The Arrow mid-season premiere, titled “Blast Radius,” welcomes Firefly alum Sean Maher to the mix as a new villain seeking to disrupt Starling City.
Arrow returns with the Arrow looking for the man in the skull mask responsible for Roy and others being injected with Mirakuru, Sebastian Blood running for public office, and Slade Wilson pulling his strings. Read our recap for the mid-season finale, “Three Ghosts,” here.
The official synopsis for Arrow season 2, episode 10 “Blast Radius” reads:
ARROW HUNTS DOWN SHRAPNEL — Oliver must tackle a new threat to the city when bombs start to go off in Starling City. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) discovers the person setting them off is Mark Sheffer (guest star Sean Maher), a man who goes by the nickname Shrapnel. Arrow discovers Shrapnel’s next target is Sebastian Blood’s (guest star Kevin Alejandro) “Unity Rally” and tries to talk the alderman out of hosting it, but he refuses. Arrow sets off to stop the bombing, but Shrapnel tricks him and traps him in a bomb-laced antique store where he is unable to move without setting off the device. While Felicity helps Oliver, Diggle (David Ramsey) races to the plaza to find the bomb before it goes off. Meanwhile, Roy (Colton Haynes) continues to hide his new strength from Thea (Willa Holland) but, after she witnesses his super strength in action at the rally, she demands answers. Laurel’s (Katie Cassidy) suspicions about Sebastian grow stronger once she learns that he grew up with Cyrus Gold, the man who killed Lance’s (Paul Blackthorne) partner. After Donner (guest star Dylan Bruce) refuses to help her investigate, she turns to Arrow (Stephen Amell) for help. Rob Hardy directed the episode written by Jake Coburn & Keto Shimizu (#210).
Maher joins his on-screen sister, Summer Glau, as an Arrow guest star this season. Glau plays businesswoman Isabel Rochev. Alas, judging from the synopsis it doesn’t look like the Tam siblings will have an on-screen reunion in this episode.
Promotional stills from the episode depict Oliver, Thea, and Laurel at Sebastian Blood’s rally as well as the Arrow, complete with his new mask, caught in the antique store:
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Meanwhile, in the producer’s preview below, Arrow EP Andrew Kreisberg introduces the back half of season 2, including Maher’s role in “Blast Radius” as well as the mid-season finale reveal that Slade is the Big Bad.
According to Kreisberg, we’ll be seeing Deathstroke 2.0 as Oliver and Slade face off in the present day while their relationship also deteriorates on the island in the wake of Shado’s death.
And, according to the preview clip below, it’s been five weeks since the mid-season finale. Barry Allen, who was struck by lightning and thrown into a shelf full of chemicals, thanks to a malfunction of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator, remains comatose.
Felicity has gone to spend more time with him, and Oliver is none too pleased about it. In the mean time, however, the Arrow has been on the prowl for the man behind the Mirakuru.
Arrow season 2, episode 10 “Blast Radius” airs Wednesday, January 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.