Diggle, meanwhile, finds himself in a dire situation with no allies at all.
The episode opens with Wild Dog and Green Arrow once again in pursuit of the same bad guy.
He leaves Wild Dog with a decision … and a card with a date and address on it.
Credit: Bettina Strauss/The CW
How does he do this?
he marvels after he tumbles off.
Naturally Oliver strolls in at this moment and shows him howin his business suit.
Impossible, Curtis marvels.
I meannot, says Felicity, speaking for those of us in the audience inclined to agree with her.
Oliver makes no such promise.
I only wear a mask once a year, and thatsifmy Halloween costume calls for it, she says.
And everybody whos not dead, or presumed dead, quit, Curtis points out.
The first training session is… well, its brutal.
Present at the old HIVE headquarters are Curtis, Evelyn Sharp (a.k.a.
the wannabe Black Canary), and Ray Ramirez (a.k.a.
Wild Dog, played by Rick Gonzalez).
Their job will be to get past him to ring a bell attached to a post.
(Sorry for the objectification, Rick!
Loved you inReaper!)
The trio all charge Green Arrow, and he knocks them down one by one.
Oliver shouts, and they do it again.
At least hes not shooting them, Felicity mutters.
Were… were going to hear a lot about Laurel this season, arent we?Sigh.
Just like the present-day training, the applicants get knocked down one by one.
At this point, Felicity calls Green Arrow away for some mayor/vigilante business.
Felicity chucks him on the chest and says, Some could say the same about you.
Then she chuckles and says, Ive been waiting five years to make that joke!
And seriously, that Olicity chemistry?
Lets get this fixed, writers.
By November sweeps, if possible.
Pretty boy Queen here thinks hes actually saving the city.
Gotta say, this clinic has truly enormous windows.
Mayor Queen, you have failed patient confidentiality.
bursts through the door Lance shouldve been guarding to attack CEO Janet.
You have been judged and found wanting, the ragman says.
But Green Arrows there, somehow already in his uniform, to chase him off.
Then Felicity pulls Oliver aside to yell athimfor being physically and emotionally abusive.
Oliver spits back that he had five years of training.
Laurel didnt, and look where she is now.
Im starting to think we could make a decent drinking game out of Laurel mentions this season.
Any time they show the statue, its a social.
Oliver wants to go the tough love route, minus the love, while Felicity advocates fornotdoing that.
Im mostly Team Oliver here.Arrowhas taught us that the most effective training happens through harsh methods.
Sara and the League of Assassins.
Oliver and, well, everybody.
Training isnt about hand holding and sharing jokes.
Still, Olivers intense here.Intense.Fi may have a point, too.
His full name is Billy Malone, which I only learned because it popped up on Felicitys phone.
Barnacle Bill has a nice ring to it, doesnt it?
Barnacle Bill buys it, then drops the fact that hed like to actually meet her friends someday.
So thatll be fun, whenever that happens.
Then they kiss, and the Olicity portions of the internet explode into hellfire.
Frustrated, Oliver yells at Curtis that he wanted them to figure out that they needed to work together.
Curtis yells back that they dont trust Green Arrow because Green Arrow doesnt trustthem.
You dont build people up.
You tear them down.
Then Curtis quits, too.
Afterward, Felicity finds Oliver brooding in front of the costume pods at the Arrowcave.
I failed these recruits, as a leader, he says.
But all his recruits see is the scary, angry guy in the mask.
Oliver confesses that he thought the new team not knowing who he was would make it easier … forhim.
This got me, for some reason, this reminder of the intimacies they shared.
She immediately knows how hard this information is for him to divulge.
Without personal attachment, there can be no loss, he says.
It works, and we share Olivers triumph for a split second.
And then the Bratva heavies SHOOT THE OTHER APPLICANTS.
With this new knowledge, Oliver, Thea, and Felicity put it all together.
Then the Ragman turns up and hisses at Janet, They all died in fire.
See, the bomb that Janets company manufactured wiped out everyone in his town except for him.
Ragman complies, and Janet escapes.
After the fight, Ragman and Oliver meet on a rooftop.
So you see why I have to avenge him, he says.
They shake on it.
He also says, I think maybe the wrong Queen ran for mayor.
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Money, of course.
But hes also shaken by the metahumans in Central City.
What hope does the world have against men with magic?
Bet Star City doesnt look so bad now, does it, JD?
Theyre shocked, but Ramirez recovers quickly and says he wont apologize for all the pretty boy trash talk.
Oliver replies that he wont apologize for his training methods.
All three new recruits sign back up, even though Wild Dog would prefer a new code name.
No chance, says people-person Oliver as they shake on it.
Finally, Tobias Church is leaving a night club when his bodyguards are felled by arrows.
He thinks its his green buddy, but its not.
If Church kills him before Prometheus can, Church is dead, too.
Thoughts for your quiver:
