'Arrow' Recap: The Hood Is Caught By Laurel, Oliver Is Trashed In The Media

by UInterviewOctober 17, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

This week on Arrow, The Hood and Roy strike up a partnership and Oliver is destroyed in the press by Blood when he fails to step up for the Glades in "Identity."

Oliver (Stephen Amell) is still getting used to being back in Starling City, working out to get into shape and reconnecting with Diggle (David Ramsey), Thea (Wila Holland) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy).

Roy (Colton Haynes) is trying to become a hero himself and he steals a car to chase a highjacked FEMA truck, and the biker gang responsible. Unfortunately for him, the highjackers have guns, and Roy ends up flipping the stolen car when one of them shoots at him. The cops come and arrest him, and Roy ends up in an interrogation room being grilled by Laurel who is convinced Roy knows something about the Hood after they found an arrowhead at the crime scene. Roy didn’t say anything, and Oliver and Thea arrived to bail him out before Laurel could push too hard. As they left with Roy, Laurel asked Oliver to question Roy about the Hood. She’s not giving up on her mission to destroy all ‘the Hoods.’

Roy confronts Oliver about his inactivity. He wants Oliver to care about something again, and he needs his help: FEMA supplies are being stolen from the Glades, causing medical personnel to leave the hospitals and more and more sick people were finding themselves with no where to go. Alderman Sebastian Blood (Kevin Alejandro) is riling up people in the Glades, and he and his supporters give Oliver a very hostile welcome when he goes to inspect the hospitals. Oliver tries to stop another FEMA truck full of supplies from being stolen, but is stopped by the Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White) and China White (Kelly Hu).

In a flashback to Oliver’s time on the island (pre-Arrow), we see Oliver killing a man with a rock to save Shado (Celina Jade). He wants to believe that there is such a thing as justified murder in the name of protection, but he’s worried he’s turning into something bad. Shado tells him that every person has two sides: a yin and a yang. Everyone has a dark side; the key is to find balance.

At the club, Thea decides it’s time for some tough love gives Roy a choice: either he stops deliberately putting himself in harm’s way or he will no longer be a part of her life. Meanwhile, Oliver meets with Blood and offers to raise awareness of the earthquake victims in the Glades at his club. He wants to prove to Blood that he has not forgotten about the Glades, and he promises to host a gala for the earthquake victims.

Of course, just as he’s about to go to the gala, he gets the call that another FEMA supply heist is about to go down and he must abandon his fundraiser to fight China White. Blood ends up using the gala as a platform to bash Oliver while Ollie and Diggle work together to capture the Bronze Tiger and China White and save the shipment.

Roy meets with the Hood and offers his services. He wants to be trained to fight and he wants to help. The Hood has a counter offer: Roy will serve as his eyes and ears in the Glades, but he won’t fight. Roy seems satisfied (for now) and goes to Thea and tells her that he won’t be in danger anymore, though he implies he won’t be helping the Hood or trying to be a vigilante.

Even though they saved the day, the night is bust for Oliver’s public image, and he realizes that the town may never see the Hood as a hero, a savior or even a Good Samaritan. As the Hood, he had tried to talk to Laurel, but she had yelled at him for not saving Tommy and orders him to stay away from her. Later that evening, when he tried to speak to her again as the Hood, Laurel hit a panic button and they were surrounded by cops in seconds.

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.