Arrow (2012–…): Season 3, Episode 1 - The Calm - full transcript

Last season on Arrow:

This city still needs saving.

- But not by the Hood.
- It needs a hero.

If you survive a crucible, you grow stronger.
This is to remind you of that.

Welcome aboard.

Sara swore allegiance
to the League of Assassins.

You agreed to go back.

She'll be okay.
- Yeah, I know she'll be okay.

But okay at what, is what bothers me.
Uhn.

Dad? Dad!

Slade's whole plan was
to take everything from me. He did.



Slade took Laurel, to kill the woman I love.

- So...
- So he took the wrong woman.

I love you. Do you understand?

The five years that I was gone,
I wasn't always on the island.

My name is Amanda Waller, Mr. Queen.
Welcome to Hong Kong.

Got him.
Coming up 52nd Street, heading east.

Copy that. Or is it Roger?
I never know the difference.

John, there's an illegal shipment of RPG's
headed your way.

- Roger. I'm on it.
- Oh, so it is Roger.

RPG's are secure. I've got eyes on them.

Roy, we're coming to you.

Vincent Steelgrave, you have failed this city.

The Arrow just took down
another one of this city's Most Wanted.

There's no denying that the city's crime rate
has plummeted in the past five months.



You're welcome.
So has its employment rate...

...and its population.

We have experienced two terrorist attacks
in as many years.

Starling City is dying.
A prison full of criminals...

Take another off the board.

We keep this up, there will only be
two types of criminals left in Starling City:

The ones we put away
and the ones that are running scared.

What's that?

A fern. It thrives on low light.

Since you're living here,
the place could do with a little sprucing.

- You should buy me a bed.
- You're sleeping on the floor.

Another text from Thea.

Where is she now?

Amalfi Coast.
I keep telling her to send photos.

I'm gonna go do a patrol. Clear my head.
Hey.

You did really good tonight.

I think I'm gonna head out too.

I have to pull an early shift at work today.

Which may be
the most depressing thing I've ever said.

- But we're still on for tomorrow night?
- Absolutely.

I am going to turn you into
corporate master of the universe.

Those board members
are gonna be begging...

...to sell Queen Consolidated back to you
and your backers.

I'm gonna roll out too.

Lyla has me trying to
build the bassinet from hell.

That reminds me.

I figured since you and Lyla
are having a girl...

- Man, you cannot afford this.
- I can't afford anything.

Which is why I made it.

Arrowheads. One of the few things
that I can make.

Well, it's beautiful. Thank you.

Congratulations, John.

And not just on the baby.

You and Lyla are happy.

You should try it sometime.

My last girlfriend,
she's in the League of Assassins.

My girlfriend before that,
she shot my girlfriend before that. I'm not...

- I'm not exactly a catch at the moment.
- Maybe Felicity will change all that.

It's...

It's not the right time.

Things are as good now
as ever will be, Oliver.

And you love her. You even told her so.

- I was trying to fool Slade.
- Yes.

Now the only person you're fooling
is yourself.

Thanks again.

I told you, I don't speak Chinese.

And I told you, if you tried to escape again,
I'd beat you senseless.

Steelgrave took a plea for 15 to 20.

His lawyer folded after I hit him
with the evidence that the Arrow gathered.

Good work.

You catch them, I cook them.

- Did I say that too loud?
- No, you're fine.

Did you ever think we'd end up as partners?

Is that why you invited me down here, Laurel?
To see Mr. Steelgrave sent off into his new life?

No.

I have a surprise for you.

- What's your dad doing here?
- You'll see.

- I'll be right back.
- Mm-hm.

- Dad. Hi. How are you?
- Hey.

If they'd told me
press conferences came with the promotion...

...I would've told them
I prefer getting shot at.

Good thing
your doctor isn't giving you a choice.

You could try to hide the fact that
you're glad I can't get out in the field anymore.

I can't hide that I'm glad that you're safe.

- What's all this?
- Your surprise.

Thank you all... Excuse me.
Thank you for coming.

Five months ago...

...this city was under siege.

And the S.C.P.D.
rallied behind a man in a hood.

Well, I ended up with a captain's rank...

...and he didn't even get a thank you.

But today...

...he does.

Today the Starling City Police Department
is formerly recognizing the individual...

...known as the Arrow.

And I'm using my new position...

...to disband the anti-vigilante task force
charged with capturing him.

Thank you.

Make no mistake,
vigilantism will never be tolerated.

But I refuse to hunt, in the name of this city,
the hero who saved it.

Shut that crap off.

Less heat on the Arrow
means more heat on us.

