**Obligatory Spoiler Warning**
Last time, Oliver was dosed with some unknown drug during his “fight” with one of Brother Blood’s super soldiers. He is rushed to the Arrow Cave and Barry is brought in to save his life.
We open to Oliver dying on a table in the Arrow Cave. Barry tells Digg to hold him while he quickly eliminates the possible causes of Oliver’s condition. His blood is thickening like maple syrup. Barry has an idea… Rat poison! (Kid’s rat poison is not a cure to what ale’s ya.) An injection of the poison is used to thin out the blood enough to save his life. Oliver fades back into consciousness and starts hearing a voice telling him to let go… Shado’s voice.
“Let go Oliver… Don’t fight anymore… Stay with me.” – Shado
While Barry is checking on Oliver, he wakes up and grabs Barry’s throat. Digg calms Oliver down and Felicity tells him that he was injected with a strong acting blood coagulant. Barry tells him that they used the rat poison to save his life. Oliver turns to Felicity with disappointment for telling Barry his secret. Felicity defends her decision saying that there wasn’t time for a vote. He tells her that he doesn’t trust Barry and he did his homework on the people that know his secret.
Moira sends Oliver a text message asking him to come home. Before he leaves, he tells the team that the man he fought in the bunker has enough material to mass produce the Mirakuru serum from the island. Barry tells Oliver that he may be able to recreate the man’s fingerprint from the oils left on Oliver’s neck during the fight.
“I’m not going to tell anyone and you don’t have to thank me, but you should thank her instead of being kind of a jerk… Mr. Queen.” – Barry
Moira is decorating the Christmas tree when Oliver arrives at home. Thea has locked herself in her room and Moira wants Oliver to talk to her. He looks at the tree and realizes it is Christmas.
Thea let’s Oliver into her room, she’s hiding Roy who still has an arrow stuck in his leg. She calls The Hood a psycho and Roy says that his anger is dulling the pain in his leg. Oliver slowly pulls the arrow out and calls Digg to come to the mansion with a first aid kit. He tells him that Roy was shot with an arrow. Trying to calm the situation, he tells Thea, Roy and Sin that The Hood probably shot Roy to keep him safe. As soon as Oliver leaves, Sin asks if they are going to let it go. Thea says no, but they are going to do things her way.
Walking down the hall, Oliver see’s Shado turning a corner. He follows and finds nothing. She appears behind him and tells him that she had to warn him that he would not be able to fight what’s coming. She asks him to put down the bow before everyone he loves dies. Thea asks Oliver whom he was talking to and Shado isn’t there.
“Ollie, who are you talking to?” – Thea
On the sub, Oliver, Sara, and Shado watch Slade bleed out of his eyes as Ivo and his men burst into the room. Ivo kneels down to check on Slade and finds a syringe. One of Ivo’s men finds the box containing the miracle serum. After Ivo has taken them hostage, Sara pleads with him to let the others go. Ivo puts Sara and Shado down on the ground and gives Oliver the choice of who lives and who dies.
Present day. Production on the serum has begun and Blood tells us that it will be ready in two days. He’s plan is to make 100 more super soldiers and take the city down.
At the Arrow Cave, Oliver asks Barry is there are any side effects to the rat poison. (Poison… I can think of a good side effect from poison.) He tells him that hallucinations might be one. Felicity asks what he is seeing and he tells her about Shado.
“Shado… Sara. How many women were you marooned with? Are you sure this wasn’t Fantasy Island.” – Felicity
While Barry is drawing blood he asks Oliver why he doesn’t wear a mask. He asks Barry to find him a mask that will form to his face and won’t interfere with his ability to aim while he’s on the run.
Felicity ran the fingerprints that Barry recreated and matched them to Cyrus Gold. She also found him by using the city’s street cameras and that is staying at a nearby hotel. Digg offers to do the recon work with Oliver as backup.
Laurel looks at vase of flowers sent by Alderman Blood as Thea and Sin make a visit to her office. Thea tells her that Sin’s friend was murdered and Sin tells her that Max was donating blood when he went missing. Laurel offers to ask around.
