Season 2 (Arrow)

Season 2
Information
Original network	The CW
Original run	October 9, 2013 – May 14, 2014
Time slot	Wednesdays at 8:00 pm
Number of episodes	23
Chronology
Preceded by	Season 1
Followed by	Season 3

"You helped turn me into a killer when I needed to be one. And I'm alive today because of you. I made it home because of you. And I got to see my family again. But over the past year, I needed to be more... but I faltered. But then I stopped you. Without killing. You helped me become a hero, Slade. Thank you."

—Oliver Queen to Slade Wilson^[src]

The second season of Arrow premiered on October 9, 2013 on The CW and concluded on May 14, 2014. The season consisted of 23 episodes.

Synopsis

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. He returned home to Starling City, bent on righting the wrongs of his family and fighting injustice. To do this, he creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – and allies himself with former military man John Diggle and computer science expert Felicity Smoak, while keeping his secret from those closest to him.[src]

Cast

Main cast

• Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/The Arrow
• 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
• Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke
• Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen
• Paul Blackthorne as Officer/Detective Quentin Lance

Recurring cast

• John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer
• Kelly Hu as Chien Na Wei/China White
• Jessica De Gouw as Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress
• Colin Salmon as Walter Steele
• Roger Cross as Lucas Hilton
• Annie Ilonzeh as Joanna de la Vega
• Celina Jade as Shado
• Alex Kingston as Dinah Lance
• Jeffrey Nordling as Frank Bertinelli
• Adrian Holmes as Frank Pike
• Summer Glau as Isabel Rochev/Ravager
• Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood/Brother Blood
• Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/The Canary
• Dylan Bruce as Adam Donner
• Teryl Rothery as Jean Loring
• Bex Taylor-Klaus as Cindy "Sin" Simone
• Jimmy Jean-Louis as The Captain
• Jesse Hutch as Daily
• Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels/Harbinger
• Dylan Neal as Anthony Ivo
• Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller/Mockingbird
• Chelah Horsdal as Kate Spencer
• Nicholas Lea as Mark Francis
• Sean Rogerson as Peter
• Artine Brown as Hendrick Von Arnim

