Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 22 - Missing

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

It's Oliver's birthday and Team Arrow is in the mood to celebrate in the wake of Prometheus' capture. Unfortuantely, Black Siren has been sprung from ARGUS custody and - with the aid of Prometheus' other allies - has begun taking down Star City's heroes, one at a time.

In the flashbacks, having been ambushed by a not-quite-dead Kovar, Oliver must endure the greatest torture drug known to the KGB if he is to survive to see his homecoming.


Influences

The film version of The Princess Bride (Kovar's torture of Oliver, with his request for honest answers at the start and his philosophical talk about pain mirrors the torture scenes with The Machine) and the comic Justice League: Cry for Justice (a villain named Prometheus holds Green Arrow's loved ones and city hostage in order to escape capture.).


Goofs

Given the destruction of John's car, it seems unlikely that he and Felicity could walk away from it as they do here.

If Black Siren is meant to seem honestly sorrowful that she's chaining up her own father, Katie Cassidy is doing a piss-poor job of portraying it.

The hallucination of Laurel that convinces Oliver not to kill himself is wearing an obvious wig that is the wrong color for Laurel at that time.


Performances

It's good to see John Barrowman back as Merlyn.

It's even better to see Manu Bennett back as Slade, even for just five seconds.


Artistry

The fight as Malcolm and Oliver move to free Chase is amazingly shot and directed.


Trivia

As is traditional for the penultimate episode of each season of Arrow, the title is a reference to a Bruce Springsteen song.

The song Missing comes from the 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. In it, a man sings about how the woman he loves has walked out of his life and how he sometimes thinks she's come back to him.

It is revealed in this episode that Oliver Queen's birthday is sometime in the month of May.

Depending on the exact day, this would make Oliver either a Taurus (The Bull) or Gemini (The Twins) using Western astrology. Either one might be a good fit for Oliver, as Taurus' have a reputation for stubbornness and Geminis are said to be charming but prone to keeping secrets and living two lives.

According to a 1976 DC Comics calendar, Oliver Queen's birthday is December 9th. Fittingly, this would make Oliver Queen a Sagittarius - The Archer - using Western astrology.

The "Happy Birthday Oliver" signs at Oliver's party are in the same font as the Arrow logo.

Felicity says that Oliver's birthday cake came from Lord Mesa Bakery. This is a nod to artist Lord Mesa, who has become famous among DCTVU fandom circles (to say nothing of beloved by the show stars and creators) for his portraits of various superheroes and his one-panel comics based upon them. The cartoon Green Arrow on Oliver's cake is one of Lord Mesa's designs.

Felicity, being teased by Curtis, compares him to a shipper on a soap opera. It's worth mentioning tat the Arrow fandom has an incredibly active shipping community, with fans of the Oliver/Felicity pairing (or Olicity) being the most numerous.


Technobabble

Curtis builds a pair of sound modulators for Dinah. He claims that they will not only allow her to better focus her Canary Cry but will also allow her to overcome any kind of sonic-dampening technology.

The Red Death is the name given a drug devised by the KGB for use in interrogations. It is meant to break men's wills by enduing psychological anguish.

Purgatory - according to Catholic dogma - is the immediate state following physical death.in which some souls who are destined for Heaven must first undergo purification.

Felicity has access to a keyhole satellite that can track the heat signature of any plane in the world.


Dialogue Triumphs

Oliver: Being happy doesn't mean you don't have issues. It just means that you're working on them.

(Oliver has just said he has plans when Thea invites him out to dinner to celebrate his birthday.)
Thea: With who? Please say 'not Susan Williams' ?
Oliver: Um, it... No... ah.... with Felicity.
Thea: Ah. As in a date?
Oliver: As in... I, I don't know if it's a date.
Thea: (teasingly) But you're hoping that it is?
Oliver: It's dinner! People go to dinner.
Thea: See, I don't believe you. But I find it incredibly cute.
(Oliver sighs in exasperation as he exits the room.)

(Quentin arrives at Oliver's birthday party.)
Quentin: I'm late, aren't I?
Thea: Its all good. You didn't miss much. Just Oliver flipping Curtis over his shoulder.
Quentin: (sighs) I told you a surprise party wasn't a good idea.

(The rest of the team have left Oliver and Felicity alone.)
Felicity: I guess since the dinner at Chez Marta was a ruse, they think we deserve some alone time.
Oliver: Well, I mean... I didn't know if it was a...
Felicity: We can take it one step at a time.
Oliver: I would like that very much.
Felicity: This is hard for you, huh?
Oliver: Hypothetically dating my ex-fiancee?  (sarcastically) No, it's fi-
Felicity: Wow. No. I meant "summer vacation" as they are now calling it.
Oliver: It's incredibly hard. It's borderline impossible.
Felicity: We won. (pauses, before whispering) Oliver, we won. Take a step back. You know? You could put your feet up, no matter the state of your socks. You could just - God forbid - relax.
(Felicity laughs and reaches up to Oliver's tie, loosening the knot.)
Oliver: (softly, without much conviction) Yeah.

(Curtis is teasing Felicity about her and Oliver dressing up for each other.)
Felicity: Can you please stop? You're worse than a shipper on a soap opera.

Oliver: Chase doesn't think I can game out what he;s planning, but it;s obvious.
Felicity: (sarcastically) Yeah. Obvious to a murdering psychopath.
(Oliver just looks at her.)
Felicity: And present company excluded.
Oliver: He's trying to leverage our friends to make me set him free.
Felicity: That's crazy...
(Oliver just looks at her again.)
Felicity: ... which would be consistent with Chase.

(Kovar slides a gun to a shaky-handed Oliver.)
Kovar: That gun only has one bullet. You can waste it on me. But I think we both know who is responsible for your pain. (pauses) I've seen the strongest man resist for up to 12 minutes before... ending his suffering Such is my respect for you, that I... I think you last for uh... 14 minutes.

(Oliver senses someone behind him in The Bunker and throws a dart. Malcolm Merlyn catches it.)
Malcolm: I see your sense of hospitality remains intact.
Oliver: You are not welcome here, Malcolm!
Malcolm: You aim to cut off my other hand, Oliver?
Oliver: Maybe. Are you going to tell another person about my son?
Malcolm: Last time I was down here I saved your life.
Oliver: Do you really think that gives you a pass for serving up William to Damien Darhk?!
Malcolm: I'm sorry about that. I wasn't thinking clearly. (raises his prosthetic hand) I let my emotions get out of hand. That's all in the past. The only thing I'm concerned about now is saving my daughter!

(Talia Al Ghul is standing in the road in front of John's car.)
Felicity: Angry woman with two swords. Are you getting major Isabel Rochev flashbacks right now?
John: Yep.
Felicity: You remember how we handled her, right?
John: Yep.
(John speeds up.)

Malcolm: Friends are one thing but family is family. And a child? You would do anything - absolutely anything - to keep them safe.
Oliver: A little while ago I worried to John... that the personal connections I had were making me vulnerable. Because as long as there are people in my life that I care for, I have to be something else to protect them. That's something I can't leave in the past.
Malcolm: I admire you, Oliver. It takes a special kind of idiot to actually get dumber with time.
Oliver: I am not in the mood, Malcolm.
(Oliver turns from Malcolm and moves back towards their bikes.)
Malcolm: Human connections are what keep us human. And it's sad that it's a sociopath who's gonna have to point this out to you!  You can't live on an island! You've already tried! But you are always going to have people in your life, Oliver. And they will always need you, for better or worse, baggage and all. And if you can't accept that, your past is going to stay your anchor!

