Arrow – Thanksgiving

By: Stacy Miller

As he is the mayor of Star City, Oliver (Stephen Amell) participates in the SCPD (Star City Police Department) annual food drive and has brought his son William (Jack Moore) along. William is glad to be helping but tells his dad that he thinks Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) now needs help as she is being questioned by a reporter who asks whether Mayor Queen’s referendum is his way of diverting attention away from speculation he is the Green Arrow.  “If I were dating the Green Arrow, I’d know it,” is Felicity’s response, adding “The Flash is more of my type.” Oliver reminds the reporter that Felicity is a civilian before dragging his girlfriend away.  Then, he takes to the podium and thanks the public for their generous donations that helped make the food drive a success.  He also talks about the new state of the art police department that will help produce top notch officers. He notices FBI Agent Watson (Sydelle Noel) approaching with other agents. “One that might make FBI agents jealous.” Oliver adds before leaving the podium and asks FBI Agent Watson whether she’s there to tour the facility. She orders him to turn around and Oliver is handcuffed and arrested for his activities as the Green Arrow! As he is lead away, Oliver assures William that it will be okay.

At the SCPD, Rene (Rick Gonzalez) waits for Mayor Queen’s arrival to make a few words but is shocked to see Oliver lead in by FBI Agent Watson, who demands that Oliver is processed and held over until arraignment.  But in order to do so, she’ll need the permission of the ranking lieutenant, which happens to be Dinah (Juliana Harkavy). “Can I expect my prisoner to be here when I get back?” FBI Agent asks Dinah. Oliver is booked.

In the interrogation room, Oliver is furious that FBI Agent Watson had him arrested in front of his son. “When I get out of here and I promise I will, I will sue you for malicious prosecution,” he vows. FBI Agent Watson has done her homework. And to her, it seems more than a coincidence that the Green Arrow shows up at the same time he (Oliver) returned after being missing and presumed dead for five years. Oliver insists that Roy Harper was the Green Arrow. Agent Watson is not stupid, she knows that Roy wore the hood at Oliver’s request, same as John Diggle is doing now. FBI Agent tells Oliver that it will go easier on both of them if he confesses now.  Oliver demands to see his son. “Until then you get nothing,” Oliver tells FBI Agent Watson, who complies with his request.  Oliver tells William that he kept his promise to him and is no longer the Green Arrow. He assures his son that he’ll get out of there as soon as he can, but in the meantime wants William to go home and be strong as he knows he can.

In the Arrow Cave, Curtis (Echo Kellum) is giving John (David Ramsey) a shot of the pro-type for the spinal injury treatment he used on Felicity.  He’s not sure it will work for John’s hand tremors but it’s worth a shot (no pun intended). Dinah arrives and puts on the television and John and Curtis learn that FBI Agent Watson just arrested Oliver for being the Green Arrow. Curtis worries that soon they all will be behind bars, as it’s usually the underlings that are arrested first and not the criminal mastermind. John thinks they have bigger things to worry about. If the criminals think that the Green Arrow is in prison, the city is unprotected.

Meanwhile, Black Siren (Katie Cassidy) takes her team of villains into a facility to get something called nano- thermites. She is speaking with Cayden James (Michael Emerson) over a communications link. Before James can tell her that nano- thermites are highly explosive and her canary scream will detonate them, Black Siren lets out her yell. “You can see how that could have gone wrong?” Cayden James asks sarcastically. But it didn’t, smiles Black Siren as she makes off with the nano-thermites.

Dinah visits Oliver in jail. She reminds him that prison transfers can get lost. But Oliver reminds that if he makes himself a fugitive, then he makes William an orphan. So, he has to do things the right way.  Dinah leaves so Oliver can get some sleep.

