Shado

Shado
Biological Information
Status	Deceased
General Information
Occupation	Lawyer
Family	Yao Fei Gulong (father; deceased) Mei (sister)
Actor	Celina Jade

"Everyone has a demon inside of them. The "dao de jing" recognizes the yin and the yang, opposing forces inside all of us. The darkness and the light. The killer and the hero."

—Shado to Oliver Queen^[src]

Shado (died 2008) was a former prisoner of Edward Fyers on Lian Yu and a pre med student. She was also the daughter of the late Yao Fei Gulong, the twin sister of Mei, and was one of the former mentors and the lover of Oliver Queen, as well as a good friend of Sara Lance and Slade Wilson, the latter of whom considered her the object of his affection. She had a tattoo of a dragon on the top left of her back, sharing this with Oliver. She was used as leverage by Edward towards Yao Fei in order to make him join his cause until Oliver and Slade rescued her. She was the one who taught Oliver archery. Shado was killed by Dr. Anthony Ivo on a quest to save Slade's life; her death is one of the factors in Slade's vendetta mission against Oliver.

Biography

Early life

Shado was the daughter of the former general of People's Liberation Army of China, Yao Fei Gulong. She also had a twin sister named Mei. During her childhood, her father taught her how to fight and defend herself. Shado told Slade that the reason her father taught her was because he had wanted a son, which led to Slade retorting "He got one". As she reached adulthood, she became a lawyer while retaining her skills in martial arts that she had trained in during childhood, honing them further.

After her father went missing, Shado spent many years looking for him until some men came to her house claiming that they had information about her father's whereabouts. She was caught off-guard as the men were actually employed by Edward Fyers' employer, Amanda Waller and was brought to the island where her father was located, being used as Edward's prisoner and leverage against her father. After her disappearance Mei begun looking for them both with no luck.

Shado was being kept alive by Edward as leverage against Yao Fei. Fyers rewarded Yao Fei for remaining loyal and let him see her for 5 minutes.

She was used again by Edward to threaten Oliver and Slade into giving him the guidance chips. The meeting broke into a fire fight, and Shado managed to free herself, taking down several of her captors and quickly dispatching Edward. As they made their escape, Yao Fei was shot in the leg. He then volunteered to stay behind and cover their escape. She joined Oliver and Slade's group.

She started training Oliver to use her father's bow by making him hit the water inside the bowl with his palms repeatedly. Afterwards, she began to train Oliver in archery. Oliver made numerous attempts in shooting his target but each attempt ended in failure. In the course of their training together, she and Oliver shared a kiss, though Oliver stopped and mentioned that there was someone (Laurel Lance) waiting for him back home. Back at their base, Yao Fei revealed himself after having been presumed to be captured by Edward again. However, several of Edward's men burst in afterwards with Yao Fei claiming that he led them to their base. Oliver, Slade and Shado were recaptured.

Shado, Oliver, and Slade were brought before Edward. After Yao Fei started to disobey Edward's commands, he proceeded to shoot Slade in the leg, punch Oliver on the face, and shoot Shado in the shoulder to force Yao Fei to follow his orders. After recording the footage of Yao Fei taking the blame for being the man who led the Ferris Air bombing, Edward shot Yao Fei in the head, killing him and leaving Shado in despair.

Oliver managed to free himself using the knife given to him by Yao Fei and attacked Edward, proceeding to free Slade and Shado. After taking down several soldiers, Shado and Oliver made their way towards the missile launcher in order to stop it from hitting the plane. Shado managed to find the control panel only to be distracted by a soldier. Both leaped out of the missile launcher, leaving Oliver to dismantle the missile's guidance device. He was successful in diverting the missile, but it landed on Edward's base of operations and destroyed it. In the aftermath of the destruction, she was recaptured by a supposedly deceased Fyers who used her as a bargaining chip for Oliver's freedom. With his bow notched with an arrow pointing directly at Edward, Shado gave him an assuring nod and Oliver fired, hitting Fyers in the neck and killing him for good.

