Arrow Episode Guide: “League of Assassins” (Season 2, Episode 5)

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Original Airdate: 11/06/2013
Written by: Jake Coburn & Drew Z. Greenberg
Directed by: Wendey Stanzler

Starring: Stephen Amell (as Oliver Queen/Arrow), Katie Cassidy (as Laurel Lance), David Ramsey (as John Diggle), Willa Holland (as Thea Queen), Emily Bett Rickards (as Felicity Smoak), Colton Haynes (as Roy Harper), Manu Bennett (as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke), Susanna Thompson (as Moira Queen), Paul Blackthorne (as Quentin Lance)

Guest Stars: Caity Lotz (as Black Canary/Sara Lance), Dylan Bruce (as Adam Donner), Dylan Neal (as Dr. Anthony Ivo), Teryl Rothery (as Jean Loring), Navid Negahban (as Al-Owal)

First Appearance: Dr. Anthony Ivo, Al-Owal

Trivia:

– Your eyes are not deceiving you: The shots on the Queen’s Gambit are indeed familiar as they were reshot from what we saw in the Arrow pilot. In the Arrow pilot, Sara Lance was played by Jacqueline MacInnes Wood.
– In the comic books, Professor Ivo is the creator of the Amazo robot that the Justice League faced in one of their first appearances, way back in Brave and the Bold #30 in 1960. The actor who plays Ivo, Dylan Neal, is perhaps best known as Pacey Witter’s brother, “Deputy Doug,” on Dawson’s Creek.
– Dylan Neal and fellow guest star Teryl Rothery (Jean Loring) currently appear on the Lifetime TV series Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove.
– The League of Assassins, sometimes known as the League of Shadows, has been a fixture in the DC Comics universe since the late 1960’s. They factored into Christopher Nolan’s Batman Dark Knight trilogy.
– Navid Negahban played Abu Nazir in Homeland.
– One of the rumored titles for this episode was “The Demon’s Head,” which gives an even bigger hint at Ra’s al Ghul.
– This episode featured a special Bose-sponsored bonus short called Blood Rush which starred Emily Bett Rickards and Colton Haynes.

Summary:

In flashbacks, Sara is rescued from the Gambit’s wreckage after she spots a chirping canary and is locked aboard the prisoner ship. She gets moved to a private room by Dr. Anthony Ivo, a man wanting her help to save the human race. When Oliver is brought to her, she kicks him around and orders his silence.

Oliver arrives to the prison to find Adam Donner and Laurel prosecuting Moira. They offer a plea bargain consisting of life with the possibility of parole. Moira contemplates taking the deal, much to the chagrin of her children. Later, Thea and Oliver convince Moira to fight, reminding her they’ll love her no matter what secrets come out.

At the Queen mansion where Sara is staying, she and Oliver are attacked by a man dressed like Malcolm Merlyn, but it’s not him. The man escapes. Oliver brings Sara to the Arrowcave, where she reveals that the man is Al-Owal, a member of the League of Assassins with whom she trained in Nanda Parbat. Felicity finds that the dirt left behind by Al-Owal contains traces of pesticide from a now abandoned plant – a perfect home base for the League. There, Canary and Arrow brawl with several assassins, but caught in an uneven matchup, Canary and Arrow flee.

With the Lances in danger, Oliver will watch after Laurel, while Felicity warns Quentin. Returning to her apartment after dinner, Laurel notices that her door has been opened. Oliver investigates the scene, but finds only a knife indicating the League has moved on. Felicity’s warning to Quentin falls short, so Sara reveals herself to her father, who soon figures out she’s Canary. Sara brings him to the clock tower and fights off assassins there with his help and Arrow’s. She tells the one survivor to relay a message to Ra’s Al Ghul: her family is off limits. Sara informs her father it’s too dangerous for her to come home.

Quotes:

Felicity (to Sara): I was happy to hear you’re not dead anymore. I mean, I didn’t know you before you didn’t die the first time. I’m still glad you’re alive.

Oliver: Growing up, I didn’t think that there were secrets kept between us. Last year, I learned different. And I’ve gotten pretty good at knowing when you’re hiding something from me, so, Mom, what are you hiding now?
Moira: Help your sister come to terms with my choice because it’s made.

Al-Owal: Arrows. Such an ineffective projectile. I find it strange anyone still cures them.
Arrow: I’ll show you why if you don’t leave Sara Lance alone.

Felicity: There’s an organization called the League of Assassins, and three of its members are targeting you. That sounded a little less crazy in my head.
Quentin: I doubt it.

Sara: Dig, you may be a three-tour Special Forces veteran, but I was trained by the people that make the Special Forces look like a kindergarten class.

Quentin: Well, I can’t believe I didn’t think to look for you up here.
Sara: It’s a good vantage point. You can see the whole city.
Quentin: Like a bird on a wire.
Sara: Where I was they have you choose a new name. I chose … canary.

Episode Guide entry by Stephanie Hall

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