Arrow - Recap: Do Svidaniya, Deadshot!
Arrow brought some love and lust this week with an episode that put Diggle’s romance with Lyla at the forefront, yet inevitably brought out Felicity’s true feelings for Oliver. Olicity fans... get your tissues ready!
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To begin the recap for Episode 6, it’s important to note that Starling City saw a wee bit of action this week as well. All the fun wasn’t to be had in a deadly Russian prison full of psychos! Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) opened the show this week by cluing the vigilante in on a criminal deal needing busting in The Glades. Caught up in the mix while Oliver did most of the fighting, Roy was inevitably brought down to the police station, yet in a moment where he revealed the true nature of his “crime” to Officer Lance (Paul Blackthorne), Roy might have made an unlikely new ally on the police force. Remember, Lance and The Arrow are on good terms this season. Filling Lance in on his cooperation with the vigilante was the best move Roy could make; however, Moira’s (Susanna Thompson) lawyer couldn't care less whether or not Roy was actually arrested or whether there was a misunderstanding. Bad press could adversely damage Thea’s (Willa Holland) mother’s case in court, planting Thea in a sufficiently sticky situation. How would Thea handle breaking it off with Roy in order to protect her mother?
During Oliver’s quarrel with the thugs in The Glades, Diggle was mysteriously appreheneded by Dr. Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), an important figurehead in A.R.G.U.S., a prominent spy organization in the DC Universe. Lyla, a valuable asset to Waller and the entire team, had “gone dark.” Meaning, she’d disappeared for several days while investigating something in Moscow. Revealing that she knows of Diggle’s nighttime excursions with Oliver Queen, Waller requested his help in finding their missing friend and agent.
While Oliver’s team prepared to board a plane to Moscow, they were unfortunately caught off-guard by Isabel Rochev, Ollie’s business partner. Isabel, refusing to permit Oliver to venture overseas to check up on Queen Consolidated’s Russian subsidiaries alone, insisted on joining Team Arrow on their European vacation. Isabel, for what it’s worth, has never rubbed me the wrong way. I’ve always appreciated that she’s a female character who cracks the whip hard yet maintains a sense of femininity. Still, crashing Diggle’s quest to rescue Lyla merely added another kink to the plan.
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Once in Moscow, Oliver and Diggle promptly hit up a bar where they rendezvoused with an old buddy of Queen’s. This is probably a good point in the recap to flashback to the island region, as Oliver’s connection to this man begins on the freight ship prison we’ve become acquainted with over the past few episodes. Anatoli Knyazev (David Nyxl) occupied the cell next to Oliver on this mysterious dank hellhole, and he eventually bore witness to the unfolding of Queen’s revisited relationship with Sara Lance (Caity Lotz). Sara, who’s maintained a good working relationship with the increasingly evil Dr. Ivo (Dylan Neal), seemed to be keeping Oliver safe to begin with, refusing to acknowledge that she even recognized him, yet later revealing that it would be better to keep their relationship a secret. She explained the nature of how she’d come to the ship before quietly escorting Oliver to a covert location onboard. There, she allowed him to make contact with Shado (Celina Jade) and Slade (Manu Bennett), who were indeed still alive, even if barely. Shado had taken to tending to Slade’s serious burns that resulted from the attack ordered by Ivo’s men. While Ollie remained trapped on the ship, things seemed to begin to heat up between Slade and Shado! Slade, buddy… those burns look gnarly, and that plane is dirty. Feel better, though!
Oliver, lighting up at the sound of Shado’s voice on the opposite end of the radio, was eventually shocked to realize that he’d been set up. Sara, working for Ivo, had helped the doctor to find the location of Oliver’s friends in order to eliminate any threat to their mission. Ivo is in search of the mutated bodies of the Japanese soldiers Oliver and his friends had previously discovered. They seem to hold the key to groundbreaking Japanese stem cell research that could lead to a potential super army. It’s important to note, though, that Sara seemed to be begrudgingly helping these people in order to survive. It wasn’t as though she took pleasure in watching Oliver suffer. In proving her allegiance to Ivo, she’d essentially secure her safety and Ollie’s for the time being.
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It’s not exactly clear at this point how Oliver managed to save Anatoli’s life on the ship. We’re simply not there yet; however, this man loves Oliver and so, he also loves Diggle. He managed to dig up the fact that Lyla was being held in this terrifying location, an intense Russian prison with psychopaths and killers… for guards! Breaking into the prison is one thing. Getting out is another. Lyla, who’d quite obviously broken into this “Nightmare” in search of Deadshot, was now trapped within its walls, and it was up to Diggle to break her out. Oliver, Diggle, and Knyazev designed a plan to have Diggle arrested for drug possession in order to work him into the prison unnoticed. There, a guard friend of Knyazev could help Diggle maneuver through the system in order to get him to Lyla within a specific time frame. When the time was up, Oliver and his friends could swoop in outside, and Diggle would run back to freedom. If they should fail, and odds are they would (except for the fact that this is Arrow, and there was no way Episode 6 of Season 2 was ending with Diggle forever trapped in a Moscow prison nicknamed “The Nightmare"), Digg would remain stuck in Russia for good. Felicity kissed Diggle goodbye from the comfort of their hotel room, draping him in a coat that was noted to be in some way important to their scheme and a red scarf for good luck.