Shado starts wearing her father's hood as a way to honor him. Five months after Fyers's death, she and Oliver have an intimate relationship. They split up when going to look for intruders that their proximity device did not detect, where Shado was quickly taken captive. She was later rescued by Oliver and Slade, but not before seeing Oliver pummel the leader of the group with a rock. After the event, the three realized that they were no longer alone on the island.

Slade convinced her that she needed to talk to Oliver after he appeared to be suffering severely from the guilt of killing the mercenary. She talked to him alone, trying to comfort him and referring to some eastern philosophy to help him overcome his guilt. They kissed passionately and promptly made love by the river. Slade spotted them in the river, calling them back to continue following the track. The three of them used the map and images, leading them to find a small cave with the corpses of Japanese soldiers from World War II.

Shado investigated the corpses while Slade and Oliver got to higher ground for a vantage point. When Oliver and Slade finally got a view, they saw a ship firing towards their shelter and rushed back to save Shado. While the two were running towards the plane, they saw that it was still under-fire and in flames. The explosions eventually knocked them unconscious.

Oliver was captured by the people who attacked them, but Shado and Slade remained in the remains of the base, where Shado was tending to the facial burns that Slade had endured due to the bombing. She was happy to hear Oliver communicating through radio and had a heart-to-heart conversation with Slade, holding onto him to help cool him down due to the fever he was fighting.

Later, Shado and Slade were under attack by Anthony Ivo and the crew of the Amazo after they held Oliver at gunpoint, with him yelling for them to run. She then disarmed the bomb they had tossed into the plane. When they were about to execute Oliver after he had refused to tell them where they fled, Shado and Slade got the jump on them and told them to release Oliver or they would kill them. Ivo agreed but Oliver punched The Captain in the face, grabbing his friend Sara Lance and running away with his friends. Though the crew were in pursuit, Shado had armed the bomb and let it detonate on them. Once they had reached cover, Shado revealed that she had the hōzen due to the Buddhist inscription on the one side which reminded her of her father, discovering the other set of coordinates to a World War II Japanese submarine that housed something capable of saving the human race. Oliver asked if the cure could save Slade who was feeling the pain of his injuries.

Shado was heartbroken when she discovered who Oliver really was before the island, as he was on the Gambit with Sara and had Laurel back in Starling City waiting for him and she questioned who Sara was to him. They arrived on the submarine and went with Oliver and Sara to find Mirakuru that could help Slade, who was dying quickly. Right before they injected him, Slade revealed that he had developed romantic feelings for her. Slade was soon injected by Oliver and screamed out in pain, blood coming out of his eyes and his pulse was gone. Shado was held by Oliver as she cried for their friend but their mourning was cut short as the crew of the Amazo and Ivo burst through the door and captured them at gunpoint.

After being captured, she was shot in the head by Ivo after Oliver jumped in front of Sara to protect her. Shortly after her death, Slade recovered and killed Ivo's men, finding Shado's body and vowing revenge on Ivo.

Shado was buried by Slade next to her father and Robert Queen's graves as Oliver hoped Shado was with Yao Fei. Shado's death began to cause aggression from Slade towards Oliver and Sara.

On the night before Oliver, Slade, and Sara attacked The Amazo, Oliver dreamed of Shado but it soon turned into a nightmare when she questioned him why didn't he save her instead of Sara, killing him in his dream.

Slade began hallucinating a vision of Shado on the island. However, she is more malevolent than Shado was in life, urging him to abandon Sara and Oliver on the island and pursue his vendetta by killing Oliver's family. The hallucination is shown to persist to the present day, when she is shown watching a meeting between Slade, Sebastian Blood, and Isabel Rochev.

