Home Invasion

"What happened to you on that island?"

—Mr Blank before he tries to kill Oliver

"Home Invasion"
Information
Season 1 » Episode 20
Episode number	20 of 170
Original airdate	April 24, 2013
Written by	Ben Sokolowski Beth Schwartz
Directed by	Ken Fink
Guest stars
Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson Byron Mann as Yao Fei Gulong Celina Jade as Shado Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels J. August Richards as Mr. Blank Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak Michael Rowe as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot Al Sapienza as Edward Rasmus Colton Haynes as Roy Harper
Chronology
Preceded by	"Unfinished Business"
Followed by	"The Undertaking"

"Home Invasion" is the twentieth episode of the first season of Arrow, and the twentieth episode overall. It aired on April 24, 2013.

Synopsis

Oliver, John, and Felicity learn that a sting operation is underway to capture Deadshot alive. John is determined to see his brother’s killer dead, with or without Oliver's help. Meanwhile, Laurel takes drastic steps to protect a young witness, exacerbating friction between Tommy and Oliver. Later, Roy unconventionally pursues all leads to find his new hero, but runs afoul of Detective Lance. Back on the island, Oliver recalls how Shado helped him incrementally gain confidence with a bow and hit the target for the first time.^{[citation needed]}

Plot

Laurel represents the Moore family, who are suing a corrupt businessman, Edward Rasmus, who cheated the family out of their life savings. A hit is put out on the family, and the couple's young child, Taylor, is the only one to survive.

Laurel takes the boy into her custody until his extended family can be reached, but the hitman comes after Taylor, who can identify him. Laurel is saved by the Hood, and Tommy suggests that they all go to Oliver's for protection while the police look for the hitman.

A sting operation headed up by A.R.G.U.S. is set to capture Deadshot, who returns to Starling City after taking down a US Ambassador and six others overseas. Oliver agrees to help Diggle, but chooses to locate the man responsible for hiring the hitman instead of stopping Deadshot. Feeling betrayed by Oliver for choosing Laurel over him, John decides to leave the team. After killing his client, the hitman comes to the Queen residence to kill all remaining witnesses, but Oliver manages to kill him before he can get to Laurel and Taylor. Afterward, Tommy decides to leave Laurel, believing that he could never compete with Oliver should she ever discover that he is the vigilante.

Elsewhere, Roy continues his search for the Hood, and Thea agrees to help after seeing how important it is to him.

During a flashback to the island, Shado teaches Oliver to shoot a bow but before his skills can be used as their cover, Yao Fei Gulong brings Fyers' men to their hideout to capture them all.

Production

Preparation ran from February 22 until March 4, 2013. Filming ran from March 5 until March 14, 2013.

Trivia

• The name "Edward Rasmus" is a possible reference to the Renaissance Humanist philosopher Erasmus.
• When Roy and Thea have the discussion about searching for the Vigilante, a question mark could be seen on the stairs, a nod to the Batman villain, The Riddler. This could also be a nod to the vigilante The Question.
• The title refers to Mr. Blank invading Laurel's apartment, and the Queen Mansion as he was ordered by Rasmus to target Taylor whose parents were already killed by Blank.
• J. August Richards and Paul Blackthorne appeared on Warehouse 13.
• Stephen Amell, Audrey Marie Anderson, J. August Richards and Al Sapienza previously appeared in the CSI franchise.
• David Ramsey and Al Sapienza both appeared on Charmed and Blue Bloods.
• This episode is not the only Arrowverse appearance from Al Sapienza. He went on to play Fred Chyre in the series premiere of The Flash.