(The proximity alarm in The Bunker goes off.)
Malcolm: Are you expecting someone?
Oliver: Yes, I am. Because Chase is working with at least Black Siren, Evelyn Sharp, Talia Al Ghul and whatever army she's currently controlling.
Malcolm: (smirking) So you called in reinforcements? If I wasn't such a confident individual, my ego might be bruised.
Oliver: Malcolm, your ego is what I'm going to need you keep in check.
Malcolm: (suddenly tense) Why? Who did you reach out to?
(Nyssa Al Ghul exits the elevator.)
Nyssa: Husband. (she nods to Oliver before looking to Malcolm.) Mr. Merlyn. I assume you still have no title?
Malcolm: (spinning to Oliver) No.
Oliver: (warningly) Malcolm...
Malcolm: I will not work with her.
Nyssa: I told you.
Malcolm: I'd sooner slice her throat.
Nyssa: Try to, you mean.
Oliver: Malcolm, you said you'd do whatever it takes to get Thea back. So... (suddenly shouting) here we are!
Malcolm: Fine. But does she know?
(Oliver blinks, clearly not having planned on this happening. Nyssa sense this and steps closer to them both.)
Nyssa: Know what, Mr. Merlyn?
Malcolm: One of the people we're up against is your sister.
(Nyssa inhales slowly -the closest thing to a gasp she will allow herself as she stares at Oliver pointedly.)

(Oliver pushes his way past a security door with the ARGUS log on it into a prison block. He drops a bag by the door and sighs before moving deeper into the room toward a row of bars. He sighs deeply before finally speaking.)
Oliver: I need your help.
(We switch to a POV shot from Oliver's perspective as he looks into the cell... and sees Slade Wilson.)
Slade: Hey kid. (chuckles softly) I'm glad you came back.


Continuity

Following the capture of Adrian Chase, Oliver Queen's approval rating as Mayor is 70%, according to a Star City Sentinel poll. This is the highest his approval rating had ever been, according to Quentin

Though no exact date is given, Oliver Queen's birthday is sometime in May.

Oliver refers to the events of 111 and Thea Queen's disastrous 18th birthday party.

At the time of this episode, Lyla and John Jr. are in Chicago visiting family.

According to John, he and Lyla are patching things up after their fight in the last episode.

Based on the number of newspapers outside his apartment, Rene hasn't been home in several days. Also,shockingly, Rene subscribes to a newspaper.

The team discuss vacation plans. Curtis would like to go to Florence, Italy. John wants to take his son fishing. Felicity wants to walk the Pacific Crest Trail before taking a spa day. Oliver just wants to have a day to go shopping and buy some new socks. (Apparently he's almost out.)

Oliver determines that Talia Al Ghul is responsible for abducting Curtis, Dinah and Rene based on one of the darts he finds at Dinah's apartment.

The Red Death causes Oliver to hallucinate the pain from his old wounds whenever the scars are touched.

While hallucinating while suffering from the effects of The Red Death, Oliver has past visions relating to his sins (i.e. killing Taiana in 423), failures (i.e. Shado's death in 209), guilt (i.e. Oliver killing one of Ivo's men in front of Shado in 201) and bloodlust (i.e. Oliver torturing General Matthew Shrieve to death in 323). He hallucinates both his fist teacher, Yao Fei, encouraging him to commit suicide and then a vision of Laurel Lance telling him to live.

Black Siren was broken out of ARGUS at some point after Curtis' abduction. It is later revealed that she was released by an ARGUS agent, who was being blackmailed by Eveyln Sharpe.

As of this episode, Quentin had still not been told about the existence of Black Siren.

Thea apparently had been informed of Black Siren's existence.

Malcolm Merlyn refers to the events of 423 - the last time he was in The Bunker, when he arrived just in time to help defend it from a team of Damien Darhk's Ghosts.

Felicity refers to 222 and how she hit Isabel Rochev with a van when she and John are confronted by Talia.

Oliver recalls that Curtis did put tracking nanites in Felicity in 518, but that they were rendered useless by the EMP from 520.

Oliver figures out that Chase is escaping to Lian Yu.

Nyssa says that her father once told her to visit Lian Yu and that it was where she discovered Sara Lance. This is because Sara, during her time in the past with a younger Ra's ah Ghul and Talia (as seen L109), instructed Ra's to send his next daughter to the island in October 2008. This establishes Sara's recruitment into the League of Assassins as a closed time loop.

Oliver deduces that Talia must have told Chase about Lian Yu.

Oliver uses his one bullet to break the lock on the door of his cell.

In the final scene of the episode, Oliver enters Slade Wilson's cell on Lian Yu and tells him he needs his help.


Location

A freeway 10 miles outside of Star City.


Untelevised Adventures

We do not see how Reme or Dinah were captured.  We don't see how Black Siren escaped from ARGUS.


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode, curiously, because of how little it has to do with Season Five's on-going plot. It's all because of the other little bits of character business that harken back to the show's glory days. The interactions between Oliver and Malcolm. The chemistry between Oliver and Felicity. The brief scenes of Thea and Quentin together. The flashback sequences that actually tie into the current storyline.

It would have been nice to see Roy Harper show up to offer some back-up too but I can't complain. Apparently they won back Manu Bennett despite his promise never to do the show again after Slade's treatment in Season Three.  That's as much a symbol of how far this show has turned around this year as anything.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 17 - Kapiushon

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

Captured by Prometheus, Oliver faces unthinkable torture as his sworn enemy tries to break him and Diggle leads the rest of Team Arrow to find him.

Five years earlier, Oliver's increasingly violent tactics begin to worry Anatoly as they head into a final confrontation with Konstantin Kovar, who they've discovered is plotting a coup of the Russian government.



Influences

The Green Arrow comics of Mike Grell (Ollie being tortured while having flashbacks) and Suicide Squad #38 (hero browbeat into confessing he enjoys killing)


Performances

I think David Nykl's performances as Anatoly are probably the most underrated guest performance in the show's history. The series frequently required him to be the voice of reason, comic relief and a figure of menace - all roles he filled easily while still seemingly being the same character. In this episode, he does all three of these things in the span of an hour and makes it seem as natural as breathing.



Artistry

The fight choreography of the flashback sequences is some of the best the show has seen.

The final battle between Kovar and Oliver on the casino dance floor is well-lit, well-blocked and well-directed. Well-done over all, really.


Trivia

The episode title 'Kapiushon' is a rough Anglicization of the Russian word for "hood". It is later revealed that this is what Kovar's men had taken to calling the figure with the bow who was attacking their business interests.

Prometheus reveals that his took his name from the mythological figure who stole the power of The Greek Gods. It is likewise his intent to take away all of Oliver Queen's power.

"Samovol'shchnia"is a Russian phrase meaning "do as you will." It has a deeper meaning that is tied into The Russian Revolution of 1917. In this case, it means a coup - a violent overthrow of the government.

Much of the plot of the modern-day sequences of this episode resembles the plot of John Ostrander's Suicide Squad #38. In that issue Ben Turner (aka The Bronze Tiger) is interrogated regarding his temper and his efforts to calm it by studying martial arts. Like Oliver, he too adopted a masked persona to try and control his murderous impulses and the issue ends with him confessing that he enjoys killing.


Technobabble

Justin Claybourne's autopsy reveal that his aortic arch was pierced by an arrow. However, the actual cause of death was drowning. He spent 145 seconds (2 minutes, 25 seconds) underwater before his lungs filled up.

Felicity and Curtis had to reroute the electro-optical digital imaging from every reconisance satellite they could gain access to and then capture the data in a 4-dimensional array which could then be parsed using a real-time algorithm. Curtis says solving cold fusion would have been easier.



Dialogue Triumphs

Gregor: (To Oliver) And you are no one's hero. Every thing and every one that you love will wither and die at your touch!

Kovar: My father once told me "do not have 100 rubles but 100 friends."
Merlyn: (laughing) Fortunately we have both friends and money.

