Arrow (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 16 - Dead to Rights - full transcript

My name is Oliver Queen.

For five years, I was stranded
on an island with only one goal:

Survive.

Oliver Queen is alive.

Now I will fulfill my father's dying wish,
to use the list of names he left me...

...and bring down those
who are poisoning my city.

To do this,
I must become someone else.

I must become something else.

Previously on Arrow:

I'd like you to work with me
on the vigilante investigation.

- Thank you, sir.
- It's just beginning.



In six months
the organization's vision...

...of what this city should be
will be complete.

Thousands of innocent people
will be dead, and you'll feel nothing.

That's not true.

I'll feel a sense of accomplishment.

- So how can we be of assistance?
- Malcolm Merlyn.

I want you to kill him for me.

Black arrows aren't consistent
with his MO.

Something doesn't add up.

The chopper's about to touch down?

The log doesn't have him due
for 20 minutes.

Then lock down the heliport.

I've just landed in Starling City.

We agreed, half on arrival,
the other half when the job is done.



Don't worry. The man's as good as...

Guillermo Barrera.
You have failed this city.

- You've built quite the reputation.
- And you should've stayed overseas.

I thought about it,
but then I remembered...

...I've got a reputation too.

Ow.

The trick is to keep your weight
evenly distributed.

I thought the trick
was to avoid getting into fights.

Starling City's not the kind of place...

...where you can talk your way
out of trouble.

Besides, if you're gonna be working
with us...

...I'll sleep a lot easier knowing
that you can handle yourself.

At least a little bit.

- How'd it go?
- Badly for him.

Who him?

An assassin for hire
with an affinity for knives.

- His name was Guillermo Barrera.
- Was?

So we can't ask him
about his intended target?

No, which is why
I need you to hack his phone.

Barrera's world-class.
He kills high-profile targets.

And whatever job he was hired for
isn't finished.

We need to figure out
who he was here to kill, and fast.

- They are probably still in danger. Okay?
- Yeah.

I have to meet McKenna.

Good thing she didn't meet you
at the heliport.

May not be a good idea to fall
for the cop that's hunting you down.

Well, it's slim pickings
for us vigilantes.

- Four?
- I'm more of a runner.

- Why the sudden desire to work out?
- What else is there to do?

Well, we can try to think
of another way off the island.

There is no other way.
If there was, I would've found it.

We can't just sit here and wait for Fyers
to come and kill us.

I did have one idea.

If you go into the forest and gather
as much bamboo as you can find...

Yeah.

...We could build ourselves a boat
like they did on Gilligan's Island.

That's broken.
It got busted during the crash.

- Did you try to get it to work?
- I'm better at pulling things apart.

My father was a pilot,
and he used to do his own maintenance.

You're hoping aircraft maintenance
is genetic?

No, I used to help him, and I liked it.
Then I got pretty good at it.

Maybe I can make the radio work.

You should be training
for the inevitable fight that's looming.

I think I have a better chance
of making the radio work.

- Hey. Sorry I'm late.
- No, I am.

- I just got caught up at the office.
- Me too. Wow.

You look nice.

- We should go inside.
- We should.

We don't seem to be going inside.
Ha-ha-ha.

- Welcome.
- Happy birthday, buddy.

Thank you.

- Mm. This feels like a Ch?teauneuf du Pape.
- It's gonna taste like one too.

You are a true friend. Thank you.

- Tommy, you remember McKenna Hall.
- From back in the day.

And back again. Ha, ha.

- Ollie, hi.
- Hi.

Laurel, this is...

McKenna Hall. We know each other
from the courthouse.

- How are you, counselor?
- I'm well, detective.

- I'm gonna go crack this open.
- Come in.

Such a nice apartment.
So much space.

Oh, this is adorable.
How old are you here?

- That's actually my sister, Sara.
- Oh, I am so sorry.

No, no, it's okay.

I don't know why
my father bought her that canary.

That thing chirped night and day.
It drove us all nuts.

A toast.

- There you go.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

To the first birthday
that I have enjoyed in a long time.

I got my best friend back.

And I have finally figured out...

...why poets have been in business
for the last few thousand years.

- Happy birthday, baby.
- Thank you.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

Cheers.

- I think that's the food.
- Okay.

- Oh, thank God she didn't cook.
- Amen.

- Mr. Merlyn.
- Laurel. Can I come in?

- Oliver.
- Mr. Merlyn.

- I've been trying to get in touch with you.
- What are you doing here, Dad?

Happy birthday, Tommy.

- Just give us a second.
- Of course.

- We're about to eat, so...
- I can't stay.

Well, that works out,
because you weren't invited.

I'm being honored
by the Starling City Municipal Group.

