A Matter of Trust

 Arrow 5 x 03 "A Matter of Trust" aired last evening, and it proved an  interesting episode. The theme of the episode is trust.  Oliver still (or as my  Irish grandmother would  say, "Again,  yet, and still)  has issues of trust.  Oliver's trust issues go back before the Island, and the  island experiences didn't help either.  But the matter  of trust wasn't all on  Oliver's  side, either, his  new recruits, Wild Dog, Evelyn, Rory, and Curtis  all have to  learn to trust him.  Wild  Dog and Evelyn find it more difficult to trust  Oliver than  the others.  The young recruits feel trained  and ready to fight to save the city, and become frustrated that Oliver seems too slow to put them  out there. Is Oliver ready to let them go?  I think  Oliver still struggles over the lost team.  It took  him a long time to trust Diggle, Felicity, and Thea.  Now the team  he assembled  is gone, and it seems a personal  struggle for him.  Oliver always  fights  the urge within himself  to go  it alone. For me the  best line in the episode occurred  when Evelyn  and  Wild Dog  decide to go  out on their  own, and Evelyn says, "Why didn't you tell Rory and Curtis" and Wild Dog  replies, "Because Curtis would tell Mommy and Daddy!"  Ha Ha, Oliver and Felicity  do act like parents around those recruits.  Honestly,  I miss OTA (Original  Team Arrow) and last year when the  lair had so  many people i.t that I felt Arrow had lost it's way.  However,  these  recruits are growing on me.  I'm going to give it time, and trust the Arrow Writers to write a story that will  keep this Turner tuned in.

Detective Brian  Malone met the Arrow, and Oliver has no idea about the boyfriend, at least that is what we  think, but down deep, don't you think there's a part of Oliver that knows?  I don't trust Malone.  I  don't know why, but the meeting with the Arrow, made me doubt Malone.  I'm glad there were no scenes with Felicity and Malone, because they just don't have the chemistry together. What do you  think?

Felicity's struggle with what  happened at Havenrock and her  part in it touched  my  heart.  When  she  told  Rory what she had  done,  my heart was broken.  Felicity's honesty always amazes.  It would be easy to keep the secret, but by telling Rory, I think she hopes to be free of the guilt. Yet when Rory looked hurt and turned  away from her, you see and feel her pain.  Great work, Emily Bett Rickards! You could see by the end of that scene that Felicity will be heading for PTSD.  As Diggle helped Oliver through it, let's hope Oliver will help Felicity.

The Olicity moment for me was when Oliver finally used the recruits.  Felicity looked at him with such pride.  You can see the love and respect.  Also Oliver trusts Felicity.  Now, Felicity needs to trust Oliver.  I hope that as time goes on, Oliver will show her that he can be trusted to be honest with her.

Diggle's given up hope.  Does that seem like him?  Is it out of character for him?  No, because he is dealing with guilt.  Oliver is the one to help him, because he knows the weight of guilt.  He will help him through.  Diggle has to trust Lyla and eventually Oliver.  I really do not like the Flashpoint storyline.   What will happen when they find out about baby Sara? Lyla turning to Oliver is important, and I wonder if the Diggles  will help in bringing Oliver and Felicity together?

Am I the only one that doesn't like the crossover stories?  I watch Flash, but I don't care for this season of it at all.  I don't watch Legends or Supergirl, so when they have crossovers, it doesn't interest me, and yet the 100th episode is all about a mega crossover. I had hoped for an Olicity wedding, but hope is what keeps me going...:)

 Waiting for these two to find one another again.  Keep hope alive, folks. :)