S02.E09: Three Ghosts

[Lisin]

My main takeaway from this episode was that the writers were listening to people like me complain about how Oliver is constantly in the hood with grease paint on his eyes in one scene and then the next he's still in the hood, but with no grease paint just chatting, NEVER addressing the eye makeup at all. I was happy they were giving him a mask, and then when they did they had Felicity put the mask on with his back facing the camera and when we pan around to get a front view... HIS EYES ARE PAINTED BLACK UNDER THE MASK! Argh! I mean I get it. You look stupid in one of those robbers masks without the black eye makeup but just for once I'd like to see a quick shot of him wiping the makeup off, or of Felicity coming up to him and saying "You've got something on your eye" or something! 

I do realize that I am being fully insane here. 

[David T. Cole]

No you are not. I always wanted Star Trek TNG to show people excusing themselves to use the bathroom or just show a bathroom. Then I fanwanked it and decided there was an automated program that teleported waste out of people.

[Lisin]

Thanks. I suppose I mean that lots more important stuff happened in this episode but all I care about is eye makeup... or at least what I care about most is eye makeup. That and the fact that Laurel sounds like you've got something caught in your throat when you say it too often. 

[Monty]

I thought it was funny that an episode in December was called "Three Ghosts" and wasn't a Christmas Carol knockoff. And I wonder how superpowered the show is going to get. Between the super-strength Mirakuru, Barry Allen becoming the Flash, and Cyrus Gold possibly becoming Solomon Grundy, it seems like Oliver might go from the toughest guy in the city to someone who's consistently outclassed. Which is a more interesting story, so I wouldn't mind it happening.

[Carrie Ann]

Yeah, that was a cute nod to A Christmas Carol, but it was refreshing that it wasn't structured that way. Since this was all in Oliver's mind, it was interesting that the first two ghosts were trying to convince him to stop fighting. So when he goes out to fight Cyrus anyway, after pointedly not promising Felicity that he would come back, it was sort of like he was going in knowing he would probably not make it back and maybe not thinking that would be such a bad thing. It was kind of dark, which this show often is (not in such a Nolan Batman way though), and I love that. It was a nice touch to have it be a combination of Det. Lance, Diggle/Felicity, and the Ghost of Tommy who absolve Oliver of his guilt, and encourage him to do the hard thing and fight back and become a real hero.

The makeup thing drove me nuts too--just logistically, it's hard enough to imagine him taking time to change into the Arrow outfit somewhere in the middle of a fancy party. Add in the time it takes to apply the greasepaint and remove it, and it sort of stuck in my craw. So I will accept the mask and pretend that I don't see the makeup underneath it. Just like I do with Batman.

[Lisin]

I feel like a big dummy because I even knew the episode title while watching it and still didn't make the connection to the Christmas Carol until reading these posts! Doh! 

I also will pretend I don't see the makeup underneath like I do with Batman but it's still gonna drive me a little crazy when I think about it too hard...

I'm really looking forward to the direction this show seems to be going. If Smallville had been this good I wouldn't have hate watched it back when it was on, and instead just happy watched it like I'm doing with this. I wasn't ever a big fan of the Green Arrow in the comics, but I am REALLY loving this show, Can't wait for the Flash show either. I think the guy they've got playing Barry Allen is great! 

[Enero]

Perfect timing in re-watching this episode considering it was A Christmas Carol knock off. Still I liked it.

 

It was interesting in that we got to see a little bit into Oliver’s psyche. Though it was no surprise that he was carrying a lot of guilt about what happened on the island, it was nice to see exactly how that guilt manifested in his head. Not only does he still feel he didn’t do enough to save Shado and Slade, but there is also quite a bit of self-doubt there as evidenced by “Slade” telling him that the island made him a coward instead of a hero and “Shado” telling him to give up. It also revealed a smidgen of his fear, of course losing those he loves if he continues on as the Arrow, and apart of him that desires to stop fighting, and not only  live because he wouldn’t be putting himself in danger anymore and thus at a greater risk for death, but just live life. Oliver gets his confidence back at the end of the episode, but these thoughts still haunt him as evidenced by what is said and done later in the season.

 

The writers really stroked those Olicity fires this episode, with Felicty’s response to Oliver’s hallucinations; Barry questioning her again about liking Oliver. Her asking Oliver not to go after Cyrus Gold and him responding with “I’ll come back” and her with the “promise me” request. The unnecessary touch of Oliver’s arm when she left with Barry to go watch the Star Labs countdown, the hug when Oliver returned and her later helping him with his mask. Even their argument about her telling Barry about him (which Btw, was ridiculous – he was dying for goodness sake) was very couple-y. In past episodes, both had been more reserved about their growing feelings towards one another. However, I think Oliver nearly dying caused them, especially Felicity, to be more physical "affectionate" and emotional with each other.