They're bestowing me
with their Humanitarian Award.

What, they ran out of actual humans
to give it to?

I would like you to be there
if you could.

I am 100 percent certain
that I'll be busy.

You might not believe this...

...but all I ever wanted for you
was happiness.

If it will allay this tension between us,
I'll turn the switch back on.

Save your money, Dad.

I don't need it anymore.

I'd still like you to come to the event.

It would mean a lot to me.

You know what, Dad?

Sometimes the people
that you want there the most aren't.

You taught me that.

Multiple times.

Hello, Lawton.

I see your edge has dulled.

Oh, I knew you were there.
I just didn't care if you killed me.

Ha-ha-ha.
Yeah, what do you want?

My organization has been contracted...

...to eliminate a certain
high-profile individual.

- A very well-guarded target.
- Well, forget it.

- Look, I'm retired.
- To drink and smoke your life away?

- Hey, we all gotta die sometime.
- I need someone to die at the right time.

And no one does it better than you.

My vision ain't exactly
what it used to be.

No.

It's going to be better.

So who needs two bullets
in the chest?

Moira, is it happening?

Yes, at the Humanitarian Award
ceremony.

- Isn't that a little public?
- No one will expect it.

I have very welcome news
to share with all of you.

Thanks to Queen Consolidated's
Applied Sciences Division...

...and their recent acquisition
of Unidac Industries...

...the undertaking
which we set for ourselves...

...is only months from fruition.

There's hope on the horizon
for everyone in Starling. Heh.

We won't fail this city.

And I think I speak for everyone here
when I say we're all with you, Malcolm.

Jeez, this was one paranoid assassin.

Barrera's got Cobalt-level encryption
on his phone.

It's not gonna be easy to break.
But Code Breaker is my middle name.

- Actually, it's Megan...
- Felicity, can you get anything off of it?

- Just the last number he dialed.
- Which was?

A restaurant in Chinatown.
Jade Dragon.

Even hired killers
enjoy the city's best chow mein.

Jade Dragon is a front
for the Chinese mafia.

Call the restaurant.
Make a reservation for two for tonight.

You need to decrypt that phone.

- I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese now.
- Mm.

Oh, oh. Uh...

That is one big fried fish.

I was told this was
the most authentic Szechuan in town.

I wanted to make sure that your birthday
celebration got its due celebration.

It was a little bit, urn,
tense last night.

Trust my dad to run all the smiles
out of the room.

He did come by.

And it seemed like he was trying
to act a little bit dadlike.

"Dadlike,"
that sums up my father perfectly.

I know the two of you
have never been close...

...but it couldn't have been easy for him
after your mom was killed.

He forgot there were two of us
in that club.

I'm not defending him, Tommy.

With everything I've been through,
people that I've lost...

...I know how hard it can be.

You probably don't remember this.

Uh... We were 8.

But after her funeral,
he left for like two years.

And when he did come back, he was...

He was so freaking cold.

He barely spoke.

That's why I spent so much time
at your house.

From the outside,
it always looked like I had a father.

He paid my bills, he lived in the house,
he bailed me out.

But your dad took me
to my first hockey game.

Your dad taught me how to fly-fish.

Your dad took us
to our first R-rated movie.

But he wasn't perfect.

My dad made mistakes.

And...

We haven't talked about this...

...but I have a lot of anger
towards him.

But still, I would give anything
to have him back...

...because at the end of the day,
your dad is...

...your dad.

I meant what I said last night.

I am really glad that you're back.

I gotta hit the restroom.

Check, please.

I hope you like barbecue.

Don't fall over yourself thanking me
for spending six hours up a tree...

- ...so you can eat.
- What?

Great. I'll eat later.

You've been at that for days.
Give it a rest.

- It's because I can do this.
- Sure, kid. When pigs fly.

You've gotta be kidding me.

- Can you clean this up?
- I don't know.

I don't know how I got this far.

Continue approach, 463 heavy.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.
This is Wedgetail 325.

Pilot and passenger down.

Four-six-three heavy cleared to land,
Runway 27, right.

Wind 260 degrees, ten knots.

I repeat, pilot and passenger down
on the island of Lian Yu.

Request immediate rescue.

Cleared to land, Runway 27, right.
Four-six-three heavy.

They can't hear us,
and we can't call out.

We're still trapped.

What?

- The Triad have hired a contract killer.
- Yeah? The one you put in the morgue?

Congratulations,
you're the talk of the station again.

If they hired one,
they're gonna hire another, detective.

- Who's the target?
- I'm trying to find out, hitting dead ends.

Put your people on it.

My people don't work for you,
and come to think of it, neither do I.

It's not about you and me, detective.
It's about saving a life.

Call me back when you got a name.