And the ATF now has our shipment
of grenade launchers.

They got our shipment?
What are we paying bribes to the cops for?

We have a more pressing concern.

Lack of leadership.

I nominate myself.

Any objections?

Yeah, a few.

Oh, illuminate me.

Where do I start? You talk funny.

You don't know the first thing about business.
You're just a pill pusher.

Oh, those pills I push...

...are known as Vertigo.

In the wake of the Count...

...I tinkered some with his formula.

Introduced an additive...

...produced by certain mushrooms.

My Vertigo reveals the face
of your greatest fear.

As I was saying...

...lack of leadership.

I nominate myself. Any objections?

Our course of action is straight as an arrow.

Gentlemen...

...we're gonna kill him.

Hey, how was work?

It is not work. It is a soul-crushing exercise
in misery with health and dental.

Suffice it to say, I am highly motivated...

...to convince the board
to sell you back the company.

Unfortunately, you don't have the qualifications
to run Queen Consolidated...

...but what you do have is passion.

You care about the company
and the people there.

That's what you have to get across to them.
Speak from the heart.

Felicity.

Would you like to go out to dinner with me?

- I'm being serious, here, Oliver.
- So am I.

I don't wanna read too much into this...

...but are you asking me out on a date?

Like an actual date? Like a date, date?

Sure... I mean,
the implication being with dinner...

Usually I'm the one
talking in sentence fragments.

Would you like to go to dinner with me?

Yes.

Go.
- Calvin Nico just knocked over a liquor store.

Nico's in Steelgrave's crew.

Send his photo to Roy. Get me Felicity.

You got it.
I can't talk right now.

I'm at work.

Could I ask you guys
just to wait one moment?

Someone is calling for tech support.

You are gonna get me so incredibly fired.

Okay, I'm hacked into the city's database.
I'm running facial recognition now.

You like Italian?

- What?
- For tonight. You like Italian?

Everyone likes Italian.

Oliver, you're in the middle
of a high-speed chase.

I'm multi-tasking.

I got him. He's in the sewer.

I'm picking up his cell phone.
He's at the corner of Grand and Ames.

And, yes, I love Italian.

Captain Lance is also in pursuit.
You are welcome. I have to go.

Detective, thank you.

- You had it handled.
- For what you said today.

- I wish I could do more.
- You've already done more than enough.

I've gotta go. Some place I have to be.

You got a hot date or something?

So this morning makes how many
escape attempts in the last five months?

- Nine.
- What we have here...

...is a failure to reach an understanding.
- Oh... Go to hell.

So this is my reward for saving you
from drowning off the coast of Lian Yu?

Yeah. Why'd you do that?

That's need to know.

Suffice it to say, I have need of a man
of your capacity.

- I don't care.
- Mm.

I don't care about anything
except going home.

You should know that.

You should know
that I will never stop trying to escape.

You should know it's easy to kill someone
the world already thinks is dead.

Kill me, then.

I don't care.

We're gonna have to try this
another way, then.

- Hi. Thank you for waiting.
- No problem. I just wanna buy this.

This is a satellite frequency
communicator TX-40.

Yeah, I'm trying to breach
a Tor-secured firewall...

...and I need something to help me piggyback
off a Keyhole Hexagon satellite.

I did that once.
Hacked a public Wi-Fi signal...

...piggybacked using
crowdsourced stealth processing.

Huh.

You're Felicity Smoak.
Formerly of Queen Consolidated.

Mind if I ask you something?
Why are you here?

How do you know who I am?

I know a guy who might be interested
in hiring someone with your expertise.

I'm not actually looking
for a new job right now, God help me.

But I can help you buy this, unless I can't.
I mean, I shouldn't.

- You shouldn't buy this.
- Clearly you don't understand this sales thing.

The next gen model, TX-50, comes out
in a few months. I got to touch one last year.

Pure bliss.
And if you wanna breach Tor-level security...

...you should deploy
a remote administration tool.

I have a good one.

- Here's the URL.
- Thanks.

- Happy hacking.
- Certainly hope so.

- False alarm.
- Are you sure? These contractions...

Just Braxton Hicks.
You're not even four centimeters dilated.

I feel like an M1A1.

It's a tank. Think a big, big tank.

You did the right thing.
You don't want your husband...

- Boyfriend.
- Ex-husband.

...to be delivering the baby on the freeway.

You can get dressed now.

All right.

- You okay?
- I'm not the one that's nine months pregnant.

You look a little scared.

Honey, please, I've thrown down
with the Taliban, Malcolm Merlyn...

