Arrow – Tribute

By: Stacy Miller

The episode opens with Mayor Oliver Green (Stephen Amell) entering City Hall for a press conference. He asks the members of the press, “Anything interesting on the news last night?”  Oliver denies that he is the Green Arrow; insisting that photographs can be doctored adding that Bruce Wayne’s head could have been put on that photo.  Further, if he were the Green Arrow by night and the mayor of Star City by day, he’d really be a superhero. Of course, denying the accusation isn’t enough to put the story for rest as Oliver soon learns. FBI Agent Samanda Watson (Sydelle Noel) enters the mayor’s office and announces that Oliver is under investigation.  Oliver reminds that he was cleared five years ago. “Of being The Hood,” Agent Watson says.  She intends to do a better job than Star City PD and if he is indeed Green Arrow, she will find out.

At the Arrow Cave, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), Curtis (Echo Kellum), John (David Ramsey) and Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) discuss the incriminating photograph of Oliver as the Green Arrow.  Team Arrow wonders how they will get Oliver out of this – if Oliver doesn’t go to jail it will be hard for him to continue working as the Green Arrow with the eyes of the city watching him. The first thing they need to do is figure out where the photograph was mailed from.  Rene (Rick Gonzalez) announces that the photograph wasn’t mailed, it was sent right from Channel 52’s newsroom where there are over five hundred employees. Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) wonders if Adrian Chase could have set this in motion months ago to mess with them. Regardless of who sent it and where the photograph was sent, if Team Arrow doesn’t shut it down, they all could end up in prison along with Oliver.

Meanwhile, Oliver is trying to conduct a meeting with the Markovians and discuss a project as mayor but all anyone wants to talk about is the Green Arrow photograph.  One investor is even willing to up his price if Mayor Queen turns out to be a superhero.  Suddenly, gunfire erupts and Oliver, Quentin and several important business men rush to the van. Shots are still fired as they make their getaway.  A finally cornered Quentin, who is driving, stops the van.  Oliver is shocked when Anatoly (David Nykl) appears and asks whether he is having a good day.  “You look like you want to throw a punch at me,” Anatoly says.  He tells Oliver that he’s there because he has business with the Markovians.  Anatoly makes the Markovians leave the van and there’s nothing Oliver can do to stop him without outing himself as the Green Arrow.

Back at the Arrow Cave, John is angry that his best friend is under a microscope. Team Arrow realizes that it was Anatoly who leaked the photograph in order to tie Oliver’s hands as Green Arrow. Anatoly has demanded that Star City pay him a twenty million dollar ransom for the release of the hostages. As mayor, Oliver’s response is that he doesn’t negotiate with terrorists.  Plus, he wouldn’t give Anatoly twenty cents!  Queen intends to find where Anatoly is holding the hostages and free the Markovians.

Meanwhile, Oliver is in the back seat of his car talking with William (Jack Moore), who got into a fight at school with a group of kids who called Oliver the Green Arrow.  Oliver gives his son fighting advice on how to take down bullies: Go for the nose of the biggest one and make sure he can’t see. If the toughest kid can’t fight, the others will back down.  When Felicity calls and tells Oliver that they’ve located Anatoly at a Bratva restaurant, Oliver tells the driver to take William home.

Later Team Arrow (including their leader Oliver Queen) arrive at the Bratva restaurant. Soon, there is fighting, arrows flying and Black Canary screams. When the dust clears, Anatoly has escape with one of the Markovians, a man named Alec Tarkov (Rick Dobran).

Rene and Quentin have to make excuses for Oliver when he fails to show for a meeting with Agent Watson.  They explain that Oliver has recently became a single dad.  Agent Watson heard that the boy’s mother was killed in an unexpected car accident, but she finds it strange that there’s no evidence of a car or a body. The only thing available was an autopsy report and those can be doctored.  Agent Watson warns that if she discovers that they are covering for Mayor Queen, she’ll have them both indicted for obstruction.

Oliver returns home to William.  The boy is still angry with Oliver and says that he thought that his father would leave him like his mother.  Oliver promises William that he will never leave.  Their conversation is interrupted when Oliver receives a phone call.  He tells William that it’s work. “Which one?” William asks, still believing that his dad is Green Arrow.  The call is from Anatoly, who tells Oliver that he (Anatoly) was viewed weak by the Bratva for his friendship with Queen.  But he’s not weak and they are no longer friends.  Oliver is shown Tarkov, who Anatoly has obvious injected with something as the man’s face appears to be horribly scarred. Anatoly warns that Tarkov will be dead in about three hours. “I have a cure for his aliment, do you have a cure for mine?” Anatoly asks. So, the cost of a human life to Anatoly is twenty million dollars.

At the Arrow Cave, Felicity is able to determine from the scars on the Tarkov’s face (Oliver sent them the images from his phone) that the poison is a neuro toxin. Felicity is sure than Star City General will have an antidote for the poison Anatoly used.  At Star City General, Dr. Schwartz (Venus Terzo) gives Dinah the antidote and tells her that it works almost immediately with full recovery in seventy-two hours.  Then, she leaves to see another patient.  Once alone, Dinah says that she knows that John has been keeping something from her and demands to know what it is. John confesses that in the explosion on Lian Yu, he was hit with some shrapnel.  This explains why John wasn’t able to get a shot off and Rene ended up in the hospital.  John asks Dinah to keep this a secret from the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, Rene tells Oliver that he saw Williams’ name on a person of interest list in the case. Oliver insists that the FBI Agent won’t go anywhere never his son, but obviously he doesn’t have much say in the matter. Oliver tells Rene about his conversation with William in which he promised his son that he would never leave him.  But Oliver knows that this is a promise he may not be able to keep due to the dangers they face.  And now it looks like William will have to lie or risk losing his father to prison. Just then, Oliver gets a call that the team has a lead on Anatoly’s location.  Team Arrow arrive and another fight ensues. Oliver faces Anatoly, who kills Tarkov when Oliver still refuses to pay him his money.  Anatoly says that he is an honorable man and William may one day run into a man less than honorable and then where will Oliver’s son be? Oliver has Anatoly in his line of fire, but they both know that Queen will not kill him (Anatoly).  “Why did you leak that picture of me?” Oliver asks.  “I did not.  I told you I am an honorable man,” Anatoly answers before walking out of the room.

Oliver meets with Agent Watson and tells her that she will not speaking with his son.  Agent Watson warns that telling an FBI Agent how to do her job is an obstruction of justice.  Oliver reminds that if he were the Green Arrow, how far does she think he would go to protect his son?  Agent Watson is asked to turn on the news where a report says that they received evidence that the photograph of Mayor Queen was digitally doctored. “Lucky you,” says Agent Watson.  “I told you I’m not the man you think I am,” replies Oliver. Agent Watson warns that this isn’t the end of her investigation.

Curtis and Felicity congratulate themselves on leaking the digitally doctored photo that cleared Oliver’s name to Channel 52. They wonder who is setting their friend up.  Meanwhile, John admits that he almost got Dinah killed when he was unable to fire his gun and promises to tell Oliver.

At home, Oliver vows to William that he’ll make sure he is never alone.  He tells his son that he found a way and is working on making it happen.  Oliver promises William that he will try his very best to be the best father he can be. After Oliver is finished his speech, William asks his father to plan a video game with him.

As the episode closes, before John can tell Oliver that he (John) is damaged, Oliver asks his friend to suit up permanently as the Green Arrow. “Star City needs the Green Arrow, it just can’t be me anymore. So, I’d like it to be you.”  John agrees and the episode fades out on their handshake while focusing on the Green Arrow suit.