@nickzambuto: I don't know if we can really chalk Olivers losses due to plot. And I'm not sure if oliver has the easiest time dealing with ghosts so far. Diggle did do better than him in the recent episode (granted considering how well Andy performed against Thea, and how Laurrel was struggling with one in the beginning of the episode and than owned a bunch in the hall way, I am guessing not all ghosts are equivalent so not sure if the ghosts are the best gauge). I dunno I just feel the writers are having Oliver lost a lot of fights to people he shouldn't...The problem isn't that he hasn't had a decent rival its a problem he hasn't won a fight unless you count the whole escape thing from Damian but I don't. And its not like these characters don't have showings to compare. Anarchy lost to Thea and double down got fended off by felicity (which was probably plot/fan service admittedly) but still. I dunno I guess its just hard to remember how impressive he is right now....I think at the least his skill increase wasn't as big as I thought it was.
I like arrow to and have really enjoyed this season but that doesn't really change the facts.
His only two detrimental losses were against Double Down and Anarky. Now obviously Double Down isn't more dangerous than Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, or Komodo, and obviously Anarky isn't more dangerous than Slade, Merlyn, or Bronze Tiger. So does this mean that, not only was Oliver's increase less than we thought, but he somehow actually became WORSE by training with Ra's al Ghul?!... Absolutely not.
Those two melee losses should not rewrite Oliver's capabilities, when he is performing better than ever in all other areas. Not when there is clear plot reasonings for those losses. Oliver NEEDED to lose those battles:
- The showcase Thea's bloodlust
- To regain trust with Diggle
This is in addition to Oliver needing to jobber. Does Taskmaster's constant jobbering lower his ultimate capabilities on the battle board? No, we accept those losses for what they are, because we know what the character is ACTUALLY capable of when all is said and done. So why does Oliver's two losses erase what he's done in the past, which includes surpassing Ra's al Ghul? Do we think that Anarky and Double Down are actually, seriously, legitimately better than the main character? Or were those losses just... clear inconsistencies, for the plot?
I could understand if Oliver was consistently and clearly being portrayed differently, like the writer's intentionally wanted to nerf his abilities. That stuff happens in fiction sometimes, when a character becomes too overpowered and it's hard to think up challenges for him. But the thing is, as I said, Oliver is performing just fine, if not better than he ever has before, those two melee losses not withstanding. So why should they alone dictate his capabilities, instead of us just calling them out for what they were? Which is plot progression, and jobbering.
The Ghosts are inconsistent as you mentioned, but what's important to remember is this: the only members of Team Arrow to not be overwhelmed by them at some point, are Diggle and Oliver. Thea and Laurel have some limit, but Diggle and Oliver are the only ones capable of fending off hordes of them like common canon fodder. That tells me something. In last night's episode, while everyone was fulfilling their specific duty inside the building, Oliver was the one outside in the main courtyard, singlehandedly fighting off dozens of HIVE soldiers for that entire time, until Ray eventually showed up, but Oliver seemed to be doing fine so it isn't like Ray rescued him.
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