Arrow, Episode 15 – Dodger
After last week’s action packed episode based on the island, I thought this week’s Arrow was a nice change of pace. While they had a case, chasing the Dodger (the ever amazing James Callis – Battlestar Galactica, Eureka), a lot of the meat of this episode was the development of characters’ relationships, romantically and otherwise.
Oliver learns quite quickly that Felicity is willing to overcome her apprehension of his alter-ego and stand up to him, and I thought it was interesting to see his determination to bring her back into the fray when she walks out on him. Having her around is going to help Oliver develop his inter-personal skills, which are severely lacking since his return. She’s going to be his anchor to humanity and I love how she doesn’t take any of his crap. Her willingness to put herself in the midst of the action to stop the Dodger’s run impresses both Oliver and Diggle, and they display brother-like protective tendencies towards her when she is targeted by the thief.
Photo courtesy of CWTV
At Felicity’s insistence, Oliver asks Detective McKenna Hall out and we’re treated to a bumbling, socially inept Oliver struggling to find the confidence he had before the island. Stephen Amell does a great job of showing the damage to Oliver when McKenna brings up his time on the island and the fact that his date ends soon after forces him to realise how much he has changed. As the episode comes to a close and Oliver tells the Dodger he isn’t Robin Hood we get more insight into the guilt Oliver feels for his actions on the island – having to make the impossible choice between trusting the obviously terrified man in Yao Fei’s cave and returning to Slade, the man who has saved his own life. Oliver finally opens up to McKenna about the feelings of inadequacy his five years in seclusion has forced on him, but now that she’s helping Detective Lance hunt down the Arrow I think we could be in for a lot more comedy and not a little tension surrounding their relationship!
Photo courtesy of CWTV
This episode also gives us our first glimpse of Roy Harper, Arrow’s sidekick. Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf) puts in a great performance, convincing Laurel and Thea he’s just a hard-done-by kid struggling to make ends meet. I have to say his performance didn’t fool me but it is nice to see Thea focused and willing to put herself into uncomfortable situations to come to the aid of someone she thinks needs it. Within 2 minutes of his introduction he treats us to an impressive Parkour display as he eludes Laurel and Thea, and I think his addition to the show is going to make for some action-packed sequences.
Photo courtesy of CWTV
There was a lot of humour surrounding Oliver and Diggle in this episode, and it was delivered so perfectly by both Stephen Amell and David Ramsey. There’s a great chemistry between them and Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity, and I think her involvement in their vigilante mission is going to serve well to develop the characters and bring some light comic relief to compliment the action packed drama we’ve come to expect.
Arrow airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on CWTV and 7/6c on CTV
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