S01.E04: An Innocent Man

[formerlyfreedom]

Oliver still hasn’t figured out how to get back in Laurel's good graces, but a late night bonding session with Thea gives him the inspiration he needs. Looking into a suspicious murder case, Oliver realizes an innocent man, Peter Declan, was framed by one of the targets on his list. As Arrow, he asks Laurel to help prove Declan's innocence. Meanwhile, Walter asks one of his employees, Felicity Smoak, to look into a $2.6 million withdrawal that Moira made without his knowledge.

 

 

Loving the relationship between Felicity and Walter. I was shocked and actually gasped out loud when he opened that door and saw the QG. And it sure was nice to see John Barrowman. And finally, loved the new bodyguard, and Oliver outsmarting him, while Diggle just chuckles from the sideline.

 

 

John Diggle (to the new body guard); Oh, that boy is long gone, man.

[icandigit]

The rain in the background of the foundry amazing.

 

Oliver and Thea have been one of my favorite things since the beginning of the show.Hee, I love the robe.I'm a sucker for all the Queen family stuff in the mansion.

 

I forgot how much of a crush I had on Oliver when I started watching this show. Oliver already opening up to Diggle about what happened on the island.Cool.SA was right, that was a great line."If it's not gonna be the courts,if it's not gonna be the cops, it's gonna be me". Cue the NYSNC.I could watch Oliver and Diggle all day. Sometimes I do. Don't judge me.

 

I liked that scene with Laurel and the other attorney. She's got the loose thread.Go get em Laurel.

"You know when I was in Afghanistan..."

 

Oliver would be a lot happier if he ease dropped less. But, he's starting the journey to hero so I guess he's obligated to lurk.

 

Slowing down and not binge watching this time. I'm really appreciating the whole Oliver as killer storyline. For someone to be that detached is really scary. The first time around I  just watched the cool actions scenes.

 

Love the compassion Diggle had for Oliver's soul. Such a lovely scene. DR makes every line sing.Amazing.

[Moviesnob]

I think this is the first episode where I saw a news story on Arrow and just kept marveling at all the green. I used to work in TV news and just . . . No.

Missed Tommy this ep; glad we still have Dig bringing the levity. I enjoyed the Queen sibling bonding, and first sight of Felicity spunk (even if unneeded). I also liked seeing a superhero on TV that would kill ... a path I hadn't seen in a show in a while.

[quarks]

Loved Moira's belief that she could just casually toss off $2.6 million as an accounting error. The very rich really are different; the contrast with the scene right before it, where Diggle points out that Oliver's wealthy background doesn't exactly make him the best person to empathize with the lower classes, is pretty striking.  Also loved that when Oliver is arrested and everyone is freaking out, Walter just casually picks up his phone and starts calling attorneys. And this, when he's gotta be thinking, ok, first my wife turns out to really suck at secret accounting, then she hides her husband's sabotaged boat from me, now her son is getting arrested...I love those two. Totally twisted and an unhealthy relationship - well, not that Walter really knows that yet - but I love them.

 

Felt very sorry for the poor little bird, stuck in a cage, thinking, ok, this guy hasn't killed me by now, I'm safe....Also would like to say that point would have been made much sooner if Yao Fei had started speaking English much sooner.

 

And yeah, I'm appreciating Amell's acting choices a lot more this time around - maybe because I know where he's going later? But still, he does a really good job of flipping between the cold killer who is justifying everything he's doing, to the guy trying to reach out to his family, to the guy putting on a total mask for Rob. Poor Rob. Also missed Tommy.

 

Otherwise, this was definitely Diggle's episode. Really loved his initial response, and the fact that he spent considerable time thinking about his decision - and joining not so much to be a hero, but to rein Oliver in and keep him human. Plus, of course, the "Oh, that boy's long gone."

 

To be fair, it's partly Diggle's episode because it is certainly not Laurel's. This was the first episode where I remember really going, uh, what? with her, largely because, knowing that a guy's life is on the line and they only have a couple more days to stop his execution, she stops to note that the Hood is All Lonely? Save that for after the investigation, Laurel. I realize that was supposed to be her kind, compassionate moment, but it was just so mistimed.

 

And I get what the writers were going for in their first scene, the whole dripping with irony of oh, Laurel doesn't realize that Oliver just helped to save his family's life stuff, but take it away, Thea: "Harsh."

 

And of course this was in the same episode with one of the leading contenders for Worst Scene Ever Between Oliver and Laurel, and there's a lot of contenders: the scene in her office when the Hood comes by with the evidence, and she's suddenly all Doubting the Law, and Oliver's all, and Now? NOW what do you think, Laurel? And worse, apparently Oliver is under the impression that this scene bodes well for their relationship. Oh, Oliver.

 

That scene seems to be a combination of acting and writing issues - the Spanish dubbers, who otherwise are very good in this episode - I actually like the voice actress dubbing Laurel more than Cassidy; she has a nice warmth to her voice - are at a complete loss as to what to do here. So I flipped back to the English version, and that was worse. Sigh. 

