Arrow Review: It's My Party

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Moira continued to act as normal as she could knowing Walter had been kidnapped by Malcolm in "Trust but Verify," but Thea was having a very difficult time understanding why she was so level-headed and wondered what the hell she was doing in Malcolm's company.

Oliver with a Map

Trust was definitely the major theme of the episode - and it was a painful topic for everyone involved.

When your life was in the hands of a fellow soldier in a war situation, you'd naturally expect them to be there for you when it all ended. Diggle wanted so badly to believe the list was wrong that he was willing to put his faith in his past, even for just a little while. It wasn't, and Arrow had his back, but it was a difficult lesson to learn. Digesting in a couple days what it took Oliver to learn in five years isn't an easy task to undertake.

As suspenseful as they attempt to make the scenes from the island, it's difficult to get too concerned since we know Oliver made it out, not only alive but as a man of a much higher caliber than his own family would have been able to raise. Sure, he went through hell and times were dire, but not so much that he failed to benefit from the harsh lessons.

Are the island scenes to show that difficult times really do make us stronger? It's still a tough call, as was discussed in the "Burned" Round Rable this week.

One thing is certain: they have to do something with that hair. A pretty boy like Oliver Queen would rub mud through his hair before he let it stick out like the shoddy wig they have poor Stephen Amell sporting for the island scenes. Of all the things that require suspension of disbelief, it's that wig that suggests the biggest challenge, hands down. Surely it won't last the entire five stranded years. Will it?

Moira's difficulties after her husband and son disappeared weren't the beginning of her troubles, as she admitted to Oliver that her marriage was rocky long before their boat hit the skids. Admitting to multiple affairs, she didn't cop to one with Malcolm, but given the ease with which he brushed her waist and touched her arms after kidnapping her husband, and the way in which she put up with it, I'm going to have to assume he was one of her conquests.

I can't even imagine where that revelation, when revealed (because it can't possibly stay hidden), will lead the two families.

There is so much tension between the children and parents of both the Queen family and between Tommy and Malcolm that the tiniest fracture that intertwines the group could lead to cataclysmic events. With as rotten as Robert Queen was, dare we think he could have been associated with the death of Tommy's mother? Given the way Malcolm spoke to Laurel regarding the lesson she taught Tommy about being tough by lying dead in the street, the way he caressed his son's face in the photo at the end of the hour and his persona as the Dark Archer, there is a lot more to the story between the Queens and the Merlyns.

Was Malcolm thrusting Tommy out into the cold an odd way to bring him back into the fold, and perhaps into his diabolical plan as the Dark Archer?

Tommy has been teetering on the edge of playboy and wanna-be good guy, but he deeply wants his father's approval even amid the repeated crushing blows Malcolm piles upon him. Is there going to be some sort of "Spider-Man" Green Goblin/Harry Osborn moment where the one-time best friends become the worst of enemies because of the sins of a father?

I follow nothing in the world of comics, but I saw the first "Spider-Man" franchise with James Franco as Harry Osborn, and this just feels eerily similar. Anyone? Hello?

Their entanglements also lead Thea down a dark path when she should have been celebrating on her 18th birthday. She is such a dark girl, wanting so badly to be light and happy, but finding around every corner another obstacle keeping her from normalcy. As much as she wanted that convertible, the lure of drugs after the disappointment of believing her mom was having an affair when Walter's life was in peril was too much for her. She wrecked her car, and it looks like an adult record is coming her way as a birthday gift. Yikes.

The drug she took was Vertigo, which means the introduction of Seth Gabel's character, The Count, isn't far off, as he was based on the Green Arrow comic book character Vertigo, so the drug must belong to him. After playing such a sweetheart in Fringe for the past two years, he should have a lot of fun tearing up the screen and wrecking the lives of young kids in The Glades portion of Starling City - until Arrow gets a line onto him. I can't wait to see him in action, even if Thea had to take a fall to get him here!

Toss your thoughts into the comments and theorize on what you think might happen with Tommy, the Dark Archer and the arrival of The Count. Can't wait to hear from you!

Trust but Verify Review

Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.4 / 5.0 (91 Votes)

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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Arrow Season 1 Episode 11 Quotes

I could be wrong. The list isn't.

Oliver

I thought you took that book off your father's dead body. How could he have been so chatty?

Diggle