Digg checks out the hotel room that Cyrus is renting. He finds a notebook open to the poem of Solomon Grundy (Poem is at the end of this recap) as Cyrus sneaks up from behind him. Digg knows he’s no match for Cyrus and jumps through a window to the fire escape. Oliver pulls the car into the alleyway to aid Digg in his escape. He has Felicity call Det. Lance to meet up on the rooftop.
Oliver begins hallucinating about Slade while warning Lance about how dangerous Cyrus is. He tells Lance that he is currently a liability and won’t be much use to him.
“Gather as many men as you can and do not hesitate to kill Cyrus Gold because given the opportunity he will do the same to you.” – The Hood.
On the island Oliver’s time is running out. He begs Ivo to just take the serum and leave them. Ivo finishes counting down and shoots Shado in the head.
Laurel stops by Queen Manor to see Thea to Oliver’s disappointment. The two reminisce of last years Christmas party and Laurel ends the conversation to update Thea.
She tells the trio that the blood drive is legitimate, but all of the donors had to undergo a psych evaluation at the Langford Institute. She also tells them that because of the evaluation, they would need a warrant to get any of the blood tests… which they won’t get.
Meanwhile, at the Arrow Cave, Barry is experimenting with something green while Oliver’s blood is still being analyzed. Barry and Felicity talk about her feelings toward Oliver. She still says she has none toward him, but Barry could understand if she did. Barry checks his watch and turns on the TV to the news coverage of the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator.
“I guess I won’t be back in time to see them turn it on.” – Barry
Lance tells Lucas about Cyrus Gold and that he got his information from The Hood. Lucas reminds him that talking to The Hood is what got him demoted in the first place. Lance asks for a few men to take Cyrus down as Officer Daily, Bloods inside man, offers to help. Officer Daily calls Blood and tells him about Lance’s plan.
At the Arrow Cave, Barry asks Felicity about her Christmas plans. She says that she will be lighting her menorah. Oliver’s enters and asks if he could have some privacy. They leave to watch the accelerator countdown at a burger joint. (I don’t want to complain, but how long is this countdown?)
He sees Slade again.
“What’s the matter kid, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” – Slade
Lance and fellow officers raid the warehouse. Cyrus jumps down from above and attacks the officers. Lance is knocked out and Lucas is killed with his own gun.
Oliver tells Slade that he isn’t real; Slade tells Oliver that he also isn’t real and his crusade to avenge his father’s sins had been a lie. He’s still atoning for his own sins and that he couldn’t save him, Shado or Starling City. Oliver turns his back to him and tells him to be gone. Slade pushes him into some equipment and the two start fighting. Oliver is thrown into a glass and Slade is gone. The Arrow Cave is a mess.
“The island didn’t make you strong kid, it revealed you are weak.” – Slade
Laurel and Blood are out together doing some Christmas shopping. She asks him about the blood drive as she receives an urgent phone call. She tells Blood that her father is in intensive care and she rushes off.
Felicity and Barry return to the Arrow Cave as Oliver is sweeping up the broken glass. She asks if someone had broken in and Oliver tells her no. Barry checks on the blood test and tells Oliver that his blood is clean and whatever is causing him to hallucinate is psychological. Felicity tells Oliver about Lance being admitted.
At the hospital, Lance wakes up to see Laurel sitting by his bedside. He asks about Lucas and learns that he was killed. She tells him that she will notify Lucas’ wife and runs into Blood in the hallway. He wanted to make sure that Lance was okay and gives Officer Daily a nod.
The Hood stops by to check on Lance. He apologizes about Lucas’ death and takes the blame for it himself. Lance gives The Hood a key that managed to swipe off of Cyrus and asks him to kill Cyrus for Lucas.
“I hate to break it to you, but not every death in this city is on you.” – Det. Lance
At the Arrow Cave, Oliver asks Digg if he thinks he is losing his mind. Oliver tells him that he saw Slade and that he is responsible for Slade’s death. Digg tells him about seeing ghosts after his return from Afghanistan, calling it survivor’s guilt. The only way to get ride of them is to find out what they are trying to tell him.