...and a host of Mirakuru-powered
human weapons.

I'm terrified.

Set it up for six at the end.

- Queen. Party of two.
- Yes. Right this way.

- Hi. Hey.
- Hi.

- Heh.
- What?

- Nothing. I'm just...
- Nervous?

- Yeah.
- Line forms behind me.

- Scotch, neat.
- Just a water for me, thanks.

Hey, are you sure?
The booze might sort of help with the whole...

The alcohol is not going to mix well
with the three benzos I took.

Am I being crazy?
I mean, what do we have to be nervous about?

Well, we've already exhausted every topic that
one would normally talk about...

...on a first date, second date,
third date, and every date.

And I've already seen you shirtless.

Multiple times. Shirtless. All the time.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

There are still a few things
that you don't know about me.

Please name one.

The five years that I was away...

...I wasn't always on Lian Yu.

I thought so.

- Where were you?
- Hong Kong.

For one.

And I have been thinking a lot
recently about...

...my time there.

The choices that I had to make.

Those years sound like
they're filled with a whole lot of suck.

I'm sorry. I'm just a little out of my element.

The entire time that I was gone,
I could never...

...completely trust someone.

And when that goes on for so long,
you stop...

...seeing people for people. You see...

...threats.

Or targets.

And when I decided to come home, I...

I just didn't know
how to turn that part of me off.

But then I walked into your office.

You were the first person
that I could see as a...

A person.

There was just something about you.

- Yeah, I was chewing on a pen.
- It was red.

GPS shows him in the restaurant.

The Arrow's definitely in there.
If we're gonna find him, we gotta get in closer.

We're close enough.

Do you remember when I told you that
because of what we do, I didn't think that...

...I could be with someone that I...

- That I could really care about?
- Yeah, I remember.

So maybe I was wrong.

Oliver, are you...?

Oliver?

Is she okay?

She's knocked out.

It's on the news. Police and fire on the scene.

Yeah, I didn't think it was best to stick around.

I don't think you and an explosion
at the same place is a coincidence.

Hey, check this out.

It's a GPS tag. I found it on your jacket.
It's wasted now.

- You took out one of Steelgrave's crew earlier.
- It was a set-up.

So they could plant that thing on me.

- Oliver, I know what you're thinking.
- No.

I know exactly what's going on in your head,
and you are wrong.

Someone planted a tracer and I don't notice?

The only explanation...

I lost my focus.

The person we took down earlier...

...is working with whoever's responsible
for the explosion.

Another one of Steelgrave's crew,
I'm guessing.

I need to know
who's at the top of that organization now...

...and where I can find him.

I'm on it.

- Oliver!
- Hey, hey, hey.

You're safe. You're safe. I'm here.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm on your side.
- Got this handled, detective.

These guys blew up a building.
You think I'm sitting this out?

Suspect's name is Werner Zytle.
He's a real nutbar.

Keep your head on a swivel, then.

I'm Werner Zytle.

But you can call me Vertigo.

The Count's dead.

Some things never die.
You, for example. It's frustrating.

It just means I have to try a little bit harder.

The Count might be dead, true...

...but his glorious narcotic lives on...

With a few enhancements
that will reveal to you your greatest fear...

...by gazing upon truth itself.

Get away from him or get put down!

Felicity, call an ambulance.

Are you okay? That was a pretty strong
psychotropic Werner hit you with.

Ahem. How's Detective Lance's condition?

- Stable. He's at Starling General.
- I hacked the paramedic radio.

He had a coronary artery spasm
treatable with medication.

He'll be fine.

How are you?

Believe it or not,
I have had worse first dates.

Hit the streets. Werner's agenda
can't stop with me.

- I need to know what he has planned.
- On it.

- I'll back him up.
- Roy's got it. Go home to Lyla.

Oliver.

If this is about what happened, man,
risk is part of the job.

Diggle, it's just intel gathering.
Roy can handle it.

I know we need to talk.

About our dinner,
or our dinner getting blown up?

- Both.
- It's okay.

We'll talk about it
after we catch this guy.

Maybe we should
reschedule the board meeting.

It's in less than an hour.

I've got this.

When are people gonna realize
that I don't speak Chinese?

Japanese.

- You speak English?
- Better than you speak Chinese.

- Where am I?
- Our home. Mine and my husband's.

Your husband?

Welcome to my home.

Dinner?

Gotta warn you,
the doctors told me not to get yelled at.

It's a good thing you don't care, then,
since you're still going out in the field.

Do you know what
an advanced health care directive is?

It's what they ask for
when you're gonna die, Dad.