- Hall.
- Yes, sir?

You and me,
we're gonna catch that vigilante.

There are five exit routes from
the main floor that need to be cut off.

Once the fire alarm goes off,
we'll have less than 30 seconds...

...to disable Merlyn's private security
and force him outside with the others.

Once he's outside,
the rest will be up to Mr. Lawton.

Roger that.

- You look handsome.
- I try not to. It just keeps happening.

What's the occasion?

- I decided to go to my dad's thing.
- Really?

- Are you sure?
- Oh, mostly.

- Did you want me to go with you?
- No, no, no.

I know you have work to do.
I promise I will be fine.

You look beautiful.

Thank you.

If you're free, maybe after the ceremony
we could have dinner...

...and talk like we used to.

I'd like that.

That's my cue. Ha, ha.

I've been trying to avoid him
all evening.

If we didn't show, it'd look suspicious.

How can you talk to him that way,
as if nothing is about to happen?

I've been living this lie for five years.
Five more minutes won't matter.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, tonight's honoree
needs very little introduction.

It is neither his wealth nor his name
that we celebrate here tonight...

...but it is his efforts
in making Starling City...

...a better and safer place to live.

So please help me welcome...

...Starling City's
Humanitarian of the Year...

...Mr. Malcolm Merlyn.

Thank you.

Right, and so that's a stage,
and most nights we'll have a band.

Somebody cool.
Is Fall Out Boy still cool?

They broke up. And never.

So somebody else will pick the bands.

Something bothering you?

Don't say no,
because you're a terrible liar.

Really?

- I thought I was getting better at it.
- Mm-mm.

What's wrong?

There's a lot of stuff going on
in my life.

Work, friends.

And I'm having a difficult time
figuring out how to fit it all in.

I've been struggling
with some of those thoughts.

Do you have any good ideas?

I think we just have to be really honest
about what's going on in our lives.

Think you can do that?

Come on, come on.

I'm in.

- Yes. Yes.
- Yes. Yes. Way to go, Felicity Smoak.

You don't happen to speak Spanish,
do you?

- Arabic.
- Le sigh.

Okay.

Oh, my God.

You know I'm there for you.

Excuse me, Mr. Queen.

The IT Department has that item
that you requested.

- One sec.
- Okay.

- You find the target?
- Oliver, the target is Tommy's father.

At the award ceremony?

Tommy's there. McKenna,
Mr. Diggle is gonna take you home.

- I have some unexpected business.
- It's okay.

What?

The target is Malcolm Merlyn.

Establish a perimeter,
but keep your distance.

I don't want the police caught
in the cross fire.

The true humanitarian
in the Merlyn family...

...was my wife, Rebecca.

Many of you here knew her.

She tirelessly devoted herself to helping
those less fortunate in the Glades.

I like to think that if the man
who murdered her knew her...

...knew the work that she did,
knew the person that she was...

...he would have helped her to her car,
made sure she was safe...

...instead of stealing her purse
and shooting her.

The truth is I haven't done enough
for this city.

My City.

I've failed it.

But I promise you,
I am not finished yet.

I promise you that this city
will be better for all of us.

And on that day,
I will look at this beautiful award...

...and feel that I have earned it.

I thank you.

Thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen,
please exit calmly and quietly...

...through the glass sliding doors.

- Get outside, get outside.
- Tommy.

Merlyn's not taking the bait.
Change of plans.

I don't like improvisation.

Drive him upstairs
to his penthouse office.

I'll need to switch vantage points.

Tommy.

Tommy?

Come with me.

There's an exit on the second floor.

I wasn't leaving
until I knew you were safe.

Go somewhere safe. I'll hold them off.

- Go now!
- Come on.

- Where are we going?
- Up.

- Who were those guys?
- I don't know.

- They were trying to kill you.
- Seems that way.

We're going up?
Without any bodyguards?

Dad, we need to get out of here.

Tommy, take a deep breath
and trust me.

Upstairs in my office
there's a panic room.

We get there, we seal it off.

Merlyn's headed to the penthouse.

Why do you want
Malcolm Merlyn dead?

I'll settle for you.

- Wait!
- Let's go.

- You killed him.
- As surely as he would have killed you.

Come on, move, move, move.

Electromagnetic locks.

- What if they cut the power?
- This floor is on an entire separate grid.

- The glass?
- Lexan, bulletproof.

It's over.

- How did you know how to do that?
- What?

Fight.

Kill.

Dad?

Freeze! S.C.P.D. Put the bow down.

Tommy, you okay?

Dad!

Dad?

Turn around slowly.

Dad. Dad. I'm sorry.

Unh. I'm okay. I'm okay.

Damn it.

No, no, no. You're bleeding.
You're bleeding.