Slade took Oliver's mother Moira and sister Thea hostage and set them up in the same situation that Ivo had Shado and Sara and claimed that Shado told him, pointing at her ghost. However, Oliver didn't see anyone, as she was in his head.

In the present day after Oliver discovers Slade to still be alive, he had nightmares of Shado again and his guilt re-emerges. Later when Oliver found Slade's office he also found there was a video of Shado in her younger years playing on a projector.

Shado reappears as a hallucination to Slade again telling him to avenge her by killing Oliver and Sara. She also appears as a hallucination to Oliver, warning him of a coming darkness and urging him to abandon his mission and live his life, or else everyone he loved would die.

Legacy

After the death of her father Yao Fei Gulong, Shado donned the green hood to honor her late father, it would remain in her possession until her death, before Slade passed it onto Oliver, Oliver donned the green hood to honor Shado and Yao Fei's memory.

Shado's death is one of the main reasons that causes Slade to turn against Oliver, his one-time friend. Due to his mind being twisted by the Mirakuru (when he discovers Oliver's shared role in Shado's death) despite the fact that Oliver was not completely responsible for Shado's death. After Slade turned against Oliver, he created his army that was responsible for the death of many Starling City citizens, including Anna Loring. Which means that Shado's death is (indirectly) responsible for the creation of the Atom.

A vision of Shado later appeared to Oliver when he returned to Lian Yu because of trauma he had taken at the hands of Baron Reiter. She helped him get through the darkness that he felt was lingering and to tell Taiana the truth about her brother, though Oliver questioned it, she reminded him that she helped keep him safe and nursed him back to health only for him to return the favor by lying to her. The vision later disappeared and a stone was left in Oliver's hand.

Personality

Shado was kind and mature for her age, often giving Oliver wisdom and guidance during his training with her. She did not refrain herself from hurting or killing anyone if the need arises, such as when she was rescued by Oliver Queen and Slade Wilson; she quickly took down several of her captors, including Fyers, and killed the soldier that was attacking Oliver by snapping his neck. Shado was incredibly caring for her friends as she risked her life more than once to save Oliver and Slade, not expecting to make it out herself.

Shado also developed an attraction to Oliver almost immediately after meeting him and despite knowing that Oliver was already in love with another woman, she and Oliver had an intimate relationship despite knowing it may end if they ever did get off the island. Her mentoring and her father's, as well as their friendship's and sacrifices, also had a deep impact on Oliver's life who wore the green hood as the Arrow to honor them both.

Unlike her twin sister Mei, Shado was naïve, as she trusted strangers too easily and was not wary around them; like when she spent many years looking for her father (after Yao Fei mysteriously disappeared) until some men came to her house claiming that they had information about her father's whereabouts, she was caught off-guard; as it resulted in her being taken hostage, as he was temporarily used as leverage by Edward Fyers, to get her father to cooperate with the latter, until she freed herself with help from Oliver and Slade.

Abilities

• Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Shado had proven to be a very skilled combatant. During her first escape, she took out several soldiers and easily disarmed and knocked out Edward. During her sparring session with Slade, she stated that Yao Fei taught her how to fight. Judging from that sparring session, she seems to be evenly matched with him. She mirrored her father's fighting style, which appears to be a blend of Wing Chun, Jujitsu, several Wushu styles and other unidentified forms in the mix.
• Master archer: Shado was a master archer, having been trained by her father. She starts training Oliver after he finds her, continuing to train him after her father's death. She was skilled enough to take out the thin branches of a tree without taking time to aim. Her skill may not be with the same caliber of Oliver's current abilities or her father's.
• Exceptional durability: In "Darkness on the Edge of Town", she was shot by Fyers in the shoulder, coercing Yao Fei to follow his orders. In "Sacrifice", after being freed by Oliver, she proceeded to take down several of Edward's henchmen as if she hadn't been injured.
• Bilingualism: As a native Chinese, Shado speaks Mandarin fluently, in addition to English.