The night Sara left,
the night you collapsed...

...the E.R. doctor asked me if you had one.

I'm sorry, Laurel, I really am.
I'm sorry, sweetheart.

Then why do you keep
pushing yourself like this?

I don't know how.

Been a cop since before you and your sister
were born, it's all I know.

If I'm not a cop...

...what am I?

You're my father...

...and I need you.

And I just spoke to Ned Foster,
he said the board is primed.

You just have to go in there and wow them,
which I am pretty sure is a business term.

I'm afraid we have a situation.

There's another bidder for the company.

Really? Who?

Ray Palmer.

Nice to meet you. Love your company.

- Nice to see you again, Ms. Smoak.
- You two know each other?

So sorry I am late. Traffic was terrible,
which is why I took my helicopter.

I parked on your roof, I hope that's okay.
You guys validate, right?

Oh, frack.

Two years ago, the people of Starling City
thought I was dead.

I came back.

And so can Queen Consolidated.

With Starling National Bank's new investment,
we can take QC out of receivership...

...and into the future.

I mean, this company is my family.

And as my mother always said:

"There is nothing more important to me
than family."

Thank you.

That was a good speech.

Hard to top.

Thank you all for coming out today.

I promise to be brief,
if not a little entertaining.

Oh, that's one of my new smart watches.

I'm very proud of those.

You like it? It works for you? Yeah, good.

Anyway, science. Numbers.

I like numbers.

These numbers show QC's performance
under Mr. Queen's management.

I'm using that term extremely loosely, BTW...

...also BTW,
these numbers aren't sanitized for Wall Street.

This is raw information
from your company's servers.

How'd he get into our computers?

Something tells me he deployed
a remote administration tool.

But the truth is, this company's woes
are a symptom of a much larger problem.

And that problem is Starling City.

Queen Consolidated can't hope to survive
if the city it's located in is dying.

And guess what? It is.

Nobody wants to live here anymore.

And after two terrorist attacks,
who can blame them?

This city still needs saving.

And that is my vision for this company.

To not only see it rise from the ashes...

...but to take this city with it
to that new horizon.

And that new day has a name.

Oliver.

I'm sorry.
I really thought it was gonna go our way.

So did I, but maybe the company's
better off with Dr. Palmer.

I couldn't make time for QC last year,
trying to get the company back now is selfish.

It's something that
the old me would have done.

If the past 12 hours
have reminded me of anything...

...it's that I made the decision
to put Oliver Queen aside and be the Arrow.

It's not a choice I can unmake.

- Last night you didn't feel that way.
- Look what happened.

Oliver. The explosion wasn't your fault.

When Werner hit me with the Vertigo dart...

...he told me that his formula,
it shows us our worst fear.

I saw myself.

You don't really think
you're afraid of yourself, do you?

I think I'm scared of what would happen
if I let myself be Oliver Queen.

What did we find out?

You know how we got the number
of crime bosses down to three?

This new guy Werner wants to make it zero.

Take out the competition.

Mikhail Petruv, Luciano Costa,
Shintaro Shimosawa.

What are their locations?

I'm not getting anything
off their last addresses.

Werner could be moving these guys
right now.

It's not like these guys walk around
with little GPS's attached to them.

Unless they do. Petruv, Costa, Shimosawa,
they're all on parole or out on bail.

Ankle monitors.
Can't be right.

They're all in the same location.

Rockets Arena.

The heavyweight title fight's tonight.
There'll be, like, 20,000 people there.

He's willing to blow up a restaurant
to take down one man.

- He'll blow up a stadium to take down three.
- But an RPG won't do it.

I need you looking for a large explosive device.
Roy, suit up.

- Where do you want me?
- Here.

- I can't have you in the field anymore.
- Really? What changed?

You're gonna be a father.

Oliver, you've known for the past five months
I was gonna be a father, so I ask you again...

...what changed?
- I have.

My risks can't be your risks. That...

Diggle, you have a life.
You have a new life. It's...

- it's a life I can't have.
- I get it.

You and Felicity were in an explosion.

People died. Either one of you could have.
But you didn't.

You can't let that shake you, man.

Detective Lance is in a hospital bed
because I let him come with me.

Wait, Lance is his own man
who makes his own decisions. And so am I.

Not this one.

Oliver, I've given the past two years
of my life to your crusade.

I don't know what that's earned me...

...but at least the right
to make my own choices.

- No, it doesn't.
- You would be dead if it wasn't for me!

You're right.

But this is my crusade...

...which makes this my decision.

Yeah!
- Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

Come on!
Yeah!

Come on, baby, let's go!

