Arrow - Recap: Do You Seriously Have to Ask?

Episode 12 of Season 2 of Arrow, “Tremors,” began the workout routine intended to teach Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) to control his strength. Patience is a virtue, but not for Roy, really. Roy is really good at snarling and being angry, much to Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) dismay. While Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Diggle (David Ramsey) enjoyed hearing the tales of Roy’s failed training practices from afar, Thea (Willa Holland) continued to question her boyfriend’s odd behavior. Aside from the spotlight set on Roy, Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) was offered a new political role, and Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) continued her super entertaining downward spiral. Here is the Recap and Review of Season 2 Episode 12 of Arrow, “Tremors”!

Episode 12 of Season 2 opened with the breakout of Bronze Tiger from the confines of his prison cell. With a little help from an individual willing to sacrifice his own life by smuggling Tiger’s blades under his own skin, the assassin was out and about in no time. With direct coordinates handed over to him during his deceased accomplice’s last spoken words, it was clear from the start that someone was looking to hire an accomplished killer.

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News of Bronze Tiger’s escape from prison quickly reached the ears of Felicity and Diggle, who relayed the information back to Oliver. Ollie, meanwhile, had been busy passing on the old “slap the water” trick Shado has once used to teach him control and build arm strength to Roy Harper. Roy, of course, has copious amounts of strength yet no control whatsoever. Having said that, this isn’t the type of personality to take to ancient training rituals as Oliver did back on the island. Plus, with so little to work off of in terms of information and back-story, Roy didn’t really trust the Arrow, in full costume, to teach him much of anything. I know we’re expected to turn a blind eye to this, but are we still supposed to believe that nobody has ever been able to see inside that hood?

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We know the drill on this show at this point. Felicity quietly worked on piecing together information from hacked computers and networks as Episode 12 progressed, eventually helping Ollie to find tips, like a first location to begin nipping the Bronze Tiger situation in the bud. Somehow, Felicity managed to dig up the fact that the Tiger had acquired a floor plan to Malcolm Merlyn’s mansion. Meaning, the first part to this scheme of his latest hirer must have involved jacking something off of the property. Roy, who destroyed a piece of exercise equipment out of sheer anger, refused to continue carrying on with the Arrow’s bogus training regiment with nothing to work off of. Thus, he managed to weasel his way in to Oliver’s first fresh encounter with the newly freed Bronze Tiger.

Do you have one of your hoodies?

Do you seriously have to ask?

The details on Bronze Tiger’s new mission were revealed at this point. From the basement garage of Malcolm Merlyn, the criminal and his thug buddies busted out the prototype for the earthquake machine that had swallowed half The Glades. Luckily for Starling City, the Arrow and a barely-hooded Roy Harper arrived in time to attempt to thwart their plans. “Attempt” being the key word, as Roy’s anger got the best of him, and in nearly killing one of Bronze Tiger’s cronies, he inevitably aided in the villain’s getaway by costing Ollie valuable time.

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Much of Roy’s situation this week reflected Oliver’s failed struggles with Slade (Manu Bennett) on the island. The only other friend Oliver had ever known to survive a dose of Mirakuru had eventually become a monster unrecognizable to Ollie, though he kept the details quiet in his conversation with Roy. We, on the other hand, became privy to everything via Episode 12’s island flashback sequence. Oliver and Sara (Caity Lotz) linked plans scribbled on the grave cave’s wall to Slade’s plans of destroying the freight ship by using Fyers’ missile abandoned launcher. The ship, if you recall, is their only way off of the island, yet Slade was willing to sabotage their own escape plans if it meant “avenging” Shado. Of course, Shado would not have wanted her three allies to be stranded on the island forever due to Slade’s mission to destroy Ivo. Nearly blowing Ollie’s brains out in his blind rage, Slade seemed impenetrable. That is, until Oliver recalled some fine advice from Sara, who had previously reminded him of the power love holds over us. In the end, Ollie was able to reason with Slade by getting him to focus on Shado’s love for him. Slade, unaware of the true nature in which Shado was killed, kept his cool for now, but we know it’s only a matter of time before Oliver lands an arrow in his eye.

