Haunted

For the Arrow: Season 2.5 issue of the same name, see "Haunted".

"Your sister requires a restitution, the restoration of her soul to her body."

—John Constantine to Laurel Lance on how to help Sara

"Haunted"
Information
Season 4 » Episode 5
Episode number	74 of 170
Original airdate	November 4, 2015
Written by	Brian Ford Sullivan Oscar Balderrama
Directed by	John Badham
Chronology
Preceded by	"Beyond Redemption"
Followed by	"Lost Souls"

"Haunted" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Arrow, and the seventy-fourth episode overall. It aired on November 4, 2015. It acts as a crossover between Arrow and Constantine.

Synopsis

When things take a turn for the worse with Sara, Oliver calls in a favor from an old friend who deals in the mystical, John Constantine.[src]

Plot

As the episode opens, a Big Belly Burger employee spills some trash she is taking out in an alleyway. She is then ambushed by two men, who try to assault her. Just then, the revived Sara appears and beats the two men, brutally killing one of them. As the woman begins to thank her, Sara starts choking her while reciting something in Arabic. The police show up and Sara flees.

At Oliver's campaign office, Thea acquaints Oliver with Alex Davis, their new political strategist. Alex advises Oliver to distance himself from the Lance family due to the scandals involved. Oliver is hesitant, but Alex points out he can't unite the city if he's still viewed as a playboy; Alex insists that Oliver needs to distance himself from Laurel.

In flashbacks on Lian Yu, Oliver makes his way back to base, where Conklin confronts him about the communication gear revealing his correspondence with Amanda Waller. Conklin brings Oliver to speak with Baron Reiter, who's discovered a trespasser: John Constantine.

Back in Star City, Lance is on the scene with the attacked employee. He realizes the perpetrator, who is also randomly killing criminals in the city, is Sara. Lance is distraught about it, and Laurel insists that she needs to find Sara first and stop her killing spree.

At Palmer Tech, Felicity and Curtis inspect the thumb drive containing Ray's last message. Felicity realizes there is more to the message, and she needs Curtis to decode it.

Lance goes to see Damien Darhk, who gives him an assignment: to break into a government server homestead and insert a device Darhk gives him into the main computer.

At the Bunker, Oliver and Thea are sparring with escrima sticks. Thea tells Oliver that she doesn't agree with Alex's plan. Although Oliver points out he and Laurel have a complicated history, Thea reminds him the Lances have consistently been there whenever she and Oliver needed them. Their discussion is interrupted by a call from Felicity: a blonde woman is attacking a club.

Oliver and Thea show up, finding Laurel already fighting the perpetrator. Before they can bring the woman down however, Oliver is shocked to discover that it's Sara who's been responsible for the assaults. He freezes long enough to let her escape.

Back at the Bunker, Oliver rapidly makes sense of how Sara is back, and he's angry. He confronts Laurel on recklessly using the Lazarus Pit on her sister.

In the flashbacks, Reiter shows Oliver a map of the island Constantine had, with the rest of his personal effects. Reiter needs whatever it is that Constantine is after, and sends Oliver to accompany him to get it. When Conklin objects, Constantine incapacitates him and uses his firearm to damage a vehicle and kidnap Oliver.

In the present, Lance goes to the Lair and learns about the situation with Sara. He gives Oliver the device Darhk gave him. Felicity reveals it houses a virus that will target and erase select documents. Oliver doesn't want Lance to break into a government structure all alone and sends him to work with Diggle, who is unsettled about working for H.I.V.E., the organization which murdered Andy. He decides to use Lance to bring down Darhk.

At home that night, Oliver and Felicity talk about Sara's return and attempt to make sense of why she had focused on the Big Belly Burger employee and clubber, when she had previously just killed criminals. After bringing up the pair's profiles, the two realize that the women resemble Thea, who had killed Sara. Oliver attempts to call his sister to warn her.

Thea is relaxing at Laurel's apartment and declines Oliver's call, believing he wants to again scold her for bringing Sara back. Suddenly, Sara breaks down the apartment door and assaults Thea while talking in Arabic, smashing her into various objects. Thea manages to push Sara back by cutting her with a piece of glass and runs out of the apartment into the stairwell. After reaching the bottom floor, Thea loses consciousness and Sara escapes.

At the hospital, Thea reveals to Oliver and Felicity that Sara's experiencing a bloodlust similar to hers, which will only go away if she kills the person who killed her. Thea explains her bloodlust is temporarily suppressed because Malcolm had her kill two assailants in Nanda Parbat. Laurel comes in to check on Thea and Oliver accompanies her out to talk. He's irate that Merlyn had Thea kill two people and Laurel didn't tell him about her visit to Nanda Parbat. Laurel counters that Oliver didn't inform her concerning Thea until he completely needed to, on the grounds that he doesn't consider her to be an equal. Laurel agrees that Sara's current state is in view of a choice she made and is heartbroken about what has befallen Thea, because she has always cherished the Queens. Laurel just wishes Oliver would think about her family as well.

