Streets of Fire

"I have failed this city. Yao Fei. Shado. Tommy. My father, my mother. All that I ever wanted to do is honor those people."

"You honor the dead by fighting and you're not done fighting! Malcolm Merlyn, The Count, the Clock King, the Triad... everyone who was trying to hurt this city, you stopped them. And you will stop Slade."
"I don't know how".
"Neither do I. But I do know two things: You are not alone. And I believe in you."

—Though Oliver is doubtful, Felicity urges him to keep fighting for Starling City

"Streets of Fire"
Information
Season 2 » Episode 22
Episode number	45 of 170
Original airdate	May 7, 2014
Written by	Jake Coburn Ben Sokolowski
Directed by	Nick Copus
Chronology
Preceded by	"City of Blood"
Followed by	"Unthinkable"

"Streets of Fire" is the twenty-second episode of the second season of Arrow, and the forty-fifth episode overall. It aired on May 7, 2014.

Synopsis

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.

Cast

Starring

• 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
• Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen (credit only)
• Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance

Guest starring

• Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood
• Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/The Canary
• Summer Glau as Isabel Rochev/Ravager
• Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller/Mockingbird
• Adrian Holmes as Frank Pike
• Chelah Horsdal as Kate Spencer
• John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer

Co-starring

• Keri Adams as Bethany Snow
• Victoria Bidewell as Young Mother
• Jennifer Cheon as Uniform
• Brian Jagersky as Cop
• Kam Kozak as Miraku Soldier
• Ash Lee as Staffer #1
• Daniel Martin as Staffer #2
• David Nykl as Anatoly Knyazev
• Adrian Petriw as Driver
• Garfield Wilson as Ripped

Plot

Oliver and Laurel are trapped beneath rubble due to the ceiling collapse he caused in the last episode. They are separated, Laurel with Oliver's bow and arrows. Laurel uses one of his explosive arrows to break out of the debris.

Diggle and Isabel fight, with her clearly having the upper hand. However, Felicity shows up, and hits Isabel with a van so that Diggle is able to escape. Isabel however isn't dead as Isabel gets up. Felicity then begins to drive away.

Quentin continues to fight one of Slade's men back at the police station, where a number of officers have been taken out. Quentin sets off three grenades, killing him.

Sebastian Blood is trying to convince the people of Starling, including Kate Spencer, to stay calm. He is very calm, because he "knows" that they will get through this and believes that Starling will be stronger in the aftermath.

Laurel is worried about shooting the arrow so Oliver talks her through what to do. Laurel and Oliver embrace, before they return above ground, where Slade's army is wreaking havoc.

Thea is trapped in the train station, and almost killed, but her father, Malcolm Merlyn, shows up to save her.

Laurel calls her dad and tells him that she is with the Arrow. He wants her off the streets. They then meet up with Felicity and Dig. Felicity tells Oliver that the people at S.T.A.R. Labs have found a cure for the Mirakuru. Laurel leaves for the police station, whilst Team Arrow head to find Felicity's friend. Slade dispatches a man to find and destroy the cure before Oliver can find it.

Finally trusting Lance, the police force pledges to help the Arrow stop Slade's men, and Quentin is re-promoted to detective to lead the other officers.

However the guy was in a car accident, when Felicity calls him. Laurel splits from Oliver as he heads to meet the courier and she heads to the precinct. However Slade, Sebastian, and Isabel happen to overhear the conversation.

Quentin and the alive men are trying to come up with a plan. His boss is skeptical on how to proceed and tells the men that the chief of police is dead. He then mentions calling the Arrow. His boss then makes him a detective again, allowing him to lead the men.

Laurel is almost ambushed by one of Slade's men, but is rescued by Sara, who returns as The Canary. Laurel admits that she knows its Sara and hugs her sister.

Sebastian Blood and Kate Spencer watch the news from his office, until it is wrecked by one of the men who took the Mirakuru. He orders the man to stop, but his orders are refused, and Kate Spencer is killed.

Oliver, Dig, and Felicity are driving around with Oliver thinking Thea was gone from town, when The Arrow gets a call from Quentin, inquiring if he needs any help. Oliver tells the detective that he needs the army contained. After they hang up, the van that they are in starts being followed by Slade's army, until one of them moves a car in front of it, causing a crash. They all survive, but are being surrounded by the men. Oliver kills two of them with an explosive arrow before carrying an unconscious Felicity away.

Thea runs from her father, who says that he is not there to hurt her. She lists the things that he has done, and he is apologetic, and explains that he is only worried for her safety. She wonders about how he is alive and he says he heard about Moira and wanted to see if she was okay. Thea tells him that he is not her father and that she wants nothing to do with him, but Malcolm persists in his efforts to make her safe.

Slade and Isabel watch the destruction of Starling from Queen Consolidated. He mentions wishing that Shado were there to see this, which confuses her. Sebastian walks in, furious that so many innocent people are dying. Slade reveals to Sebastian that he plans to destroy the entire city, people and all, in his quest for vengeance against Oliver.

