My "Arrow" 5x17 Recap
We start with Ollie flashbacking to lots of violence and things Adrian Chase said. Adrian is waterboarding Ollie. It turns out though Ollie shot Adrian's father, Adrian's father drowned after being shot by the arrow. Adrian wants Ollie to confess but won't say what. That's helpful.
Now, it time for our annual flashback episode! 5 years ago, it turns out Gregory is not dead. His words got to Ollie. He implied that killing him would be killing themselves. Ollie tried to torture him for information. He died anyway.
They have a funeral. At the funeral, Anatoly is made the new head of the Bratva. Their ally Viktor is not happy about this. Well, that was nice while it lasted.
At a market, Ollie tracks down Taiana's mother, Galina. He wants to ask her about what Kovar is planning. A guy thinks he's hassling her so Ollie kills him in the middle of the market. Ollie asks Galina to keep quiet. Even if she did, there were a lot of other witnesses in that market anyway.
We also find out Captain Jack has a deal with Kovar. He's bringing in a shipment. Their meeting is interrupted by Anatoly. Captain Jack leaves. Recruiting for the Legion of Doom before there was a Legion of Doom? Anatoly tries to get a deal going by mentioning how the Green Arrow is messing up things. Kovar is unconcerned.
At the Bratva club, Anatoly tells Ollie that Kovar is planning on overthrowing the Russian government. He assumes Captain Jack has brought a weapon but Ollie has no idea it's Captain Jack. Kovar tells Ollie to go home as he doesn't like seeing this new violence in him. Ollie refuses to leave his brother. Anatoly agrees. Ollie should stop calling people his brother. It always leads to heartbreak.
In the present, Adrian has lined the walls with pictures of people that Ollie has killed. He brings up the Count who Ollie killed with three arrows. He then shoots Ollie with three arrows. Also, no offense to Ollie but I feel like there should be tons more photos than there are. Maybe Adrian ran out of ink or something.
5 years ago, the Bratva finds toxic gas in the shipment. It can kill millions. They start to take it away. Kovar and his men show up. A shootout begins. Green Arrow kills a bunch of Kovar's men. Kovar knocks out Anatoly. Kovar escapes with the gas. So, that went well.
In the present, Adrian threatens to hurt Felicity and Ollie's son. Adrian goes to kill someone else since Ollie won't confess. He didn't bother to kill much of the team there.
5 years ago, Viktor is mad at Ollie for instigating this now that Kovar is such a threat. Ollie says Kovar would have killed the Bratva either way. Ollie begins interrogating one of Kovar's men. He tortures him to death. He gets the information. Anatoly is horrified. He says putting on a costume will not stop Ollie's inner monster. Ollie says Anatoly knew he was capable violence. Anatoly says now Ollie is acting more like Slade or Ivo. Ollie admits that the guy gave up the info pretty quickly. Ollie tortured him to death practicing his moves. Some fans were wondering how Ollie would become that traumatized by the time he got off the island, given the 5 years are almost up. I think we can see how Ollie finally started to really lose it.
Ollie tells Anatoly and Viktor that the gas is going to be released at a casino, killing politicians and innocents. They need help from the inside. Ollie wants help from Galina. He promises to make it work. Are you wondering if he will go back to the market where he killed someone like an idiot? He does.
Ollie finds Galina again. This time he successfully pulls her away. He mentions he knew both of her children and they were killed by a monster. Technically true but a bit of a punk move. He mentions exact words Taiana said as proof. He promised to fight Kovar on her behalf. She gives Ollie her keycard.
In the present, Adrian brings in Artemis who is looking rough. Adrian is going to make them fight to death. If neither complies, Adrian will kill Evelyn anyway. Evelyn apologizes to Ollie. She says she can't take it anymore. Evelyn admits she didn't know what she was doing when she sided with him. Ollie forgives her. She tries to kill Ollie anyway. He disarms her. Adrian comes in. He says he'll let Evelyn go if Ollie confesses. Ollie doesn't know what to say. Adrian kills Evelyn. We'll put a pin in this.
At the casino, the Bratva begin to infiltrate. The Green Arrow sees Galina tortured. By the time he reaches her, she's dead. Meanwhile, Viktor has double-crossed the Bratva. He hands them over to Kovar. Kovar then goes in front of the crowded casino and frames the Bratva for the attack. He brings them all out. He then releases the toxin. Ollie turns it off but not before it kills Viktor. Ollie kills more of Kovar's men. Ollie and Kovar fight. Anatoly tells Ollie that he doesn't have to stab Kovar. Ollie does it anyway. The lesson here is to check for a pulse. This is a lesson Ollie still hasn't learned.
In the present, Adrian continues to hammer at Ollie. Ollie admits that he kills because he wants to and he likes it. Evelyn gets up. It was all an act. Adrian points out all the people who died for Ollie's cause like Laurel and Tommy. Ollie apologizes for what he did to Adrian. Adrian believes him but doesn't care. He burns off Ollie's Bratva tattoo with a blowtorch. So, I'm just going to right Adrian off as unstable as anyone would be who would do this. My problems is Evelyn is still fully Team Adrian when as everyone has pointed out by this point, Adrian is just as bad if not worse than Ollie. What is her deal?
5 years ago, Ollie and Anatoly get their tattoos. They remember how they became friends. Anatoly warns him that the man behind the mask will fall apart someday. True stories.
Elsewhere, it turns out Captain Jack helped save Kovar's life. I guess in hopes for a deal later on. So, there's that. So, the only characters with a name that died this episode are Viktor and Galina.
In the Arrowcave, Ollie returns after six days. He has a bunch of open wounds. Curtis, Diggle and Felicity are there. They want to take down Adrian. Ollie says he is quitting and shutting down Team Arrow. So, I assume Adrian's reign of terror will continue because otherwise, the result of this is that Ollie is still a rich, handsome mayor with tons of friends and family. Also, Team Arrow can just reform without him as they have in the past, so the point is?...