Back on Lian Yu, Oliver drives Constantine to a clearing in the wilderness. Constantine says there are things on the island that terrible people shouldn't approach, although he's on the heavenly attendants. Constantine pulls up certain plants, twigs, and Earth before casting a spell, perplexing Oliver. The spell uncovers a secret passageway in the ground, and Constantine sends Oliver down a stepping stool in front of him.

At the government facility, Diggle and Lance attach the USB and see it is erasing records on people, but they don't know who.

In the hospital, Laurel apologizes to Thea, who reiterates that Sara needs to kill her because she's the person who killed Sara. Thea considers letting Sara do so, but Laurel states that hurting her to heal Sara is not an option.

At the government facility, Diggle sees that Andy's records are one of the ones being erased. Despite Lance's warnings, he scrambles to stop the procedure, but an alert goes off and the security guards find them. Lance knocks Diggle out with his gun tells the guards that he's a cop who followed a hacker here, and orders them to call for backup. After they leave, Lance convinces Diggle to get out with him.

At the hospital, Sara sneaks into Thea's room, waking her up. Thea assures Sara it's okay if she needs to kill her. Sara begins strangling Thea and knocks over an IV stand, alerting Oliver and Laurel. Sara throws Thea at the two to stop them and jumps out the window.

Thea is discharged from the hospital. In the Bunker, Oliver notes how Sara "wasn't there" when he looked at her. He realizes the Pit didn't bring back her soul and she has a connection with Thea. Thea decides they can use that to find Sara.

On the island, Constantine clarifies that Lian Yu draws in dangerous people. He finds an inscription that translates to "just for the unadulterated of heart", so he handcuffs Oliver to a post and strolls in. Oliver un-cuffs himself and follows Constantine in. As Constantine retrieves an ancient artifact, the Orb of Horus, Oliver saves him from a trap he sprung, revealing he's not one of Reiter's men.

Lance meets with Darhk to confirm he succeeded in his mission and asks about Andy Diggle. Darhk reveals that H.I.V.E. employed a professional killer to take out Andy because he was a rival for H.I.V.E. in Afghanistan - a drug dealer.

At a closed down Verdant, Thea uses herself as bait to lure out Sara and the rest of Team Arrow is standing ready. Sara crashes through a window and assaults Thea, but after a short battle with the group, Oliver uses a sedative arrow on her. Laurel decides to shoot Sara, realizing that there's nothing of her sister left, but Oliver stops her and instead calls Constantine for help.

Constantine joins Team Arrow in the Bunker and deduces that Sara needs a restitution, a reclamation of her soul. He gives Felicity a list of items he needs and assures the group he's done this before; Constantine claims that if things turn out badly, "we'll all be too dead to even consider caring". When Lance arrives, Constantine reveals he can only take himself and two other individuals to retrieve Sara's soul. Oliver and Laurel volunteer, and Constantine warns them that it will be difficult. He then lights a fire in the bowl Felicity gave him, chants a spell, and the Bunker begins to shake as the three of them wind up on "the opposite side".

Constantine, Oliver, and Laurel find themselves in a visage of Nanda Parbat. Constantine manages to track down Sara, who is trapped in the Lazarus Pit, shouting for Laurel's help. Constantine orders Oliver and Laurel to get Sara out while he battles whatever comes to monitor the entryways. Oliver takes out two League of Assassins apparitions with his bow while Constantine engages in a sword duel with another. Laurel has trouble pulling Sara away from the souls holding her in the Pit. Constantine wins by using the correct spell (after attempting a couple) to immobilize the spirit and kill him. Oliver and Laurel work together to save Sara from the Pit.

The group returns to awareness in the real world. As the trio recover from their trip, Sara awakens as herself. The Lance family tearfully embrace one another while Team Arrow and Constantine watch on in relief and joy.

Oliver thanks Constantine and admits he owes him one. Constantine assures they're even now, but Oliver insists that he'll be there if Constantine needs his help again. Constantine asks about the sinister presence he's sensing in the city, and Oliver suggests it's Damien Darhk. Constantine becomes concerned and advises Oliver to watch himself. When Oliver asks for his help, Constantine advises him to leave the city. After he leaves, Thea expresses her attraction to Constantine, much to Oliver's annoyance. When she brings up Nanda Parbat, Oliver apologizes for getting angry with her, admitting he doesn't have any right to be upset with his sister for keeping Sara's resurrection from him after he kept Thea's bloodlust from her. The siblings hug and reconcile.

