User blog comment:Gcheung28/Arrow: Fan Brain - Birds of Prey/@comment-74.133.77.195-20140330054646

Watching "Birds of Prey," I could surely see Dinah [Laurel] undergo her crucible. As much as I realize not everybody was impressed with this episode, I felt this was one of the strong ones in the season. Dinah finally proved she had the will to stand her ground and take on the challenge. The scene where she blackmailed Spencer into giving her her old job back definitely surprised me. In fact, it crazily entertained me because it reminded me of the STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan scene in which Admiral Kirk told Lieutenant Saavik about how he beat the Kobayashi Maru. Just like Kirk, Dinah resorted to underhanded means to accomplish her goal. After watching the episode, I remember thinking, "Someone should give that woman a commendation for original thinking." However, a more important note is that seeing some darkness in Dinah shows just how human she is like everyone else. Looking ahead, I am super excited to see more of her development in future episodes.

This episode seems to focus on more than just Dinah because it also deals with Sara's moral code and how she is different from Oliver. That was one of the key highlights. I must admit to feeling somewhat surprised that Dinah did not recognize her sister's voice when she almost strangled Huntress. It is as if Sara deepened her voice enough that she would not be recognized.

In the scene where Lance called Green Arrow, Oliver's phone rang at that very moment. I wonder if from that point on, Lance once again has suspicions that Oliver Queen is the Emerald Archer. Given the characters who already know Oliver's secret identity, I would not be surprised if Lance is one of the next ones to learn it.

This episode ostensibly concludes the Huntress's story. Interestingly, some of the main ideas of the story were what I wanted. I especially hoped to see Huntress deal with the reality of her father's death, whether it was by her hand or not. Sadly, she learned the hard way that her father's death does not make her feel better. With both her father and fiancé now dead, there is a void in her, or sense of emptiness. It is truly heartbreaking she wasted her potential on her vendetta instead of trying to find a new purpose with Oliver and Team Arrow. Unless something believably drastic happens in the future, her character will never be a heroine in the show.

Roy Harper is back in action at last. If he does not want to be called Speedy, Oliver should at least call him Arsenal. Red Arrow is too early, since he is still learning to use the bow and arrow. Understandably, he is also still learning to control his new strength. When he got bumped by the jerk at the bar, he almost completely crushed the guy's shoulder. On a tangent, at least the Vulcan nerve pinch is nonlethal.

Felicity did not necessarily get as much attention in this episode as she did in "Time of Death." However, telling a story like this involving multiple characters and numerous branching arcs is always daunting. While I do not think the episode is perfect, it was still decent. These were not all the highlights necessarily, but they were some key points I noted.