Photo Source: Arrow/The CW/Newsweek
This episode of Arrow brought us back to a more Oliver centric plot with some prison fight scenes that rival Netflix’s Daredevil.
Lets get all the boring stuff out of the way so we can talk about Ollie. Curtis is working for ARGUS—I’m sure you remember that. Curtis doesn’t usually work the field, he has hung up his metaphorically cape, until now. He looks kinda like a scientist, so he has to go undercover to sell some chemical weapons. He goes through with the one deal but when then asking for a second meeting he isn’t about it.
Dig has one of his classic heart to hearts with him and we learn that Curtis is afraid of the fight now, no more Mr. Terrific. Diggle hypes him but tells him if he really wants to sit out the mission he can. He reminds him that there is no Mr. Terrific without Curtis, they are one in the same.
Of course Diggle’s talk worked and Curtis agrees to go back in the field. In the field things go south but Curtis kicks some ass and handles the situation without ARGUS’s intervention, proofing that he is still a badass. The final zinger for his arc this episode is that he found some hidden ARGUS data during the meet-up and decrypted it. ARGUS is heading something and Diggle and Curtis are gonna get to the bottom of it. Their first clue is a painting by John Leondro (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly.)
Now the meat of the episode where we follow Ollie’s journey in level 2 and Laurel and Felicity’s excellent adventure.
Oliver is done with phase one of level 2 and is now “moving down the rabbit hole.” During this phase he is given a bracelet that can send an electrical charge through him if the guards choose to. Level 2 looks just like a regular prison—Ollie’s friend from the shower is there. Before Ollie can beat any info out of him the guards steal him away.
Photo Source: Arrow/The CW/Tell-Tale TV
Meanwhile Felicity and Laurel are attempting to track the Silencer but they’ve lost the signal. To calm her nerves Felicity goes to visit Oliver. That doesn’t help when she is told his visitation has been revoked. Luckily, Ollie’s new sidekick is there to fill her in and she wants him to tell Ollie, she is close to finding Diaz.
During the night Oliver comes face to face with the Demon, who is none other than Talia al Ghul. She survived Lian Yu thanks to some drugs from Diaz which is why she helped him in the first place. I feel like she should be in a women’s prison but I guess that just me. She name drops Gotham and an old friend—so, yeah Batman exists. Anyways, she wants to break out and she wants Oliver’s help. He blames her for the reason he is in there. She did make the monster inside him and all so, he says no.
Oliver learns a little more about level 2 and changes his mind. The shower guy died—apparently the reform room kills people at times. Oliver decides to the bottom of it by asking for a meeting with good ol’ Dr. Parker. Parker thinks he is making the world a better place, yeah there’s some setbacks (deaths) but that’s what happens when you’re breaking scientific ground. After learning about how psycho Parker is Ollie agrees to breakout if they can take Parker’s files to expose him to the outside world.
Something is up and Felicity knows it. Attorney Laurel tries to help which leads them to level 2 which leads them to Dinah which leads them to Dr. Parker and from there they learn that Slabside doesn’t have a psych program. Going through police files reveals that Parker has tons of malpractice lawsuits—his treatment literally erases peoples memories and identities.
Photo Source: Arrow/The CW/Newsweek
Talia and Oliver have a couple sick ass prison fights, there’s a hallway fight that rivals Netflix. They get the files on a usb and fight their way through a rioting prison to the morgue—their only way out. Oliver doesn’t go, he can’t but he wants Talia to give Felicity the file.
Oliver gets transferred back to level 1, level 2 is now shut down and he’s sidekick gives him Felicity’s message. Thanks to Talia giving Felicity the files that was all possible and even better they think they can use the files to appeal Oliver’s case. Things get better, Talia takes justice into her own hands on Parker and the Silencer’s tracker is back in action. She’s in Russia and lets just say things aren’t looking great for Anatoly.
Catch Arrow Monday nights at 8pm on the CW.