Felicity identified the location of the key given by Lance. Oliver suits up and she tells him that he can’t go out in his condition. He tells her that he doesn’t have a choice and that he will come back. Barry looks on sympathetically and hearth broken.
Meanwhile, Roy breaks into the Langford Institute and finds Max’s file. The word Mirakuru is stamped on the back of his photo. He hears someone come into the room and hides behind a desk as a man pours gasoline onto the floor of the office. Roy darts out of the room and tries to make a run for it when he is clotheslined by Cyrus and is knocked out.
He wakes up in the lab where he is injected with the Mirakuru serum. The Hood bursts his way into the lab through the ceiling demanding to know who gave Blood the formula. Cyrus shows up and starts throwing The Hood around while Roy starts feeling the effects of the serum. Blood checks Roy’s pulse and says that he is another failure. The Hood is about to give up when he hears the voice of Tommy tell him to get up. He apologizes for letting him die and Tommy tells him that he didn’t let him die, he fought to save him, which is what he always does. Tommy continues to tell him that he is not a murderer but a hero and to get up and fight back.
Brother Blood gives Cyrus the order to kill The Hood. He fights Cyrus with much more determination than he did earlier and releases an arrow into circuit breaker leading to a chemical explosion that ended up on Cyrus’ face. Blood makes his escape as the roof crumbles down on Cyrus.
Oliver cuts Roy free and performs CPR on him, shouting that he won’t let anyone else die. Roy wakes up.
Queen Manor. Thea and Sin walk into her room and find Roy lying in bed. She asks where he had been and he tells her that he was following up on another lead. She thought he had gone after The Hood again, he tells her not to worry.
News Headline “BLOOD ANNOUNCES MAYORAL RUN”
Blood walks into a room and starts talking to a man behind a desk. He talks about his announcement and how hiring the copycat Hoods to assassinate the mayor was only the beginning. He tells the man (ehem.. Slade) that The Hood destroyed all of the equipment and the batches of serum. Slade says that he will give him another blood sample. Blood asks if he knows who The Hood is and Slade says he does and that he is his friend. He adds that he is going to tear everything away from him and destroy his life… Then drive an arrow through his eye.
“The next time I ask you not to confront The Vigilante, you will listen. Remember your mask can be worn by another.” – Slade
The sub. Slade comes back to life, the burns on his face completely healed. He shouts Shado’s name and runs to find her. He finds Ivo’s team and beats them with his new super strength. Ivo makes his escape as Slade discovers Shado’s lifeless body. Oliver is about to confess that it is his fault as Sara interrupts telling Slade that they don’t know why Ivo shot Shado. Slade vows revenge on whoever was responsible (even though Sara just said Ivo).
Oliver returns to the Arrow Cave and tells Digg and Felicity that he got the message from his ghosts. He tells them that Roy was injected with the serum and that they will have to keep an eye on him. He continues to tell them about the man in the skull mask and how he is planning on building an army. Barry left to return to Century City to catch the accelerator being turned on.
It’s raining in Century City. Barry calls Felicity to tell her that he missed the cut off line for S.T.A.R. Labs. He walks into his lab while and tells Felicity that if she ever wanted to go on a date with him, he will be on time. Before they hang up, he tells her that he left something for Oliver in the Arrow Cave. Barry turns on the news coverage of the accelerator. The reporter gets word of a malfunction and that the scientists are unable to shut down the system. Power goes out in the lab as the accelerator explodes in a ball of energy as Barry watches. Shortly after, he is struck by lightning while standing under the sky light and is knocked unconscious.
Oliver opens the box left by Barry and pulls out a mask. He puts on the mask and asks Felicity how he looks. “Like a hero” she says.
“Even The Arrow deserves a Christmas present” – Diggle
This is the mid season finale. Don’t worry and stay tuned, it’ll be back.
Trick arrows used in this episode:
Grapple arrow
Solomon Grundy (Anonymous poet)
Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
That was the end of
Solomon Grundy.
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