Arrow – Deathstroke Returns

By: Stacy Miller

Detective Dinah Lance’s (Juliana Harkvavy) quick action helps to protect Councilwoman Pollard (Laarq Sadiq) from a sniper’s bullet. When Rene (Rick Gonzalez) calls him with the news, Oliver (Stephen Amell) tells him to issue a statement from the mayor’s office on his (Oliver) behalf because an old friend is in town and he will be away for a few days. Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) thanks Oliver for taking this meeting with him and tells Oliver about his son Joe (Liam Hall) getting mixed up with some bad people. Slade says that he needs Oliver’s help as a humanitarian not as Green Arrow.

A flashback shows Slade going fishing with Young Joe (William Franklyn-Miller).

Meanwhile, Curtis (Echo Kellum) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) think that Vigilante (Johann Urb) may be the sniper and targeting Councilwoman Pollard because of the bill.  Dinah and John (David Ramsey) investigate the building where the sniper took aim. FBI Agent Samanda Watson (Sydelle Noel) appears.  She questions John’s presence at the crime scene.  John explains that Mayor Queen thought the crime scene could use a pair of fresh eyes due to his (John) experience. Agent Watson finds it odd that the mayor’s private security is part of this investigation and tells John that she thinks it’s time they had a talk. It’s obvious that FBI Agent Watson has her suspicions about Joh Diggle.

Dinah corners Vigilante and uses her sonic cry to immobilize him. The canary scream shatters his visor and Dinah is able to catch a glimpse of the man’s face.  Returning to the Arrow Cave, she tells Rene, Curtis, John and Felicity that Vigilante is her old partner Vincent Sobel (also Urb).  But Dinah thinks that can’t be possible because she watched him die four years ago. After John tells her that Agent Watson called him in to answer some questions, Felicity also receives a phone call from Agent Watson, who asks Ms. Smoak to also come in.  When Felicity meets with Agent Watson, the FBI agent says that she heard that Felicity was seeing Mayor Queen again.  And as Oliver has listed her as his alibi during a few times Green Arrow appeared, Agent Watson asks Felicity whether she’d be willing to testify under oath at the risk of perjury to back up Mayor Queen’s statement.  Absolutely, Felicity says. Returning back to the Arrow Cave, Felicity tells Team Arrow she believes Agent Watson is not only after big fish Oliver but widening her net to catch all of them.

Oliver and Slade arrive in Kasnia. Slade gives Oliver a large sum of money to bail Joe out of the prison he’s being held.  But Slade doesn’t want his son to know that he’s involved. Slade Wilson feels that if he hadn’t been Joe’s father and allowed the monster that was Deathstroke to come out, his son wouldn’t be in the trouble that he is in now.  A flashback shows Joe questioning Slade about his father’s lie that he worked for the airlines.  Young Joe commented that one of his friends had a parent who worked for the airlines and they always got free trips. Slade said he wored for a cheap airlines that’s why they don’t get any free trips.  There was no way he’d tell his son who and what he was.

When Oliver goes to the prison to secure Joe’s release, the warden (Paul Cowling) says that he wishes Mayor Queen had come sooner. Oliver returns back to Slade and delivers the sad news: Apparently there was a fight in the prison yard which Joe tried to break up but he was killed in the process. Slade talks about the last time him told Joe that he loved him and says that he wishes he would have come with Oliver to say goodbye to Joe. This leads to a flashback in which we see a beaming Slade ask a man to take a photo of he and his son.

John finds Dinah using a punching bag to work through her aggression about the discovery that her old partner (and lover) Vincent is Vigilante.  She vows that she’ll bring him to justice. Rene interrupts and tells John and Dinah that they have two problems. One is that Councilwoman Pollard is appearing at Channel 52 for a press conference and two, Agent Watson has subpoena Rene to come in for questioning. Dinah rushes off to give Councilwoman Pollard some extra protection and says she knows to call for backup if Vincent tries anything.

The warden is surprised when Oliver returns to the prison with Slade. Oliver introduces the warden to Cain Wolfman’s (Joe’s alias) father and says that he is there to see his son’s body.  When the warden tells Oliver and Slade that the body has already been disposed, Slade realizes that the man is lying and demands to know the location of his son’s body.  Oliver warns the warden that he doesn’t want to see Slade angry.  Having no other choice, the warden admits that the people that Joe was investigating, a group called the Jackals kidnapped him for the purpose of torture to learn the secrets that are inside his head. “When the Jackals stole my son they didn’t count on who his father was,” Slade Wilson says then walks out of the room to go and rescue his boy.

Dinah arrives at Channel 52, where Agent Watson is already there with other agents as backup. Dinah calls Felicity and tells Team Arrow that she needs them to stand down; they can’t come to the station because Agent Watson is there and she’s not alone. Felicity realizes that Agent Watson is expecting Green Arrow to show up.

Oliver warns Slade about going against the dangerous Jackals. Another flashback shows Slade telling Joe that he has to go to the bathroom but really going off into the woods donning his Deathstoke costume to confront a man for information.

Councilwoman Pollard gives an interview at Channel 52 and Dinah watches for Vigilante. The lights go out at the studio and Vigilante corners Councilwoman Pollard.  The councilwoman tells him that killing her won’t matter as the referendum will still pass. “But there will be one less corrupt politician,” he says. Black Canary appears and she tells Councilwoman Pollard to run.  Black Canary and Vigilante fight.  A police officer takes a shot, and Vigilante steps in front of Black Canary and takes a bullet in his visor.  Black Canary tells the cop to call 911.  When they are alone, Dinah asks Vincent how he could let her believe that he was dead for four years.  Vincent says that she wasn’t the only one effected by dark matter. “Everything heals now,” Vincent tells Dinah as his bullet wound disappears. Vincent became Vigilante because after all the years he and Dinah were cops, they didn’t do half the good they tried to. Dinah tells Vincent that the police and the FBI will be there soon. When she hears the sirens, Dinah orders her ex-lover to run.  Then, she lies to Team Arrow that Vincent got away.

William calls his father and tells Oliver that he hopes he was able to help his friend find his son. Slade goes into the Jackals lair. Deathstroke fights his way through and demands to know where they have his son.

FBI Agent Watson confronts Dinah about Councilwoman Pollard being saved by the new Black Canary.  “Where were you when the light went off?” FBI Agent Watson asks Dinah.  “You think I’m the Black Canary” is Dinah’s response. “I think a lot of things, nothing I can prove yet,” FBI Agent Watson says before walking away.

As the episode closes, Slade gets the shock of his life when he learns that his son Joe is the boss of the Jackals. “Hello father, it’s been a long time,” Joe greets Slade as Oliver watches from the shadows.