Arrow – Dead to Rights

• Title: Green Arrow – Dead to Rights
• tv.com: link

Assassins start hitting town once Moira (Susanna Thompson) puts a hit out on Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) to prevent his bloody vision of a new Starling City, the mysterious “undertaking,” from coming to pass. Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) dispatches a Spaniard (George Tchortov) in the episode’s opening scene, but with China White (Kelly Hu) recruiting Deadshot (Michael Rowe) back into the game to join her team not every threat will be dealt with so easily.

Oliver and McKenna (Janina Gavankar), now officially and item, join Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Tommy (Colin Donnell) to celebrate Oliver’s best friend’s birthday, which is interrupted by an unannounced visit by Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) who requests his son’s attendance at a award ceremony honoring the elder Merlyn as Starling City’s Humanitarian of the Year. Tommy declines his father’s invitation, but after a heart-to-heart with Oliver reconsiders his father’s latest attempt to act “dad-like.” Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) decodes the dead assassin’s phone and Ollie discovers Tommy’s father is the target, and his advice to his best friend has now put him in danger as well.

Unable to force Malcolm outside into Deadshot’s crosshairs, China White and her team force father and son upstairs towards the panic room in Malcolm’s office and a clean vantage point for Deadshot to kill the target. After dispatching most of her crew, Green Arrow goes one-on-one with China White (in a pretty good fight sequence), but looses the assassin when McKenna and Starling City’s finest show up.

It’s a big day for Tommy as he discovers his father’s hidden talents for martial arts and killing would-be assassins and learns about his trip to Nanda Parbat after the death of Tommy’s mother. Tommy also discovers Ollie’s secret when Green Arrow is forced to reveal himself once Malcolm is hit with one of Deadshot poisoned bullets. Revealing himself to Tommy allows Ollie to convince his friend into an emergency blood transfusion between father and son to buy Malcolm time until he can receive proper medical attention.

Other stories include Diggle (David Ramsey) giving Felicty self-defense lessons and Laurel receives a visit from her mother (Alex Kingston) who believes Laurel’s sister Sarah (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) may still be alive. This week’s flashbacks to the island involve Oliver’s attempts to repair the crashed plane’s radio and find a way to get Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) and himself off the island. Although Oliver’s resurrection of the radio doesn’t allow the pair to broadcast and call for help it does allow them to listen in on Fryers’ (Sebastian Dunn) communication with his men.

The episode works on several levels as Ollie’s circle of confidants is increased by one, Kingston makes her debut as Dinah Lance (perhaps roping her daughter into some action of their own), Deadshot and China White both escape capture providing more opportunities for the each to show up in future episodes, and Moira’s assassination attempt fails but does clue in Tommy (and the audience) to a bit more of the elder Merlyn’s secret past. Aside from Nanda Parbat the episode also includes a reference to Blüdhaven in a store window for DC Comics fans. With Ollie and McKenna getting closer next week’s return of the Huntress (Jessica De Gouw) should keep things interesting.