Broken Arrow

"I'm going to break Roy out of prison."

—Oliver vows to get Roy out of prison after he took the fall for him.

"Broken Arrow"
Information
Season 3 » Episode 19
Episode number	65 of 170
Original airdate	April 15, 2015
Written by	Story by: Jake Coburn Teleplay by: Ben Sokolowski Brian Ford Sullivan
Directed by	Doug Aarniokoski
Chronology
Preceded by	"Public Enemy"
Followed by	"The Fallen"

"Broken Arrow" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of Arrow, and the sixty-fifth episode overall. It aired on April 15, 2015.

Synopsis

Captain Lance continues his mission to take down the Arrow so Felicity begs Oliver to keep a low profile. However, when a meta-human named Jake Simmons, who kills people with blasts of energy and plasma, starts terrorizing Starling City, Oliver is forced to ask Ray for help. The unlikely duo have to team up to save the city.[src]

Plot

The episode opens with mysterious figure killing security guards at a bank with laser beams from his eyes. 

Roy has confessed and is brought to jail. Lance wants to charge Oliver, but Laurel shows up to tell him the DA won't be charging him. They are suspicious that Lance was the only person present during Oliver's confession. 

Palmer asks Felicity about Roy's confession and awkwardly addresses the fact he told her he loved her. He essentially takes it back. 

Oliver visits Roy in custody. Roy says he's doing this as a way to make it right for killing the cop, as well as paying Oliver back for saving his life. Roy thinks the city needs the Arrow. 

In the Hong Kong flashback, Oliver tells Maseo and Tatsu he's going to go after Waller. 

Oliver meets with Malcolm, who tells him his "days as the Arrow are finished." He suggested that it might be better for the city if he stops Ra's from pressuring him by accepting his offer to lead the League of Assassins.

Surveillance footage of the meta-human from the opening scene has surfaced on the news. Lance and his team show up at Arrow HQ with a warrant to search the premises. But Roy's fingerprints are the only ones they find. Outside Felicity and Diggle tell Oliver that they wiped all evidence clean because Roy had already confessed and they wanted to keep the Arrow active. 

Felicity and Oliver go to Palmer for help dealing with the meta-human. 

In our flashback, Oliver finds Waller. She's been shot and claims to have been held hostage by General Shrieve, who plans to use the Alpha Omega virus on Hong Kong, She also tells him that General Shrieve had created a vaccine to inoculate himself and his team against the virus. Then advises him to leave Hong Kong as quickly as possible.

Thea visits Roy in prison, When Roy tells her that he didn't want to see her. She asks him what is happening. He unconvincingly tells her he'll be okay and leaves without saying more. 

With help from Palmer's gadgets they find out the meta-human's name is Jake Simmons. They are able to tack him to a warehouse. Palmer talks Oliver into letting him go after Simmons alone. He doesn't fare well, but escapes alive. Oliver tells him his mistake was relying too much on the suit. 

Maseo tells Oliver that they won't be able to get off the island alive. The plan is to try and find the vaccine Shrieve has developed to help protect his men.

Roy is attacked by three large inmates in prison, one of which slashes him in the back. He takes them all out, just before being subdued by the guards. 

Lance is warned by the higher-ups downtown not to make the investigation personal. Since there is no evidence against Oliver, they want him to back off. Lance tells Thea about Roy being attacked. 

Based on Thea's complaint Oliver wants to try and break Roy out of prison. Diggle tells him he has to back down or risk losing "everything." It doesn't work, but Felicity reminds him that breaking Roy out won't change what Ra's has done to the Arrow. Oliver admits he's facing a crisis of identity. 

In the flashback Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu sneak into the base, Oliver renders a guard unconscious. They grab several vials and escape through a vent. 

Lance visits Roy in his cell. Roy tells him about killing the officer. 

While checking possible power sources Felicity is captured by Simmons. She manages to break away briefly, allowing Palmer time to get there and rescue her. Once again Palmer starts to take a beating. But Oliver gives him a pep talk that helps propel him to talking Simmons down. 

Roy is stabbed in the stomach by one of the guards. He dies and Lance makes sure to remind Oliver who is to blame. 

Back at the destoyed HQ, Felicity and Diggle drop a bombshell: Roy walks into the room, still very much alive. They used one of Lylas contacts to stab Roy. The man is skilled at not killing the victim, and places a beta blocker on the blade which slows down the heart to simulate death. Everybody thinks Roy is dead, which means Oliver is effectively innocent of being the Arrow. Oliver wonders "What happens to Roy Harper?" The answer is that he's leaving the city. 

