‘Arrow’ 1.13 Episode Recap And Review: Betrayal

Arrow takes a page from X-files‘ book and Trusts No One!

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Adam Monroe Cyrus Vanch, who is evidently one bad dude, is released from prison on a technicality. He goes on to prove his eviltude to the audience by immediately killing the lawyer who failed to keep him out of prison and taking over his home. His plan is to step into the power vacuum left by the Triad and the Bertinelli families, and what better way to do that than to take out the Hood first.

Detective Lance also wants to take out the Hood, as he has from the first episode, but he no longer has the backing of his superiors to do so. There’s been no movement on the case, and the Hood’s been doing some good in the city, so Lance is being given something else to work on. Quentin is, of course, not amused and becomes even more determined to find something on the vigilante. Fortunately for him, Laurel is obliging enough to use her newly-bugged phone to contact the Hood so that they can take out Dr. Whale Vanch. Lance unsuccessfully ambushes their meet, putting Laurel in “danger” and severely ticking off everyone involved.

Meanwhile, Ollie and Digg are at odds this week. Ollie told Digg about getting Mo’s Book from Felicity, and Digg was somewhat less than trusting of Mo’s innocence in the whole matter. Digg takes it on himself to be Moira’s driver for a few days and see if he can figure out if anything’s going down. He makes a couple of wrong turns, but hits pay dirt when he’s able to record Mo’s meeting with Malcolm. Ollie’s mad, both at Digg for spying and his mother for keeping secrets.

John Gilbert Vanch steps up his plan to take out the Hood. His source inside the police department has let him know about Laurel’s bugged phone and her connection to the Hood, and so grabs some minions and heads to Laurel’s apartment. Laurel, being decidedly less damsel-ish than she has in previous episodes, manages to take out the goons, but she’s no match for Vanch’s surprise taser. He leaves the Hood’s recording arrow with a ransom message, demanding that the Hood come and get her. Quentin begs the Hood to team up to rescue her, and it ends up being the vigilante who convinces Lance to arrest Vanch, rather than kill him on the spot.

Laurel’s grateful to both Papa Lance and the Hood, but tells her father to stay away from her for a while. Of course, the Hood basically tells Laurel the same thing, saying that his being around her has put her in too much danger. From that rather heart-wrenching meeting, Ollie goes to another one, breaking through the window of Mo’s office to tell her that she as “failed this city.”

Arrow seems to be cranking out themed episodes more often than not, lately. In case you missed this week’s theme, Digg conveniently summed it up with a pithy remark about the dangers of blind trust. Ollie’s trust in Moira, and earlier in Yao-Fei, Laurel’s trust in her father, and Tommy’s trust in Laurel were all seriously challenged.

I really love it when Arrow goes for the jugular from a character development standpoint. Yes, the action scenes are awesome, but Oliver having to accept the fact that his own mother is part of the great Conspiracy was a fantastic bit of drama. I honestly didn’t even notice whether or not we had Ollie’s obligatory workout scene. I desperately hope next week brings us more of the same.

Best Quotes:

Moira: “The only way to keep this family safe is for everyone in it to stop asking questions”

Ollie: “Every time you want to talk to me about something and that something is Laurel, you look like you’re about to tell me you have a terminal disease.”

Things to Ponder:

  • Bringing Mo to the fore as a bad guy would seriously change the family dynamic of Arrow. What’s going to be the outcome of this Hood Raid? Is Mo going to wiggle her way out of this, or do you think she’ll turn on Malcolm outright?
  • I didn’t recognize Cyrus Vanch from a comic book standpoint. Any links, Green Arrow fans?
  • God bless David Anders. The man has been in a ton of awesome genre shows and played some great characters, yet still the first thing I think when I see him is “SARK!”

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