Recap: 'Arrow' episode 503, 'A Matter of Trust'

Let's begin with a recap of Arrow episode 503 – A Matter of Trust. Team Arrow follows the Green Arrow's roof-top investigation into Stardust, a new drug hitting the streets of Star City.  His 'interrogation' of a drug dealer reveals the maker – Derek Sampson – but not the where, an answer Wild Dog says he can get if Oliver lets up on his leash, which he does not. Oliver trusts his team, a quartet now with the addition of Rory (a/k/a Ragman), with his identity but not enough to let them work the streets. Wild Dog slips away on his own, Evelyn Sharp by his side for support, to shut down the drug plant but not before inadvertently dumping Sampson into a vat of Stardust, seemingly to his death. However, in true comic book form, the chemical bath empowers Sampson with super strength and an inability to feel pain. Sampson decides to remake his whole squad in his image by replicating the accident but is thwarted by Green Arrow and his merry men – working together after another cajoling from Felicity. Meanwhile a savvy reporter gets the scoop on Quentin Lance's appointment as deputy mayor. When Thea works to get the story retracted, the reporter takes advantage of Thea's political naivete to embarrass the Mayor's office even more. Diggle, in prison for the frame job from last episode, hallucinates that Deadshot shares his cell. This reinforces his guilt for killing his brother Andy last season and leads Diggle to accept his incarcerated fate, much to the chagrin of wife Lyla who runs to Oliver to plan a prison break.

THE GOOD –

When Oliver has shot his arrows this season, I get the sense that the producers have made a concentrated effort to highlight their coolness. We see arrows in flight, piercing flesh, wrapping around their target. We know Oliver's tough, can take a licking (nasty bruise on that arm, bruh, but I appreciated the realism); it's nice to see the other reason why Green Arrow is a popular character getting its fair share of screen time.

Speaking of taking a licking, the resurrection of Sampson is another bright spot. A hallmark of Marvel's Netflix series, the hallway scene has become synonymous with showcasing the 'bad-assery' of the show's protagonist (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage). Arrow flips the script and gives the antagonist his due as veiny Derek Sampson (Mirakuru? Venom?) wipes the walls down with Green Arrow's butt. It made sense too. Sampson showed off his skills when he beat the mask off Wild Dog earlier in the episode; its only right that Sampson 2.0 would make an unprepared Oliver run away with his quiver between his legs.

Team Arrow's climactic battle with Derek Sampson and his cronies is very well done. The camera is energetic yet steady so the action is allowed to shine. The sweep from Wild Dog's two-gun entrance to Evelyn's bounding thrusts is spectacular. Ragman deserves a more dramatic reveal but the timing works. Curtis' premiere as Mister Terrific was long awaited, cool and perfectly in character; he's still the really tall geek playing his position. He's not ready for the fisticuffs so they keep him away from the fisticuffs. Well played. I think the producers knew they did work with this scene; the punctuating explosion bathe Oliver and his team in self-congratulatory fireworks. I ain't even mad at them for that.

And Mister Terrific's mask is pretty cool. Note to the producers – NEVER explain how it works. Curtis is a genius; he built it, we trust it.

Michael Rowe's portrayal of Deadshot is so on the nose, Will Smith should just hand over the cinematic role and go do Bad Boys 3: This One's for Martin.

I am so glad that Felicity confronts Rory with her role in the destruction of his home town Havenrock. I was afraid that this plot thread would unspool across the whole season, in complete contradiction to everything the character has learned and espoused for years (even if she needed Curtis to remind her). I appreciated Rory's response even more but we'll get to that in a bit.

I knocked Thea for making Quentin the deputy mayor, therefore I have to give the show props for acknowledging the stupidity of that move by having it called out in the press. Thea messed up last week and doubled down on it this week. Hopefully lesson learned.

THE BAD –

Oliver supports and endorses Quentin's appointment as Deputy Mayor. What, doubling down is not good enough for you Queens; THIRD time's the charm? I can only hope this leads to more scrutiny from the press and perhaps new district attorney Adrian Chase (nice debut, Josh Segarra).

Did you notice that there was no mention of the Bratva flashbacks in my recap of the episode? That's because the theme of the episode – trusting your team – is well executed in the present; the past is redundant. It's literally playing Whack-a-Mole with theme, beating it to death. If only they would take the bats to the flashbacks themselves instead.

Mister Terrific's slickback – oomph! Sorry, bruh; clipper time.

THE UGLY –

When Felicity tells Rory about Havenrock, he listens. He says nothing as her words meet his ears and his eyes betray his shock over her revelation. He turns and he leaves. I believe that Rory's silence was an acting choice by Joe Dinicol; a wise acting choice. I say it was his choice because Arrow has never shied away from telling the audience what a character is thinking or feeling or doing - out loud. Curtis gets caught up in the moment of Oliver rallying the team and excitedly screams "suit up!" The glances from the team show their astonishment and actor Echo Kellum's mortified eyes fill in the blanks. There's no need for any more dialogue. Drop the pen and call "scene." Team Arrow is learning to trust one another; time for Team Arrow: Behind The Lights to start trusting the actors.

OVERALL –

Episode 503 A Matter of Trust – solid B.