S04.E07: Brotherhood

[bijoux]

Here's the funniest thing about the "eight years". No need to go back to the flashback last season. It would have been enough to check the script from two episodes ago.

 

[arjumand]

Here's the funniest thing about the "eight years". No need to go back to the flashback last season. It would have been enough to check the script from two episodes ago.

 

 

I mean, right? Do they check anything? Like ever? That's why I'm starting to believe they don't know who's in the grave "six months later".

 

OTOH, they're kind of going overboard with the "Oliver is so desperate for a father figure he is hanging onto Quentin like a leech."

 

Like during the Gala, Oliver to Lance: "Are you in danger?" I know it doesn't sound like much written down, but SA gave it a weird intensity (which I'm sure he was instructed to). I mean, seriously, Oliver? This is the guy who was happy you were running for Mayor because all the other Mayors were murdered! You said yourself that he looks at you with contempt! I mean, respect the guy, sure, but he's not your daddy!

[BunsenBurner]

Maybe in that super secret file that Lance gave John it said he went bad 8 years ago so that was when Andy was dead to him. Not that I believe that because we can't have an episode without blaming something stupid and out of place on the writers now can we? ( Darn I put in a sarcasm emoji and it didn't work. Oh well. ;-/)

Edited November 20, 2015 by BunsenBurner

[Happy Harpy]

Laurel looks like she's about to hork up a cat.    It's not a good look and I wish they'd stop it.

There's another thing I've noticed recently, they give Laurel "witty" one-liners or visual gimmicks during action scenes, like the wink to the little boy at the station, whenever she has a win. I don't have the feeling that the other characters do it as much when they fight, they seem way more first degree and serious in those scenes.

Maybe it's the writers/directors' way of trying to make her look badass, but it makes me feel as if they took a character from "Batman and Robin" and inserted her on Arrow. It's one instance where imo second degree doesn't work, especially since very particular acting chops are needed to make it work (for example, someone like Barrowman has it, for me).

[kismet]

Well if you have to include an actor in action scene and not just the stunt double. And their fighting technique ability or talent is not on par with what you need for the character, what else are the directors supposed to do? They are left between a rock and a hard place. So I guess they choose to go a more gimmicky route, because comics demands that certain characters have to be in the field.

[MaggieG]

There was some really bizarre camera angles that kept pulling me out of the story in that episode. 

 

In the scene where Diggle unmasks Andy the camera was almost parallel to Andy laying on the floor and you could look right up the actor's nostrils. Instead of being able to focus on Diggles reaction (which his silly mask mostly hid) I was focusing on that.

 

The Laurel and DIggle scene at the bar David Ramsey was emoting beautifully and my heart was breaking for Diggle and than the camera started cutting back and forth from a close up of him, to a longer shot of Laurel and Diggle, to a mid range shot, back to a close up on Diggle. I couldn't enjoy the emotion because I kept wondering if something was happening in the background that I was suppose to be paying attention to. That scene should have been shot like Oliver and Felicity's dinner date. Let the actor do the work and leave the camera alone. DR is good enough to not need all those cuts.

 

There were also really long transition shots where the camera would slowly pan to a light and then dissolve to another scene. The one where the camera pushed in on Felicity's purple sweater only to pull back on someone on the island wearing the same color (even though almost every single person on that island is wearing camo) was really silly.

 

I know that the show is basically taking the approach that the Felicity and Diggle friendship is believed in enough by the audience that they don't have to show it and they can just reference that these talks are happening off screen but I want the damn scenes.

 

The gala was weirdly short and I want to say useless. Why would they waste all that money and all those extras for those few scenes? Also Oliver had the shortest speech I have ever seen at any political function. The DJ at those types of events normally has more to say than that.

 

Show I remember Season One, I've watched it numerous times, I remember when Diggle said a solider never leaves a brother behind. Even if you want me to believe that Diggle now hates his brother for what he did, I am never going to believe that Diggle would just shrug his shoulders and leave Andy with DD.  Sorry, no.

 

They need to do better for both David Ramsey and Diggle.

I thought the same thing about looking up Andy's nose, LOL

Edited November 20, 2015 by MaggieG

[TwistedandBored]

The only thing this episode confirmed was that Green Arrow is seriously the least skilled fighter out there! I mean he should really contact The Hood and The Arrow who used to go out on their own with little backup and kick a lot of ass. He could use their help. Just saying...