 

Anyway, let's start the count down:

 

This episode:

 

Total number of times Laurel fails as a lawyer: 4.  1: She's hostile to her own client. 2. She's unable to get evidence to help out her own client. 3. Once given evidence that she and the Hood both say will absolutely, positively, get her client off, he stays on death row. 4. At no point, even with this evidence, does Laurel say, hey, you know what? Let me at least try to contact the governor's office with this new evidence - or have Joanna do it. Instead, I, the lawyer who never gives up, will tell the Hood that All Is Over.

 

Total number of times Laurel fails as a family member: 1, when lying to her father to find evidence.

 

Total number of times Laurel fails to defend herself: 2: 1, by failing to lock her apartment windows even though her place was violently broken into just two episodes before this; 2, in Iron Heights. The first is sorta mitigated when she goes and grabs a gun. The second is made worse because it only happens after Laurel specifically disobeys instructions meant to keep her safe.

 

This season:

 

Total number of times Laurel's apartment has been broken into so far: 2

 

Given that the episode ends with Laurel hating Oliver and the Hood...well, yay romance?

[statsgirl]

 

Loved Moira's belief that she could just casually toss off $2.6 million as an accounting error. The very rich really are different; the contrast with the scene right before it, where Diggle points out that Oliver's wealthy background doesn't exactly make him the best person to empathize with the lower classes, is pretty striking.  Also loved that when Oliver is arrested and everyone is freaking out, Walter just casually picks up his phone and starts calling attorneys. And this, when he's gotta be thinking, ok, first my wife turns out to really suck at secret accounting, then she hides her husband's sabotaged boat from me, now her son is getting arrested...I love those two. Totally twisted and an unhealthy relationship - well, not that Walter really knows that yet - but I love them.

I loved Moira's moneyed arrogance.  She cared about her children but she was just so into her "let them eat cake" world.  And Walter coolly calling an attorney while everyone else is freaking out -- I would so want him on my side in a fight.

 

I really liked the development of the characters of Oliver and Diggle in this episode.   Oliver thought that Diggle would love to join him and learned differently; Diggle thought that was Oliver was doing was contemptible and learned differently.  It was ironic that it was Carly trying to keep Diggle safe that pushed him to join up with Oliver.

 

Diggle joining Oliver to protect his soul was something I missed the first time around, but really appreciate now as coming from Diggle's experience as a soldier.

 

I also like Felicity's storyline being with Walter this episode, and the way she stood up for herself, again.  Since the character was originally for just one episode, I wonder if they wrote her into this one after seeing her in Lone Gunman.

 

What I hated was the bird storyline.  I mute the TV every time the bird comes on. I don't see why Yao Fe had to turn Oliver into a cold-blooded killer to survive.  Also, yeah, it would have helped get your point across if you had made it in English.

 

Laurel moved back and forth more than the ball in a tennis match.  She went from worrying about Oliver before the episode opened (how would she have known he was missing unless she deliberated called?  wasn't she mad at him at the end of the last episode?) to being unbearably superior ("I care about other people. You should try it some time.") to being caring about Peter Declan, to crushing on The Hood, to running into the middle of a prison riot to agreeing with her father that the Hood's a killer  I bet that lasted all of 10 seconds.

 

 

The scene in her office when the Hood comes by with the evidence, and she's suddenly all Doubting the Law

 

I couldn't believe that anyone who has gone through law school and articling could be that naive.  Yes, sometimes the law is just but most of the time it's whatever the judge interprets it to be.

 

At no point, even with this evidence, does Laurel say, hey, you know what? Let me at least try to contact the governor's office with this new evidence - or have Joanna do it. Instead, I, the lawyer who never gives up, will tell the Hood that All Is Over.

Good point. She did threaten Brodeur but gave up on Declan.

[MsSchadenfreude]

So now that Diggle has officially joined Oliver's crusade, is this the last episode that we have to hear those voiceovers?  I hope so because I hate them so much.

 

I fast forwarded all the bird stuff.  I didn't much like it the first time and had no interest in watching it for the second.

 

Loved all the sibling bonding in this episode.  

 

Oliver and Diggle are still made of win.  Diggle:   I'm not signing up to be your sidekick.  

 

Go Walter. I love that he didn't just trust Moira's word and had Felicity investigate.

 

Laurel gives me whiplash.  I love the Hood. Aw, he's lonely,  I hate the Hood. He has the eyes of a killer.  Pick a lane, Laurel and stick to it. 

[Wayward Son]

• Great episode! I think it did a great job of making Laurel even more likeable. I love how strong her desire to help other people is :)

 

• While I like Laurel and I like Oliver I don’t particularly get them as a couple. Before the island Oliver cheated on her on at least two occasions (her sister Sarah and that club owners fiancée) displaying a lack of respect for her. I can understand his experiences on the island making him a more responsible and determined person, but I don’t get why it would have suddenly made him more into her than he had been. 