In the flashback, Oliver tells Maseo and Tatsu he wants to stop General Shrieve from distributing the virus on his own, allowing them to help protect Akio. They refuse and say they will help him. 

When Simmons is placed in custody at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco and Palmer realize he wasn't present for the dark matter explosion. Palmer wonders how it's possible for him to be a meta-human. 

Ra's appears at Thea's apartment. She tries to fight him, which doesn't go well. He stabs her through the chest with a sword as the episode ends.

Cast

Main Cast

• Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen
• Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance
• David Ramsey as John Diggle
• Willa Holland as Thea Queen
• Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
• Colton Haynes as Roy Harper/The Arrow
• John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn
• Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance

Special Guest Star

• Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon
• Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/The Atom

Guest Starring

• Matt Nable as Ra's al Ghul
• Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller
• Karl Yune as Maseo Yamashiro
• Rila Fukushima as Tatsu Yamashiro
• Doug Jones as Jake Simmons/Deathbolt
• Adrian Holmes as Frank Pike

Co-Starring

• Keri Adams as Bethany Snow
• Warren Belle as Prison Guard #2
• Marshall Bingham as Badass Inmate
• Justin Breault as Prison Guard #1
• Bruce Crawford as Bank Guard #2
• Grace Fatkin as Liling
• Craig Fraser as Soldier
• Flora Karas as CSI Tech
• Paul Lazenby as Inmate
• Matthew Mandzij as Bank Guard #1
• Meena Mann as Reporter
• Brandon Nomura as Akio Yamashiro

Production

Preparation began February 11, 2015 and ran until February 19, 2015. Filming ran from February 20 until March 3, 2015.

Trivia

• This is the first episode of Arrow where the villain is a meta-human, a feature usually seen on The Flash.
• The sword that Ra's al Ghul stabs Thea with is similar to the sword that he used when he stabbed Oliver.
• In the Arrowcave, behind Oliver can be seen a plexiglas box with a green "Chemulon 6" label on the bottom left-hand corner. Chemulon 6 was the chemical printer used in the TV series Almost Human in the episode "Perception" to 3D print illegal drugs.
• A crossroads where Jake Simmons commits a crime is named "Gantner and Yount", referencing Milwaukee Brewers players Jim Gantner and Robin Yount.
• Simmons' previous address, 4160 Dixon Canyon, is a reference to former Green Arrow writer Chuck Dixon, who notably created Connor Hawke, Oliver Queen's son.
• This is the last appearance of the original Arrow suit in the present, as it was later confiscated by the police and destroyed. The suit would not return until three years later in Season 6's "Fundamentals".
• This is the second episode of Arrow where Cisco Ramon appears without Barry Allen and the first time he appears without Caitlin Snow.
• When Oliver asks Felicity to call Barry for help, she mentions he is still dealing with the aftermath of Harrison Wells, which means this episode takes place after "All Star Team Up".
• Felicity's line to Roy, "I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow" is a tribute to the movie The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy Gale bids goodbye to Scarecrow as she prepares to return home.
• Stephen Amell and Colton Haynes both commented on social media that this episode was emotionally draining to film as "real emotions were brought to the surface" and "it's hard to say goodbye, even if it's scripted."^{[citation needed]}

Goofs

• After Captain Lance is done talking to Roy in his jail cell, the guard unlocks the cell door to let him out. A buzzer sound can be heard as he turns the key in the door. However, the cell door is a manual lock and shouldn't not make that sound, which is from an electric door lock buzzer.
• After examining the equipment in Team Arrow's underground base, the SCPD techs tell Captain Lance that the only fingerprints they found were Roy's. When Oliver confronts the team, they admit to wiping away all but Roy's prints as the police already had him in custody. However, there's no way to selectively wipe away prints so they would've had to wipe everything and then plant Roy's prints, which Roy was unavailable to do.
  • It's possible Team Arrow has its members' individual fingerprint data available for such situations.

Gallery

Videos

Arrow 3x19 Promo "Broken Arrow" (HD)-0

Arrow 3x19 Extended Promo "Broken Arrow" (HD)-0

Arrow - Episode 3x19 Broken Arrow Sneak Peek 1 (HD) Arrow