A Matter of Trust

Arrow really let me down last week, so whether it was my low expectations because of last week or the actual episode itself, I really dug tonight's entry. I accepted the new team for what they were and prepared myself for a bad episode, but what I got, was far from bad.

I would still prefer Oliver to either do the vigilante business alone, or if he absolutely needs a team, get the old crew back. But the team was surprisingly effective this week in their limited screen time. Rick Gonzalez seemed to hold his own with Stephen Amell in the standoff scene, although there's clearly still some work to be done with his character. And heck, I didn't even mind seeing Curtis' ridiculous Mr. Terrific cover out in the field.

But I think the more important take I had from seeing the team interact this week was that it seems like they are having fun with each other filming. If they don't take the costumes or the quick training process too seriously, and poke fun at it, I'm okay with that. Let's face it, Curtis is right, shouldn't the people who constructed the Arrow cave know about Oliver's secret? Shouldn't everyone realize how ridiculous Wild Dog's mask is? Props to the writers though, I laughed when Oliver called it cool, perhaps a reference to his turn as Casey Jones last summer.

This week had a lot of spinning parts, including the anticipated appearance of Cody Rhodes from WWE. He didn't have a ton of dialogue, but I enjoyed Rhodes' presence and fight sequences with the Green Arrow. Oliver saying "goodbye" to Sampson's tendons? Absolutely brilliant.

Thea had a big mishap when it got out that Quentin had a relapse right before she hired him as deputy mayor. I'm glad she's not having the easiest of times doing her job, it's only realistic. But I also liked that Oliver took the heat for all of her faults, after all, he hasn't really done a good job at being at his obligations as mayor in the first place.

The other dangling plot line came from Diggle this week as he was stuck in a prison for a crime he didn't commit. He's one of the most troubled characters on the show after all that happened in season 4, and I was pleased that he felt this prison trip was atoning for a bit of what he did. Plus, the appearance by Michael Rowe as Deadshot made those scenes much more fluid and interesting than normal.

As for the flashbacks and Felicity's side arc, I was a bit indifferent. I want to spend a bit more time each episode in the flashbacks because I don't feel like we have gotten enough material to really sink our teeth in, but I'm liking what I see (and I appreciated the link with the present). But there was no reason to have Felicity outright admit that she "moved" the bomb to Havenrock. I understand this was something from season 4 that needed to be addressed, but the fact that they actually wrote in the script for her to admit to redirecting it herself and it not be "randomly assigned" to Havenrock was a mistake. It's just so weird that Arrow would even have a story arc that involves someone placing a nuke on a town in the first place, let alone Felicity (someone who were supposed to root for). So that was awkward. But to me, this was an overall big step forward from last week.

+The team was alright

+Fights with Cody Rhodes

+Michael Rowe as Deadshot!

+Thea/Ollie

-Felicity/Havenrock stuff

8.4/10

After "The Recruits" failed to establish a viable plot point, "A Matter of Trust" will make you actually like some members of the team. While campy at times and generic, the standout action and chemistry between each character is very fun and crime boss Derek Sampson (Cody Runnels) doesn't miss a beat.

"A Matter of Trust" was by no means a bad episode, in fact there were several things that I really liked about, these predominately being the return of a familiar face and the intertextuality of Cody Rhodes appearing as a dealer of "stardust". However, some of Arrow's tropes that have been grinding my gears as of late need to be addressed.

Arrow has always had a problem with the notion of "show, don't tell" which is a fundamental element of any visual medium. Too often does the series rely on clichéd bouts of oversharing between characters which has ultimately resulted in a weak protagonist and weaker supporting characters. Thankfully, Oliver this season has seen a degree more of pluck, however episodes like this reduce Oliver's character development back to square one. It seems that an overarching theme within the show has been about Oliver's trust issues, however instead of allowing the character to progress, the writers seem adamant to repeat a weekly cycle of 1) Oliver is wrong about something, 2) Felicity tells Oliver he's wrong, 3) ___ event occurs, 4) Oliver realizes he's wrong and tells the audience about it. After seasons this cycle has gotten repetitive and predictable, and it would be nice to see the character every once in a while make a resolution and stick with it, or figure out something on his own for once. Instead of always telling the audience whats going on, the writers and directors need to have faith in the audience's ability to perceive an action or situation and figure out its meaning. Another aspect of "show, don't tell" applies to the supporting characters and their credibility as actual people. For example, we're repeatedly told that Curtis Holt was an ex-Olympian who we now have to accept as transitioning to a vigilante along with the team, however through his portrayal as a clumsy IT guy, its difficult for the audience to understand his capability to even be a vigilante or why he would even be driven to take up the mantle of a hero in the first place.

Secondly, I'm getting really tired of characters (and the writers) making poor, illogical decisions. Without spoiling anything, Diggle makes a completely clichéd and illogical decision during this episode, which was hard as an audience member to buy. Also, after the writers have portrayed Quentin Lance as a hypocritical alcoholic with a tendency to majorly screw up, it makes zero sense for him to be promoted into the mayors office. Frankly, I wouldn't trust Oliver to look after my city after making that call.

All up:

+ Cody Rhodes / Stardust appearance (though he was underused)

+ Return of a familiar face

+ Development between Wild Dog and Ollie

• Thea's arc / Quentin's promotion

• Felicity + Havenbrook drama

• Diggle's decision

7.8/10