 

• Yay for a John Barrowman appearance. 

Edited March 13, 2018 by Wayward Son

[BkWurm1]

14 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

While I like Laurel and I like Oliver I don’t particularly get them as a couple. Before the island Oliver cheated on her on at least two occasions (her sister Sarah and that club owners fiancée) displaying a lack of respect for her. I can understand his experiences on the island making him a more responsible and determined person, but I don’t get why it would have suddenly made him more into her than he had been. 

I can't say I was much of a Laurel fan, I quickly disagreed with the writing and acting choices when she was in scenes with Oliver especially, but I agree that given Oliver's history with her, I had to do some fanwanking to understand why he was now suddenly interested when he was clearly didn't have much respect for their relationship before.  I decided that she represented a simpler time before the island so he clung to that as a symbol of home that retroactively amplified what his actual feelings had been.  I don't discount that pre-island Oliver felt he loved her, it's just that the way he showed that love makes me think he needed a timeout to discover what love really was, lol.  

I also think that once Oliver got back to Starling City, he felt that making up his bad behavior to Laurel also was a way of making up for all his previous bad behavior.  She became another kind of symbol IMO when he got back home.  

[tv echo]

Continuing the posting of my transcription of certain scenes (including script pages, where available)...

104 (An Innocent Man) – Oliver Queen’s voiceover intro:
Oliver (voiceover): “My name is Oliver Queen. For five years I was stranded on an island with only one goal... survive. Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish... to use a list of names he left me, to bring down those who are poisoning my city. From a life of excess to a life pursuing justice, to keep my loved ones safe, I must work in secret and pretend to be someone else. To do this, I must become someone else. I must become something else.”

104 (An Innocent Man) - Diggle finds out that Oliver is the vigilante:
(Oliver brings an injured Diggle back to the Foundry and gives him an herb-infused drink of water. Diggle wakes up and sees Oliver wearing the vigilante suit.)
Oliver: "Hey."
Diggle: "Oliver? You're that vigilante." 
(Diggle takes a swing at Oliver, but misses because he's still groggy.)
Oliver: “Take it easy, Dig. You were poisoned.”
Diggle: “Son of a bitch!” (Tries to punch Oliver again)
Oliver: “I could've taken you anywhere. Could've taken you home. I brought you here.”
Diggle: “You did lose your mind on that island.”
Oliver: “Found a couple of things.”
Diggle: “Like what? Archery classes?”
Oliver: “Clarity. Starling City is dying. It is being poisoned by a criminal elite, who don't care who they hurt, as long as they maintain wealth and power.”
Diggle: “And what are you gonna do? Take them all down by your lonesome?”
Oliver: “No. No. I want you to join me. Special Forces out of Kandahar. It's perfect.
You're a fellow soldier.”
Diggle: “Oliver, you're not a soldier. You're a criminal. And a murderer.”

104 (An Innocent Man) – Laurel berates Oliver:
Laurel: "Oliver, are you so self-centered that you don't think that people who care about you are gonna wonder where you are after you all got shot at?"
Oliver: "You're right."
Laurel: "I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago, but Moira, Thea, and Walter, they don't deserve that. They deserve better, someone who doesn't care only about himself."
Oliver: "Thank you for coming."
Laurel: "I care about the lives of other people, Oliver. Maybe you should try it sometime."

104 (An Innocent Man) – Laurel berates the Hood:
Laurel: "I didn't become a lawyer to break the law or hurt anybody."
Oliver (as the Hood): "I do what's necessary, what people like Peter Declan need.
Laurel: "If what you're doing isn't wrong, then why are you hiding your face with a hood?"
Oliver (as the Hood): "To protect the ones I care about."
Laurel: “That sounds lonely.”
Oliver (as the Hood): “It can be. But not today.”

104 (An Innocent Man) – Walter Steele asks Felicity to look into a variance on a past failed investment that was authorized by Moira:
Felicity: “I've got one question. Why am I being fired?”
Walter: “Ms. Smoak, isn't it?”
Felicity: “Yes. And I am without a doubt the single most valuable member of your technical division. That's including my so-called ‘supervisor.’ Letting me go would be a major error for this company.”
Walter: “I agree, which is why you're not being fired.”
Felicity: “Uh, I assumed when you brought me up here, it was because – (makes throat slitting gesture with hand)”
Walter: “It's because I wanted you to look into something for me. A variance of $2.6 million on a failed investment from three years ago. It was authorized by my wife. I was hoping you could find out some of the details of the transaction for me.” 
Felicity: “Find out –“
Walter: “Dig up discreetly.” 
Felicity: “I'm your girl. I mean, I'm not your girl. I wasn't making a pass at you. Thank you for not firing me.”

Edited August 27, 2020 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Edited August 19, 2020 by tv echo