I'll be fine. I'll...

No, no, no. Dad! Dad!

No.

Stay back.

I'm not here to hurt you or your father.

I said, stay back.

It's a curare.

- Don't come any closer.
- Your father has been poisoned.

An assassin named Floyd Lawton
laces his bullets with curare.

I've dealt with this. We need to dilute
the poison in his blood...

I said, stay the hell back.

In three minutes he's paralyzed.
In four minutes he suffocates.

If you don't let me help you now,
he's dead before anybody gets here.

Help? How?

Fresh blood buys him time
to get to the hospital.

A blood transfusion? That's insane.

It's the only way.

He needs your blood.

You're out of time.
You need to make a decision right now.

Why should I trust you?

Because you always have.

Oliver.

- Okay. Ready?
- Do it.

I'm done.

Hold his arm.

Come on, come OH, come on.

You're the vigilante.

Why?

Later.

He's still gonna need medical attention
to clean out his system, understand?

Okay.

Thank you.

- Tommy?
- I'm right here, Dad.

- What did the Hood say?
- He didn't say anything.

You let a homicidal maniac
talk you into a blood transfusion...

...instead of calling the paramedics?

My father's life was at stake.

So first the Hood rescues you and Queen
from those kidnappers...

...now he saves your old man...

...but he's taking down
every other 1 percenter out there?

Is this guy a friend of yours, Merlyn?

I don't know who the hell he is.

If they can't hear us,
then what's the point?

Wait.

You still might have done us
some good.

...0500 hours from my mark.
Final deployment is five-by-five.

That's Fyers.

I've tuned in
to the soldiers' frequency.

Scylla is en route.
ETA 0600 hours at the southwest bay.

FYERS". I'll call you when Scylla
is in my possession. Fyers out.

- Who was Fyers talking to?
- I don't know.

Sounds like someone off this island.
Maybe his benefactor.

More importantly,
who or what is Scylla?

The Scylla and Charybdis.

It's the Odyssey,
from one of the four nightmare chapters.

Scylla was a monster.

I wanna meet this monster.

Am I going alone?

How does it feel to save a 1 percenter?

Looks like Merlyn is gonna be okay.
They took him to Starling General.

Good thing he was wearing
a bulletproof vest.

He's not in the hospital
because he was shot.

He was poisoned by curare.

Lawton's alive.

I'm sorry, John.

This Lawton kick his dog
or something?

No.

He killed his brother.

Damn.

What?

- What is it?
- You were right.

Scylla is a monster.

A Russian-made
8-300 antiaircraft missile launcher.

It can simultaneously track
up to a hundred targets...

...whilst engaging in at least a dozen.

I mean, from here they could shoot
down a commercial airliner...

...or start a war.

- Hey, you're here.
- Yeah.

Walk with me?

- I heard you were there. You okay?
- I'm fine.

Listen, McKenna...

...I'm really sorry
I had to run out on you.

Don't worry. Five more minutes,
and I would've had to run out on you.

Our lives are complicated.

But I'm willing to figure us out
if you are.

Willing and able.

Hey. Hey, Dad, Dad, Dad.

Take it easy.

You were shot.

The bullet was laced with poison.

I should be dead.

I gave you a blood transfusion.

Actually, it was the vigilante's idea.

- He saved you.
- He did?

- I was worried I was gonna lose you.
- I'm not going anywhere.

You said that after Mom died...

...but you left.

I wasn't a very good father to you
after your mother passed away.

- I was so lost.
- You never told me where you went.

I found myself in a place
called Nanda Parbat.

I met a man there.

He helped me make sense of things.

He helped me to find a purpose
for my life...

...to make this city a better place
for everyone.

Especially for you.

How are you gonna do that?

Malcolm.

Tommy, could I talk to Moira
for a minute?

Thank God you're all right.

We have a traitor in our midst.
I want you to find out who.

He just made his last mistake.

My dad's gonna be okay,
thanks to you.

It's thanks to you.

I once asked you what happened
to you on that island.

You said "A lot."

- That doesn't quite cover it.
- Tommy...

I saw you kill those guys...

...who kidnapped us
when you first got back, didn't I?

I...

- I know you have a lot of questions.
- Yeah.

Yeah, but for now just the one.

Were you ever gonna tell me?

No.

Tommy, I saw it all on the news.
I'll be there as soon as I can.

Okay, bye.

Hello, Laurel.

Mom.

What are you doing here?

I need to talk to you.

About what?

I know I've made mistakes.

Yeah. Yes, you have.

Look, I have to go.

Why don't you send me an e-mail
or a postcard some time?

I have something important
I need to discuss with you.

What could be so important
after all this time?

It's about Sara.

What about her?

I think she may be alive.