Arrow: Trust But Verify Review

As the Dark Archer's plans begin to seep into Oliver's life, can the episode quality keep up at the season's halfway point?
It's fair to say that Arrow has had a pretty consistently impressive run so far, packed with unexpected plot twists that have no doubt reinvigorated the legend of the Green Arrow for DC fans and newcomers alike. The eleventh episode- Trust But Verify- does a fantastic job of raising the ante once again, daring to shock the viewer, even if in doing so it still makes a few structural stumbles along the way.

First and foremost, it was a pleasant turn of events to see Doctor Who's John Barrowman back for another turn as Malcolm Merlyn. Slowly we're beginning to learn more of Merlyn and his funding organisation's plans for Starling City, and the Queen family are beginning to feel the consequences too with Moira forced to deceive both of her children to keep their secrets safe. It was certainly refreshing to see both actors placed in a sly and cunning game of deception with the Queen youths, even if there is still the sense lingering that there's a little bit of time-killing going on until this season nears what should prove to be an epic crescendo.

At first, the core narrative of Diggle's personal conflict at Oliver hunting down one of his closest friends seemed set to provide one of the most compelling adventures of the lot. In the end, though, Ben Browder's portrayal of this hunted ally was rather understated and basic, and gave way to a lot of the various other plot arc elements. We had Malcolm's dinner, Moira's suspicions, the car crash and other big events taking precedence over what could have been a brilliant standalone tale in its own right, so it's hard not to wonder why this instalment couldn't have been placed earlier in the run.

Once again, my sole niggle with this latest episode was the flashback sequences we witnessed. Now that Oliver's modern-day adventures are becoming so exciting to watch play out, moving back to the 'Five Years Ago' setting feels like a disjointed transition, and one hopes that the majority of the big secrets are revealed before the end of the season so that the inevitable second run can to some extent leave those plot strands behind. All the same, Trust But Verify was another strong outing for Arrow, proving that the show isn't afraid to tackle vital issues such as affairs and drug misuse, while additionally setting a great precedent for the remaining half of this so-far very impressive première season.
4/5