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As the matters of the present were transpiring around Team Arrow, Moira Queen had a proposition dropped in her lap with a little backing from Walter (Colin Salmon). As Sebastian Blood’s current unopposed race for the position of mayor headed onward, it became clear to big business owners in Starling City that this would not bode well for them. For example, Walter’s bank is expected to bankrupt if Blood nails his victory. Moira, on the other hand, has garnered a strange kind of quiet support following her adamant protection of her “cubs” during the evil reign of Malcolm Merlyn. Some people, apparently nearly 43% of those polled in Starling City, believe her to be a viable mayor. Moira was initially entirely skeptical, even as a woman completely capable of running a massive business on her own. It was some support from Thea, a newly minted voter, that eventually reminded Moira of her promise as a citizen with some power behind her family name. Moira still owes this city something, and later she’d share a moment with Thea at Verdant where she’d further learn that winning over even more support is possible, and she can, indeed, make amends.

While things were looking up for Moira, things were looking way down to the bottom of a bottle for Laurel. When Officer Lance (Paul Blackthorne) seriously attempted to trick Laurel into a support group meeting for addicts, his daughter was only further pushed towards her own personal rock bottom. Laurel, with one ray of hope left this week, took a job interview at her old buddy Jo’s new law firm. The firm was housed in a gorgeous office way different than that of their old firm; however, Jo had some bad news that trumped the interview from the start. Laurel’s career is on the line as she’s being evaluated for disbarment. She might never practice law again, so she took her sober self to Thea’s bar to drown away her sorrows in anything that paired well with olives. I realize this is meant to be a sad turn of events for Laurel, but I just can’t help but find this Season 2 Laurel to be so much more entertaining. Before long, Thea was hauling Laurel into a cab, and Ollie was making a phone call to a mystery friend with news of his ex’s dire situation. More on this later!

The Arrow refused to let Roy’s terrible mistake slide as their training continued forward. Roy, admitting to being late for practice because of his decision to warn Thea to leave town, found himself on the receiving end of another speech about restraint as a means of protecting those around him; however, Roy decided that he’d had enough of the Arrow’s chastisement. Instead, he left in a huff and promised to set things straight on his own, leading us to believe that he was on yet another twisted mission that would end up further inadvertently aiding Bronze Tiger.

A watch stripped from the thug Roy nearly killed in his red rage during the altercation with Bronze Tiger was eventually traced back to the arms dealer who’d hired him. The rooftop battle between Bronze Tiger, his employer, and Ollie as the Arrow originally began the same way that things started in Merlyn’s garage. Roy appeared from the shadows and began severely beating Bronze Tiger to a bloody pulp. Meanwhile, the arms dealer decided that any sort of failure would result in his own death. Thus, he made the rash decision to activate the earthquake machine from within its military-grade containment unit. Oliver, a man of mere human strength, couldn’t penetrate the unit, yet Roy, needless to say, could do so with a bit of focus. Knowing it would take something special to penetrate Roy’s rage as he continued to destroy Bronze Tiger, Ollie removed his hood, revealing his identity. Roy, shocked by the truth, quickly helped his girlfriend’s brother to access the machine, and a mere explosive arrow was, I guess, enough to thwart their enemies’ plans. Hmm… didn’t it seem a whole lot harder to deactivate the machine when Detective Lance had to do it during the Season 1 finale?

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In a really nice change of events, Roy was tremendously humbled by Oliver’s reveal and thanked him earnestly for giving his life a sense of purpose the moment he’d first been rescued by the man then known as “the Hood Guy.” Later, Roy was introduced to Team Arrow in the Arrow Cave, and the group welcomed its latest recruit.

Episode 12 also ended with three more important twists. First, Moira Queen officially accepted the proposal to run for mayor, but there is one more matter that needs to be addressed. Her doctor must be silenced. The political race cannot ever expose the paternity of Thea’s biological father, Malcolm Merlyn. Next, Amanda Waller returned this week with a final offer to a re-imprisoned Bronze Tiger. Join her new “squad” to earn amnesty. DC Comics fans, Suicide Squad is coming! Lastly, Laurel Lance barely stumbled her way into her apartment before collapsing on the floor. There, in a drunken haze, she caught one shocking glimpse of… Sara Lance.

What did you think of Arrow Season 2 Episode 12, “Tremors”? Are you happy that Roy is now in the know? Will Ollie eventually make amends with Slade, or is that friendship in the present simply doomed? What will come of Sara’s final reveal? How will Moira handle her latest predicament?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Arrow Season 2 Episode 12, “Tremors”!