The second episode of Arrow has arrived. "Honor Thy Father" deals with Oliver Queen trying to adjust to the return to his old life while continuing his role as a green-clad vigilante. With a major drugdealer in town, Ollie's nighttime activities clash with Laurel Lance's trial.
There will be spoilers for this episode so be sure to watch it before continuing to read.
== TEASER ==Now that Ollie is back from the dead, he has to get the courts to declare he's alive. This means standing before a judge and explaining what happened. As his family and friends listen, they get just a taste of what he went through in those five years. He doesn't go into full detail and the judge declares him back from the dead.
Outside the courtroom, he runs into Laurel Lance and her co-workers. As a lawyer, she's working on bringing down some major drugdealers. Ollie decides he needs to try to convince a witness to testify.
In his normal life, Ollie's bodyguard, Diggle, is getting fed up with Ollie continuously ditching him. He makes it clear that his clients usually want his help and if Ollie ditches him again, it'll be the last time. Ollie then sees his sister, Thea, ready to go out. She seems more bitter with him and makes it clear she's going out to party.
Ollie visits Queen Industries with his mom and Walter. She wants Ollie to take on a leadership role in a new division to honor his father. Ollie says that's not his style and Moira expresses her disappointment in his irresponsibility.
We get to see another flashback to the island. Ollie is still trying to figure out how he'll survive but has to fight off birds going after his father'd body. Ollie then moves the body, most likely to bury it. At this time, China White makes her appearance. She's there to help deal with the vigilante getting in the way of the operation.
Thea walks in on Ollie as he's putting on shirt. This is her first time seeing the scars on his body. She presses him to talk about what happened on the island. When he says he doesn't want to talk about it, she gets upset. He then tries to tell her that he's just not ready. She mentions that since he's been back, he's stayed distant to everyone. She explains how she used to talk to his tombstone. She said she felt closer to him when she thought he was dead.
This prompts Ollie to visit Laurel. He's concerned when he noticed two police cars outside her place. Her father, the detective, insisted on police protection over her court case in order to protect her from the triad. She's still upset from Ollie pushing her away in the last episode. They have a good talk over ice cream.
Their moment is interrupted when Ollie hears someone out on the fire escape. Armed men burst in along with China White. Ollie is about to do what he has to in order to protect Laurel but they are saved by Diggle.
THe police arrive and despite Ollie and Diggle saving Laurel, her father lashes out at Ollie. Diggle later confronts Ollie, thanking him for helping him. Ollie managed to hit China with a kitchen knife. He tells Diggle he got lucky but Diggle's not buying it. Ollie is determined to unleash his version of justice since Laurel was targeted.
As Arrow goes after Marc Summers, Laurel's dad tries convincing her to stay out of harm's way. At that moment the call goes out that there's some heavy action going down at the docks. Summers' men try holding off Arrow but he's no match for them. Again, he tries persuading him to confess but he says the triad will kill him. As he begins to talk, China White shows up and we discover that Ollie knows yet another language besides Russian. Their fight is interrupted as the police arrive.
Detective Lance gets the drop on Arrow as he tries to make his getaway. Arrow disarms him with an arrow that has a recording of Summers' confession.
At the ground breaking ceremony for the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Center, Tommy and Laurel talk. He wonders why she's there and she tells him Ollie invited her. Tommy is concerned and doesn't want Ollie to know that they had a history together when they thought Ollie was dead. Ollie then arrives, seemingly intoxicated, showing everyone that he's not the man they want him to be. He has to put on an act in order to help conceal his nighttime activities.
Ollie goes over the names in his dad's journal. He can now cross off a second name. In another flashback, we see Ollie preparing to bury his father when he finds a book in his dad's pocket. The pages appear blank except for one with a strange circular symbol.
The scene shifts to Ollie's mom having a mysterious meeting with an unseen man in the back of his car. She reiterates that after his public display, Ollie doesn't know anything. Robert must not have told him anything that could hurt them. She also says that Ollie has no idea that the yacht they were on was sabotaged. The man has a book (or tablet) with the same circular symbol.
Ollie visits his dad's tombstone. He tells him he didn't realize how hard it would be to connect with everyone after being on the island and how hard it would be to keep his secrets. He's determined to honor his father's wishes and save the city and right the wrongs he committed. He tells his dad that in order to honor his wishes, he may have to dishonor his memories. He then has both tombstones removed. As he heads back to the car, Diggle asks him if he'll be "going out tonight." Ollie responds, "Definitely."
One more flashback. As Ollie finishes burying his dad, he's shot in the shoulder by a crude arrow. As he collapses in pain, he turns to see...a green-hooded man with a bow and arrow, ready to shoot him a second time before passing out.
Now feel free to discuss the episode. Some of the acting was still questionable. The story is moving forward. Seeing more of the island brings us closer to finding out what happened to Ollie. And the scenes from next week reveal we'll be seeing a guest star from the comics.