Episodes

#	Episode name	Directed by	Story by	Teleplay by	Original airdate
1	"City of Heroes"	John Behring	Greg Berlanti	Andrew Kreisberg & Marc Guggenheim	October 9, 2013
Diggle and Felicity travel to Lian Yu in search of Oliver, who left Starling City after The Undertaking. Convinced to return home, Oliver finds that things are in worse shape than he thought – Isabel Rochev is preparing a hostile takeover of Queen Consolidated, Thea refuses to visit Moira in jail, Roy is trying to fill the void left by The Hood's absence, and Laurel is working with the District Attorney's office to take down the vigilante. Meanwhile, flashbacks to the island show Slade, Shado and Oliver in a desperate situation.
2	"Identity"	Nick Copus	Ben Sokolowski & Beth Schwartz		October 16, 2013
Oliver finds out that the medicine sent to Glades Memorial is being hijacked by thieves. Without an influx of supplies, the hospital will close. Roy attempts to stop the thieves, but he fails and is arrested by Officer Lance. Oliver gets into a heated battle with China White and her new partner, Ben Turner, AKA the Bronze Tiger, over the supplies. Meanwhile, Laurel makes plans to catch The Hood, and Thea gives Roy an ultimatum.
3	"Broken Dolls"	Glen Winter	Marc Guggenheim & Keto Shimizu		October 23, 2013
Quentin Lance learns a criminal named Barton Mathis, whom he put away years ago, broke out of prison during the quake and is back to torturing and murdering women. Felicity offers herself as bait so The Arrow, Diggle and Quentin can catch this villain, but the plan goes awry. Furious, Mathis kidnaps Laurel in retaliation and plans to murder her while Quentin watches. Meanwhile, Thea and Oliver are stunned when District Attorney Adam Donner seeks the death penalty for Moira. The Arrow asks Roy to help him find The Canary.
4	"Crucible"	Eagle Egilsson	Andrew Kreisberg & Wendy Mericle		October 30, 2013
Oliver discovers a man who goes by the name "The Mayor" is bringing illegal guns into the Glades, so Oliver sponsors a "Cash for Guns" event to help clean up the city. Unfortunately, The Mayor crashes the event with his gang and seriously injures Sin. The Canary is furious when she learns her friend is in the hospital and sets out for revenge. Meanwhile, Felicity stuns Oliver with a bit of information about the Canary, Donner asks Laurel to dinner, and Diggle reconnects with an old friend.
5	"League of Assassins"	Wendey Stanzler	Jake Coburn & Drew Z. Greenberg		November 6, 2013
While Oliver tends to Sara's wounds, he tries to get her to talk about where she came from but she refuses. However, after Oliver and Sara are attacked at the Queen mansion by a trained killer from the League of Assassins, she confesses to how she's connected with the nefarious group. Meanwhile, with Moira facing multiple counts of murder and conspiracy for her part in the destruction of The Glades, the Assistant District Attorney offers her a choice – plead guilty now and avoid the death penalty or take your chances in court. Thea begs her mother to fight for her life, but Moira seems resolute about taking the offer. Meanwhile, Oliver is furious with Laurel for joining the prosecution's team on his mother's case.
6	"Keep Your Enemies Closer"	Guy Bee	Ben Sokolowski & Beth Schwartz		November 13, 2013
Amanda Waller sends A.R.G.U.S. agents to kidnap Diggle. Waller informs Diggle that Lyla has gone missing after following a lead on Deadshot in Moscow. When Diggle tells the team he's headed to Russia to rescue Lyla, Oliver and Felicity decide to join, but things get messy when Isabel shows up on the tarmac and insists on participating in Oliver's "work trip". Meanwhile, Moira's lawyer, Jean, tells Thea that dating Roy, a known criminal, is hurting her mother's case.
7	"State v. Queen"	Bethany Rooney	Marc Guggenheim & Drew Z. Greenberg		November 20, 2013
Oliver is concerned when a mysterious illness sweeps the city, infecting hundreds of people, including Diggle. Oliver discovers Vertigo in Diggle's blood and realizes The Count has broken out of prison and is once again distributing his drug. Meanwhile, Moira goes on trial for her participation in the Undertaking. ADA Adam Donner collapses in court with Vertigo symptoms, so Laurel must step in and try the case against Moira. Oliver is torn between standing by his family during the trial and catching Count Vertigo. However, things change when Felicity follows a lead and walks straight into a trap set by Count Vertigo.
8	"The Scientist"	Michael Schultz	Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg	Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns	December 4, 2013
A seemingly impossible robbery at Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences Division brings Central City police scientist Barry Allen to town. Citing a similar case back home, Barry offers to help Oliver and team with the investigation. Oliver senses there is more to Barry than meets the eye, but he's distracted by the similarities between this current case and something that happened on the island. Meanwhile, Felicity takes a liking to Barry, which doesn't go unnoticed by Oliver. Sin asks Roy for help when a friend of hers goes missing. Roy is surprised when Thea not only encourages him to help, but joins the search. Unfortunately, Sin's friend is connected to Brother Blood, and their search ultimately gets one of them seriously injured.
9	"Three Ghosts"	John Behring	Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg	Geoff Johns & Ben Sokolowski	December 11, 2013
After a fight with Cyrus Gold AKA the Acolyte, Oliver is drugged and left for dead. Determined to cure him, Felicity makes a risky decision. The cure causes Oliver to hallucinate, and what he sees forces him to confront his past. Meanwhile, Barry continues to help Felicity, and their connection grows stronger. The Arrow asks Quentin to look into Cyrus, but when the stakeout on Cyrus goes bad, someone is killed. Roy is captured and tortured by Brother Blood.
10	"Blast Radius"	Rob Hardy	Jake Coburn & Keto Shimizu		January 15, 2014
Oliver must tackle a new threat to the city when bombs start to go off in Starling City. Felicity discovers the person setting them off is Mark Scheffer, a man who goes by the nickname Shrapnel. The Arrow discovers Shrapnel's next target is Sebastian Blood's "Unity Rally" and tries to talk the alderman out of hosting it, but he refuses. The Arrow sets off to stop the bombing, but Shrapnel tricks him and traps him in a bomb-laced antique store, where he is unable to move without setting off the device. While Felicity helps Oliver, Diggle races to the plaza to find the bomb before it goes off. Meanwhile, Roy continues to hide his new strength from Thea, but after she witnesses his super strength in action at the rally, she demands answers. Laurel's suspicions about Sebastian grow stronger once she learns that he grew up with Cyrus Gold, the man who killed Quentin's partner. After Donner refuses to help her investigate, she turns to the Arrow for help.