Come on, let's go,
finish him now.

It's a five-minute timer.

Come on. What are you waiting for?

My partner. Go.

I've isolated a frequency spike
consistent with an incendiary device.

It's in the maintenance tunnel
underneath the stands.

I'll get the bomb. Get the son of a bitch.

Back for more?

It's as if you've developed an addiction...

...to Vertigo.

I've made my choice.

Felicity, we're running out of time here.
Okay.

From your description, it sounds like
a collapsible circuit design.

- Felicity?
- Cut the yellow wire.

There is no yellow wire.

Okay, new plan.

Above you there should be
insulated piping pumping the arena's a.c.

They're pumping Freon.

You wanna break one off, aim it at the bomb.

You're gonna freeze the thing.

It's not working.

Don't look so surprised.

I haven't been gone that long.

Tie me up and lock me down,
it doesn't matter.

There will always be a Vertigo,
always someone to pick up the mantle.

You have given it the power.

Don't you see?

Don't you see?

- You look well. How's Nanda Parbat?
- Hot.

It's good to see you.

You've been missed.

I was on my way to see Laurel,
picked up on your radio chatter.

Tell Felicity to mix up her frequencies a bit.

That's a good tip,
and is this permanent, you being back?

I hope so.

We'll see.

- How are you doing?
- I'm...

I'm working through a few things.

Word of advice...

...we're not our masks.

And we need people in our lives
who don't wear one.

Hey.
- What are you doing here?

And the answer better not be stalking me.

Depends on whether you consider
pinging your phone's GPS stalking.

Okay, guilty.
But you know how I know a guy...

...who would be interested in hiring someone
with your expertise?

Turns out I could really use it.

Seems somebody hacked my cell phone,
my laptop, and my desktop.

Gee, that's too bad.

All my data's been replaced
by audio files of porcupine flatulence.

And so I was hoping that whoever did it
might be willing to undo it...

...if I apologize for misleading them
in any way.

That would probably work. Oh. Unless you did
that to steal that person's friend's company...

...in which case, I would suggest getting used
to the sound of spiky rodents farting.

I didn't steal anything.

Maybe a little.
But I didn't even need the data.

- I mean, you saw the speech. It was good.
- My friends just had a baby.

So if you don't mind, there's another
slimy little human that needs my attention.

Oh, and BTW, you might wanna
check your tablet while you're at it.

- Hey.
- Hi.

Oh. She is scrumptious.

Mazel tov, guys, seriously.
Thank you.

- I could come back.
- No, Oliver, come in.

Oh, she's perfect.

Congratulations.

Thank you, Oliver.

- For what?
- For being right.

The second I looked at her...

...everything changed.

My whole universe...

...it changed.

You were right.

- How do I get out of here?
- You can't leave.

Well, why don't you try to stop me?

You've already learned I can.

Repeatedly.

Amanda Waller wants you working for her.
And she will have her way.

Too bad for her, I'd rather die.

Which is why
it's not your life she's threatening.

I'm to be responsible for you.

And she's found the proper way
to motivate me.

Akio.

She's threatened my family.

She'll kill them if I let you go.

My father had a proverb
he was once fond of.

- "A man cannot live by two names."
- What does that mean?

In your case...

...I believe it means not having any choice.

They look really happy.

- She's beautiful.
- She is.

We need to talk.

I don't want to talk.

Which, for me,
I know is a little unprecedented.

But...

...as soon as we talk, it's over.

I'm so sorry.

I thought that I could be me...

...and the Arrow.

But I can't.

Not now.

- Maybe not ever.
- Then say never.

Stop dangling maybe's.

Say it's never going to work out between us.
Say you never loved me. Say...

Felicity.

Don't ask me to say that I don't love you.

I told you as soon as we talked...

...it would be over.

- Hello?
- It's Barry.

Barry Allen.

I woke up.

I could use some advice.

I'll be right there.

And here I thought that you used up
all your League of Assassin vacation days.

You look great. How's Dad doing?

The same. Seeing you will help.

I don't want him to know I'm in town.
Not just yet.

You don't want him to know you're in town,
or you don't want him to know why?

Both.

This life, it...

It's complicated.

We didn't want you to choose it.

- Not for us.
- I know.

I chose it for me.

The Arrow.

Oliver. "Busted someone
who tried to blow up Rockets Arena."

My boss wants me to head to the station
to backstop the interrogation.

Laurel Lance.
Always trying to save the world.

Runs in the family.

Love you.

Hello, Sara.

What are you doing here?

Oh! No! No! Sara!

Sara!

No! No!

No!