Arrow season 2, episode 21, “City of Blood,” aired tonight, featuring the aftermath of last episode’s shocker.
Missing
The episode opens with Moira’s funeral and Sebastian Blood being sworn in to office. Oliver, however, is conspicuous only by his absence. At the reception, Blood offers Thea his condolences. Thea accepts, but Laurel is suspicious, as Blood only won the election because Moira died. Isabel Rochev also appears to threaten Diggle and Felicity.
Thea and Walter share a moment; Thea isn’t holding up well. “A lie killed her,” Thea says of Oliver and Slade knowing each other. Walter says that Oliver loves her more than life itself, but Thea leaves.
At SCPD, Laurel brings suspicions about Blood being connected to Slade to her father. Meanwhile, Slade calls the new mayor and tells him to get to work.
Things fall apart
In the foundry, the team is running out of snake venom to keep Roy sedated. Diggle also realizes the only way Isabel survived was Mirakuru. However, Oliver’s not returning his messages. Felicity hasn’t been able to track him either. Sara is also MIA.
Without any leads, Diggle and Felicity visit Amanda Waller. Waller isn’t particularly interested in helping, but Diggle’s mention of Mirakuru gets her attention. A.R.G.U.S. eventually tracks Oliver to another lair — one that was meant to be used if the foundry was compromised.
At Verdant, Isabel gives Thea a notice to vacate, as the club’s property belongs to Queen Consolidated.
Meanwhile, Laurel visits Blood under the guise of discussing a case, but she bugs his desk. Going through Blood’s computer files, Quentin and Laurel find a press release extending condolences to the Queen family — written the day before Moira died.
Diggle and Felicity find Oliver at his second lair. He’s riddled with guilt over not curing Slade when he had the chance, so he plans to turn himself over to Slade. Felicity refuses to accept that, as she believes in Oliver. Oliver replies that the essence of heroism is to die so that others can live. Slade has won, so all that’s left is for him to die.
The best of us
Back at the Queen mansion, which is being packed up, Walter offers to support Thea, but she simply wants to leave Starling. Oliver turns up and supports Thea leaving, saying she is the best of all of them. She has the purest heart, which he can’t have her lose.
Oliver calls Isabel, leaving a message that he’ll be waiting at the pier — the place where everything started. There, Oliver says that he should have died on The Gambit. He’s then hit with a tranq dart and wakes up in the foundry surrounded by Diggle, Felicity, and… Laurel.
Laurel tells him that Slade revealed his identity to her and that she reached out to Felicity and Diggle when Oliver went missing. Laurel asks why he didn’t tell her his secret when Tommy knew. Oliver is sorry that he couldn’t save Tommy but believes he can save everyone now by giving himself up.
Laurel says that she knows who Oliver is: someone who always finds a way. The only way to protect his loved ones is to stop Slade. Laurel then reveals that Slade and Blood are working together, and that snaps Oliver out of his funk. Oliver connects Blood with the man in the skull mask. “What’s happening is bigger than you and Slade,” Laurel tells him. “This city needs the Arrow.”
Going to war
At a restaurant, Blood finds Oliver waiting at his table. Blood tells Oliver he’ll save the city, but Oliver asks whether Slade will allow that and reveals himself as the Arrow. Blood replies that Slade’s Mirakuru soldiers will unleash just enough damage to make Starling ready for his vision for the city. Slade keeps his word, Blood says, and reminds Oliver of the promise Slade made him.
Meanwhile, Diggle captures Blood’s bodyguard, and Felicity leverages information from him by draining his bank accounts and threatening those of his parents.
In the foundry, Team Arrow prepares for action. Felicity used the information from Blood’s man to locate Slade’s men underground. Laurel wants to help, but Oliver turns her down. “This started with the three of us,” Oliver says of him, Diggle, and Felicity. “It’s time we got back to that.”
Underground, Blood dons the skull mask and pumps up the Mirakuru soldiers. The Arrow gets eyes on them while Diggle plants explosive charges above ground to bury them.
The Arrow starts fighting Mirakuru guards. One gets the upper hand, but Laurel hits him from behind with a pipe. The distraction is enough for the Arrow to take him down. The two are chased into a dead end, so the Arrow shoots an explosive arrow at the foundation.
Above ground, Diggle prepares to detonate the charges when he’s attacked by Isabel in her own costume. She’s ready for payback.
The episode closes as, around the city, men don Mirakuru soldier masks and start attacking innocents — Quentin at SCPD, Thea at the train station — while others take to the streets.
Meanwhile, on the island…
The freighter escapees board the submarine. Anatoli uses his Russian military history to get it running, but they’re stuck. Oliver suggests using a torpedo to blast their way free. However, the torpedoes are manually operated, so launching them would be suicide.
Peter volunteers because he’s already dying from radiation poisoning. He says that Ivo used to say that the essence of heroism was dying so that others could live. After convincing Sara to leave the sub in case the torpedoes didn’t work, Oliver calls Peter brave for thinking of others.
Once Sara is clear, Anatoli launches a torpedo and they get the sub moving. Oliver radios Sara, but she’s panicked when she replies.
