Arrow "Betrayal": Blind Trust

You know, it was about time Arrow dealt with the Moria plot line as it has been hanging in the balance for a bit now. We as an audience knew about her other activities, but Oliver didn't and at the end of Trust But Verify, he found out about the book. Betrayal didn't only hit on the Queens troubles as it looked at Laurel and her father's troubles as well as Laurel and Tommy's troubles. To sum it up, Oliver and Laurel both have things they are keeping secret and are lying to their loved ones. I am also glad that Arrow did not wait to use that bug that Quentin placed in the phone and dealt with it right away. I think in a way, Arrow has decided what it's principal cast is and seems to bring out it's best stories when they are involved. In addition, Arrow is always out to prove that their characters are human, and it is best shown with Oliver in his adventures throughout the series.

So the scene opens with dangerous criminal Cyrus Vanch is being let out of prison (who really knows why?). He soon heads back to his lawyer's and murders him for not doing a good enough job of keeping Cyrus out of jail. Not to mention the lawyer's house. Elsewhere, Diggle confronts Oliver about the book that Felicity gave Oliver, and that it could be connected to Walter's disappearance (we haven't forgotten you Walter!). In addition to implying that Moira had something to do with with, but Oliver denies it. So Oliver confronts his mother about the book, and Moira tells Oliver that it belonged to his father (LIES) and it was a list of people who owed him money. Moria finishes by burning the book and telling Oliver that it's dangerous to keep asking questions. I wonder if that was a threat or warning to Oliver? On the other side of the city, Laurel gets word of Cyrus Vanch's release from prison and knowing the DA can't do anything about it, she turns to the hood. Lying to Tommy, Laurel meets up with the hood who gives her a recording of Cyrus Vanch's plans, but the meeting is cut short when Quentin shows up. Meanwhile, Diggle does some investigation of his own into Moira.

Once again, Betrayal was a big stepping stone for Oliver as we saw him change and accept the possibility that his mother might be involved in all this. In addition we see Oliver's beginning of his training as he is being trained by Slade Wilson. We all thought it would be Yao Fei training him, but Arrow threw us a curve ball with that and introduced us to the man who trains Oliver to "survive". DC fans might notice Slade from the comics, as I recognize him (sadly) from Teen Titans. So extra points for me on knowing at least one DC character. I also liked how Betrayal showed Oliver's loyalty to his family and giving his mother the benefit of the doubt. Despite lying to his family for months, Oliver wanted to believe that his mother wasn't involved with this and that she wasn't lying to him. After everything that has been said and done, Oliver wants to trust his family. This is where having Diggle around helps since he can see the bigger picture and does his own little investigation into the matter. Don't worry Oliver, Diggle got your back.

Now there were a few technicalities within Betrayal that just irk me. First, I don't think I really understood why Cyrus Vanch was let out of prison or even why he was there. All we were told that he was a crime lord and Laurel's firm put him there. Next is how easily Diggle got in to be Moria's driver, and where exactly the other driver went. It was also weird how easily Moria accepted Diggle as her driver and not notice his lurking about. Then again, she probably doesn't know that Diggle knows.

It was just a few weeks ago that Oliver was showing Diggle his friend's true colours, but now it's Diggle's turn to show Oliver what Moria has been up to. It is good to see that after the island that Oliver still retains some innocence about him. Also who knew that Diggle could be smooth like that? If you saw Betrayal, you would know what I'm talking about. So next week we will see how Betrayal's cliffhanger pays off. It looks like it's gonna be interesting.

What did you think of the flashbacks this week? Did you like ninja Diggle?