[kismet]

GA is holding back because he doesn't want to hurt his friends' feelings and also perhaps it is part of his big Psych Out the Bad Guys Plan!

[Chaser]

Cant link on mobile but during the Olicity talk both Felicity and Oliver put their hands together in the same motion. Couple using the same gesture. Nice acting choices.

[statsgirl]

Like during the Gala, Oliver to Lance: "Are you in danger?" I know it doesn't sound like much written down, but SA gave it a weird intensity (which I'm sure he was instructed to). I mean, seriously, Oliver? This is the guy who was happy you were running for Mayor because all the other Mayors were murdered! You said yourself that he looks at you with contempt! I mean, respect the guy, sure, but he's not your daddy!

 

I bought it because Oliver was the one to ask Quentin to go undercover in DD's organization. With his over-developed sense of responsibility, I can see Oliver taking the responsibility if anything happened to Quentin.

 

It also plays into the graveside scene in the first episode where Oliver says that previously he would have thought the death of this person was his responsibility but now he's just going to accept that it wasn't his faul.t

Maybe Curtis only came up with the handy individual button cams since didn't Felicity basically write that program last year (which Ray borrowed and used on his suit to see through Oliver's Mask?) 

 

Good point.  But I still think that if they have that technology, it would be a way to get PT out of their financial troubles.

[TwistedandBored]

Cant link on mobile but during the Olicity talk both Felicity and Oliver put their hands together in the same motion. Couple using the same gesture. Nice acting choices.

 

I saw that and then Felicity adorable pushed his hand away. Olicity cuteness will kill me one of these days. :D

[Sunshine]

I just remembered that SA tweeted about the night they filmed the gala and it was the most extras they'd ever used or something and now all I can think is what a waste of money that was. Seriously, that gala and their fancy outfits was a whole load of nothing.

Maybe the scene was supposed to be longer but the director cut it for longer stunt sequences!!!

[Locutus]

The fight scenes tend to take me "out of the show". I don't care how good our heroes are, I just don't see them winning when fighting a superior force with automatic weapons. At one point I could see 2 hive persons in the background behind Oliver and Helmet Head. Why didn't they get mowed down with bullets?

[Lady Calypso]

So, total late response here, but whatever. People have covered pretty much what I wanted to say. I do think the fight sequences were just odd, and I'm not sure if I liked it. Actually, the whole filming of the episode was just odd. It's different and I don't think it fits as well as BamBam wanted it to.

 

I fast-forwarded through the flashbacks because they're dumb. Their first major mistake, to me, was cutting Oliver's hair. How is he going to grow it all back to that same look? Plus, he looks the age he does now, instead of, what? Twenty five? It doesn't work and he should have kept the hair. 

 

Diggle being so adamant that his brother wasn't his brother was an interesting angle to take. Somewhat in character for Diggle, but by having Oliver having to convince him to save Andy, it adds another layer to his character. Of course Diggle's right in that Andy makes his own choices and he chose to not come home and it's on him, but I think he needs answers and closure, and that's why Oliver pushed. But still, Diggle not wanting to know about his brother and being willing to let him still be controlled by DD? That was also an odd choice.

 

I thought that everyone looked great at the ball, even Katie Cassidy. I do think the makeup done on her was well chosen, and usually I wonder with her.

[AudienceofOne]

Bit of a filler episode, really, so I probably wouldn't have much to say about it except for those terrible fight scenes. Like others here, I couldn't work out what went wrong with the scene down at the docks around the shipping containers. It looked like the stunt doubles went on strike and they got some random passerbys to fill in? For a show that used to be defined by its fight scenes, having one that looked like it was people doing a movie was offputting. It was the worst one I've seen in a long time.

[romantic idiot]

Felicity has hit plenty of people, just last week she was firing of a machine gun at someone because she's so "badass" apparently.

I think this example would be more valid if she hadn't fairly clearly aimed at the ceiling. 

 

OTOH, they're kind of going overboard with the "Oliver is so desperate for a father figure he is hanging onto Quentin like a leech."