(Oliver wakes up on the floor of his cell. Adrian is arranging the last of several photos on the walls.)
Adrian: Do they look familiar? Do you even remember their faces? These are your victims.
Oliver:  (sighs) They were people who did... terrible things. They -had- victims.
Adrian: And husbands. And wives. Daughters. (pauses) Sons. Confess your secret Oliver, and all this ends. I'll give you a gift and you can walk out that door and go back home.
Oliver:  Adrian, you're sick. And you're a hypocrite. There is nothing that I've done that compares with you. You murdered your own wife!
(Adrian moves over to one of the pictures.)
Adrian: Cecil Adams. You knew him by his street name, The Count? You put three arrows in him.
Oliver:  He was going to kill a friend of mine...
(Adrian moves to the floor where a bow and quiver are waiting. He begins to strap on the quiver.)
Adrian: Felicity Smoak.
Oliver: (impatient) Yeah!
Adrian: Confess. Or you get the same three arrows.
(Oliver steadies himself.)
Oliver: Go to hell.
Adrian: I've already been there, Oliver. And I've come back with a message for you.
(In rapid succession, Adrian shoots the three arrows into Oliver's shoulders.)

The Hood: A friend of mine recently showed me the skinning techniques used by hunters in Mongolia. They remove all the skins of things much larger than you in less than five minutes. Which means... you don't have very long... to tell me what your boss is planning.
Kovar's Man: I don't know anything!
The Hood: I was hoping you'd say that.
(The Hood moves in as the camera pans left. We fade to black as Kovar's man begins screaming.)

(Anatoly has discovered Oliver and what is left of Kovar's man.)
Anatoly: This is not human!
Oliver: Anatoly, I told you - putting on this hood... it helps me direct the darkness inside me. It worked, by the way. I know what Kovar is planning.
Anatoly: But at what cost?! You are a fool to think a piece of cloth can separate man from monster. Dividing yourself in two? Will only make the monster stronger until it is stronger than you.
Oliver: You knew what I was capable of back on Lian Yu.
Anatoly: But this man I see now?  Bears more resemblance to Slade Wilson. Or Anthony Ivo.
(Anatoly looks under the cloth and winces.)
Anatoly: Tough man. Clearly he stood a lot before breaking.
Oliver: He gave up pretty quickly. The rest was me practicing.
Anatoly: Practicing to become what?
Oliver: Something else.

(Viktor guides Anatoly and his men into am ambush of Kovar's men.)
Anatoly: You sold us out!
Viktor: We're in a casino, Anatoly. I like to think of it as playing the hand I was dealt.

Adrian: I told you, Oliver. You infect every life that you touch. And now do you realize why? It's because your crusade was based on a lie. You used your father's memory to justify a killing spree. There's a price to be paid for that, Oliver. Your mother paid it. Your friend Tommy paid it. Laurel.... Do you really want to tell me that John Diggle and Felicity Smoak's lives are better having known you?

Anatoly: I cannot believe scared boy in cell beside me would be one to kill Konstantin Kovar.
Oliver: Well, that wasn't me. (Oliver holds up the hood.) That was him.
Anatoly: That is a lie you tell yourself. An excuse that allows you to kill. You kill because you like it.
Oliver: That is not true, Anatoly. I hate it. And I think maybe you've had a bit too much to drink.
Anatoly: Well, that is entirely possible. But in this case I am right. This deal you sold yourself on? That this hood is going to keep this monster of yours at bay? Someday is going to fall apart. And when it does, you are not going to like the man you see underneath.


Dialogue Disasters

Every instance of Adrian Chase shouting "Confess" to Oliver and Oliver shouting back that he doesn't know what Chase wants. Pure Narm.


Continuity

When a Bratva Pakhan dies, a new one is appointed based on seniority.

It is a Bratva tradition that the dead be laid out in state and that other members place money around the corpse. According to Anatoly, this is because the money makes a good gift in Heaven or a good bribe to Satan.

When a new Pakhan takes over, every member of his gang must cut their hand with a knife and shake hands with him.

Malcolm Merlyn was a business partner of Konstantin Kovar.

Merlyn provides Kovar with a large quantity of Sarin Gas in exchange for Kovar providing Merlyn with some unspecified information for Unidac Industries. This was the company which made The Markov Device which Merlyn used to generate earthquakes as part of The Undertaking in Season One.

The Count's real name is revealed to be Cecil Adams. Oliver killed him to save Felicity's life in 207.

Oliver was taught the skinning techniques used by hunters in Mongolia. They are capable of completely skinning large animals in less than five minutes.

In order to win the trust of Taiana's mother, Oliver repeats the phrase she told him in 413 - "The same hammer that shatters glass forges steel."

Evelyn Sharpe/Artemis - last seen in 509 - is thrown into Oliver's cell with a knife. Prometheus says that one of them must be dead when he returns or she will snap her neck in front of Oliver. If she kills him first, she'll be free to go.

Taiana's mother is killed by Kovar. Oliver arrives too late to save her after seeing her being attacked on a security monitor.

Oliver's confession is that he doesn't kill because he has to because of his crusade - he does it because he wants to and because he enjoys it.

Prometheus burns the skin where Oliver's Bratva tattoo is located below his left shoulder.

Anatoly and Oliver got matching Bartva Captain tattoos after Oliver seemingly killed Kovar. Anatoly insisted on promoting Oliver despite his intentions to return home to Starling City so that if he ever needed the Bratva's help, he would be able to get it.

Anatoly also gives Oliver back the hood that he lost in Kovar's casino.

Anatoly refers to the events of the flashbacks in 204 and how Oliver was performing surgery on himself when they first met.

It is revealed that Kovar survived Oliver's beat-down and that he was saved, in part, by Malcolm Merlyn.

Oliver was missing for six days.


The Fridge Factor

Taiana's mother is killed to give Oliver more angst.


The Bottom Line

One of the rare episodes where the flashback sequences are more gripping than the present day material. This is doubly stunning given that we know Oliver and Anatoly will survive their battle with Kovar. The scenes of Oliver being tortured do manage a few honest surprises, though Oliver's confession is hardly a revelation given that it's been at the heart of Oliver's conflict since the first season. Unfortunately, the ending lacks any kind of punch since we know there's still several episodes left this season and no realistic way for everyone else on Team Arrow to quit... particularly when there's a murderous maniac working among them as Star City's D.A.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 4 - Penance

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

When Lyla asks Oliver for help in breaking John out of a military prison, Oliver goes off despite Felicity's objections. While Oliver's gone, Tobias Church launches a serious of vicious attacks on the police, requiring the rest of the new Team Arrow to move against him.


Influences

The TV show Prison Break and the Judd Winick run on Green Arrow.


Goofs

Team Arrow moves to confront Oliver in costume but without their masks?

The circle Oliver makes in the hole of Diggle's cell looks far too neatly cut for something created by an aerosol compound.


Artistry

The script does a fine job of drawing parallels between various sequences. For instance, the flashback plot mirrors the current events, with both stories involving Oliver breaking into a prison. There's also some brilliant interplay between Oliver and Diggle's escape from a military prison and Team Arrow and the Police escaping the police building being attacked by Tobias Church's men.


Trivia

The briefcase Team Arrow recovers in the opening sequence was stolen from Kord Industries. This is a nod to the business run by Ted Kord who - in the DC Comics Universe - was a scientist superhero and the second hero to use the name The Blue Beetle.

This episode marks the first time that Evelyn Sharpe is seen using a bow and is addressed by the codename Artemis.

The original Artemis came from the Young Justice animated series. Artemis Crock was the daughter of two super-villains - The Sportsmaster and The Tigress. She and her sister Jade were trained from a young age to take over their parents roles. After Jade ran away from home and her parents divorced, Artemis began looking for a better life. She met Green Arrow and became his protege, with Green Arrow coming up with a story about her being his niece to hide her connection to a criminal family.