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While Diggle made his way into the heart of one of the most dangerous prisons on the planet, Oliver flirted it up with Isabel, who seemed to be taking full advantage of Russia’s amazing vodka. The two are more alike than we were initially led to believe, and all of Isabel’s confusion and frustration towards Queen is, in actuality, a result of the fact that she feels like he’s desperate to prove that he’s an incompetent buffoon when he’s clearly not. Isabel, a Russian immigrant, refuses to fail in business after fighting so hard to be successful. It is their loneliness, in truth, that bonds these two. Of course, the steamy no-strings-attached sex that followed only solidified their chemistry. Felicity, who eventually knocked at the door as the two chatted post-boinking, was taken aback by Oliver’s taste in women. In a heartbreaking scene that followed, Felicity, from the privacy of Diggle’s future armored getaway vehicle, wondered why Oliver would choose Rochev. In our minds, collectively, we added the ‘…’ for Felicity. “… over me.”
Diggle’s time in prison was filled with racist thugs and food that looked like it had already been eaten and puked back up. Of course, in a prison like this, you hit bumps in the road. Diggle was eventually roughed up by a group of criminals running the joint, landing him in a torture chamber of sorts that was essentially an icy meat freezer for those who exhibit bad behavior. There, he was cuffed to a pipe to suffer for seven hours. Funny enough, the only other man freezing alongside Digg was… Deadshot. What a clever twist Arrow threw at us when Deadshot informed us of knowing of Lyla’s whereabouts. Once Diggle had broken free thanks to the help of Knyazev’s inside pal, he’d have a choice; attempt to find Lyla on a tiny timeframe or team up with Deadshot. Obviously, the latter was the only true option, so the two quickly meandered there way to Diggle’s… ex-wife. That’s right, folks! Lyla and Diggle were married during his time spent in Afghanistan, yet the exhilarating and dangerous lifestyle seemed to be the fuel for their fiery passion. At home, the marriage quickly ended, yet these two seem to be in a different place now. Remember, Arrow has been setting up sparks of chemistry between Diggle and his ex for a while now.
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Eventually, the bomb embedded in the coat Diggle had worn into the prison activated, and thus, their escape route was blown clear open. The trio, Deadshot included, ran for the getaway van after handling a group of guards outside with some help from Oliver. After driving far enough away from the site of their escape, Diggle took Deadshot from the vehicle, pointing a gun at the head of the man who’d slain his brother. Diggle, a man of honor, couldn’t finish the job, even if this assassin’s wonky shot killed his brother in a poor effort to hit his latest target. That’s the thing about Deadshot, though. He doesn’t miss! Deadshot, perhaps freeing Diggle from his never-ending quest for blood and vengeance directed towards him, clued Diggle in on the truth. His brother was the target, not the protector of the target. Deadshot, leaving his old rival with a parting gift, tipped Diggle off to the alias of those responsible for ordering the hit… H.I.V.E. Do Svidaniya, Deadshot. If anyone ever decides to hire an assassin for use against me, I hope it's you.
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Time to close the Recap of Episode 6! Back in Starling City, a confused and slightly devastated Roy met with Moira Queen at her request. Thea, who’d done a sloppy job of dumping Harper to protect her mother, was ordered by Moira to continue seeing Roy, who’d done nothing prove to be a positive influence on her daughter in a time of need. Diggle, waking up the morning after a romantic night with Lyla, covertly began searching for the men who wanted his brother dead. Perhaps Deadshot had simply helped Diggle to transfer his aggression and his unending vendetta to a new target! Finally, in the offices of Queen Consolidated, Ollie and Felicity had one last moment where Felicity refused to give up questioning Queen’s taste in women. Why Isabel? Oliver, recognizing the chemistry between the two of them and, specifically, Felicity’s growing affection for him, assured her that he’d never begin a relationship with someone he would actually care deeply for while working as The Arrow. Felicity, still utterly disappointed, walked away after leaving Oliver with one bit of advice. She believes he deserves better.
By the way, readers, if you haven't noticed yet, a simple googling of any of these names of both people and organizations will usually turn up answers from the DC Comics. I try not to spoil in the recaps, but if you must know more about Dr. Waller, Isabel Rochev, or S.T.A.R.S., for example, the information is out there!
What did you think of Arrow Season 2 Episode 6, “Keep Your Enemies Closer”? Were you happy to see Deadshot back again this week? Are we hoping that Oliver ends up with Felicity or Isabel? Is single Ollie the best Ollie for now? What do you think H.I.V.E. wanted with Diggle’s brother? When will this looming threat created by the S.T.A.R.S. Labs that keeps being hinted at in dribs and drabs come to the forefront?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Arrow, Season 2 Episode 6, “Keep Your Enemies Closer”!