‘Arrow’ Recap ‘Second Chances’

I am always extremely enthusiastic when I  see potential comic book players coming into the media realm! When we were teased last week about the possible introduction at a new Black Canary, I was extremely ecstatic!

“Second Chances” opened with a flashback scene of Central City; three years ago. Tina, was apparently a cop in Central City three years ago (during the time STAR Labs was working on the particle accelerator), and she who was captured by a mobster named Sonus. Right as Sonus went to kill her and her partner, the particle accelerator exploded; leading to Sonus killing her partner and her gaining her sonic scream.

In the present day, Oliver and his team gathered in the Arrow Cave and went down a list of candidates to find the new Black Canary. Everyone brings Oliver qualified candidates, but Oliver keeps shooting them all down; subconsciously comparing them to Laurel. Finally, Curtis mentions a woman who is an “urban legend”, who travels across the country protecting people with her powers. Oliver asked the team to look more into finding out who she really is; hinting that he may have just found the perfect candidate.

Oliver and Chase visit Diggle in prison, where Chase discloses that General Walker was previously under investigation for nuclear weapons trade and even more corruption, but that the investigation was shut down due to the fact that Walker has friends in high places. Oliver refuses to give up, and tells John (after Chase leaves) that he will have Felicity look into it. John also questions how it was possible for Prometheus to alter his voice to sound like Lyla on the phone, which led to John getting arrested in the first place.

Back at the Arrow Cave, Curtis pulls up footage of Tina Boland in action and states that she was last seen in Hub City. He also tells Oliver that Tina was  a cop in the CCPD three years ago; and Oliver states that it was around the time of the STAR Labs explosion. More than likely, her scream is because she is a meta-human. Oliver asks Curtis and Wild Dog to suit up, and come with him to Hub City.

They find Tina on a rooftop, and Oliver asks her to join them. Tina clearly states that she is not interested, and jumps off the rooftop.

The next morning, Oliver, Curtis, and Wild Dog gather at a Big Belly Burger.  While Curtis works the wifi to find out more info on Tina, Oliver calls Captain Singh over in Central City for more information. At first,Captain Singh doesn’t believe he is really on the phone with The Green Arrow; so Oliver has Barry flash a post-it note on Singh’s computer to prove he’s real. Captain Singh reveals that Tina was on an undercover assignment until her partner before she went dark. After her partner was killed, Tina left the force.

Felicity makes desperate attempts to hack into NSA, only to discover that Walker’s file has been scrubbed. While Felicity hacks away, Oliver, Curtis and Wild Dog track Tina to her apartment building. They found a wall of photos, and Oliver realizes that she’s been tracking the man who killed her partner for years.

They hear a sudden scream, and they kick open a door to find Tina torturing one of Sonus’s henchmen. Oliver attempts to stop her, but Tina uses her sonic scream to blast him across the room, which also snaps the henchmen’s neck. (When the Canary cries, be sure to cover your ears!)

Wild Dog  uses the sonic dampener on her, before she can attempt to use it again. Oliver attempts to recruit her to the team once more, but they are interrupted when some other mobsters storm the building and begin firing their weapons. Tina escapes through the window, but Oliver quickly perseus her. (Leaving Wild Dog to stop the mobsters).

He eventually catches up with her, and makes a proposal to her. He’ll help her find Sonus, the crime lord who killed her partner if she lets him help her. She ignores his request, screams, and runs away.

The next morning, Curtis gets some more intel on Sonus. Sonus is a major drug pusher, who pushes a drug called ‘Slide’ to kids. Wild Dog states that more than likely, Sonus arrived in Hub City to take advantage of the ‘power vaccum’ left by Tobias Church after his death.

Back at the Arrow Cave, Felicity and Rory journey into the ‘Dark Web’ for a trace of Walker’s file. While she’s hacking away, she gets a terminal message from another hacker offering to help her find what she needs… and to meet up in real life.