 

I wonder how many takes it took  for EBR and SA to get that scene right with her slipping on Oliver’s mask. That’s not a smooth task to accomplish. It usually comes off clunky with the person you’re slipping it on moving their head too much or instinctively trying to assist you with putting it on, yet she and SA managed to do it with ease. 

 

Oliver was between a rock and a hard place with Ivo, but I think he (Ivo) kind of played Oliver. I don’t think he had any intentions of shooting Sara, but he had to shoot someone – definitely couldn’t punk out in front of his minions, that could undermine his power. Hence he pointed the gun at Sara. He knew Oliver would try to stop him and he’d deem that as Oliver’s “choice” and shot Shado instead.

 

 

Slade being the mastermind behind Blood’s shenanigans was unexpected, but a nice twist.

 

Hilarious
Felicity’s comment to Oliver about being marooned on Fantasy Island, when she learned of his hallucination about Shado.

 

Diggle telling Oliver that he kept crossword puzzles in the glove compartment if he got bored waiting in the car.

 

Nitpicks
The Max in the picture in the file Laurel brought to Sin/Roy/Thea was different from the picture we saw of Sin and Max in his apartment in the previous episode.

 

I know that Oliver was trying to get help taking down Cyrus, but why why why did he ask Quentin to help with this? IMHO that was very irresponsible considering what he knew about how dangerous anyone with the Mirakuru in them was.

 

I know that the writer’s were trying to be all dramatic with revealing Slade as the big bad, but surely they knew that as soon as Manu Bennett (Slade) opened his mouth the audience would’ve known it was Slade. Manu’s voice is so distinct. So there was no need for them to show the back of his head, then his lips before dramatically panning to his face.

 

How did Roy make it back to the Queen mansion? Did Oliver sneak him in through a window back to Thea’s bedroom then wash the blood from his eyes so there wouldn’t be any evidence of what had happened to him? Or did he walk back himself. I guess that's possible since at that point the Mirakuru was flowing through his veins. Still though, he seemed pretty incapacitated when he finally woke up. I can't imagine Oliver would've just left him there alone to regain his strength and walk home.

 

Good episode. I’m really enjoying how each episode is building on the next with the Mirakuru arc.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Enero

[Shannon L.]

Hi!  I don't frequent this forum because we just started watching Arrow on Netflix a few weeks ago and I don't want to get spoiled.  When I sent a PM to Lisin about where to post a general question I had, she said to hop into the thread of the last show that we saw.  So, here I am  :)

 

I know that there was a mini series called Arrow: Blood Rush and there have been 2 (?) cross overs with Arrow and The Flash.  For now neither one is on Netflix and I was wondering if the mini series or the cross over episodes had any plot points that involve the Arrow's storyline?  I'm assuming that, even if there were, it wouldn't be enough to confuse those of us not watching the other two since that would be ridiculous.  But I thought I'd ask just in case.  If the Flash comes out on Netflix, we'll watch it, but should we bother buying Blood Rush (if it's on dvd, that is)? 

 

Did that make sense?

[NumberCruncher]

Hi!  I don't frequent this forum because we just started watching Arrow on Netflix a few weeks ago and I don't want to get spoiled.  When I sent a PM to Lisin about where to post a general question I had, she said to hop into the thread of the last show that we saw.  So, here I am  :)

 

I know that there was a mini series called Arrow: Blood Rush and there have been 2 (?) cross overs with Arrow and The Flash.  For now neither one is on Netflix and I was wondering if the mini series or the cross over episodes had any plot points that involve the Arrow's storyline?  I'm assuming that, even if there were, it wouldn't be enough to confuse those of us not watching the other two since that would be ridiculous.  But I thought I'd ask just in case.  If the Flash comes out on Netflix, we'll watch it, but should we bother buying Blood Rush (if it's on dvd, that is)? 

 

Did that make sense?

 

You are correct that you don't have to watch Blood Rush to understand what's going on in S2, but if you're curious, it's available on YouTube.

 

As for The Flash crossovers (there have been 2 episodes so far during S3), they do help provide some additional character background but nothing that would disrupt the flow of Arrow's plot in the third season.  My guess is that The Flash S1 (with the Arrow crossovers) will hit Netflix at the same time Arrow S3 does so you'll be able to watch them should you so choose.