Equipment

• Carbon fiber longbow: This carbon fiber longbow came into Shado's possession, after the death of her father Yao Fei Gulong. She was very proficient in using this weapon, her skill may not be with the same caliber of Oliver's current archery abilities or her father, it would remain in her possession until her death.
• Hunting arrows: Shado was very proficient in using arrows, combined with her father's Carbon Fiber Long Bow.
• Quiver: This quiver came into Shado's possession, after the death of her father Yao Fei. She used her quiver to carry her arrows, similar to Oliver's quiver, it would remain in her possession until her death.
• Green hood: This green hood came into Shado's possession, after the death of her father Yao Fei, she donned the green hood to honor her late father, it would remain in her possession until her death before Slade passed it onto Oliver.

Appearances

Arrow

Season 1 "The Odyssey" (flashbacks) "Salvation" (flashbacks) "Unfinished Business" (flashbacks) "Home Invasion" (flashbacks) "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (flashbacks) "Sacrifice" (flashbacks) Season 2 "City of Heroes" (flashbacks) "Identity" (flashbacks) "Broken Dolls" (flashbacks) "League of Assassins" (mentioned) "Keep Your Enemies Closer" (flashbacks) "State v. Queen" (flashbacks) "The Scientist" (flashbacks) "Three Ghosts" (flashbacks) "Blast Radius" (mentioned) "Blind Spot" (mentioned) "Tremors" (mentioned) "The Promise" (dream sequence) "Suicide Squad" (dream sequence and video recording) "Birds of Prey" (mentioned) "Deathstroke" (vision) "Seeing Red" (unseen) "City of Blood" (mentioned) "Streets of Fire" (mentioned) "Unthinkable" (vision) Season 3 "The Return" (grave on Lian Yu) "Public Enemy" (pictured) Season 4 "Haunted" (indirectly mentioned) "Unchained" (vision) "Sins of the Father" (indirectly mentioned) "Schism" (grave on Lian Yu) Season 5 "Checkmate" (mentioned) "Honor Thy Fathers" (grave on Lian Yu) "Missing" (flashbacks) "Lian Yu" (mentioned) Season 6 "Promises Kept" (hallucination)

Comics

Arrow

• "Shado of the Past"

Trivia

• Oliver wears the hood she wore to honor her memory and her father's.
• Both she and Laurel Lance have been directly influenced by their fathers to learn how to defend themselves, while ironically both have been romantically involved with Oliver. Also, they were both lawyers.
• She shares jumping takedown and neck breaking techniques with Oliver, implying that her teachings might have heavily inspired Oliver in his way of combat.
• Shado had an intimate relationship with Oliver while on the island.
• Shado was Oliver Queen's third mentor, after Yao Fei Gulong and Slade Wilson.
• Shado and Oliver had the same dragon tattoo. It is later revealed that Oliver has this tattoo because Slade branded it on him to forever remind him of his unintended role in Shado's death.
• In contrast to Slade's more pragmatic style of training, she appears to have a more philosophical approach towards training.
• She was pre-med before being abducted and coming to the island.
• Her philosophical style of training is also used by Oliver to train Roy Harper.
• Both Shado and her father were killed by being shot in the head.
• Shado and Yao Fei were buried next to each other at Robert Queen's grave site.

Behind the scenes

• In the DC comics, Shado is Japanese and is the daughter of a Yakuza agent sent to America prior to World War II with a large cache of gold that was needed to establish Yakuza operations in America.
• In the comics Shado was Oliver's lover and the mother of Oliver's son who was named Robert, after Oliver's father. In the New 52 however, Oliver's father Robert was her lover instead and she is instead the mother of Oliver's half-sister Emiko (who was originally based off of Thea as her introduction was around the end of Arrow's first season).
• Coincidentally, Celina Jade, the actress who portrays Shado, is also a martial artist and the daughter of a former American Kung Fu star, Roy Horan.