Arrow season 5, episode 3, “A Matter of Trust,” saw Oliver learning to trust his team, both as mayor and as the Green Arrow. Professional wrestler Cody Rhodes also guest starred.
Trust continues to be a theme in this season of Arrow, as trust is a two-way street among Oliver’s new recruits while Oliver proves his trust in Thea and her decisions in the mayor’s office. Plus, Felicity shatters Rory’s trust in her when she reveals that she caused the destruction of Havenrock. Diggle has completely lost trust in himself. And in the flashbacks, Oliver has to come to trust the Bratva.
In terms of Team Arrow, Wild Dog and Artemis go out in search of a dangerous drug supplier (played by Stephen Amell’s on-screen rival, pro wrestler Cody Rhodes). Of courses, they do this after Oliver tells them not to. And when they find the set of Breaking Bad, the two vigilantes-in-training start a fight.
Our drug dealer, Derek Sampson, pulls a Joker and falls into a vat of his drug, Stardust (named for Rhodes’ wrestling alter ego). He appears to be dead, though the effect actually only mimics death. Instead, he survives and can no longer feel pain.
Obviously Sampson thinks this turn of events is freaking awesome. He wants to get the rest of his criminal buddies to go through the same experience so they can rise up against Tobias Church. An entire gang of criminals plus unfeeling Sampson is too much for even the Green Arrow, so he brings his new team into the field.
I would just like to take a moment to appreciate Curtis in his full Mr. Terrific costume, complete with the T on his face and the Fair Play jacket. The show gives a shout out to the comics’ original Mr. Terrific, Terry Sloane, calling him Curtis’ favorite pro wrestler (in an episode guest starring a pro wrestler) which is a clever way to introduce that nickname.
The team takes down the criminals, and Green Arrow takes down Sampson by cutting his tendons; just because Sampson can’t feel them being cut doesn’t mean they’re not being damaged. We even get a slow-mo heroes walking in front of an explosion moment. As a full show of his faith in his new team after the mission, Oliver brings them from the abandoned H.I.V.E. compound they’ve been using to the Arrow Cave. They are officially a team.
So, while Oliver brings a new group into his life, he must also stand up for Thea, who is getting media backlash for hiring Quentin Lance, a disgraced cop and alcoholic, as deputy mayor. Thea is prepared to resign, but Oliver won’t accept it. In fact, he stands up in front of the media to support Quentin — and the rest of his team — wholeheartedly.
A small side plot of the episode is also Curtis encouraging Felicity to tell Rory (Ragman) the truth about her involvement in Havenrock’s destruction since she can barely look at Rory. Curtis is sure Rory will realize it’s not her fault — the blame lies with Damien Darhk for launching the missiles in the first place — so Felicity does. Rory looks at her in betrayal and silently leaves, so we’ll have to wait to see his reaction once he’s cooled down a bit and processed what he’s learned.
And sticking with Oliver, we learned the source of his back scars in this week’s flashbacks, as Oliver had to trust the other Bratva members not to kill him with blades; they sliced him up instead. He also learned that the men who were killed after the bell exercise were hardly innocents, meaning there is more to the Bratva than meets the eye. Trust the mob, Oliver.
Meanwhile, Diggle is dealing with his own guilt for killing his brother. Lyla visits him in military prison, where he’s being held for the murder of the young soldier in the last episode. After their visit is cut short, Diggle is returned to his cell where Floyd Lawton is also staying.
Wait, what? Isn’t Lawton dead? We thought he died in an explosion to pave the way for the Suicide Squad movie — but there was no body. And we all know the rules of TV deaths. I also noted in my review of Arrow: Oliver Queen’s Dossier that on Lawton’s entry, his death was listed as unconfirmed.
Lawton was always a favorite character of mine, so I was thrilled to see him. Anyway, he and Diggle have a terse conversation where Diggle confesses that Andy was alive and he killed him. Lawton sees the irony in Diggle blaming him for Andy’s death for all those years only for that hatred to be turned inward.
Diggle, who has been Oliver’s moral compass for years, now can’t trust his own compass. He believes he has become something worth hating. And because of that, he won’t fight the charges against him. Even if he’s not to blame for the soldier’s death, he is to blame for Andy’s death and deserves punishment. Or so he believes.
Oh, and Lawton was just a figment of Diggle’s imagination, which was a big disappointment for me. Then again, just because he wasn’t actually in a cell with Diggle doesn’t mean he’s not still alive. Crazier things have happened on this show, after all.
The contrast between Diggle’s loss of trust in himself with Oliver’s gain of trust in others is powerful. They’re both going in opposite directions from where we usually see them. And now Oliver is going to have to become Diggle’s anchor and bring him out of his own darkness, just as Diggle helped Oliver.
But isn’t that what friends are for?
Watch a promo for the next episode