[JenMD]

To clarify Blood Rush a little, it was a series of 6 commercials for BOSE speakers, so they only run about a minute each and they feature Felicity and Roy.  Cute and fun, but not tied to anything important show-wise.

[Shannon L.]

Thanks, JenMD! Looks like I should have done a little more reading on them. 

[BkWurm1]

When the Flash crossover episodes are available, you IMO definitely want to watch them. They aren't plot important but the character stuff is wonderful and my Arrow viewing would be the poorer if I'd missed them. The first one (the fourth episode of The Flash) is just Felicity crossing over but it's about the only time you get to see what she's thinking during the Arrow run. Arrow vs Flash was just a really fun episode. There's another couple crossovers planned that haven't happened yet but they won't be as extensive cast wise as Arrow vs Flash.

[Shannon L.]

Thank you, Bkwurm1! 

[BkWurm1]

I'll go a step further, just watch Flash too.  It's a lighter, more hopeful universe than season three Arrow and I really enjoyed watching the two universes concurrently. 

[tv echo]

209 (Three Ghosts) – Oliver Queen’s voiceover intro:
Oliver (voiceover): "My name is Oliver Queen. After five years on a hellish island, I have come home with only one goal-- to save my city. But to do so, I can't be the killer I once was. To honor my friend's memory, I must be someone else. I must be something else."

209 (Three Ghosts) – Barry helps to save Oliver’s life, and Oliver berates Felicity for revealing his identity to Barry:
Barry: "Hold him!"
Diggle: "He's not going to make it." 
Felicity: "He will. We just have to find out what's in his system."
Barry: "I - I - I usually only work on dead people."
Felicity: "Barry!" 
Barry: "All right, I can think of four possible diagnoses for what's causing his body to react this way. Make that three possible diagnoses. Two. Start chest compressions. Got it. He's suffering from intravenous coagulation." 
Felicity: "What?!"
Barry: "His blood is unnaturally clotting. It's like maple syrup." 
Felicity: "You can save him, right?" 
Barry: "Right. Okay. Lucky you guys have a rat problem."
Diggle: "Are you kidding? That'll kill him!"
Barry: "He dies if I don't. Felicity -"
Felicity: "Do it!"
Barry: "Just the right amount of this stuff will thin his blood enough to get it circulating again."
*  *  *
(Oliver suddenly comes awake and starts choking Barry.)
Diggle: "Oliver, let him go."
Felicity: "Oliver!"
Oliver: "What the - what the hell is going on?" 
Felicity: "You were injected with a strong-acting blood coagulant." 
Barry: "You would have stroked out, but fortunately you had a very effective blood thinner handy. Warfarin. Better known as rat poison."
Diggle: "Kid saved your life, Oliver."
Felicity: "This is the point in a life-saving emergency where you thank the person that did the life-saving."
Oliver (to Felicity): "You told him who I am."
Felicity: "Yeah, I did."
Oliver: "That's not your secret to tell, Felicity. I decide who finds out my identity."
Felicity: "Well, we didn't have time to get your vote, what with you unconscious and dying."
Oliver: "What happens if he leaves here and goes right to the police?"
Felicity: "He wouldn't do that."
Barry: "I wouldn't do that."
Felicity: "I trust him."
Oliver: "I don't!"
Felicity: "What are you going to do? Put an arrow in him?" 
Oliver: "I am considering it."
Felicity: "Don't worry, he's kidding! How is this any different from when your mother shot you and you came to me for help?"
Barry: "Your mother shot you?"
Felicity: "Or when you brought Dig down here when he was poisoned with curare?"
Oliver: "The difference is that I did my homework on both of you! I don't just tell people easily."
Barry: "I'm not going to tell anyone. And you don't have to thank me, but you should thank her instead of being kind of a jerk. (Oliver stares at him)  Mr. Queen." 
(Oliver's cell phone beeps.)
Oliver: "I have to go home. That man that I fought in the bunker, he has what he needs to mass produce the serum from the island. And we have to stop him."
Barry (to Oliver): "He touched your skin when he grabbed your neck. I was able to absorb the residual oils from his skin, which, when added to a gel-based polymer, might be able to recreate his fingerprint." (Oliver leaves)
Felicity (to Barry): "Never meet your heroes, right?