In the original comics, Rory Regan's father was a pawn-shop owner named Gerry Regan and a Veteran. The DCTVU version of Rory Regan's father is also a pawn-shop owner and a Veteran, but his name is also Rory Regan. This is taken from the origin of the post-Crisis Ragman from the comics, who was the latest in a long-line of Ragmen.

John Diggle's cell number is 1138. The number 1138 has been used in a number of media - mostly as a reference to George Lucas' first film THX-1138.

The IP address Oliver is given for communicating with Kovar is 108.166.7.161. This is the IP address for The CW Network's website.


Technobabble

Oliver steals an anti-molecular compound capable of dissolving any material from PalmerTech. This is used to break the floor of John's cell.

The item stolen from Kord Industries by Tobias Church's man was a 6800 computer processor available for purchase in any computer store. Curtis notes that it makes no sense for this to have been stolen given the more valuable cutting-edge technology Kord Industries makes that could have been taken.

The man Oliver talks to communicates with Kovar through a digital dead-drop on the Dark Web. The IP address is 108.166.7.161.

Felicity is able to predict where Tobias Church and his men are heading by cross-plotting his prior locations into a projection algorithm.


Dialogue Triumphs

Adrian Chase: Public service isn't easy. Sometimes you get a little dirty clearing out the filth.

(A black-clad figure moves into a secure area at Palmer Tech. Suddenly, their phone begins to vibrate. The figure stops and pulls up their mask. It is Oliver Queen.)
Ollie: What's up?
Felicity: Hey. There's been a break-in at PalmerTech. Are you still in the area?
Ollie: Uh, yeah. I can look into that.

(Ollie enters into The Bunker, still wearing his burglar blacks. Felicity is waiting for him.)
Felicity: How was PalmerTech? Before you answer, you should consider that your phone has GPS. And if you were thinking about lying, I do admire your consistency.
Ollie: I wasn't thinking of lying to you. I was't looping you in after you made it clear you didn't approve of the decision
Felicity: John's the one who doesn't approve of the plan.
Ollie: John's not thinking clearly.
Felicity: Well, I'll bet Roy is. And if he were here, I think he would tell you that life on the run is no life at all. And I seem to remember you not being on-board with that plan.
Ollie: Roy was making a bad choice. Just like John is making a bad choice. He is currently locked up in a military prison for a crime he didn't commit!
Felicity: To atone for a crime that he did commit! And what does it matter? John doesn't want to leave! It is not your choice! Why do you always have to make decisions for him?!
Ollie: He already abandoned the team. I am not going to let him abandon his family.
Felicity: Is that what this is about?  John leaving the team?
Ollie: This is simple. I am going to stop John from making a decision that he will come to regret. You should consider doing the exact same thing with Rory.
Felicity: You do realize that me having a chat with Rory is completely different than you committing half-a-dozen felonies, right?

Adrian Chase: Did you ever think you'd be doing this again? Handling evidence?
Quentin Lance: No. Didn't think I'd be Deputy Mayor either, but here we are.
Adrian Chase: I was surprised you took the job, to be honest. From what I hear, you and Queen have a, uh... complicated history. Got a lot of hatchets to be buried there.
Quentin Lance: Yeah. Well, at least I know where they're buried. That's something you can't buy or steal.

(Oliver easily took down the rest of Team Arrow when they tried to stop him from leaving town.)
Curtis: You know, Felicity? Could you please explain to me again how you thought this was all gonna go down?
Felicity: I thought that if he saw you all united against his crazy plan, he'd reconsider.
Curtis: Right. Because Oliver Queen is known for thinking things through and taking input from others.

Ollie: Tell me where I can find Kovar.
Pytor: You think you scare me more than him?
Ollie: No, but he's not locked up in here with you. I am.

Sergio: I'm not rolling on Church. You think you scare me more than him?
Adrian Chase: No. But he's not here with you. I am.
(Chase stands up and begins to roll-up his shirt sleeves.)
Sergio: Hmm. You're not going to a beating on me. You're a D.A.
Adrian Chase: Yeah. Haven't you heard?  All of the justice in this town comes from vigilantes.

Evelyn: Things have really fallen apart without Oliver, haven't they?
Oliver: (entering the room) A good thing I'm back then.
(Everyone turns to look at him.)
Rory: Was he waiting for an entrance line?
Curtis: Nope. He's just that cool.

(Tobias Church walks into the room where his men are torturing Wild Dog.)
Tobias Church: Man. (gestures to a bruise on his face) Been a long time since someone tagged me like this. Respect.
Wild Dog: Oh, my pleasure. But I promise you if you untie me, I'll show you a hell of a lot more than respect.
Tobias Church: Oooh, man, you've got spirit. And I am duly impressed. But I'm gonna break that spirit. I'm gonna break your soul. And when we're finished, assuming that you're still alive - now, I wouldn't bet no money on that, though - there's gonna be very little of you left for The Green Arrow to work with.


Continuity

Curtis Holt was a bronze-medalist in the Decathlon.

Evelyn Sharpe is identified by the codename Artemis and seen using a bow for the first time.

Curtis Holt is identified by the codename Mr. Terrific for the first time.

Wild Dog served in the US Navy, but was dishonorably discharged.

As of this episode, Quentin Lance hasn't had a drink in a week.

Rory Regan is a sculptor who welds scrap metal together.

Rory Regan's father was a pawn-shop owner.

Rory Regan's father was a Gulf War Veteran - 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. He was also named Rory Regan and he too wore The Ragman costume before passing it on to his son.

John's cell number is 1138.

18 Mill Road is where the Anti-Crime Unite of the SCPD is bunkered.

The Ragman costume is capable of deflecting a bomb blast and repelling bullets.

Oliver sets up John in an old HIVE hideout until they can find a more permanent solution.

Wild Dog is captured by Tobias Church and is being tortured by him and his men as the episode ends.

In the flashbacks, Oliver passes his third and final test to join The Bratva. This requires him to kill a person on orders from Anatoly with no questions asked.


Location

U.S. Disciplinary Barracks - Langham Penitentiary

In the flashbacks, Oliver goes into an unnamed Russian jail in an unnamed Russian city.


The Bottom Line

Not bad but a far cry from the quality of everything we've seen so far this season. It's telling that the most interesting interaction is between Adrian Chase and Quentin Lance and the hints at Adrian Chase becoming a Vigilante himself. Everything else in the episode is competently executed, but is awfully repetitive up until Wild Dog sacrifices himself to complete the objective. 

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 3 - A Matter Of Trust

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

A new drug-dealer named Derek Sampson is peddling the designer drug Stardust on the streets of Star City. When Wild Dog defies Green Arrow's orders not to go after Sampson directly, the hot-tempered hero inadvertently turns Sampson into a more dangerous enemy. Meanwhile, Thea tries to manage the political fallout of her decision to hire Quentin Lance as Deputy Mayor, John winds up with an unexpected cellmate and Felicity debates whether or not to tell Rory of her role in his family's death.


Influences

The Judd Winick run on Green Arrow (set-up of Oliver Queen balancing his life as Green Arrow and Mayor of Star City), the JSA comics of Geoff Johns, James Robinson and David Goyer (character design of Mister Terrific), the Young Justice animated series (costume design for Evelyn Sharpe), the writings of Mark Twain (Sampson quotes his line about "the rumors of his death being greatly exaggerated."), the movie Lethal Weapon (mentioned and copied as Sampson shows off his inability to feel pain) and the origin story of The Joker as seen in various Batman comics (Sampson gets powers after being forced into a chemical vat.)


Goofs

Given his wife's status as the head of a major Federal agency charged with managing international security and the fact that The President had to be aware of John Diggle's role in helping his wife with averting a nuclear disaster, it's a little unbelievable that John Diggle could be so easily framed.

