Unlike other shows like Daredevil or Agents of Shield, this potentially just a throwaway filler episode was turned, by the BRILLIANT & INGENIOUS Actors, Creative Teams, Writers, Cameramen, etc into one of the Greatest Episodes of TV that will ever be made. Which is admittedly not something new nor will it ever be new, for ARROW.
This episode goes into some VERY Dark territories & it just PROVES to those people who were doubting before, that no, OFCOURSE ARROW IS NOT BATMAN, &, OLIVER QUEEN IS NOT BRUCE WAYNE. ARROW could & did do so many BRILLIANT & BREATHTAKING THINGS & MADE THE GREATEST TV SHOW OF ALL TIME (THE ONLY COMPETITOR BEING THE FLASH) and so SO many things that Batman could NEVER Do. This episode didnt make Oliver do something weird or "a little bad". It straight up made him seem like a demon to one person, and for a single faint fleeting moment, to the first-time viewers as well. Honestly the BRILLIANTLY GENIUS & PERFECTLY EXECUTED Moral Dilemmas & Philosophies used & explored in this episode & in ARROW & The Flash (2014-) just propel them to much higher standards of ART as a whole than they already were!
Anyway, this episode also shows that ARROW is NOT just a rip-off robin hood or some idiotic idea like that. Even the comic book version of GREEN ARROW is not a rip-off at all but there are some faint similarities. ARROW however, in the pursuit of Originality & Brilliant Creativity AND ITS PERFECT EXECUTION, goes with a different approach that does PERFECT WONDERS TO THIS ALREADY PERFECT SHOW!
The philosophies exchanged & used in the episode were brilliant & a beauty to behold but it was done so subtly and beautifully that you were able to understand it AND at the same time, FULLY EXPERIENCE THE BRILLIANT WRITING, ACTING, CINEMATOGRAPHY, ETC OF THIS PERFECT EPISODE AS WELL AS ITS BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN & PORTRAYED VILLIAN.
As always, to even grasp at it's perfection, the ONLY thing you can do is WATCH IT! TRUST ME, YOU WILL LOVE EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF IT!