At the Arrow Cave, John and Curtis learn about the theft of the nano-thermites.  Curtis calls Felicity, who is on her way to Oliver’s arraignment, to help with the hacking of Cayden James’ computer systems to see what the hacker is up to next. Before his arraignment begins, Oliver learns that the special prosecutor on the case is Sam Armand (Pej Vahdat), someone he respects. Armand also respects Oliver and apologizes for being handed the case. Once the arraignment begins, Oliver’s attorney Jean Loring (Teryl Rothery) asks for the charges to be dropped as it has also been proven that the photograph of Mayor Queen wearing the Green Arrow hood was doctored.  But Sam Armand says that the FBI has new irrefutable evidence that Mayor Queen is the Green Arrow. But of course, Armand will not show Loring it and tip his hand at an arraignment.  As a single father and mayor, Oliver is granted bail. But a very large one: five million dollars with a five hundred thousand dollar bond! Queen is a rich man, but does Oliver have THAT kind of money? No worries, Felicity offers to give Oliver the money that she and Curtis received from an investor for their start-up.  How will Curtis feel about Felicity giving away their money without asking them first? Oliver doesn’t want Felicity to hack into the FBI’s computers to find out what their non-photographic evidence is. Too late, Felicity already has been wasn’t able to find out any information. She then gets a call that Black Siren and her goons are breaking into Amertek. Oliver tells Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) that Laurel’s evil doppelganger Black Siren is working with Cayden James. Quentin decides to stay clear of the evil Laurel and will instead work on clearing Oliver’s name.

Meanwhile, Team Arrow fights Black Siren and her goons at Amertek.  In the melee, John goes down and Black Siren makes off with some highly sensitive explosives. Back at the Arrow Cave, the team finally tells Felicity about John’s tremors and how Curtis has been trying to treat him with the spinal implant pro-type. And the explosives that Black Siren stole when mixed with the nano-thermites can obliterate anything within a close distance. Dr. Schwartz (Venus Terzo) tells John that his body is reacting to the spinal implant pro-type used for his tremors. Curtis apologizes to John for using the untested pro-type on him. Felicity calls John and tells him that she knows about his tremors and urges him to tell Oliver. Not this week, John says reasoning that with his arrest, Oliver already has enough to deal with.

Curtis and Felicity get into an argument over him using the spinal implant pro-type to treat John and not telling her and Felicity’s choice of Helix Dynamics as their start-up’s name.  If this two are to work together, they’ll need to remember that they are partners and learn to share information.

Meanwhile, Oliver confronts John about going out into the field as the Green Arrow when he wasn’t in top form. “I’ve been mad at you before but I’ve never been disappointed,” Oliver says. John tells Oliver that the only ones he (John) owes an apology to is the team and he’s already apologized to them.  “For the sake of our friendship, I hope that isn’t true,” Oliver says angrily. John reminds that it was Oliver who asks him (John) to put on the hood.  And the mistake he made was putting Oliver’s family before his own. Oliver leaves John’s hospital room and goes to see his comatose sister Thea (Willa Holland). Oliver tells “Speedy” (Thea) to wake up because he really needs her.

Back at the Arrow Cave, Team Arrow realize that Cayden James is planning to target a large rock concert that will have thousands in attendance.  Oliver tries to get the concert shut down.  But as he is unable to provide proof that the concert goers will be in danger by attending, his request is met with a ‘No’ by the organizer.

Next, Oliver returns to John’s hospital room and apologizes for their fight. Oliver tells John that William is grateful to John for being the Green Arrow so he (Oliver) doesn’t have to be. John tells Oliver that his (John) tests came back.  And it seems that John’s steroid use has caused his injuries to spread to his back.  And if John continues to fight and gets hurt in the field, he risks paralysis.  But John admits that being the Green Arrow is something he wants even without Oliver asking him. When he learns about Cayden James targeting the rock concert and Oliver being unable to stop it, John asks Oliver what he is going to do.

Meanwhile at the Arrow Cave, the team is debating who will call the plays in the field.  Felicity votes Dinah even though she (Dinah) hasn’t been with the team long, she has experience as a cop.  But Oliver has other ideas as he eyes the Green Arrow costume. Later at the concert, Oliver is once again Green Arrow. But soon learns that the bomb is a decoy. Cayden James tells Oliver that he is doing this as pay back for losing James’ son at the hands of Oliver.

Felicity verifies that Cayden James did have a son but don’t know how James believes Oliver is responsible. Curtis and Felicity make up and promises not to keep secrets from each other anymore. The referendum passes which now makes being a vigilante a crime. Oliver goes to city hall and as mayor gives a speech saying he has to uphold the wish of the people.

Oliver goes to the hospital and tells John that after he (John) recovers, he (Oliver) would like John to wear the hood permanently. And his Thanksgiving prayer is answered when Thea awakens from her coma. Team Arrow celebrate by her hospital bed while Thea eats Thanksgiving dinner.