Thea seems horribly out of character in how foolish she acts in her dealings with Susan Williams, given how generally cynical and savvy she's been portrayed over the past year patrolling the streets and running Oliver's campaign for mayor.


Performances

There's not a bad performance in the episode, but the MVP is David Ramsey. Again, Diggle is short-changed by the episode in terms of screen-time but -  unlike last week - Ramsey is given ample opportunity to show a side of the usually stalwart Diggle we rarely see. The performance improves on a second viewing, as Ramsey offers some subtle hints in his reactions to the episode's twist ending.


Artistry

The use of cinematography of the fight between Wild Dog/Evelyn and the drug dealers looks amazing, as does the fight blocking itself.  The set for the drug lab has as a good design, too.

Likewise, the fight between Green Arrow and Sampson in the hospital hallway is a fantastic scene, perfectly balancing excellent practical effects and stupendous fight choreography.

These scenes pale, however, compared to the final fight between Team Arrow and Sampson's gang. The editing on the whole long sequence is wonderful as we cut between the various battles and the stunt work is top-notch.  It's also well-balanced and gives us a chance to see each member of the team shining.

The script does a masterful job with the fake-out regarding John's cell-mate. Given the changes caused by The Flashpoint Timeline and the fact that Deadshot was able to cheat death once before already, his showing up in John's cell is not the least unlikely thing to happen in the show's history. Which makes it all the more shocking when it turns out he isn't really there...


Trivia

Cody Rhodes- who plays Derek Sampson - is a professional wrestler better known by the name Stardust. The designer drug Sampson peddles on the show is named in honor of Rhodes' former wrestling persona.

In one of his final storylines with World Wrestling Entertainment, Stardust - who had taken on a super-villain persona - began calling out actor Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen on Arrow. This led to a feud that ended in a tag-team match at SummerSlam 2015, where Amell and the wrestler Neville defeated Stardust and his partner, King Barrett.

TV reporter Susan Williams shares a name with a character from the Green Lantern comics.  There, Susan Williams was a reporter for Behind The Scenes magazine who was covering the campaign of lawyer Jack Jordan for District Attorney post in Coast City. During that time, she noticed that Green Lantern kept showing up to protect Jack Jordan from criminals and guessed that Jack's younger brother, Jim Jordan, was the dashing superhero. She began dating Jim and they eventually got married and had kids. Eventually she discovered that it was Jack and Jim's middle-brother, Hal Jordan, who was Green Lantern.

The new District Attorney of Star City - Adrian Chase - makes his first appearance in the flesh. In the comics, Adrian Chase was the second hero to take the name of Vigilante, first appearing in 1983's New Teen Titans Annual #2. A district attorney in New York City who lost his family to mob violence, Chase became The Vigilante to strike against the criminals he could not bring to justice in his day job. Felicity referred to a costumed hero whose costume resembled Adrian Chase's Vigilante (aka Mr. Ski-Goggles) in 501. 

The jacket Curtis wears with "FAIR PLAY" on the sleeve ad the T-shaped mask that he wears as part of his costume are modeled on the costume of the second Mister Terrific from the comics.

Curtis says that his jacket was a replica of the one worn by his favorite professional wrestler - Mister Terrific - a.k.a. "Fair Play" Terry Sloan. Sloan reportedly wore clothing with the "Fair Play" slogan on it because he didn't need to cheat to win.

In the comics, Terry Sloan was the secret identity of the original Mister Terrific, who first appeared in Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942).  A child prodigy and master of multiple disciplines, Terry Sloan also had a photographic memory and Olympic-level athletic skills. Fearing that he peaked too soon and despairing that life held no challenges for him, Terry contemplated suicide only to jump into action to save a woman he saw jumping off the same bridge. This gave Terry a new purpose in life - helping others as a superhero and philanthropist.. He formed "The Fair Play Club" as a way to fight juvenile delinquency and gang membership and wore the words "Fair Play" on the chest of his costume.

While she has not been identified by a codename yet, Evelyn Sharpe's costume resembles that of the heroine Artemis from the Young Justice animated series - with a dark green top and matching mask - with the addition of a black leather jacket.

Evelyn asks what kind of vigilante wears a hockey mask, prompting Ollie to say that he thinks Wild Dog's mask is cool. This is a reference to how Stephen Amell played Casey Jones - a vigilante who wears a hockey mask - in the second of Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.


Technobabble

Oliver makes use of a bola arrow to bind a drug dealer's hands and string him up over a pipe.

The coroner examining Derek Sampson determines that the chemicals he was found in were non-acidic, based on the lack of epidermis erosion.

The chemicals Derek Sampson was dropped in gave him some degree of enhanced strength and deaden his nerves so he no longer feels pain. As Oliver proves, however, his body can still be damaged and while he may be more durable, he can still be hamstrung.

Derek Sampson steals a molecular transmodality processor - a device which replicates chemicals based on their molecular structure. With it, he can can recreate the formula that gave him his powers and use it to build an army of similarly powered criminals.

Bratva is the Russian word for brotherhood.


Dialogue Triumphs

(To the drug dealer he has tied up over a one-story drop.)
Green Arrow: I won't kill you. But I can't guarantee you'll walk away from this.
(Green Arrow throws a knife, cutting the rope and sending the drug dealer falling to the ground.)

(To the new Team Arrow, watching the video of Ollie taking down the drug dealer.)
Felicity: So... what did we learn?
Curtis: Don't piss Oliver off.

Thea: What are you doing here?  You're not supposed to be here until nine.
Oliver: Our meeting was scheduled for eight.
Thea: Exactly.

(As Evelyn and Wild Dog spy on the Stardust brewing operation, Wild Dog holds up his mask.)
Wild Dog: It's better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Evelyn: You brought that?! What happened to this just being recon?
Wild Dog: We did the recon part.

(Oliver is in his office, talking to the widow of Lt. Conahan.)
Oliver: Trust me - we will get justice for your husband.
Adrian: (entering Oliver's office) I thought that was my job?
Oliver: Goodbye. (hangs up the phone)  I'm sorry. You are-?
Adrian: Pissed. Royally. Off.
Oliver: I'm getting that. What I don't understand is who you are and what you're doing in my office.
Adrian: Adrian Chase. (offers his hand) Your new District Attorney.
Oliver: (taking the hand and shaking it) I'm sorry that we haven't met-
Adrian: I'm buried up to my eyeballs in motion practice and indictments with a staff who has barely made it past three rounds of budget cuts, so how about we save the pleasantries for the next fundraiser and get down to why I'm-
Oliver: - you're so pissed off.
Adrian: Royally! Remember Vertigo?
Oliver: Believe it or not, I tried to buy some once.
Adrian: Yeah, I believe it. Well, what's hitting the streets is a million times worse.
Oliver:  Stardust. I'm not as out-of-touch as most people think. But I do have some work to get done, Mr. Chase, so why don't we get to the bottom of why you're so pissed off?
Adrian: I've been building a case against the dealer, Derek Sampson. I was going to flip him, but last night somebody killed him.
Oliver: A rival dealer?
Adrian: A vigilante.
Oliver: That doesn't sound like The Green Arrow.
Adrian: Not him. Some idiot in a hockey mask.
Oliver: ...I'm sorry. Did you say a hockey mask?
(Cut to Oliver throwing Wild Dog against a wall in their training space.)
Wild Dog: Everything okay, boss?
Oliver: A Stardust dealer was killed last night by a vigilante.
Wild Dog: Lots running around the city these days...
Oliver: Wearing a hockey mask?!
Wild Dog: Hey, short fry was there too!
Evelyn: Thanks, Rene.
Curtis: Rory and I didn't know. Just for the record.

(After Oliver and Felicity both chew out Wild Dog)
Rory: Is this normal behavior around here?
Curtis: More than I like to admit.

