Arrow premiered last week, kicking off another superhero TV show. While it did show some promise, it also modeled itself closely after the darkness of Nolan’s Batman franchise, and it could go either way.

The second episode starts with Arrow taking out a bunch of guys and then threatening another of the men on the list his father gave him and telling him to return the money to the pensioners. The word ‘pensioner’ really can’t be growled menacingly.

Back at the mansion, Oliver makes a snarky comment about how the Green Arrow is on the TV yet again – oh Oliver, you sneaky one. Today is a big day it’s the day Oliver gets to come alive again, reading his proof of life declaration to a judge.

A bunch of flashbacks of the past episode, as well as some extra footage, reliving the accident and how he made it to the island brings those who didn’t see the first episode up to speed. He runs into his ex, Dinah ‘Laurel’ Lance, in the foyer and she makes a few snarky comments before running off to her own case. Again, this seems to be more to bring people up to speed than anything else.

On the courtroom steps a man preaches innocence while Oliver glowers at him. Looks like he’s found the next name on his list. By the magic of coincidence this man also happens to be the defendant in Laurel’s case. Apparently Mr Rich Guy, Martin Somers, had a man killed when he threatened to tell the police about his smuggling business. Harsh.

In the Green Arrow version of the Bat Cave (Arrow Abandoned Warehouse doesn’t quite strike the same poetic note) Oliver is training and angsting about Martin Somers and how he’s such a douche. But hey, nothing a good hanging upside down can’t fix! Arrow politely suggests that Mr Somers tell the truth in court and leaves him a nice scar on his cheek as a reminder.

At the homestead, Oliver’s bodyguard Mr Diggle, is getting a reaming from Mrs Queen about how terrible he is at keeping an eye on Oliver. Oliver returns in time to insinuate that he’s spending all his time with a woman, while Mrs Queen pretends that she’s all about his safety. Considering the fact that she paid to have him tortured, me thinks she has another objective at heart.

Still, she takes him on a tour of the company building – much to the googly eyes of the younger female staff – and Mrs Queen observes this with a smile and making jokes. But she’s just buttering him up, telling him that they want to announce his taking a leadership role in the company. He rejects the offer, which isn’t taken very graciously.

She isn’t the only family member unhappy with him, his sister is all angry too because he doesn’t want to talk about his time away. And she feels like she was closer to him while he was away, than they are now that he’s returned. Being upstaged by a gravestone, ouch.

Taking her advice to heart, he goes to Laurel’s apartment. Yeah, great decision Oliver. She doesn’t greet him very warmly, so he stammers a bit and then explains that he wants to talk to someone. For some reason she lets him inside, shooting snarky comments at him the whole time, and then he offers her ice cream. And apparently it’s all good again.

Well, that is until the Triad comes in to take her out and then serious things start going down. Looks like Oliver has to reveal his super violent skills, at least until his body guard Mr Diggle breaks in and starts shooting everyone. Oliver throws a butter knife at one of them, disarming her and making her run away. The manliness of this move sends Laurel into his arms, gripping onto him for dear life.

Detective Lance, Laurel’s father, is – rightfully – pissed off about the whole thing and he and Laurel have a big fight about her role in the court case that might end up killing her. Until Detective Lance gets called away to the docks, where Arrow is paying Mr Somers back for the Triad visit.

The Triad lady from before and Arrow have a brief but intense fight, until the cops show up and they run their separate ways. On his way out Arrow gets caught by Detective Lance, throws an arrow recorder with Mr Somers’ confession in it. Detective Lance looks at it in wonder and it seems like his view on the Arrow is changing. Well, until he talks to his daughter later and reaffirms that he hates how Arrow goes about doing it.

Back in normal Oliver land, he turns up to the unveiling of the new Queen building seeming a bit drunk, and making a speech about how he is not his father’s son. Then as he walks away his expression goes from drunk to solemn and angsty. And the similarities between Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen continue.

While being angsty he flashes back to the island and finding a notebook in his dead father’s pocket with a logo. Why? Well, because in present day Mummy Dearest is reassuring someone that Oliver knows nothing to a shadowy stranger who is holding a book, or tablet, or something, that has the same logo.

The episode ends with a flashback to the island where Oliver is burying his father by piling rocks on top of him and then gets shot with an arrow fired by a guy wearing a very familiar hood. Turns out Oliver didn’t teach himself to shoot arrows by practicing on his own. Well, that’ll be interesting to see, especially since he’s been going on about how alone he was.

Make sure to check out our coverage of the rest of the Fall programs, with reviews and recaps of new and returning shows.