Arrow: Betrayal

First of all, I have to begin this post to say that it's been announced that Arrow has been renewed for a second season. I'm glad. The show is finally getting good. Also, Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak) will be a regular next season. Yay!

And now, on to "Betrayal."

A new villain is introduced. One who looks a lot like Dr. Whale from Once Upon a Time. *wink* Diggle grows suspicious about Moira's involvement in shady dealings, and becomes her designated driver to spy on her. Detective Lance puts Laurel in danger trying to catch The Hood. Laurel is angry when he finds out. Surprise!  Old Oliver find his Mr. Miyagi on the island, only he's Australian, and his name is Mr. Slade Wilson. Laurel is kidnapped by an evil Dr. Whale... sorry... an evil Cyrus Vance, so he can catch The Hood. Oliver finds time in his busy schedule to look for an executive chef for the new nightclub. Thea starts her many, many, many hours of community service. And The Hood says, "You have failed this city" to a new "villain."

Observations:

George doesn't make a sound when Vance stabs him. He just stands there with a shocked look on his face. Now, that's quite dramatic, but not very realistic. If you were stabbed, you'd make some kind of noise.

I wonder who is going to have the horrible job of removing the body and cleaning up the blood. You don't want to have to see that every time you leave or come into the house.

It looks like Oliver is on the same island as the castaways on Lost. *wink*

Detective Lance is certainly finding it hard to believe that The Hood isn't a hero. He's made up his mind, and nothing or no one is going to change it.

It's very convenient that there was a blazing fire in the fireplace where Moira could throw the book.

Diggle and Oliver are at odds with each other about the innocence of Oliver's mother in all of the crime going on in Starling City. This is sad. I don't like to see them fight. *wink*

I'm glad to finally have the mystery of The Hood's cell phone cleared up. So, I guess The Hood (Oliver) gave the cell phone to Detective Lance just in case he wants to contact him. Guess I was getting a soda when that happened in an earlier episode.

Oh oh. Detective Lance is finally using Laurel to catch The Hood. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop when Laurel finds out.

I like Laurel when she's happy and joking around with Tommy. I don't like her so much when she's serious or angry. Maybe I just like happy people.

I'm surprised Detective Lance would try to capture The Hood when he knows that Laurel is going to be there. It seems like there would be a pretty good chance of Laurel getting hurt, even if he threatened all of the police officers not to let her get hurt. Does he really think Laurel would be perfectly safe in that situation?

I wonder what Diggle did to Ricky, the driver, so he could drive Moira around and spy on her.

Lance took a pretty hard fall. I'm surprised he's able to get up and run after that.

And the other shoe drops.

I thought that Laurel was going to break the cell phone.

Vance has a very interesting way of eating cereal. I'm not quite sure why he made that face. I guess it was a reaction to the news on the TV, but it was hilarious.

Vivian, Vance's girlfriend, has a friend inside the police department who is giving her inside information. I wonder who it is.

How does Oliver know about Top Chef? The show would have been on only one season when he disappeared. Would the old Oliver have been interested in a reality TV cooking competition on Bravo? I think not. 

Oliver is now giving sage advice to Tommy. He's starting to learn from Diggle.

Why would Laurel think that the person at her door is Tommy, just because she was leaving him a message on his cell phone? And she's a cop's daughter - why doesn't she look through the peephole before she opens the door? However, she is quite the fighter. So, when does she become a superhero from the comic book?

It's funny that Laurel is able to knock out Vance's cronies, but she just stands there when she comes face to face with Vance, and he's able to just taser her. Why didn't she try to hit him? He could have blocked her punch, then taser her.

Lance figures it out pretty quickly that there's an "informant" on the force who ratted out Laurel being close to The Hood. I guess that's why he's a detective, right? *wink*

Why is Moira's voice pretty clear on the recording, but Malcolm Merlyn's voice is distorted? I guess it's still too early for Oliver to discover that Merlyn is a bad guy, but come on!

It would be a horrible thing to hear undeniable evidence that your own mother may have had a hand in the death of your father. Especially when you were on the same boat that was sabotaged.

Where did Vance get all of those men? Especially since The Hood took out quite a few the first time he came for a visit.

It was clever writing to have The Hood taking out Vance's men as Vance describes how the house if fortified. I liked it.

The Hood hit Vivian? Oliver hit a defenseless girl? Not that I liked Vivian, but that's not very chivalrous.

Isn't it nice that The Hood stopped Lance from shooting Vance. (I just realized that those two names rhyme. Sorry, got sidetracked.)

And the other shoe drops, again. Will father and daughter ever get past this? We'll have to stay tuned and see.

Okay, I wasn't annoyed this time when The Hood said, "You failed this city." Now the show is really getting interesting.

Quotes:

Diggle: I understand why you would believe your mother over your stepfather. But I tend to believe the innocent party is whoever's missing, or presumed dead.

Slade: You have ten seconds to tell me something I believe before I cut out your voice box.

Thea: So, this is really happening. Four hundred ninety-eight hours of community service to go.

Laurel: Four hundred and ninety-nine. Orientation doesn't count.

Anastasia: Unless you have access to some private police force, Vance will stay free to roam the streets.

(Side note: I guess Anastasia doesn't know that Laurel's Dad is on the police force.)

Tommy: How does a night with me and a dozen chefs sound?

Laurel: Like an episode of the The Bachelor.

Laurel: This is going to be fun. I even wore my fat pants.

Tommy: I don't want to know what those are, do I?

Laurel: Nope.

Laurel: You sound like my father.

Tommy: Well, I hate to break it to you, but he's right.

Laurel: Are you seriously taking his side? He's been lying to me for weeks.

Tommy: Yea. It feels like crap, doesn't it?

Vance: Interesting. Using deception and intimidation to make a name for himself. This guy stole my move.

Oliver: I'm going over resumes for the chef's position at the nightclub. This guy looks pretty good. Won Top Chef, season six.

Tommy: At this point it is a culinary requisite to be on that show.

Tommy: Can I talk to you about something?

Oliver: Tommy. Every time you want to talk to me about something, and that something is Laurel, you look like you're going to tell  me you have terminal disease.

Tommy: I just can't believe that Laurel, of all people, would lie to my face. I guess that's the way with the people you're closest to.

(Side note: Bam! That's gotta hit home, doesn't it, Oliver?)

Oliver: I know.

(Side note: See, I was right. *wink*)

Slade: You have no training. No skill. No strength. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment.

The Hood (after stopping Lance from shooting Vance): I'm the vigilante. You're the cop.

Laurel: I'm a big girl. I knew the risks.

The Hood: Now I know them. And I'm not willing to take them with you.

Laurel: What does that mean?

The Hood: It means goodbye.

Slade: You were going to find yourself a weapon. Have you considered a sword? I like swords.