Arrow 5×13 “Spectre of the Gun” took a hard look at the issue of gun violence while exploring Rene’s backstory.
In the comics, Oliver Queen has long since been known as progressive character who isn’t afraid to tackle political issues. So if any of the Arrow-verse shows were going to tackle a political issue like gun control, Arrow makes the most sense. Not to mention, the sheer amount of gun violence that goes on in the show.
Yet for all the sense it makes for the show to tackle the subject, the episode can’t help but have that Very Special Episode feeling. For instance, Curtis has been on numerous missions with Rene using his guns but is only now expressing his concerns? It’s not that I don’t think that Curtis would be pro-gun control; it’s more just that he is quite adamant on his stance seemingly out of nowhere.
This Very Special Episode approach comes across as clunky; there has to have been a smoother ways to incorporate this debate into the story.
Clunkiness aside, I liked that the conflict of this episode was solved by Oliver as the mayor rather than the Green Arrow. As the Green Arrow, Oliver fights violence with violence. And sometimes that’s absolutely necessary. But at the same time, violence only begets violence. And isn’t that cycle of violence what gave rise to Prometheus, whether he is who he says he is or not, and Vigilante?
(Speaking of Vigilante, if he is indeed Adrian Chase, he looked pretty good for just having been shot when he confronted the Green Arrow.)
Arrow has very much been an exploration of what makes a hero. Can a hero be a killer? Or is that inherently anti-heroic? That’s something Oliver has struggled with. And in season 5, he’s dealing with more long-term consequences of his choices.
But the whole thing has been a very black and white debate: killing is bad, killing is necessary. Oliver is a hero, Oliver a monster. But the world isn’t black and white; it’s full of grays. And this debate, I think, fills in the gray area and forces Oliver to deal with that.
After all, the shooter was angry that the gun registry didn’t pass yet the person who killed his family got his guns illegally. Americans have a second amendment right to bear arms, but our rights only extend until they infringe on someone else’s rights.
For example, we have the first amendment right to free speech, but it’s illegal to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater because of the danger doing so presents. And the second amendment requires limits as well when it infringes on another person’s right to live.
This conflict is something Oliver must face as the mayor when he tries to pass a version of the gun registry in response to the shooting at city hall. Though he tries to work with the main opponent of the gun registry from the first attempt in order to find common ground, their session is interrupted when Oliver has to talk down the shooter at the hospital.
He and Rene (who, we know, is very pro-gun rights) eventually come up with guidelines for a registry that the councilwoman approves — though Oliver is going to run into an issue with her down the line on a different issue, no doubt.
Speaking of Rene, we learn why he became Wild Dog (though not why he was dishonorably discharged; hopefully that’ll come in a future flashback). It turns out his wife was a drug addict who claimed to have gone clean but was lying, and one day he came home from an outing with his daughter, Zoe, to find her drug dealer threatening her with a gun.
In the ensuing conflict, Rene gets his gun out of his safe and shoots the dealer, but when the dealer hits the ground, his gun goes off and accidentally kills Rene’s wife. Rene turned to drinking after his wife’s death and his daughter ended up in foster care. And after seeing the Green Arrow kill Damien Darhk on television, he took up the hockey mask and became a vigilante himself.
It’s a sad story, though seeing Rene as a loving father is a revelation. It brings into focus some of his sweeter actions this season, like setting up a visit for Diggle with his son on JJ’s birthday and helping Quentin prepare for his interview. Oh, and speaking of Quentin, Rene has now become his assistant in the mayor’s office.
Anyway, after learning Rene’s story, Curtis contacts a lawyer friend and wants to help Rene get custody of his daughter again.
Meanwhile, Diggle helps inspire Dinah to take some steps toward normalcy after years of working undercover and then going on a revenge vendetta. Doing normal things just seemed out of the realm for her, but Diggle — when he’s not dealing with anger management issues like knocking out a crook while looking for a lead — is quite wise. There’s a reason he’s been Oliver’s conscience, after all. And by the end of the episode, Dinah signed a lease for an apartment and applied to join SCPD.
I assume this means Dinah will be sticking around. I’m completely fine with that; I really like the character. I’m just still sad Laurel had to die to bring her in. My happy place is imagining a team with both Laurel and Dinah on it.
Watch a promo for the next episode