209 (Three Ghosts) – Oliver has been hallucinating, and Felicity shows some jealousy of his female companions on the island:
Barry: "I knew the Vigilante had partners."
Diggle: "He likes to be called the Arrow now."
Barry: "You three have messed with some really nasty people. The Dollmaker, Count Vertigo, Dodger, the Huntress."
Diggle: "We weren't keeping score." 
Barry: "I was." 
Oliver: "Barry! The rat poison that you gave me - are there any side effects?" 
Barry: "Um, yeah, I think hallucinations, maybe. And excessive sweating. Are you sweating excessively?" 
Felicity: "You're hallucinating? What are you seeing?" 
Oliver: "A girl named Shado that was with me on the island."
Felicity: "Shado. Sara. How many women were you marooned with? Are you sure this wasn't Fantasy Island?"
Barry: "You did train in a jungle or forest environment, hence the green. (Oliver stares at him) ... Hey, can I ask you something? Why no mask? Not to tell you how to do your vigilante-ing, but the grease paint thing? It's a poor identity concealer." 
Oliver: "So find me a mask that conforms perfectly to my face and doesn't affect my ability to aim while I'm on the run."
Barry: "You should look into a compressible micro fabric. It could be great." 
Felicity: "Found Cyrus Gold."
Oliver: "Who's Cyrus Gold?"
Diggle: "The human weapon that left you nearly dead the other night. The kid did manage to pull his print off your neck."
Felicity: "I've had facial recognition software scanning closed circuit cameras all over town. He's at the corner of Delgado and 25th right now, but we're just about to lose him."
Oliver: "What else is at that intersection?" 
Felicity: "A parking lot, a market, a motel."
Diggle: "Could be where he's holed up."
Oliver: "I got this."
Diggle: "Oliver, why don't let me handle this one? It's just recon."
Oliver: "Fine. But I'm going as your backup."
(Oliver and Diggle leave.) 
Barry: "Don't worry. I'll figure out what's wrong with Oliver."
Felicity: "You'd be the first."

209 (Three Ghosts) – Felicity and Barry have a conversation about Felicity’s feelings for Oliver:
Felicity: "What are you doing?"
Barry: "Uh, just messing around with something."
Felicity: "Shouldn't you be trying to figure out what's causing Oliver's hallucinations?"
Barry: "Sample's still being scanned. Shouldn't be too much longer."
Felicity: "Good."
Barry: "You're really worried about him, huh?"
Felicity: "He takes crazy chances. Even when he's not hallucinating about beautiful island girls."
Barry: "Hmm. The other night, I asked you if you liked Oliver."
Felicity: "I told you. I don't."
Barry: "I remember. But if you did, I could see why. I mean, Oliver Queen. He is a billionaire by day and saves the city by night."
Felicity: "Sounds like you want to date him."
Barry: "I just have a little experience with liking someone who doesn't see you the same way."
News Anchor (on PC screen): "Protests continue into the final countdown for tonight's ignition of S.T.A.R. Lab's controversial particle accelerator. S.T.A.R. Lab's founder Harrison Wells promises a new era of scientific advancement is at hand."
Barry: "I guess I won't be back in time to see them turn it on."

209 (Three Ghosts) – The blood analysis reveals that there’s nothing wrong with Oliver:
Barry: "So, any plans for Christmas?"
Felicity: "Lighting my Menorah." 
Oliver (entering): "Hey."
Felicity: "Hi. How are you feeling?" 
Oliver: "Fine. Just - it's a little bit crowded at my house, and I wanted to come down here to get a little privacy."
Felicity: "Yeah. Come on, Barry. We can watch the countdown at Big Belly Burger."
Barry: "Your blood analysis is almost done." 
Oliver: "Thank you."
*  *  *
Felicity: "What happened in here? Did someone break in?"
Oliver: "No."
Barry: "Uh, your blood analysis is done. Good news." 
Oliver: "So you know what's in my system?" 
Barry: "That's the thing - your blood's clean. There's nothing wrong with you."
Oliver: "Then why am I hallucinating?!"
Barry: "I don't know. But whatever your problem is, it's not pharmacological. It's psychological. It's in your head."
Felicity: "Oh, my God. Oliver."

