Arrow Recap: “Trust But Verify”

Arrow Recap: “Trust But Verify
Original Air Date (CW): Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Season 1 Episode 11

by Eric Levy:

What Went Down:

As an armored car is driving down a Starling City street, a man with a grenade launcher walks in front of it, causing a distraction so that a heist can take place. After the men in the armored truck are shot, the suspects take what they need and leave.

The next day, Oliver sees the aftermath of the heist on the news and talks to Diggle about it. Diggle says he’s read about it, and that it’s the thrid truck to get hit in a month. Oliver tells Diggle that after he saw the heist on the news, he couldn’t figure out why it seemed so familiar. But Oliver then tells Diggle that he remembers in 2009 when the Marines took out a Taliban transport vehicle. Diggle tells Oliver that there is a reason the attcks seem so similar because the same swarming technique was used.

Diggle questions Oliver as to where he got that information. Oliver tells him that he was researching someone—Ted Gaynor, a bodyguard who works for Blackhawk Squad Protection Group. Diggle reveals that Gaynor was his commanding officer during his first tour in Afghanistan. Oliver reluctantly informs Diggle that Gaynor is on “the list.” This upsets Diggle, who goes on to stand up for Gaynor and tells Oliver that he doesn’t care what his book says, Gaynor isn’t a criminal. Despite his best efforts, Diggle doesn’t persuade Oliver, who tells Diggle that he is going to meet up with Gaynor that night.

In a flashback scene, Oliver is disguised as one of the men who transport prisoners on the island. While walking up to an area that has food, he is approached by another man who asks if he is new. Oliver says yes, and that he is supposed to be transporting a chinese guy who wears a green hood. The man says that he knows where he is and that he is heading that way. As Oliver hitches a ride, Edward Fryers  joins in, making Oliver very nervous.

We jump back to present time where Tommy continues to work on getting Oliver’s night club built. While going over some plans, Tommy gets a call from his father, Malcolm. Malcolm tells Tommy that he knows things have been tough between them. Tommy brings up the fact that his father cut him off financially and called him  a loser. Malcolm says that it was tough love and that it worked because Tommy now has a job. After some more heartfelt apologies, Malcolm wants Tommy and Laurel to join him for dinner so that he can get to know Laurel better.

At the Blackhawk Squad Protection Group building, “The Hood” stealthily takes out two men and looks for Gaynor, who is at a computer, taking out a flash drive. Once he finds Gaynor, “The Hood” attacks him and knocks him to the floor and tells him that they are going to talk. Here comes the twist… Diggle, with his gun drawn, tells “The Hood” to stop what he is doing. “The Hood” then shoots an arrow at the computer, causing it to explode.

Diggle looks confused and asks Gaynor if he is ok. Gaynor says yes and offers Diggle a job. Diggle asks Gaynor why “The Hood” would be after him considering he is only after, “rich schmucks.” I thought that was a pretty good line.

Gaynor tells Diggle that he knows why “The Hood” is after him. But Diggle doesn’t want to believe him.

In the Arrow Cave, Oliver asks Diggle what the hell he was thinking. Diggles says that he isn’t going to let Oliver, “William Tell” an innocent man. Oliver says that Gaynor isn’t innocent. Diggle tells Oliver that he seems to trust his book more than he trusts him. Oliver says that he trusts his father, who said that every name on “the list” has a reason for being there. Diggle tells Oliver that Gaynor got him in at Blackhawk, and that he is going to prove that Gaynor is innocent.

In another flashback scene, Oliver is now talking to Fryers. Fryers says that he doesn’t recall any new troops coming to the island. Oliver appears nervous again.

Back in Starling City, Thea and Moira are in a car, discussing the brand new dress Thea got for her 18th birthday. Their conversation is interrupted when Malcolm calls Moira. He wants to meet, Moira agrees. Thea is upset because she thought her and her mom where going to spend the day together. Moira tells her that it is for business and that it can’t wait.

Tommy and Laurel are now talking about Malcolm’s dinner proposal. Tommy thinks that his father has an agenda, and doesn’t want to mend fences. Laurel says that there is only one way to find out.

But before the dinner, Malcolm meets with Moira and tells her that there is a problem with one of her friends, Carl Ballard. Apparently he’s trying to gentify The Glades. Moira says that Carl knows that isn’t part of the plan. Malcolm tells Moira that she is going to shut him down. Moira tells Malcolm that if he wants that, then she wants something from him: proof that Walter is ok. Malcolms asks Moira if his word isn’t enough. “What’s that saying…trust but verify,” says Moira. “Words to live by,” replies Malcolm. Thea witnesses Moira and Malcolm’s encounter and doesn’t look  too happy.

Diggle and Gaynor meet at the restaurant where Diggle’s sister-in-law works. They share some laughs until a man named Paul Knox walks up to the table. After being introduced by Gayor, Knox tell Diggle that he is looking forward to working with him.

Still unhappy about what she saw earlier, Thea barges in on Oliver, who is trying to access computer information on the Blawkhawk Squad Protection Group. Oliver thinks that Thea is there to talk about her getting a new car, but that not the case as Thea tells Oliver that she thinks their mom is down and dirty with Malcolm. Oliver laughs it off. Thea says that she saw them together, and that it is happening all over again.

Oliver asks Thea what she is talking about. Thea reveals to Oliver that a couple of months before he and Robert left on the Gambit (that was their boat), Robert and Moira had been fighting a lot, and that during that time, Moira had been having lunch meetings with Malcolm. Thea points out that now that Walter is gone, the meetings are happening again. Oliver tells Thea that their mom would have never cheated on their dad, and that she is not cheating on Walter. Thea disagrees and says that their mom is a liar and a cheater.