11	"Blind Spot"	Glen Winter	Wendy Mericle & Beth Schwartz		22, 2014
Oliver is conflicted after Laurel reaches out to the Arrow, asking him to investigate Sebastian Blood. Oliver is unsure whether to believe her accusations against the man he has publicly supported for mayor, but decides to trust Laurel. However, when the pair gets too close to the truth, Sebastian exposes Laurel's drug addiction and has her arrested. Meanwhile, Roy reveals his new super-strength to Sin, who wants to test out his abilities. Unfortunately, Roy isn't able to contain his rage once unleashed and almost kills a man. Back on the island, Oliver is surprised when Sara reveals a secret about Laurel.
12	"Tremors"	Guy Bee	Marc Guggenheim & Drew Z. Greenberg		January 29, 2014
The Arrow offers to train Roy so he can learn to control his enhanced strength. However, Roy is a rebellious student and refuses to listen unless The Arrow reveals his true identity, which Oliver declines to do. Meanwhile, Bronze Tiger escapes from prison and steals the Markov Device to sell to the highest bidder. Oliver, Diggle and Felicity attempt to stop the transfer, but Roy gets in the way, putting everyone in danger. Laurel is disbarred and spirals out of control. Moira is thrilled when Walter asks her to dinner, but his reason surprises her. Thea encourages her mother to ask Walter to reconcile.
13	"Heir to the Demon"	Wendey Stanzler	Jake Coburn		February 5, 2014
As Laurel continues to unravel, Oliver and Quentin try to convince Sara to stay in Starling City and finally reunite with Laurel and Dinah. However, Sara's fellow League of Assassins member, Nyssa, comes to bring Sara back to the fold, but when Sara refuses, Nyssa kidnaps Dinah. Realizing she's putting her family in danger by staying in town, Sara considers re-joining the League.
14	"Time of Death"	Nick Copus	Wendy Mericle & Beth Schwartz		February 26, 2014
Oliver brings Sara into Team Arrow. Watching Oliver and Diggle spar with Sara and talk old scars, Felicity starts to feel left out. The team is investigating a villain named William Tockman, a.k.a. The Clock King, who is a brilliant thief armed with technology that can open any bank vault in Starling City. After The Clock King infiltrates the computer systems in the lair, Felicity feels pressure to prove her worth. When she gets a lead on Tockman's whereabouts, she heads out without the team, putting herself in peril. Meanwhile, Oliver throws Sara a welcome home party, but Laurel refuses to attend. After Quentin makes his case for a family dinner, Laurel acquiesces, but when Oliver shows up with Sara, she loses her temper on both of them.
15	"The Promise"	Glen Winter	Jake Coburn & Ben Sokolowski		March 5, 2014
Oliver is shocked when he learns that Slade has come to Starling City. Back on the island, as Oliver, Slade and Sara prepare to take over the freighter from Ivo, Sara pulls Oliver aside and tells him he needs to kill Ivo to prevent him from telling Slade what happened with Shado. Oliver feels immense guilt over the situation but realizes Slade's growing rage from the Mirakuru makes him unpredictable, and he could turn on his friends if he thinks Oliver is to blame. Oliver agrees to kill Ivo and the battle begins.
16	"Suicide Squad"	Larry Teng	Keto Shimizu & Bryan Q. Miller		March 19, 2014
While Oliver prepares for battle with Slade, Lyla asks Diggle to go on a mission alongside the Suicide Squad, a team assembled by Amanda Waller to undertake high-risk missions, even though the team includes Diggle's nemesis, Deadshot, and old enemies Bronze Tiger and Shrapnel.
17	"Birds of Prey"	John Behring	Mark Bemesderfer & A.C. Bradley		March 26, 2014
When Frank Bertinelli is arrested, Oliver knows it's only a matter of time before his daughter, Helena, AKA The Huntress, returns to town. To make matters worse, Laurel is picked to try Frank's case, putting her right in the path of Helena. Oliver tells Sara he will handle his ex-girlfriend, but when Helena takes hostages at the courthouse, including Laurel, the Canary will stop at nothing to save her sister. When The Huntress and Canary meet, an epic battle begins. Meanwhile, Roy realizes he needs to keep Thea safe, but doesn't like the way he is forced to go about it.
18	"Deathstroke"	Guy Bee	Marc Guggenheim & Drew Z. Greenberg		April 2, 2014
Slade makes his move against Oliver and the repercussions are enormous. While Oliver scrambles to protect his family, a key player in his team starts to question Oliver's decisions. Meanwhile, Isabel makes her move to take Queen Consolidated away from Oliver.
19	"The Man Under the Hood"	Jesse Warn	Greg Berlanti & Geoff Johns	Andrew Kreisberg & Keto Shimizu	April 16, 2014
Oliver, Sara, Diggle and Felicity return to the lair and find Slade waiting for them. An epic battle breaks out and one member of Team Arrow is sent to the hospital. Thea hits her breaking point, but just as Oliver is about to reach her, Slade intervenes and Oliver is faced with a choice – his battle with Slade or his family. Meanwhile, Laurel struggles with a new secret.
20	"Seeing Red"	Doug Aarniokoski	Wendy Mericle & Beth Schwartz		April 23, 2014
The Mirakuru sends Roy into an uncontrollable rage and he unleashes on the city. After Roy's deadly fight with a police officer, Oliver realizes the Mirakuru has taken over Roy completely and must figure out a way to stop him. Things get more complicated after Sara declares that Roy is too far gone and the only way to stop him is to kill him. Meanwhile, Thea believes she can break through to Roy, so she goes on camera at Moira's campaign rally to lure him to Verdant. Her ploy works but after Roy attacks Thea, Team Arrow unleashes on him.
21	"City of Blood"	Michael Schultz	Holly Harold		April 30, 2014
After Slade threatens to take everything Oliver loves away, Oliver decides the fastest way to stop further bloodshed is to surrender to his enemy. Knowing that surrender will surely lead to Oliver's death, Diggle and Felicity go to extreme measures to keep Oliver from confronting Slade. Meanwhile, Thea considers leaving town, and Laurel resumes her crusade against Sebastian Blood. Finally, Slade unleashes his assault on Starling City.
22	"Streets of Fire"	Nick Copus	Jake Coburn & Ben Sokolowski		May 7, 2014
Oliver rallies his team as Slade's soldiers attack the city. Felicity gets a call from S.T.A.R. Labs with game-changing news and Thea comes face-to-face with her father – Malcolm Merlyn.
23	"Unthinkable"	John Behring	Greg Berlanti	Marc Guggenheim & Andrew Kreisberg	May 14, 2014
Slade moves forward with his plan to kill one more person in Oliver's life. While Oliver has fought all year to be more than the killer he once was, when Slade kidnaps someone close to Oliver's heart, Oliver is pushed to the edge and realizes sometimes it takes doing the unthinkable to stop the monster. Meanwhile, Diggle takes on Amanda Waller with a little help from some friends, and Thea turns to Roy in her time of need.

