What I’m Watching: Arrow

Arrow: Season 1, Episode 10 “Burned” (C+)

Part of this episode felt a bit too much like a horror movie to me, reminiscent also of the recent arsonist killer on “Dexter.” Characters like Joanna are useful explicitly for this purpose, to have family members who can die on a whim and then prove generic all of a sudden to the plot. Thought it doesn’t exactly track with what we know about her to this point, it was fun to see Laurel steal her father’s phone from the Hood and call him up to ask for his help exacting justice and exposing the truth. Oliver could be much more productive if he spent less time worrying about the particular ethics of helping one person or taking out another, and Diggle pushing him in both directions at different times isn’t helpful. Quentin giving the phone back to Laurel while having it traced is rather duplicitous of him, and I suspect that she’s going to be angry next time the Hood calls and (nearly) gets caught because of that. Tommy seems to have gone from unlikely love interest for Laurel to a guy who feels confident enough to request a drawer in a remarkably short amount of time, and there’s little suspense left in that relationship since it’s progressed so incredibly. Moira debating whether or not to take over Walter’s position would be far more compelling if we weren’t acutely aware of just why Walter in missing in action and whose fault that is. The flashbacks to the island are taking a long time to reveal themselves, and that’s a device I think the show could do without.