A Matter of Trust
- Episode aired Oct 19, 2016
- TV-14
- 42m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
The Green Arrow is forced to face a powerful new drug dealer when Wild Dog goes off on his own.The Green Arrow is forced to face a powerful new drug dealer when Wild Dog goes off on his own.The Green Arrow is forced to face a powerful new drug dealer when Wild Dog goes off on his own.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Evelyn Sharp says: "what kind of vigilante wears a hockey mask anyway?" Oliver Queen responds: "I think it's cool". Stephen Amell who plays Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow played the vigilante Casey Jones in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of The Shadows earlier this year, who is famous for wielding a hockey stick and hockey mask.
- Quotes
Evelyn Sharp: I've been meaning to ask. What kind of vigilante wears a hockey mask ?
Oliver Queen: I think it's cool.
- ConnectionsFeatured in American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes (2023)
Featured review
Good Episode, but Room for Improvement
"A Matter of Trust" was by no means a bad episode, in fact there were several things that I really liked about, these predominately being the return of a familiar face and the intertextuality of Cody Rhodes appearing as a dealer of "stardust". However, some of Arrow's tropes that have been grinding my gears as of late need to be addressed.
Arrow has always had a problem with the notion of "show, don't tell" which is a fundamental element of any visual medium. Too often does the series rely on clichéd bouts of oversharing between characters which has ultimately resulted in a weak protagonist and weaker supporting characters. Thankfully, Oliver this season has seen a degree more of pluck, however episodes like this reduce Oliver's character development back to square one. It seems that an overarching theme within the show has been about Oliver's trust issues, however instead of allowing the character to progress, the writers seem adamant to repeat a weekly cycle of 1) Oliver is wrong about something, 2) Felicity tells Oliver he's wrong, 3) ___ event occurs, 4) Oliver realizes he's wrong and tells the audience about it. After seasons this cycle has gotten repetitive and predictable, and it would be nice to see the character every once in a while make a resolution and stick with it, or figure out something on his own for once. Instead of always telling the audience whats going on, the writers and directors need to have faith in the audience's ability to perceive an action or situation and figure out its meaning. Another aspect of "show, don't tell" applies to the supporting characters and their credibility as actual people. For example, we're repeatedly told that Curtis Holt was an ex-Olympian who we now have to accept as transitioning to a vigilante along with the team, however through his portrayal as a clumsy IT guy, its difficult for the audience to understand his capability to even be a vigilante or why he would even be driven to take up the mantle of a hero in the first place.
Secondly, I'm getting really tired of characters (and the writers) making poor, illogical decisions. Without spoiling anything, Diggle makes a completely clichéd and illogical decision during this episode, which was hard as an audience member to buy. Also, after the writers have portrayed Quentin Lance as a hypocritical alcoholic with a tendency to majorly screw up, it makes zero sense for him to be promoted into the mayors office. Frankly, I wouldn't trust Oliver to look after my city after making that call.
All up:
+ Cody Rhodes / Stardust appearance (though he was underused)
+ Return of a familiar face
+ Development between Wild Dog and Ollie
7.8/10
Arrow has always had a problem with the notion of "show, don't tell" which is a fundamental element of any visual medium. Too often does the series rely on clichéd bouts of oversharing between characters which has ultimately resulted in a weak protagonist and weaker supporting characters. Thankfully, Oliver this season has seen a degree more of pluck, however episodes like this reduce Oliver's character development back to square one. It seems that an overarching theme within the show has been about Oliver's trust issues, however instead of allowing the character to progress, the writers seem adamant to repeat a weekly cycle of 1) Oliver is wrong about something, 2) Felicity tells Oliver he's wrong, 3) ___ event occurs, 4) Oliver realizes he's wrong and tells the audience about it. After seasons this cycle has gotten repetitive and predictable, and it would be nice to see the character every once in a while make a resolution and stick with it, or figure out something on his own for once. Instead of always telling the audience whats going on, the writers and directors need to have faith in the audience's ability to perceive an action or situation and figure out its meaning. Another aspect of "show, don't tell" applies to the supporting characters and their credibility as actual people. For example, we're repeatedly told that Curtis Holt was an ex-Olympian who we now have to accept as transitioning to a vigilante along with the team, however through his portrayal as a clumsy IT guy, its difficult for the audience to understand his capability to even be a vigilante or why he would even be driven to take up the mantle of a hero in the first place.
Secondly, I'm getting really tired of characters (and the writers) making poor, illogical decisions. Without spoiling anything, Diggle makes a completely clichéd and illogical decision during this episode, which was hard as an audience member to buy. Also, after the writers have portrayed Quentin Lance as a hypocritical alcoholic with a tendency to majorly screw up, it makes zero sense for him to be promoted into the mayors office. Frankly, I wouldn't trust Oliver to look after my city after making that call.
All up:
+ Cody Rhodes / Stardust appearance (though he was underused)
+ Return of a familiar face
+ Development between Wild Dog and Ollie
- Thea's arc / Quentin's promotion
- Felicity + Havenbrook drama
- Diggle's decision
7.8/10
helpful•64
- scarlettyforest
- Oct 20, 2016
Details
- Runtime42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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