In a flashback, Constantine tells Oliver he owes him one and offers to take him home, having a boat on shore, reiterating that Slam isn't what Reiter is really after on Lian Yu. However, Oliver wants to finish his mission. He reveals Conklin suspects him a lot as of now so he can't return with nothing. Constantine severs the Orb of Horus from the artifact, since the genuine power is in the "grimoire" - a spell book engraved on the staff - and he knows Reiter will only be pulled in by the shiny part. Constantine uses the staff to transfer a tattoo from his arm to Oliver's stomach, which will help him in the future. At Oliver's suggestion, Constantine punches him out to make his escape look convincing.

In the present, Oliver prepares to announce his candidacy for mayor. He invites Laurel despite Alex's protests. Oliver declares that he won't separate himself from Laurel, as potential political scandals aren't as important as his goals for the city. Alex gives in, knowing he'll get paid in any case. Thea is happy with Oliver's choice. Laurel explains that Sara is resting and thanks Oliver for saving her sister's soul. She apologizes for her words from the hospital, to which Oliver admits that he hasn't really been a good friend to her lately. He promises to be better and the two embrace. Oliver then makes his speech as his friends and employees watch with approval.

Lance arrives at Diggle's apartment, bringing a printed version of an ordered record on Andy. He tells Diggle, "You don't have to read this. You can remember your brother how you knew him." He gives the papers to Diggle, who's discouraged, yet satisfied, to know the truth about Andy.

Felicity visits Palmer Tech, finding Curtis has consumed many energy drinks in the process of decrypting Ray's message. It reveals that Ray was testing his suit's nanotechnology and is in fact alive, as well as in danger.

Cast

Main cast

• Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
• Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance/Black Canary
• David Ramsey as John Diggle
• Willa Holland as Thea Queen/Speedy
• Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
• John Barrowman (credit only)
• Paul Blackthorne as Captain Quentin Lance

Special appearance by

• Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk

Special guest star

• Matt Ryan as John Constantine
• Caity Lotz as Sara Lance
• Brandon Routh as Dr. Ray Palmer (voice)

Guest starring

• Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt
• Jimmy Akingbola as Baron Reiter
• Ryan Robbins as Conklin
• Parker Young as Alex Davis

Co-starring

• Gina Brinkman as Scared Girl
• Crystal Mudry as Waitress
• Jason Wingham as Thug
• Winson Won as Security Guard

Production

• Preparation ran from August 6 until August 14, 2015. Filming ran from August 17 until August 27, 2015.
• Though the fifth episode of Season 4, it was the fourth episode produced.

Trivia

• John Constantine won't appear again until DC's Legends of Tomorrow's "Beebo the God of War", which aired 2 years after this episode.
• Pertaining to Oliver, Alex compares Sara's death on the Queen's Gambit to Chappaquiddick; in 1969, Ted Kennedy caused a car crash on Chappaquiddick Island which killed his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. The scandal permanently hindered Kennedy's presidential ambitions.
• In a flashback, John calls Oliver "Alice" and tells him to go down the rabbit hole, referencing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
  • This could also be also a reference to Mad Hatter, a frequent Batman villain.
• John mentions having performed a restitution once "maybe a year ago", a possible reference to returning Marcello Panneti's soul to his body in "Rage of Caliban".
• When Felicity catches Curtis on his way to the gym, he's wearing a jacket that reads "Fair Play" on his right arm. This was the endorsement of Terry Sloane, the first person to become the superhero Mister Terrific, whose hero costume included this slogan on the torso.
  • This also foreshadows Curtis becoming Mister Terrific in Season 5 like his comics counterpart.
• When Sara's soul is pulled out of the Lazarus Pit by Oliver and Laurel, she is wearing a white negligee, which foreshadows her becoming the White Canary.
• The title is a subtle nod to the cancellation of the Constantine, being named after Warren Ellis' 1999 storyline Haunted from the Hellblazer (#134-139) series for John Constantine; Ellis left the book that year after DC Comics refused to publish his single-issue story Shoot for Hellblazer about high school shootings, following the Columbine High School massacre. Shoot was finally published in 2010 in Vertigo Resurrected: Hellblazer - Shoot #1.
• This is the third episode of the series to feature a member of Team Arrow, in this case Sara Lance, as an antagonist (although this was due to the fact that she didn't have her soul), after Roy Harper in "Seeing Red" and Oliver Queen in "Al Sah-him".

Behind the scenes

• On November 1, 2015, a rough cut of the episode was leaked on to the internet.
• The scene in which John Constantine uses a dead peacock's feather to scratch an itch on his back is a reference to Constantine's former network NBC; their logo is a rainbow peacock.
• Constantine had already been cancelled and was out of production by the time of this episode.