Curtis: Does he know? Rory, I mean?
Felicity: Know that I destroyed his hometown with a nuclear missile five months ago? No. It hasn't come up.
Curtis: You didn't destroy anything, Felicity. That was Damien Darhk.
Felicity: Darhk... sent the missile to Monument Point. I sent the missile to Havenrock. I killed tens of thousands of people.
Curtis: To save millions!
Felicity:  Tell that to Rory's family.

(After Diggle threatens to kill him for not shutting up.)
Deadshot: Woo! There's that temper. Good thing your kid won't have to grow up with that like your brother did, huh?
John: What did you say to me?
Deadshot: How's all that going, anyway? You ever find that group that paid me to off him?
John: (quietly)They didn't...
Deadshot: What's that now?
John: They didn't want him dead. He was alive.
Deadshot: (snickers) Like I said - Hell of a world, ain't it. I mean.... wait. Why did you say "was alive" just now? Hmm?  Hello?  John?  Anybody home?
John: Because I killed him!
(John flashes back to killing Andy Diggle.)
Deadshot: So all that hate you poured into me for killing your brother... you really should have been pouring into yourself.

Curtis: If the past four years have taught you anything, it should be that keeping secrets never works out!
Felicity: I don't even know, Rory! And what I do know about him is that he has several-thousand-year-old rags that he can use to mystically strangle me!

John: Stop digging. I'm not going to fight these charges.
Lyla: Johnny, that's insane!
John: Actually, it's the first thing that's made sense to me in a long while... ever since I killed Andy,
Lyla: ... you think you need to be punished.
John: I know I do. Lyla, I didn't have to pull that trigger. But I did. Something's wrong with me, baby.
Lyla: Then let me help you! We will figure this out. Together.
John: When I thought Lawton killed Andy, all I wanted to do was bring his murderer to justice. I still do.
Lyla:  Floyd Lawton was an assassin for hire.You are a good man. And you're alive. Floyd Lawton is long dead.
John: No, Lyla, He's not.  He's...
(John turns to the spare cot in his cell... and realizes there's no one there. No pictures of Lawton's daughter on the wall. He's been alone all this time.)
Lyla: Johnny?  Johnny?
John: (turning back to Lyla) Stop fighting for me, Lyla. I have.

(After Ragman saves Curtis from one of Sampson's men.)
Mister Terrific: You are a freaky kind of scary.
Ragman: (his voice a raspy echo) It's the whispers,right? It just does that. I have no idea how. Your mask looks cool, by the way.
Mister Terrific: Thank you. Actually, it still feels a little weird on my face.

(Green Arrow forces Sampson to the ground in a wrestling hold. We hear the sounds of bones breaking but Sampson doesn't react.)
Sampson: Thought we'd been over this - you can't hurt me!
(Green Arrow grabs an arrow and slashes at Sampson's arm. He then gets up and begins strategically cutting Sampson at the wrist and ankle with the arrowhead's edge before driving the arrow through his other ankle. Sampson flails about, unable to move his arms or legs.)
Green Arrow: Just because you can't feel your tendons being sliced, doesn't mean you don't need them!

Evelyn: What kind of vigilante wears a hockey mask?
Ollie: I think it's cool.


Continuity

Stardust is a new designer drug. Adrian Chase describes it as being worse than Vertigo (first seen in 112) and Wild Dog describes it as making PCP look like children's aspirin.

Rory Regan has a deep hatred of drug dealers and gang members, due to what they did to his hometown before it was destroyed.

Detective Billy Malone informs Green Arrow about a costumed man killing Lt. Conahan (501) and the same man threatening to kill Tobias Church if he moved against Green Arrow (502).

John Diggle is officially charged with Espionage, Murder and Conduct Unbecoming And Officer And A Gentlemen.

Deadshot is seen for the first time since 317. Despite a suggestion that he survived the incident that seemed to have killed him in that episode or may have been restored to life by Flashpoint, he is revealed near the end of the episode to be a hallucination caused by John Diggle's guilt over killing his own brother.

Thea is officially identified as Oliver's Chief of Staff.

Oliver refers to the events of 112 and how he once tried to purchase some Vertigo.

Rory Regan is not homosexual.

Felicity refers to the events of 421 and how - by saving Monument Point - she destroyed Rory Regan's hometown.

Curtis Holt was a biochemistry major in college.

John flashes back to 420 and his killing his brother Andy.

12 years earlier, Oliver picked up Adrian Chase's girlfriend.

Adrian Chase claims not to hold grudges.

Oliver officially appoints Quentin as his Deputy Mayor and refuses to accept Thea's resignation.

At the end of the episode, Evelyn, Rory and Rene are allowed into The Bunker/Arrow Cave for the first time.

Curtis refers to the events of 417 and how he had the flu when he first saw The Bunker.

Felicity tells Rory that she was responsible for redirecting the missile to Havenrock. He responds but just walking away from her in shock.

At the end of the episode, Lyla asks Oliver for help in breaking John out of prison.

In the flashback, Anatoly shows Oliver that the one of the men who he killed by proxy in his first test to join the Bratva was a killer and takes Oliver with him to inform the mother of another Bratva member that his death by the killer was avenged.  This sets up Oliver's second test - standing idle and trusting that a group of Bratva members with knives will only cut his back without killing him.


Location

John Diggle is being held in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Langham Penitentiary.


The Bottom Line

Much like Magenta - The Flash episode that aired one day before it - A Matter Of Trust's weakest link is its villain-of-the-week subplot. Unfortunately, Derek Sampson is nowhere near as interesting a villain as Magenta, so the episode stumbles in that regard. However, where the episode excels is in establishing the personalities of the new Team Arrow and developing the relationships between them. The friendship between Curtis and Rory is perhaps the best example of this but all of the subplots have their moments, with the exception of Thea's sudden stupidity in dealing with the press. Still, the fake-out with Deadshot and an amazing performance by David Ramsey make this episode one of the most effective bits of drama in the show's history.

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 2 - The Recruits

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Oliver seeks out Wild Dog and Evelyn Sharpe with the intent of recruiting them for Team Arrow. Along with Curtis Holt, who seeks Oliver's tutelage of dealing with his own feelings of helplessness following a mugging, the three will start training to become a better class of vigilante. But will they be able to cope with Oliver's strenuous regiment? And how will Oliver balance training his new team with allegations of corruption in a company partnering with the city and the new

In the flashbacks, Oliver continues his initiation into The Bratva.


Influences

The Judd Winick run of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen tries to balance being mayor and a superhero.), Keith Giffen's Ragman miniseries (origin and powers of Ragman) and Grant Morrison's JLA (character of Prometheus).


Goofs

It's a little unbelievable that Curtis or Evelyn - who are supposed to be super-geniuses - wouldn't figure out the purpose of Ollie's "ring the bell" test was to encourage teamwork or at least hit on the idea of working together to overcome Green Arrow themselves. This is particularly damning in Curtis' case since he knows Ollie is trying to build a team!

The subplot with Diggle seems rushed and is a distraction from the main storyline and seems to be occurring only to railroad Diggle back to Star City as soon as possible. There's no logical reason why the corrupt CO should leave Diggle alive and try to frame him for the theft after Diggle refuses to sign a confession for the crime since he already has six soldiers willing to finger Diggle for his crime.

While it seems likely Tobias Church could have walked based on the evidence on hand - particularly with the corruption in the SCPD at present time - it still seems like we could have seen him being arrested after being knocked out by Ragman just as the police were arriving.


Performances

It's good to see Emily Bett Rickards bringing Felicity back to her previous levels of snarkiness. While I don't have the mad-on for Olicity shipping that some elements of the fandom seem to have (Personally, I'm still holding out for a Sara/Oliver romance in the end),  I do think Felicity was softened a bit too much during Season Four as she had tragedy after tragedy thrown at her. Her portrayal in this episode is much more in line with how the character was in the first three seasons. Yet there's more of an edge to her here where she is willing to call Ollie on his bullshit but also ready to drag him out of the doldrums when self-doubt starts weighing on his soul.