Oliver goes on to talk to Moira about what Thea has just told him, and wants to know what was going on. Moira tells Oliver that Robert was repeatedly unfaithful to her, and that it made their marriage very difficult. All this new information is a lot for Oliver to take in, but Moira asks him to keep it a secret. Oliver agrees, but asks his mother why she has been meeting with Malcolm. Moira says it was for advice. She says that Malcolm has been the CEO for his company for years, while she has only been in charge of her company for mere weeks.

In the second to last flashback scene, we see Oliver looking at an area were prisoners prone to running off are kept. Fryers knocks out Oliver and takes off the mask he has been wearing, revealing that he knew it was him all along.

We now cut to the highly anticipated dinner scene between Malcolm, Tommy, and Laurel. They talk about Tommy’s mother, and Malcolm brings up the fact that she was killed… always a good topic for dinner conversation, right? Well, Tommy didn’t think so.

Meanwhile, Oliver pays a visit to his go-to tech girl, Felicity, for help. He hands her the flash drive with the Blawkhawk Squad Protection Group information on it that Oliver had trouble accessing earlier.

Back at the Merlyn family dinner, Malcolm asks Tommy to sign some documents that would shut down his mother’s clinic. Tommy gives his father a piece of his mind and leaves. Laurel stands up for Tommy, but it does no good.

Diggle and Gaynor are now at the Blackhawk Squad Protection Group building where Diggle learns some more information about Knox.

Speaking of information, Felicity calls Oliver and tells him that she was able to crack into the information that he was looking for. She tells him about the illegal information she’s found regarding the heists. Oliver asks Felicity to forward him the information, rather than going to the police.

As another heist is about to happen, “The Hood” interferes and shoots a man with an arrow.

At Thea’s birthday party, Diggle asks Oliver about the failed heist. Oliver tells Diggle that Gaynor wasn’t involved. Diggle says he knows because he was with him the whole time. Oliver tells Diggle that he was right. Diggle tells Oliver that if someone is involved in Blackhawk, that it is probably Knox. Right before Diggle leaves to go handle the situation, Oliver slips a tracking device onto his jacket.

Thea’s friends give her a birthday gift, a drug called Vertigo. Also at the party, Malcolm shows Moira a pic of Walter, confirming that he is still alive. He tells her that he did as he was asked, now it is her turn to do what she was asked. Moira says that she will take care of it. Thea confronts Moira and accuses her of cheating on Walter, but Moira denies it. Upset, Thea looks at drug she was given.

Diggle is now  investigating vans inside the Blackhawk Squad Protection Group building. He is confronted by Knox and Gaynor, who now appears to be involved in the heists all along. Gaynor tells Diggle about his mission. Since the last heist went south and someone got hurt, Gaynor asks Diggle to join him as they try the heist again, but Diggle declines. Diggle’s sister-in-law is then brought in, mouth taped and hands tied. Left with no other option, Diggle is forced to help.

Remember in the beginning of this episode when an armored car was driving down a street and a man with a grenade launcher walks in front of it? Well it happens again here, only this time, Diggle is the man with the weapon, but ends up sabotaging the heist.

Knox tells Diggle that he shouldn’t have done that and that they are going to kill his sister-in-law. Diggle then delivers the best line of the whole show… hell, it might have been the best thing he’s ever said. Diggle tells Knox and Gaynor that they are forgetting one thing: that he’s the one with the grenade launcher.

Diggle then shoots the grenade launcher, which does its job and stuns Knox and Gaynor. While Knox is laying on the ground, Gaynor gets away and Diggle goes after him. Knox gets back up and tries to shoot down Diggle, but “The Hood” steps in to make sure that doesn’t happen. He fires an arrow at Knox’s gun and knocks it out of his hands.

Diggle eventually catches up with Gaynor and draws his gun on him. Gaynor doesn’t think that Diggle will shoot him, so he raises his gun and is about to fire when all of a sudden… he gets an arrow in the chest, courtesy of “The Hood.” As the cops show up, Diggle tells Oliver to leave, which he does.

In the conclusion of the show, Thea is going for a joyride in her new car, but she gets distracted and gets into an accident.

Tommy and Laurel discuss Malcolm. Tommy says he doesn’t know much about what happened to his mother and that his father left for a while. Malcolm is then shown with family picture, and camera pans to show his archer outfit.

In the Arrow Cave, Oliver gives Diggle the list to cross off Gaynor’s name.

Oliver is then shown in the hospital with Thea. The police show up and say Thea tested positive for drug the drug Vertigo, and is arrested.

In the final flashback, Oliver is imprisoned on the island, and Yao-Fe is revealed to have been working with Fryers.

What I Thought:

I’ve been watching this show since the beginning, and “Trust But Verify” is in my opinion the best episode so far. It gave a lot of characters room to shine, who up until this point, really haven’t had the time.

I’m really looking forward to seeing where this drug storyline will go. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with the Green Arrow mythos, drugs have played a major role in Oliver’s past (in the comics). At one point in his career, Oliver had a sidekick named Roy Harper a.k.a. Speedy. In the early 1970s, it was discovered that Speedy was a heroin junkie… this did not go over well with our Emerald Archer.

The character of Roy Harper has been cast for Arrow, and while it hasn’t been stated what his role will be or when he will surface, I have to wonder if the character will be worked into this whole Vertigo thing.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you this week. Check out the preview for next week’s episode below.

See you next time, Arrow Heads.

Eric Levy covers the hit CW TV show Arrow for DarkMedia. He is a comic book enthusiast who loves to read, watch, and write about his favorite characters. You can follow Eric on Twitter at @LifeinStrips. You can also check out his blog at lifeinstrips.blogspot.com