),// he has learned from each defeat and has become smarter. It's that ability to learn and adapt that's going to make a difference at the end. What do you think?

LK: I love the adaptability. It's wonderful to have characters who can change while still being true to themselves. I completely believe that Oliver can wish Felicity the best, root for her happiness, and yet be wistful for the way he wishes life could be. And I believe Ray's doubting Felicity's understanding of the Arrow, thinking her emotions are swaying her but, when given the slightest bit of proof, coming to acknowledge that she is right. It was wonderful seeing Felicity being validated.

And then just as it all works out, as Ray talks to the mayor, trying to convince her that the Arrow is not a killer, an arrow flies through the window embedding itself in her chest. I knew something was going to happen, but I did not see that coming.

AB: I was so disheartened when I saw that it was Maseo who killed the mayor! I understand why, Ra's is his Master, and I think that Maseo wants Oliver as the next Ra's. And then when Felicity was in his sights ... cliffhanger! And, once again, confirming what Oliver believes, that he can't be with Felicity because it puts her in greater danger if people know that he loves her.

LK: Yes, a lot of this week was about whether happy endings are possible and what you have to give up to get them. Diggle and Lila get theirs, but they do pay a price. Ray and Felicity are happy for now. Lawton finds self-sacrifice to be his only chance for redemption, that by sending Diggle and Lila home to their daughter he can find peace with not seeing his own. And Oliver is left alone, facing a world turning against him, watching the woman he loves find happiness with another, as he faces a choice that may decide his future.

AB: I cannot WAIT until next week! Good job, Team Arrow. Good job, Arrow writers.

LK: I once again agree. I can't wait. I can't wait. I have that delightful, awful feeling in the pit of my stomach as I wait for everything to get worse and worse, before it can get better.

(And P.S. Thank you also for the return of the shirtless training scene. It's definitely not why I watch, but I have to confess to my enjoyment. And it interests me that Oliver is practicing with a sword — a sign of things to come? The finale fight with Ra's?)

What do you all think? Deadshot? Diggle? Oliver/Felicity/Ray triangle? The city turning against the Arrow? Let's chat!

Bonus: Allison's publisher is running a sweepstakes to give away signed copies of Notorious, the first novel in the Maxine Revere series. Book two, Compulsion, arrives April 7. You can enter the contest and find out more about the series here. Good luck!

Allison Brennan is a Paste BN and New York Times bestselling author of romantic thrillers. Lavinia Klein is a bestselling author of sexy historical romances. They both watch Arrow with their sons, Allison on the West Coast and Lavinia on the East Coast. And now, they enjoy recapping their favorite show together. Find out more about Allison and Lavinia and their books at www.allisonbrennan.com and www.laviniakent.com.