Arrow – Bratva

By: Stacy Miller

It is five years ago and Talia al Ghul (Lexa Doig) has taken Oliver (Stephen Amell) out for target practice, starting with what Oliver calls “low level drug dealers.” Talia is impressed at Oliver’s fighting ability and tells him that he should begin working on the names from his father’s list. One of these names include Hideo Yamane (King Lao).  Interesting enough, Yamane was the person who supplied Oliver’s sister Thea (Willa Holland) with drugs when she was using.  Oliver confronted Yamane one night when he was in the city and after announcing that he “failed this city,” he shot Hideo Yamane with arrows – killing him.  Oliver is able to cross Yamane’s name off the list, but still has many more to go. Plus, he doesn’t know how he’s going to tell Anatoly of his plans to leave Bratva and return back to the states.

In the present, reporter Susan Williams (Carly Pope) is in Oliver’s office and makes a comment about them not sleeping together yet when Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) arrives.  He is fresh from rehab. Susan wants an interview with Quentin who agrees.  The reporter also wants to interview D.A. Chase (Josh Segarra) regarding Billy’s death, but the district attorney is less than agreeable when it comes to speaking with the press.  Although Diggle (David Ramsey) has been cleared, General Walker (Gary Chalk) continues to be a thorn in Team Arrow’s side.  He managed to allude arrest and is on his way to Russia to sell a nuclear weapon to some Markovans. So, it’s off to Russia for Team Arrow to stop Walker.

Meanwhile, since Rene (Rick Gonzalez) is not coming to Russia with the team, he offers to help prepare Quentin for his interview with Susan. But when he asks Lance tough questions like whether he started drinking after the death of his daughter and whether he blames himself for Laurel’s death, Quentin is furious and storms out of the practice interview. Later Quentin changes his mind and returns to continue with the coaching from Rene, who tells him that the only reason he asked difficult questions was because he knew that Susan Williams would do the same. We learn that Rene and Quentin knew each other in the past.  It seems that a long time ago when Quentin worked the force as a beat cop, he caught a teen Rene tagging a building. Instead of bringing him in, Lance looked the youth in the eye and told Rene that he could be better than a street thug. Rene never forgot Officer Quentin Lance’s words and they helped to set the troubled youth on the path to the straight and narrow. Quentin doesn’t remember any of this or the impact he made in Rene’s life.

When Team Arrow arrives in Russia, Oliver is met at the airport by Anatoly, who socks him in the jaw, as payback for Alexi Leonov.  Alexi is part of Oliver’s past and played a big role in the Slade Wilson chapter of Queen’s life.  Oliver tells Anatoly that he isn’t Bratva anymore. So what is Oliver doing in Russia? “There’s nothing for you here,” Anatoly tells Oliver.  Anatoly refuses to help Oliver track General Walker since Queen is no longer Bratva.

Meanwhile, Team Arrow is in an old Argus safe house which is a Russian mansion.  Curtis is working with Dinah (Juliana Harkvay) as she practices her canary call. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is having a difficult time locating General Walker.  Dinah mentions that criminals are consistent when it comes to sticking to habits so Walker may be using a similar burner phone like the one he used in the United States.  This aides Felicity as she is able to determine the carrier.  And as luck would have it, the data cache she was given last week has information that Ms. Smoak can use to blackmail one of the phone carrier executives. When next we see Felicity, she’s wearing a very sexy dress and is accompanied by Rory (Joe Dinicol) and Curtis (Echo Kellum) pretending to be Bratva and they arrive at an exclusive party. Felicity finds the executive and tells him that unless he provides General Walker’s location, she will make it known that he refused to turn terrorism information to the Kremlin so when this comes out it will surely put his family in grave danger.  They get Walker’s location, but unfortunately also step into a trap. Walker manages to get away, but Team Arrow is able to grab a hostage to interrogate.  And to John, interrogation means Diggle beating the crap out of the man until he is stopped by Oliver.

Rory and Felicity talk about her using blackmail to get what she wanted.  This makes Felicity realize that she will do anything it takes to catch the bad guys.  She says that the people on the data cache are the bad guys so whatever happens to them will not be her fault. But Rory is concerned that as Felicity continues to do things like blackmail, she will lose a part of herself.

In order to keep John and Felicity from crossing any more lines Oliver takes off with Dinah on a side mission, which again shows that he can be violent. This causes Queen to obsess about how he’s not good for the people around him.  Dinah basically tells Oliver that he can’t change the things he’s done. “Your past is a part of you,” she says, “but it doesn’t mean it has to be your anchor.”  Oliver talks with John and Felicity later about how he wants to be the one to cross the hard lines, not them. “I need the two of you to be better than me. Because you are. That’s why we work together.”  Curtis interrupts Oliver’s sharing and caring moment announcing that Anatoly has arrived with a group of angry Russians dudes to bring down General Walker. Dinah uses her canary cry to destroy the van; it’s a good thing that the bomb isn’t inside. Knowing General Walker, a double cross of the buyers was expected. John holds his gun on Walker who taunts Diggle to kill him. Although tempted, John refuses and will let General Walker face legal justice. But the danger isn’t over as Rory and Felicity discover a bomb. Felicity doesn’t think she can deactivate it. The only thing she can think of is flying the nearby plane and tossing the explosive somewhere it will do the least amount of damage (shades of Havenrock). But as there is no time for that, Rory orders her to get out.  He reasons that the rags will protect him from the explosion (he hopes). Oliver and Felicity hear the explosion from outside and fortunately find Rory survived the blast.

Vodka all around in celebration. John tells Oliver that none of them are as perfect as Queen seems to think they are when Oliver tries to protect them from turning to their dark side. “You, me Felicity…We make each other better.” Anatoly reminds Oliver that he took a lifetime oath to Bratva.

Rory tells Felicity that although the rags stopped the explosion, they have been rendered powerless. So not waiting to be a liability to Team Arrow, he tells her that he’s leaving town. Oliver and Susan finally sleep together.

The episode closes with Susan talking with a source who shows her a photo of Oliver Queen from five years ago in Russia with Bratva. He also produces a photo of Luchnik, which translates in Russian to “The Archer.” The similarities between the photos bear a striking resemblance to a certain Mayor.  And now that Oliver Green was just in Russia? “Very good, if Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow,” Susan says.