Home media release

Main article: Arrow: The Complete Second Season

A boxset of the second season, titled Arrow: The Complete Second Season, was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 16, 2014. It contains additional features, deleted scenes, gag reel and the Arrow panel from the San Diego Comic-Con International 2013.

DVD boxset

Blu-ray boxset

Tie-in novel

A novel titled Arrow: Vengeance was released on February 23, 2016. The events of the novel takes place before the events of Arrow and later Arrow season 2. It tells the story from the perspectives of Slade Wilson, Isabel Rochev, and Sebastian Blood.

Trivia

• Prior to the season premiere, "City of Heroes", The CW aired a TV special to promote this season, titled Year One.
• This is the second season to have a main character killed off.
• This is the last season in which the main antagonist is not killed until Season 6.
• John Barrowman was also credited as a special guest star in "State v. Queen".
• Season 2 marks Emily Bett Rickards and Colton Haynes' first, as well as Susanna Thompson's last and Manu Bennett's only season as a series regular.
• Season 2 is the only season of Arrow that has two episodes ("The Promise" and "Streets of Fire") named after songs by Bruce Springsteen.
  • Season 8 would have been the second, but according to Marc Guggenheim, the latter episode's original title "Livin' In the Future" was changed at the request of Warner Bros due to the inclusion of the backdoor pilot for the proposed Green Arrow and the Canaries spin-off.

Gallery

Title cards

Title card

Promotional images

Promotional poster

Promotional poster for "Unthinkable".