Pilot (Arrow)

For other episodes of the same name, see Pilot.

"The name of the island they found me on is Lian Yu. It's Mandarin for "purgatory". I've been stranded here for 5 years. I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, I have had only one thought, one goal... survive. Survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. I am returning not the boy who was shipwrecked but the man who will bring justice to those who have poisoned my city. My name is Oliver Queen."

—Oliver Queen

"Pilot"
Information
Season 1 » Episode 1
Episode number	1 of 170
Original airdate	October 10, 2012
Written by	Story: Greg Berlanti Marc Guggenheim Teleplay: Andrew Kreisberg Marc Guggenheim
Directed by	David Nutter
Guest stars
Colin Salmon as Walter Steele Jamey Sheridan as Robert Queen Jacqueline MacInnes Wood as Sara Lance Annie Ilonzeh as Joanna de la Vega Kathleen Gati as Raisa Roger Cross as Lucas Hilton Brian Markinson as Adam Hunt
Chronology
Followed by	"Honor Thy Father"

"Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of Arrow, and the first episode overall. It aired on October 10, 2012.

Synopsis

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for 5 years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. Back in Starling City, Oliver slowly reconnects with those closest to him, his devoted mother Moira, his beloved sister Thea, and his best friend Tommy Merlyn, but struggles with his ex-girlfriend Dinah Laurel Lance, who blames him for her sister's death. Oliver has brought back many new skills from his time on the island and despite the watchful eye of his new bodyguard John Diggle, Oliver manages to secretly create the persona of an unknown vigilante archer nicknamed the Hood by the police trying to catch him. Using the Hood, Oliver tries to right the wrongs of his family and fight the ills of society. As the Hood, Oliver will atone for the past sins of his family while he searches for the personal redemption he needs.

Plot

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After a shipwreck that claims the life of his father, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead for 5 years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his mother, Moira, his younger sister, Thea, and his best friend, Tommy, welcome him home, but sense that Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he has become, he tries to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, Laurel, for cheating on her with her sister, who also died in the shipwreck. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly masquerades as a green-hooded vigilante archer known as the Hood by night, attempting to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory as his late father had entrusted him to do before his death. Oliver's first personal task is to take down corrupt millionaire Adam Hunt, who has scammed millions from various people in Starling City. Laurel's father, police Sergeant Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the Hood. Meanwhile, Oliver's mother is revealed to have an agenda against her son, having orchestrated the kidnapping to determine what his father told him after the shipwreck.

Trivia

• Thea's childhood nickname, Speedy, is a reference to Mia Dearden, her counterpart from the comics who takes on the mantle of Speedy after Roy Harper. Similarly, Thea joined Team Arrow as Speedy in season 3 after Roy Harper left.
  • Also, several archery trophies can be seen in Thea's room, further foreshadowing her vigilante identity.
• Tommy mentions that Oliver hasn’t had sex in 1,839 days (by his rough estimate). 1,839 days is equal to 5 years, 1 week, and 6 days. Since most Arrow episodes take place in real time, we can assume this episode takes place on October 10, 2012 (the day it aired), meaning the Queen's Gambit probably sank on or around September 27, 2007.
• Tommy states that one of the dancers at Oliver's party resembles "the chick from Twilight" and mentions how Oliver is better off not knowing what that is, referencing Bella Swan, the protagonist of the often-criticized Twilight Saga.

Production

Shooting ran until April 3, 2012.^{[citation needed]}