Salvation

"Salvation" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of Arrow, and the eighteenth episode overall. It aired on March 27, 2013.

Synopsis
An angry resident of The Glades who calls himself The Savior, embarks on a kidnapping and killing spree to punish those he believes have wronged the residents of his neighborhood. To make things worse, he broadcasts these murders online and claims he was inspired by the Hood's vigilantism. Oliver is horrified by this statement and vows to stop The Savior, but his manhunt is intensified after Thea comes to him in tears and tells him Roy has been kidnapped. Laurel is surprised when her father starts to believe her mother's claim that Sara is still alive. Meanwhile, Malcolm tells Moira to find the person responsible for his attempted murder.

Plot
Open with Oliver preparing to go after John Nickel, an area slumlord. But before the Hood can get to Nickel he's grabbed by someone else. Oliver has Felicity look into possible suspects, because he's uncomfortable with another vigilante being loose in the city.

Back on the island Oliver and Slade are working out an arrangement for Edward to get them a boat.

Roy and Thea's make out session is interrupted by a guy bringing Roy something and referencing an upcoming meeting with someone named Joe. Thea sees that Roy was brought a gun. He tells her "I owe people" but she storms out.

Laurel notices that Quentin and Dinah are fully engaged in the hunt for Sara. Laurel clearly doesn't think her sister is still alive.

John thinks Oliver is "scary calm". He doesn't think his friend is leading a real life at this point. Felicity calls Oliver with word that a live video is being sent around. It's the new vigilante. He questions Nichols for his crimes against the community, and then shoots him. The voice says more people will answer for their crimes.

Felicity is having trouble tracking the new vigilante's website. John reveals that he got into contact with a federal agent friend and the code that's being use by this particular vigilante matches that of someone who called himself The Savior, and he is a former resident of the Glades. The next Savior video features a district attorney. The Savior references a dead wife, which points Felicity to a former city worker named Joseph Falk.

Moira meets with Frank Chen. They talk about the fact Malcolm doesn't yet know they are responsible for the assassination attempt. Frank thinks Moira should send her family away for their safety.

Thea asks Laurel for advice about Roy. Laurel's advice on Roy, and bad boys in general, (despite her own streak with bad boys) is "Run". Laurel speaks with somebody at the Chinese embassy, looking for information about the picture her parents think could be Sara. She's told the women is in the U.S.

Felicity finds The Savior's wireless signal. Oliver rushes to the scene in an attempt to save the DA, but as soon as he get through looking through the location, the signal has moved. He goes to the next location but can't get there in time. Felicity can't figure out why it seemed like the signal was at those locations when there was nothing there. For some reason, the Savior's signal is sending them to bogus locations and she blames herself when the D.A. is shot and killed, because she's the one who is supposed to take care of the technical aspect of their work.

Oliver returns to HQ and tries to reassure Felicity that what happened wasn't her fault. She thinks that maybe Oliver has the right idea in being alone, because she has no idea how she would explain what just happened to day to a normal person.

Another island flashback, Oliver and Slade meet with Edward. He changes the game, telling them to give him the circuit board or he'll kill Yao Fei's daughter.

Laurel shows her parents that she's found the woman from the picture. It's not their daughter and Dinah is despondent.

Thea drops by to see Roy and tries to stop him commiting a crime. While she's there  fighting with Roy, a person injects him with something and abducts him.

Cut to The Savior's next video. This time it's Roy. Thea tells Oliver and Tommy she has a relationship with him and that he needs their help.

Malcolm calls Moira with word that a member of the Chinese Triad has been arrested. He's agreed to reveal who tried to have him killed for a reduced sentence.

Dinah isn't ready to give up looking for Sara. Quentin tries to convince her to give up. Dinah admits she knew Sara was going to spend time with Oliver and blames herself for Sara's death.

Felicity has found the a strange ambient sound  on the Savior's recordings. Diggle realizes that it's the rhythm of the old subway. The Savior has been moving around underground in the city's old subway system. He was actually in all the places Felicity found he was just underground at the time.

Back on the island Edward order that Yao Fei's daughter be killed. This leads to a huge fight. Oliver, Slade, and Fei's daughter, get away, but are forced to leave an injured Yao Fei behind.

The Hood breaks into the subway system just as The Savior gives Roy ten minutes to make a case for why he should live. After fighting with Thea, Roy counters that he probably should die. No one would care, as he is just a "waste". repeating the words that Thea told him. Just before the Savior can shoot Roy, The Hood shows up. He thinks the Savior should give Roy a second chance. The Savior turns to shoot Roy. He misses his first shot and the Hood kills him to save Roy.

Dinah is leaving town. Before she walks out Laurel makes it clear she'd like them to keep in touch.

Thea is reunited with Roy. He looks in his pocket and finds the fletchette the Hood threw so he could cut himself loose.

Oliver and Laurel talk about Roy and Thea. She tells Oliver about Dinah and the search for Sara. Oliver asks her if she'd like to grab coffee sometime, saying he doesn't want to be on an island anymore.

Slade and Oliver return and find the circuit board is gone. Edward was playing them all along. While they were at the meet, his men were searching the island for the circuit board.

Moira tells Frank she had no choice but to turn over what she knew to Malcolm. Frank is killed by The Dark Archer, who thanks Moira for her loyalty. She asks him to spare Frank's family and he agrees.

Oliver tells Felicity she can talk to him if she ever needs someone to tell about her day. Oliver realizes that the map of the decommissioned subway station is in his father's journal. Everything that is going on with The Dark Archer and his mother is connected to the Glades.

Production
Preparation ran from January 30 until February 7, 2013. Filming began on February 8 and ended on February 20, 2013.

Featured Music

 * Stay by Rihanna
 * It's a Fine Day by Opus III
 * Hate the Taste by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Trivia

 * The episode's title is a reference to the island that Jenn was stuck on.
 * Dinah mentions to Laurel that she's taking the red eye to Central City and that she'll be "home in a flash". In the DC comics, Central City is the home of the superhero The Flash. It is unknown if this is a joke on Dinah's part or the writers' part, however considering Arrow ' s realism, it is likely the latter.
 * After Gavin Carnahan is killed, Felicity states that she had never seen anyone die before but in fact she had seen John Nickel get killed earlier.