Curtis and Wild Dog hack Hub City’s camera system, so they could track both Tina and Sonus. Curtis and Renee talk about how being a member of Oliver’s team is all about ‘Second Chances’; so maybe helping Tina will help Oliver get his.

Tina finds Sonus, but it turns out he is also a Metahuman and he uses it to knock her out. (It looks like his power causes some sort of Vertigo). Oliver and Rene show up, just as Sonus is about to kill Tina. Sonus uses his power once more and escapes. (But not before taking an arrow to the shoulder from Ollie!)

Curtis figures out that Sonus powers are also sonic related, and that he ‘may have an idea’.  Tina wakes up and says she knows where Sonus will be, and she refuses Oliver’s help once more.

Felicity meets up with her fellow hacker from the ‘Dark Web’, and realizes that she is a complete replica of herself… only a younger version. The woman says she works for an organization called Helix; a group of hacktivists trying to make the world a better place. The woman says she hopes to inspire Felicity to become a hacktivist again, and gives her a flash drive with the information she needs to exonerate John.

Oliver calls Tina to meet him once more but this time he has his mask off. He states that if she doesn’t listen to the Green Arrow, maybe she will listen to Oliver Queen. He offers to help her take down Sonus and leave, with no strings attached. She shakes his hand and accepts his offer.

Oliver, Tina, and Wild Dog confront Sonus and his men on a rooftop while they await a shipment of drugs from Bloodhaven. During an epic gun fight, Wild Dog uses Curtis’s dampener to shut down Sonus’s power. After they take down all of Sonus’s henchmen, (and Oliver even shoots the helicopter out of the sky), Tina confronts Sonus. Oliver tries to talk her down, asking her what Vince (her former partner) would want her to do. Tina shoots Sonus anyways and then walks away.

Oliver, Curtis and Wild Dog head back to Star City, where Felicity tells him that she found a way to get a hold on Diggle’s file. When Oliver leaves, Felicity opens up Walker’s file and discovers a whole smorgasbord of other files, courtesy of Helix.

Oliver and Chase head to prison and they tell John that he’s been freed on bail, and that Chase has filed a motion to dismiss.

Tina visits Oliver at his office in Star City. She confesses that she thought she would feel liberated and at peace with Sonus death, but she doesn’t. Instead, still feels only pain. She asks Oliver how he manages, and Oliver says it is because he doesn’t do it alone.

Oliver states his team is all about second chances and says that maybe she’s his second chance. Tina then reveals to Oliver that ‘Tina Boland’ was just her cover name to protect her family. Her real name is Dinah Drake. (cue the nerdy chills!)

Flash Back Oliver

Ollie wakes up in a safehouse, where Talia reveals that she’s done her homework on Oliver and all that he has been through for the past 4 years. She also reveals that when he was on Lian Yu he met one of her students, Yao Fei.

Talia then tells Oliver is destined to be so much more than a Bratva member, and she keeps pushing the fact that he made a promise to his father. Talia gives Oliver the name and location of one of Kovar’s associates and says she’ll help him in exchange for hearing him out on her proposition later.

Talia and Oliver track down Kovar’s associate; Talia only armed with a bow. Oliver questions Talia’s choice of weaponry. Talia tells Oliver that shooting a bow takes order, patience and discipline. (the exact same quote Oliver said to Helena in Season One). Oliver and Talia take out Kovar’s associate and his men. When Kovar’s associate attempts to bribe Oliver, Oliver beats him to death.

Talia tells Oliver that he needs to stop looking for fights, when his father left him a list of people to take care of back in Star City. Talia says she’s been where Oliver has been before. She’s been ashamed of who she was and what she had done. She gives him Yao Fei’s hood, and says that there’s a monster inside of him, so he needs to give the monster an identity. Only when the monster its own identity and makes it become something else; can he truly be Oliver Queen again.

 

Arrow will return on Wednesday, February 9th at 8PM on The CW.