Laurel and Sara find a police car, which is surrounded by dead bodies. Laurel asks where her sister went and Sara doesn't explain. When asked why she came back, Sara tells Laurel that there is nothing there for her, to which Laurel replies, "your family's here." At this, the Canary removes the mask and the wig, and tells her sister that she is not a hero, but she is in fact the furthest thing from it. Laurel tells her little sister that "these things don't break us, they make us who we are." Sara still tries to say that she is a bad person, (by telling her about her new name in the League) but Laurel says that she isn't irredeemable. She then asks about the name and what it meant. She then said that the Canary is a beautiful name. Sara hugs her sister.

Felicity calls her friend, who is still waiting for them at the scene of his car crash. Before they reach him, however, he is visited by one of Slade's men. They hear his screams down the phone. When they finally show up, the briefcase is gone, and her friend is dead.

Felicity, Dig and Oliver head to the clock tower. Felicity says that there is no more of the cure, and Oliver is in despair that there is no other way of saving the city. He says that he couldn't have imagined anything like this could have happened, and that he failed Starling City. Oliver goes on to list the people he has lost, and says that he is giving up. Felicity counteracts this with a list of the people that he has beaten, and says that he can do this because she believes in him.

Quentin goes to pick up Sara and Laurel. While the girls await their father when they hear a woman screaming. The building before the woman explodes, and Quentin shows up. After it explodes again, the Canary walks out holding the woman's daughter. Sara then walks off. The mother asks who it was and Laurel says, "That is the canary," with a smile.

Thea continues to argue with her father. He fights one of Slade's men, killing them, but getting injured himself. His daughter watches, alarmed.

Oliver is surprised when Sebastian calls him. He tells him that he stole the mirakuru cure. Sebastian took the cure to the City Hall. Felicity says goodbye to Oliver and Diggle, because she is watching over Roy at the clock tower.

Arriving at City hall, Oliver removes the hood as he meets Sebastian. Blood relays his sob story and he also says that Slade was going to kill whoever Oliver loved the most. He then gave the cure to Oliver in return for help saving the city, and promises to try to make Starling City better. Queen is confused as to why he thinks they'll let him be mayor, to which Blood replies that they don't know about his true identity, and if Oliver tells them, he'll reveal Oliver's true identity. Oliver and Diggle leave with the cure.

Quentin and Laurel embrace Sara at the police station, where a female cop says that the Canary is the bravest woman she has ever seen.

Isabel finds Sebastian in his office without the cure, and realize he betrayed them. Isabel then kills Sebastian after Slade says, "Goodbye Mr. Blood." Sebastian's last words are, "I loved this city."

Felicity opens the briefcase to look at the tubes. As they are unsure if it works, Oliver wants to test it on Roy.

The Lances and police watch the news down at the station, where they see that the army has finally arrived, however they are stationed at the entrances of the city, which confuses them at first, until they realize that it isn't even the army.

Oliver almost tests the cure on Roy, to Felicity's distress, but can't go through with it. Quentin calls, telling them to turn on the television. Oliver recognizes that the troops are A.R.G.U.S., and calls Amanda Waller.

He tells her that he has a cure for it. However Amanda won't give him much time to save the town. She tells him that they plan to bomb the city at dawn, in order to protect the country from Starling City. He then gives Roy the drug.

Thea holds a gun up to her father, threatening to shoot him. He acknowledges that her eyes are like his, filled with pain and anger. Malcolm says that they are the same in the way that they have lost everything except each other. Before he can finish his sentence, she fires two bullets at him.

There's a flashback to Oliver on the submarine. He knows that Sara is gone, and Slade has taken her. Oliver says goodbye to Anatoly, who agrees to sink the ship within an hour if he and Sara do not return. Oliver sneaks onto the ship, and finds Sara in a cell. He refuses to leave Slade behind, because he injected him with the Mirakuru, and they are friends. Sara refuses to leave without him. They break into Ivo's old lab, where they encounter Slade and two of his men. Slade holds the antidote in his hand.

Behind the scenes

• When Sara goes to save a young girl in a burning building, Officer Lance, on the radio, requests Delta Charlie 52. This may reference the DC New 52 comic series.

Gallery

Promos

Arrow 2x22 Promo "Streets of Fire" (HD)

Promo

Arrow 2x22 Extended Promo "Streets of Fire" (HD)

Extended promo

Production

Preparation ran from March 18 until March 26, 2014. Shooting ran from March 27 until April 7, 2014.

Trivia

• This is the second time that the penultimate episode of a season of Arrow shares the same name of a Bruce Springsteen song, the 1978 song "Streets of Fire". Overall, this currently ongoing pattern has been repeated five times; the previous is "Darkness on the Edge of Town", and the following are "This Is Your Sword", "Lost in the Flood", "Missing", and "The Ties That Bind".
  • "Streets of Fire" also marks the second penultimate episode to be named after a song from Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town, the other being the title track that used as the title for the penultimate episode in the previous season.