An Innocent Man

"An Innocent Man" starts steering Arrow from simple revenge missions toward more heroic, morally complex storytelling. With a focus on justice, not vengeance, the episode challenges Oliver's black-and-white worldview and forces him to confront what kind of man - and hero - he wants to become. It's not an action-packed entry, but it's quietly important for his character arc.

👍 What Worked

A Shift Toward Real Heroism: This episode marks a turning point - Oliver decides to help someone not on his father's list. Proving the innocence of a wrongfully convicted man (Peter Declan) is a small but meaningful step away from vengeance and toward justice. It's a big moment for his development.

Oliver and Laurel Team-Up: Seeing Oliver and Laurel work together on the same case - unknowingly, in different ways - is satisfying. Their chemistry is stronger here, and it teases what could be a deeper alliance in the future, even though she still doesn't know the truth.

Detective Lance's Tenacity: Quentin Lance continues to be one of the show's strongest supporting characters. His determination to catch the vigilante, while understandable, adds tension - and his tactical trap for Oliver is a smart move that raises the stakes.

The Prison Break Sequence: The climax, where Oliver sneaks into Iron Heights to save Declan and stop a hired killer, is well-done - tense, well-paced, and featuring some solid combat choreography in a confined space.

Walter's Suspicion of Moira: The B-plot continues to dig into Moira Queen's secrets. Walter finding the hidden Queen's Gambit wreckage adds intrigue and reminds us that Oliver isn't the only one digging for truth.

👎 What Didn't Work

Not a Strong Villain Presence: The episode lacks a memorable antagonist. The hired assassin is just a plot device, and there's no central threat with real presence. This weakens the suspense compared to other entries.

Some Heavy-Handed Dialogue: The show occasionally spells out emotional beats that would be more effective left unspoken - especially in scenes between Oliver and Diggle or Oliver and Laurel.

Arrow Season 1 Episode 4

Review : This episode is the fourth episode of this season. Speaking of this episode, I have to say that this is a very exciting and mysterious subject. There is a treasure trove of mystery in this episode. A small ship that sinks but even then the ship owner's wife carefully cares for the wreckage of that sunken ship. This mystery originated in this episode. I am also curious enough to see when and how this mystery will be solved. I have enough sources to watch the episode later.

Acting : Very Good

Directing : Good Enough

Story : Good

Screenplay : Very Good

Dialogue : Good Enough

Background Score : Good

Soundtrack : Good

Cinematography : Good Enough

Editing : Good Enough

Set : Good

Location : Good

Sound Recording : Good Enough

Lighting : Good

Vfx : Very Good

Overall Ratings : Nine out of ten.

When I review episodes, that review is based entirely on my own personal ideas. Seeing the episodes of any season of any series, I think I write it in the review. I know, maybe in my reviews I often write something bad, like the writers didn't write the story well or the director didn't do well or the actors-actresses over-acted. But I don't use foul language or profanity in my reviews. If I unknowingly hurt someone in my review or if someone feels bad after reading my review, then I sincerely apologize to him.

I thank you for reading my review so patiently.

An Innocent man follows the plot of Oliver trying to prove a man who is going to be executed innocent, but the problem is that there is ONE fight scene at the end and it lasts for like 20 seconds, the episode is a slog to sit through and even the flashbacks have no fight scenes whatsoever, while it does have epic dialog and worldbuilding, that does nothing to excuse its utter lack of combat, I watch "Arrow" for one thing, combat. Its lack of combat makes this the only episode of season 1 I dread watching, and one of the only episodes of ALL 8 SEASONS I dread watching. Unless you really want the story and world building that this presents Nobody will judge you for skipping this one.

The first three episodes did a great job in establishing the premise of the show. A rich spoiled boy who got stranded on an island turns into a hero and tries to fight businessmen who are trying to destroy the city he loves seemed kind of uninspiring, but this episode shows that there's more to it than just that. It continues to give some more character depth to not only Oliver Queen, but the other side characters as well including John Diggle and Tommy Merlyn, who might turn out more interesting in the later episodes. And the writing continues to be strong and the characters still remain as relatable as possible especially with the relationships between Oliver and John and Tommy. The combination of action, mystery, and drama continues to be fresh and the pacing never fails to amuse me. The directing is top notch, the cinematography continues to be riveting, and the music score continues to be solid. So, overall, An Innocent Man is a great continuation and proves there's more to come in the future for the first season. Thumbs up :)

OH MY GOD * PERFECTION = THIS EPISODE

I'm well aware that that beginning might make me look like a fanboy. And, you know what? I am. But so what? I mean this show, this season, this multiverse, was so Perfect, Great & Intriguing that it MADE me a fanboy. That speaks to the testament of this show rather than some deflection to pass me off.

The plot OH MY GOD! I mean if this was any other writer like those of Daredevil Season 2 (no offense to them they're wonderful but they could never do an episode like this) then the show, the season, the mystery & everything else would feel so dragged out & boring & everyone would just be waiting for the season finale to see if they've wasted their time or not.

BUT NOPE! NOT THIS SHOW! They ramped everything from 100 outta 100 in Episode 1 to a quadrillion outta 100 in Episode 4 and that shouldn't even make sense mathematically. But when watching this episode it sure as hell felt like it! If it fell into lesser hands then everything would have felt drawn out but some plot points that most people and writers would have expected years upon years down the line were used here to PERFECTION!

I'm not going to use any more words than PERFECTION to wholly describe this episode because that's what it is. PERFECTION

The plot, the action, the intensity OH MY GOD THE INTENSITY!, the acting everything made sense the episode did everything & THEN SOME! And, It was more perfect than..."any of us could have ever imagined"