On that note, Stephen Amell perfectly captures an aspect of Ollie's character from the comics I can't recall seeing on the show before. Or at least, not handled so well - his tendency to lash out at others when he's doubting himself. We see that here as he plays Drill Sargent to the new recruits, being hard upon them because he blames himself for letting things get to this point in Star City and for driving away everyone else on Team Arrow.


Artistry

Excellent parkour and stunt work on the opening sequence with Wild Dog.

The transition between Green Arrow training the new recruits and the flashback of Ollie doing the same test as part of his Bratva initiation proves well directed.

On that note, the show's writing has done a great job this season of making the flashbacks more directly relevant to the story in the modern day.

The special effects for the Ragman costume are some of the best in the show's history.

It's a nice touch cutting to Felicity as she overhears The Ragman telling his story to Janet Carroll, showing her horror at what happened to this man because of the one missile she couldn't disarm. It adds another human element to an already horrific story.


Trivia

Green Arrow asks Rene Ramirez if he "wants to be a man in a hockey mask" or "something else". This is a bit of a riff on actor Stephen Amell, who also played vigilante Casey Jones - whose beats people up using sporting gear while wearing a hockey mask - in the second Michael Bay Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Another nod to the number 52 - the address Ollie has Wild Dog, Evelyn Sharpe and Curtis Holt meet him at for training is 52 Matthews Blvd.

Anther mention of Hub City - home of the vigilante The Question in the DC Comics Universe.

AmerTek is a military-industrial firm in the DC Comics Universe. They were original enemies of John Henry Irons (a.k.a. Steel) and first appeared in Steel #1 (February 1994). The company stole Irons' weapons and armor designs and attempted to use them against him and his family when Irons thwarted their efforts to sell military gear to criminal interests. They fill a similar role in this episode, as an amoral weapons manufacturer willing to sell military ordnance to Tobias Church.

Rory Regan a.k.a. The Ragman first appeared in Ragman #1 (August/September 1976). The series only lasted five issues, but is considered by many to be a classic of The Bronze Age of Comics.

A Vietnam Veteran, Rory worked for his father in a pawn shop he ran in Gotham City. Rory's father, Gerry, was a kind man, who frequently overpaid people in need for what they sold him or held on to items with no intent of selling them so people could buy them back later. His father wished to build a better life for his son and seemed to have had his wish granted when he discovered that a mattress he'd bought contained a small fortune. The money turned out to have been stolen during a bank heist and the mattress was meant to hide the money until the heat was off.

Gerry Regan and some of his friends were tortured by the thieves using electrical wiring in the shop and Rory himself was nearly shocked trying to free the elderly men.  The shock passed the abilities of the old men into Rory, giving him the agility of a circus acrobat, the strength of a weight-lifter and the fighting skills of a prize-fighter. Donning a raggedy costume his father had bought recently, Rory Regan became the Ragman and went on to help Batman with fighting crime in Gotham on several occasions.

This background would be modified by writer/artist Keith Giffen in a 1991 mini-series. The background would remain largely intact, with Rory Regan still a dutiful son to pawn-shop owner Gerry Reagan. The biggest change is that unlike the previous series, which identified the Regans as Irish, they were now Jewish and Rory was the latest in a long-line of Ragmen.

Rory became the newest Ragman shortly after he and his father were beaten and left for dead following their refusal to let their shop be used as a front by a local gang. Rory was released for the hospital and returned home, only to find it had been taken over by gang members posing as his aunt and uncle. He discovered the suit by accident, at which point it latched onto him and then attacked the drug-dealers, absorbing the soul of the woman posing as his aunt into it.

A rabbi later told Rory the origin of the suit and of his father's heroic life before journeying to America. The suit was created in the 16th century as a counterpoint to the infamous Golem of Prague. Knowing that some people feared The Golem as a creature that had no capacity for independent thought, The Rabbis crafted a suit that would give a single good man the power to fight great evil. Rory's father, he found out, had been The Ragman during World War II, and used its power to fight the Nazis by defending Jewish communities in Germany.

The Ragman suit allows its wearer to access the physical abilities, mental skills and memories of every evil soul trapped within the suit. This is not done easily, however, and attempting to draw on too many souls at once can leave The Ragman dazed. The suit can absorb the souls of truly evil people who The Ragman fights, but doing so leaves the wearer sick and weak for a time. The suit grants some degree of invulnerability and increases the strength, speed and stamina of the wearer. The suit allows the wearer to sense the presence of evil, albeit by trying to attack the evil in question. The suit can teleport The Ragman to wear he is needed and can remain hidden under other clothing, manifesting once it is needed. Finally, the suit can be reshaped at-will into other forms and weapons.

Comics historians note that Ragman undoubtedly had an influence on both Venom and Spawn, despite never being as popular as the later anti-heroes.

Though his name is not given in this episode, IMDB identifies the DCTVU Ragman as Rory Regan. We do not know the extent of his powers yet, but the Ragman costume is apparently protective enough to allow the wearer to survive a nuclear missile strike at ground zero. Based on how easily he throws people around, he also has some degree of super-strength and super-agility. The suit appears to have some shape-shifting properties, allowing the costume to elongated and entangle a target. Both versions are definitely Jewish and are devoted sons following in their father's footsteps.

Ragman says that his costume comes "from the time of Devarim." Devarim is part of the Torah, corresponding to the first book of Deuteronomy in the Christian Bible. This would place the rags as dating back to the time of Moses - a bit further back than the 2000 years Felicity cites earlier in the episode as Moses was believed to have died in 1200 BC.

The new masked villain who killed Lieutenant Conahan in the last episode identifies himself to Tobias Church as Prometheus. Prometheus is a super-villain who first appeared in the Prometheus: New Year's Evil one-shot (February 1998). 

Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Arnie Jorgenson for Morrison's JLA, Morrison intended for Prometheus to be an anti-Batman.  The son of career criminals (who were loving parents, regardless of their other crimes), this unnamed boy witnessed his parents being gunned down the police following a tense stand-off. After growing up, he used the fortune they had hidden to finance his training as he swore revenge upon the ideals of justice, law and order. This led to him formulating a series of plans that would allow him to take on the Justice League single-handed in an effort to prove himself the greatest criminal of all time. He returned several times to plague The JLA before finally being hunted down and killed by Green Arrow in the Justice League: Cry For Justice mini-series.

Thus far, there seems little in common between the comics's version of Prometheus and his DCTVU counterpart aside from a costume that conceals most of his features, advanced training with a variety of weapons and a desire to attack and kill lawmen and superheros.


Technobabble

Diggle's team is sent to retrieve a trigger to a nuclear missile before Chechen rebels find it.

Felicity uses a KH-10 Spy Satellite to find footage of The Ragman's attack the AmerTek VP.

Green Arrow uses a grappling arrow to save Wild Dog's life and tries to use a net arrow to catch Ragman.

Analyzing the rag Wild Dog took off of the Ragman costume requires a gas chromatograph.

The rag Wild Dog recovered is found to be 2000 years old and radioactive.

The radioactive chemical on the rag came from a nuclear missile manufactured by Atomic Defensive Systems - a subsidiary of AmerTek - and launched on Genesis Day.


Dialogue Triumphs

Oliver (voice-over): My name is Oliver Queen. After five years in Hell. I returned home with only one goal - to save my city. Today I fight that war on two fronts. By day, I lead Star City as its mayor. But by night, I am someone else. I am... something else. I am The Green Arrow.

