Arrow Recap: “Pilot”

If you are looking for a superhero with an edge, Arrow definitely hits the mark! Similar to Christian Bale’s portrayal of Batman, Stephen Amell delivers an aggressively convincing performance as an antihero with a serious chip on his shoulder. CW fans will recognize Amell from his past appearances on The Vampire Diaries and 90210. When he isn’t breaking bones as Arrow, he is breaking hearts as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy with a reputation for partying and womanizing. Oliver’s homecoming to Starling City after having been presumed dead certainly causes a stir – and he doesn’t waste any time leaping into action.

In the opening scene of the season premiere, we witness Oliver Queen’s rescue after being shipwrecked on an island for the past five years. Oliver narrates, “For five years, I’ve had only one thought, one goal: survive…survive and one day return home.” Oliver comes home to find that his mother Moira has remarried and his younger sister Thea has picked up a few of his old habits – namely clubs, drinking, and drugs. Thea, nicknamed “Speedy” by Oliver, is portrayed by Willa Holland, also a familiar face to the CW audience from her roles on Gossip Girl and The OC. Oliver’s father took his own life during the shipwreck to give Oliver a better chance to survive, but not before confessing several of his misdeeds – and revealing a list of Starling City’s villains.

When Oliver and his best friend Tommy Merlyn are abducted by a group of masked men, we get a glimpse of his superhero skills. Arrow is clearly of the belief that “the end justifies the means” as he ruthlessly disposes of his captors. While being questioned by detectives, Oliver claims a man in a green hood was responsible for their rescue. It appears that Tommy suspects Oliver’s secret, but he is keeping it to himself…at least for now. Meanwhile, Tommy has a secret of his own. He is involved with Oliver’s former girlfriend, Dinah “Laurel” Lance. Laurel is not too happy to see Oliver – after all, his affair with her sister Sarah resulted in Sarah’s death in the shipwreck. 

Laurel is now an attorney working for Legal Aid and is trying to win a mass lawsuit against Adam Hunt, a businessman who is responsible for stealing money from several of Starling City’s citizens. Laurel gets some help from Arrow when he infiltrates Adam Hunt’s office, evading police and overcoming Hunt’s henchman, to steal millions of dollars from Hunt’s bank account. The money mysteriously ends up in the accounts of the citizens Laurel is representing in the lawsuit against Hunt. As for Laurel’s relationship with Oliver, she reaches out to him, but he tells her to stay away, because he will only hurt her again.

Oliver’s goal as Arrow is to bring justice to the people of Starling City by using the information and names provided to him by his father before his death. What he doesn’t realize is that even the people closest to him may not be trustworthy. It is revealed that Oliver’s mother’s Moira was actually responsible for his abduction in order to find out what information Oliver’s father shared with him. Moira also hires a bodyguard, John Diggle, to keep an eye on Oliver. At this point, Oliver manages to easily escape Diggle’s supervision to participate in his Arrow activities, but it is unclear if Diggle will turn out to be an ally or an enemy. As he continues his quest for vengeance, Arrow will also have to stay one step ahead of Detective Lance, who has a grudge against Oliver because he holds him responsible for his daughter Sarah’s death.

In the next episode of Arrow, we will find out that Oliver isn’t the only superhero in town. As fans of the Green Arrow story already know, Dinah “Laurel” Lance is the secret identity of the Black Canary – and it looks like the Canary will make an appearance in the second episode of Arrow!

Arrow can be seen on the CW Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.