‘Arrow’ Recap ‘The Recruits’

As if I was not impressed enough already with the Season premiere, episode two sent me over the top. After just seeing two episodes, Arrow is definitely holding its promise of getting back to their original roots. All of the dialogue, the fight scenes and story-line were on point.

The episode kicked off with Wild Dog chasing down a suspect. However, he wasn’t alone in his pursuit… and lucky for him. When he tripped and fell off the building he was running on, Oliver was there to catch him with one of his trick arrows.

Oliver was quick to give him another warning about taking on the city alone, before presenting him with an opportunity to join Team Arrow.

Back at the lair, Curtis and Felicity talk about the formation of the new team. Oliver comes in and tells Curtis that out of all of the recruits, he is going to be the one to find himself challenged the most. He tells Felicity that it would be best if they wore a mask when training the new recruits, as Oliver does not know them yet and still does not feel as though they can be trusted.

As mayor, Oliver and Thea close an agreement with Amertek to headway a free medical event that can help take care of the those who have fallen victim to the rise in the city’s crime, particularly the children. Oliver also tells Thea that he’s putting together a new team.

Back in the lair, Evelyn Sharp, Wild Dog and Curtis stand with Felicity to begin their training. Oliver walks in, dressed as the Green Arrow and asks Felicity where her mask is. She subtly dismisses the idea. Oliver challenges the recruits to try and get past him and ring a bell. Seems simple right? Wrong…they all fail… multiple times.

One of the Vice Presidents from Amertek stops to give a seemingly helpless man some money but it turns out that the homeless man isn’t so homeless after all. The homeless guy turns out to be a hooded figure who possesses some seemingly metahuman powers…seemingly.

Oliver walks into the Arrow cave and reveals to his team that the VP for Amertek was attacked is in the ICU after being almost suffocated to death.

Back at Oliver’s office, the Amertek CEO states that she wants to pull out of supporting Oliver due to legal concerns. Oliver promises that to triple the security presence, to ensure that the event will carry on safely.

Back at the Arrow cave, Oliver continues to test out his recruits. Felicity shows Oliver discovered footage of the attacker who jumped the Amertek VP. Oliver argues that he can draw the ‘meta’ out hiding, alone. Felicity fights him, and convinces him to bring his recruits with him to the event.

At the event, Wild Dog grows frustrated with the fact that Oliver does not want him to get involved. He’s not the only one who was frustrated… joining him in that frustration is Thea. She had sought out Captain Lance in hopes that he would head up security for the event, but instead of taking the initiate and leading the charge, he shows up late and mildly hungover.

The Amertek CEO is attacked by the ‘Ragman’, and he tried to suffocate her to death. Oliver appears dressed as The Green Arrow. Oliver finds himself in a bind, as a civilian is in the crosshairs. Wild Dog chases the ragman, tackles him and tears a piece his mysterious cloth off.

Back at the Arrow cave, Oliver fires off at his team for not listening to him. He evens goes as far as telling Curtis that he is useless unless he is behind a computer. Felicity pulls him aside and tells him to stop being a jerk, and she discloses to him that Wild Dog actually did the team good and got some evidence off of the ragman. Felicity takes the piece of cloth to the police station and gives the rag for her boyfriend and asks him if he could have it analyzed for her.

After having a brief discussion with Thea at his mayoral office, Oliver heads down to the Arrow cave to find out that Wild Dog and Artemis have quit the team. Oliver asks Curtis if he understands what the point of the ‘ringing the bell’ exercise is. He then tells Curtis that the goal of the exercise was to get the three of them to work together as a team. Curtis calls Oliver out, and then leaves.

Felicity tells him that it’s Oliver Queen, not the Green Arrow, she wants to follow and he needs to open up to his new recruits and maybe…. just maybe they will want to follow him; just like John, Thea and even Roy once did.

Thea tracks down the Amertek CEO and spots her making a deal with Tobias Church, telling him he has enough weaponry to take over a country… in exchange for $100 million.

At the mayor’s office, Thea meets with Oliver and Felicity and tells them what she discovered about Tobias Church. Felicity also reveals that the rag is thousands of years old and contains radiation similar to one of the bombs launched by Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E.

Oliver dons his Green Arrow and infiltrates Tobias Church’s meeting with the Amertek’s CEO. Once again, he is not alone.

Ragman appears, and he beelines directly for the Amertek CEO. He discloses that he is the only survivor of the Haven Rock bombing, and he blames her for it… despite Damien Darhk being the one who launched it. While Ragman confronts the CEO, Oliver faces off with Tobias Church. Church gains the upper hand on Oliver, and comes extremely close to stabbing him with an Arrow. At the last second, Oliver calls to Ragman, who comes to Oliver’s aid. The Amertek CEO gets away, but Oliver tells him to let her go.

Oliver and Ragman meet on the rooftop and Oliver learns that Ragman’s father saved him on Genesis Day by giving him the Ragman suit. Oliver tells Ragman that it is their duty to honor their father’s memory, and Oliver asks Ragman to join him on his crusade. They shake hands.

At City Hall, Quentin shows up for a meeting with Thea, and she offers him the position of Deputy Mayor. She tells him to do it for Laurel.

Back at the Arrow cave, the recruits wait for Oliver. He unmasks, apologizes and asks them to come back and join him in the fight to save the city.

Outside of a nightclub, Tobias Church gets jumped by a hooded figure who we learn is called Prometheus. He tells Church to stay away from the Green Arrow, and that the Green Arrow is his to kill.

Diggle Storyline

Diggle finds himself in an extreme amount of trouble this episode, as he prepares to lead a military operation in Chechnya. Well… Diggle’s operation wound up going extremely south. Two of his men are shot. One of the soldiers injured is a young private, who recently graduated from basic training. Diggle tells him that they need to split up, and scout out the building. Soon after, Diggle finds himself captured by a group of rebel American soldiers who are going to steal the weapon they were supposed to ‘seize and disarm’ in the first place. The corrupt soldiers kill the young private, and begin their process of finding a way to pin it all on Diggle and get him courtmartialed out of the Army.

Flashback Oliver

Oliver stands alongside his fellow Bravata recruits, and we seem them attempting to do the same ‘ringing the bell’ exercise. After failing several times, Oliver realizes the only way to ring the bell and beat the exercise is to work together. He talks the other Bratva recruits into following his lead, but after he “wins,” the others are killed by the lieutenant.

 

 

Arrow will return next Wednesday, October 19th at 8PM on the CW.