209 (Three Ghosts) – Oliver talks to Diggle about his hallucinations, and Felicity asks Oliver to promise to come back:
Diggle: "I think those are sharp enough."
Oliver: "Apparently I'm not. Diggle, do you think I'm losing my mind?"
Diggle: "No more than the rest of us."
Oliver: "I saw... Slade Wilson. Slade was my friend on the island and, like Shado, he is dead because of me. Mr. Lance just told me that not every death in this city is my fault. Fine. There are plenty that are."
Diggle: "When I got home from Afghanistan, I saw a ghost, too. Survivor's guilt. Why us, not them?"
Oliver: "I know why."
Diggle: "Then the why's not your problem."
Oliver: "How'd you make your ghost go away?"
Diggle: "I figured out what they were trying to tell me."
Oliver: "Which was?"
Diggle: "That's for me to hear, Oliver. You have to figure out what yours is trying to tell you."
Felicity: "Guys, we got something here. I scanned the key Lance gave you and traced its serial code back to the manufacturer."
Barry: "This particular key fits a locked gate somewhere on Crescent Circle in the Glades."
Felicity: "Where are you going? You can't go out there in your condition." 
Oliver: "I have to stop this."
Felicity: "Oliver, Gold left you half dead, which is 50 percent better than how he left Detective Hilton."
Oliver: "Felicity I don't have a choice. I'll come back."
Felicity: "Promise me."
(Oliver looks at her but says nothing.) 
*  *  *
(Later, Oliver returns safely and receives a hug from Felicity.)

209 (Three Ghosts) – Slade Wilson reveals his plans to Sebastian Blood and threatens Oliver:
Sebastian: "You know who he is under that hood, don't you?"
Slade: "I know exactly who he is. He's my friend."
Sebastian: "That's why you don't want him dead." 
Slade: "Death would be a release from this life, and his sentence is yet to be carried out. (Cut to Quentin) I am going to tear everything he cares about away from him. (Cut to Roy) Destroy those who choose to follow him. (Cut to Felicity) Corrupt those he loves. Once he has lost everyone and everything he values, I will drive an arrow through his eye."

209 (Three Ghosts) – Barry leaves a mask as a gift for Oliver, and Felicity puts the mask on Oliver:
Diggle: "Still have a ghost problem?"
Oliver: "No. I got the message."
Oliver: "But we - we have other problems."
Diggle: "Wouldn't be us if we didn't."
Oliver: "Roy was injected with the serum."
Felicity: "Oh, my God, is he okay?" 
Oliver: "He's alive. But we are going to have to keep an eye on him."
Diggle: "And Cyrus Gold?" 
Oliver: "’Died on Saturday. Buried on Sunday.’ But he was working with someone. I saw him, he wore a mask with the image of a skull. He's trying to mass produce the serum to build an army."
Diggle: "For what?"
Oliver: "You're a soldier. What's the primary purpose of an army?"
Diggle: "War." 
Oliver: "Where's Barry?"
Felicity: "He went back to Central City." 
Oliver: "Oh."
Felicity: "Wanted to get home in time to see them turn on the particle accelerator. (Phone beeps) I should take this. (On phone) Hi. Hey, did you make it?"
Barry (on phone): "I made it back to Central City in time, but I missed the cut-off in line at S.T.A.R. Labs. I was late, as usual. But in the spirit of not being late again, uh, if you ever decide that Oliver Queen isn't the guy for you - if you decide that you want to go on a date with someone else, um you should know that that guy, he'll be on time."
Felicity (on phone): "Good to know."
Barry (on phone): "Oh, hey, and I left something for Oliver. I hope he likes it."
Felicity (on phone): "Bye, Barry."
Barry (on phone): "Bye, Felicity." 
*  *  *
Diggle: "Even the Arrow deserves a Christmas present."
Felicity: "Here."
(Felicity puts the mask on Oliver.) 
Oliver: "How do I look?"
Felicity: "Like a hero."

Edited February 12, 2020 by tv echo

[Kymmi]

Rewatching these, I really wish they had done a real Oliver/Felicity/Barry triangle at some point. I know they had to launch Flash and all, but it could have been so good! I mourn. 

[Kymmi]

On 3/15/2015 at 5:26 PM, BkWurm1 said:

I'll go a step further, just watch Flash too.  It's a lighter, more hopeful universe than season three Arrow and I really enjoyed watching the two universes concurrently. 

Rereading this thread, and I have to wonder if this comment haunted you. LOL

[statsgirl]

I tried to watch both. But I ended up giving up on the Flash, although it did make me really appreciate Arrow.

[tv echo]

Three 209 deleted scenes...

Arrow 2x09 Deleted Scene - Sebastian talks with Laurel

(Hermandat)

Arrow 2x09 Deleted Scene - Diggle searches Cyrus Gold

(Hermandat)

Arrow 2x09 Deleted Scene - Christmas night at The Queen's mansion

(Hermandat)