(Curtis and Felicity watch Oliver climb the salmon ladder with ease.)
Curtis: Impossible.
Felicity: It's really hot - I mean NOT!  It's not.
Ollie: (jumping down from the top of the ladder) Curtis, if you think this is hard, wait until I actually start training you.
Curtis: What happens then?
Ollie: The last guy got an arrow in the leg before he even started.
Curtis: That was Roy, right?
Ollie: ... also Roy, but I'm talking about Wild Dog.
Felicity: And you did put two arrows in Barry Allen's back.
Curtis: I'm starting to sense a pattern...

Diggle: Fear is part of war - the part that keeps us alive.

Felicity: (refering to the Wender attack) What's your interest in this, anyway?
Ollie: AmerTek is helping us with a charity event and all of a sudden one of their vice-presidents is attacked? It cannot be a coincidence.
Felicity: Not in this city.

Wild Dog: I'm hear to learn something, man. Not just get beat up.
Green Arrow: I told you. I am teaching you.
Evelyn: Teaching us what, exactly? Because actually I find myself agreeing with the scary weird guy.
Green Arrow: (sighing) The goal of this exercise... is to figure out the goal of this exercise. Now get on the line!

Ollie: It took me five years in Hell to turn into someone capable of going out there. You know who didn't have five years? Laurel Lance. And now she's dead.

Ollie: Curtis, do you know what the purpose of this exercise is?
Curtis: To figure out the purpose of this exercise?
Ollie: No! It's to work together because that is the only way that you win. That is what I've been trying to teach you!
Curtis: Well maybe there's a reason why you couldn't. We. Don't. Trust. You.
Ollie: That's on you.
Curtis: No, man. That's on you! Because you don't trust us. Because you don't want us!
Felicity: Okay. This is a set-back. We can salvage this. (To Curtis) They'll listen to you. Can't you just tell them how Oliver usually approaches things, and-
Curtis: I tried that. I told them all about how you and Speedy and Spartan were a family. And even though you were tough and scary and even a little abusive, they clearly trusted you because they stood by you. But then it hit me - no, they didn't. They left. And now I know why. You don't respect people. You don't know how to have partners. You don't build people up. You tear them down. I thought I could trust you. That we could trust you. But I was wrong. And that's why I'm out too.

Ollie: I failed these recruits as a leader.
Felicity: Well, that's because you're not a leader. But in your defense you never set out to be. You never planned on doing this with partners. Though I don't think you ever had any way around that one.
Ollie: How so?
Felcity: When I got to know you - the real you - I was in awe. I had never met anyone so passionate. So focused and determined to make a real difference. The recruits didn't get to see the real you, because all you showed them was this angry guy in a mask. Like, scary angry!
Ollie: I just thought that if they didn't know who I was it would make things easier.
Felicity: How is that supposed to make it easier for them?!
Ollie: For me. Easier for me.

Ragman: They all died in fire. Your fire. Your weapon. All for your money!
Janet Carroll: What are you talking about?
Ragman: I'm talking about the KN-08. Your pride and joy. Over 15,000 missiles launched on Genesis Day. Only one found its mark - yours.
Janet Carroll: (stammering) No! No, we definitely built those missiles to keep people safe! But it was Damien!  It was Damien Darhk, who...
Ragman: - couldn't have done anything if you hadn't given him the tools!  Your missile killed everyone in my home. I am the very last living soul of Havenrock. And I carry with me a message from all those souls you killed.
(Ragman steps in closer as tendrils emerge from his coat and wrap around Janet Carroll's neck. Close by, Tobias Church is trying to drive an arrow into the face of a prone Green Arrow.)
Green Arrow: Ragman!
(Ragman turns to regard Green Arrow, releases Janet Carrol, grabs Church and throws him to the ground, knocking him out. Green Arrow stands as Janet Carrol tries to run away behind him.)
Green Arrow: Thank you.
Ragman: Thank me by not standing in my way!
Green Arrow: Let her go!
(He nods in the direction Janet Carrol is fleeing, where red and blue police lights can be seen reflecting down the garage walls.)
Green Arrow: It's over.

(Green Arrow stands on the rooftop of the BAM2 Muay Thai Training Center. Ragman emerges from the shadows behind him.)
Green Arrow: Thank you for coming.
Ragman: Your offer sounded... intriguing. Why did you make it?
Green Arrow: Why did you give up your vengeance to save my life?
Ragman: I don't know.
(Ragman pulls down his cowl and mask. The face he makes as he does so suggests great pain.)
Ragman: I think it's what my father would have wanted me to do. He saved my life. On Genesis Day. Wrapped me in these rags. Said they were ancient. From the time of Devarim. That they would... protect me from the fire
Green Arrow: And they did.
Ragman: So you see why I have to avenge him?
Green Arrow: Your father didn't give up his life so you could become a killer.
Ragman: You don't know that!
Green Arrow: My father gave up his life to save mine. He made me promise to be better than him. To save this city in a way he never could. It's been nearly ten years since that day. So far I've failed.
Ragman: Why are you telling me this?
Green Arrow: Because I don't want to fail anymore. I can't do it alone. I need a team. Let's honor the legacies of our fathers. Together.
(Green Arrow offers his hand. Ragman takes it and shakes.)


Continuity

Lt. Conahan is confirmed to have been killed by an arrow and a sword.

Curtis confirms that Tobias Church killed all the gang leaders in Hub City to unite them under his leadership.

Reference was made to Oliver shooting Roy Harper in the leg before he officially started training him (208) and shooting Barry Allen in the back as part of his training (F108)

Three hospitals have closed within the past 18 months in Star City.

The "get past me and ring the bell" exercise was part of Ollie's first test in joining the Bratva.

Wild Dog was protecting the streets solo for five months.

Diggle is stationed at Camp Braidwood in Latvia.

The VP at AmerTek that Ragman attacks is Evan Wender. He was suffocated according to the ICU doctors.

Janet Carroll is the CEO of AmerTek.

The gas chromatograph.in The Bunker was destroyed by HIVE Ghosts.  Felicity has her new boyfriend run the tests for her in the CCPD lab.

Oliver never talks about his time in the Bratva.

According to Oliver, nobody in the Bratva knows one another's names or who they were before they joined The Bratva. This eliminated attachment

We find out the name of Felicity's new cop boyfriend - Billy Malone.

The men whom Oliver worked with to ring the bell in his Bratva test were killed. Oliver was chosen to move on because teaming up to ring the bell was his idea and the Bratva values intelligence. It was also meant to teach Oliver the lesson to not trust anyone.

The day the nukes destroyed Monument Point is now known as Genesis Day.

Janet Carroll made a bargain with Tobias Church - all the material he needs to take over Star City for 100 million dollars.

John Diggle is framed for attempting to steal WMDs and shooting a private under his command. He refuses to sign a confession.

Thea offers Quentin Lance the job of Deputy Mayor of Star City. He accepts it.

Oliver reveals his secret identity to Evelyn Shapre and Wild Dog.

In the final scene, Prometheus threatens Tobias Church and tells him not to try killing Green Arrow again.


Locations

Camp Braidwood, Latvia


The Fridge Factor

While Oliver is quick to point his recruits to look to the Laurel Lance statue as a source of inspiration, he also realistically reminds Felicity that Laurel was nowhere near as well trained as she should have been to take on the role of a vigilante.


The Winick Factor

Again, the writers are taking the base idea Judd Winick proposed in his run on Green Arrow following One Year Later but are doing it right.


The Bottom Line

Generally an excellent episode, but it suffers for tying to do too much. Between the training of the new recruits, introducing Ragman, the war with Tobias Church, Felicity making cute with the new boyfriend, Thea helping Quentin cope with his drinking and the flashbacks to Ollie's time in Russia, there's no room for the genuinely awful subplot involving Diggle. The whole is less than the sum of its parts, but some of those individual parts - particularly the Ragman sequences and the scenes of Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards playing off of one another - make it worth coping with the dodgier bits.