Arrow Review: An Innocent Man

Have I been watching Arrow with all the intensity of the rest of the world? Nope. Somehow the more excited everyone is about a show, the higher my expectations. I’ve decided to overcome my personal barriers and judge the show based on its merits. What a concept!

“An Innocent Man” had some moments that turned my head. Up to now, Oliver Queen has been operating solo. After getting his bodyguard shot and blowing his cover, he was given the unique opportunity to offer an olive branch to John Diggle by way of an opportunity too good to pass up. To join the Arrow to right the wrongs done by Oliver’s family and to Diggle’s family in their own way. If the police and government won’t made a difference, then they’ll take matters into their own hands.

Diggle has seen what Oliver can do as Arrow. He misses being on the side of good and making a difference. Will he join Oliver in his quest to restore morality to Starling City?

Laurel was almost swayed to the side of good this week. Despite the many warnings of her father that vigilantism isn’t justice and must be stopped at all costs, Laurel was confused about things in Starling City and the justice system in general. I don’t know what she saw in his eyes at the prison that she mistook for lack of regret. If she had any clue how close he came to starving on the island because he didn’t want to kill a bird even to eat, she would have seen him differently.

Laurel’s hesitation lead her father to make a shocking discovery. He saw Oliver Queen entering the prison. Will his arrest truly out him as Arrow? I’m betting it’s too early for confirmation, and they’ll be chasing leads for a while to come. Might John Diggle don the costume while Oliver is retained to throw off the scent? In any event, Detective Lance will do everything in his power to keep his beloved daughter away from Oliver Queen and that will cause the smile we saw on his face to be rather fleeting.

Finally, the other big reveal was  due to Walter’s innate distrust of Moira. I don’t know how she thought just flinging the $2.6 million amount out in casual conversation would appease her husband as a done deal into the search for missing funds, but Steele is no pushover. One thing is certain, he had no idea what he would find in the warehouse. Now that he knows Moira had the wrecked ship in her possession for years, what will he make of it?

Episode four was what I needed. An envelope pusher. It tipped the scales away from comic book fodder and upped the stakes enough that not only want to tune in, I have to.