 

Like during the Gala, Oliver to Lance: "Are you in danger?" I know it doesn't sound like much written down, but SA gave it a weird intensity (which I'm sure he was instructed to). I mean, seriously, Oliver? This is the guy who was happy you were running for Mayor because all the other Mayors were murdered! You said yourself that he looks at you with contempt! I mean, respect the guy, sure, but he's not your daddy!

I don't think Oliver will (unfortunately) never not care for the Lance family - if only because I don't think he will ever feel not guilty for their pain. 

 

I bought it because Oliver was the one to ask Quentin to go undercover in DD's organization. With his over-developed sense of responsibility, I can see Oliver taking the responsibility if anything happened to Quentin.

 

It also plays into the graveside scene in the first episode where Oliver says that previously he would have thought the death of this person was his responsibility but now he's just going to accept that it wasn't his faul.t

 

Plus this. 

[DeadZeus]

I think i might give up the show if it doesn't pick up passed the mid season finale. And i'll just try to remember Season 1-3 as how the show was very good.

But to me it's lost it's identity to please the comic book fans. I liked the dark, brooding atmosphere way more, personally.

The show is called Arrow but it's not about the Green Arrow anymore... It's about Team Arrow now... Totally pushing Oliver/Green Arrow to the background and putting the team in the spotlight.

For the passed few episodes Oliver didn't even have any fight scenes, the most he does is shoot a generic straight arrow and if he did fight, he lost.

This episode for example, he lost to about 3 Ghosts at the harbor and "nearly died"??? While Diggle kicked serious ass, Laurel easily took down 5 Ghosts while she should defintely have inferior skills and Thea had a lengthy scene with Andy for some weird reason. Green Arrow, again, beat a few in a generic fashion and even had to be saved by Diggle.. Twice this episode! Team Arrow should be the supporting cast for Olivers fightscenes and spotlight, with the few exception of an episode more centered around a certain teammember.. But it's been the complete opposite so far imo and Oliver has received the worst fight scenes.

 

Oliver getting hit by a grenade? please... Season 2 Oliver would have defintly shot that grenade putting it out of harms way. They really knew how to made Oliver badass by then, always having an answer for a bad situation.

 

I'm sorry for a rant but i'm really annoyed that my favorite show is starting to lose me. It's call Arrow.. Not Team Arrow imo.. if the show doesnt start focusing more on Oliver and his badassness i'll have to give it up and remember how good it used to be.. Season 2's tensions and fight scenes can never be matched.

[AyChihuahua]

 

I'm sorry for a rant but i'm really annoyed that my favorite show is starting to lose me. It's call Arrow.. Not Team Arrow imo.. if the show doesnt start focusing more on Oliver and his badassness i'll have to give it up and remember how good it used to be.. Season 2's tensions and fight scenes can never be matched.

Oliver shooting the RPG right before the justifiably famous weapons switch scene in S2 was FANTASTIC.  I'm really into action movies, so yeah, while I care about the relationships and such I also care, a LOT about the action scenes and plots, and both sucked IMO all through S3 and so far into S4.

[Sakura12]

I know a lot of people complained about Sara's screentime in S2 but one thing she didn't do was take away from Oliver's badassness, they were badasses together. They fought side by side or took turns beating up on a guy.

 

Now it seems like Oliver can't do anything without a team and he barely does anything on his own and gets easily outmaneuvered by lesser foes when he does. Oliver is supposed to be leagues above everyone save Diggle who is special forces trained. Because Comics and Thea should be the ones on the sidelines watching Oliver to see how to get things done for when they are on their on own. 

[KirkB]

I thought the whole point of there being multiple masks was that Oliver had moved beyond his initial mission of taking down his dad's list to actively protecting the city and because of the sheer number of things going on in SC he couldn't be everywhere at once. Except, that's not what's happening. Time and again the whole team goes out to the same place and most of the time they have to find stuff for the others to do, when generally speaking Oliver could have more easily gotten in on his own, found his objective and gotten out, often with a minimum of trouble. IMO what would be better is for them to only call Laurel and Thea when there is a need for all the Avengers to assemble, so to speak, like a big fight with Dark's forces, but otherwise keep it down to Oliver and Diggle in the field with Felicity on comms. Most of the time there is really very little need for Laurel or Thea, since Oliver can (and in the past has) done everything on his own, faster and easier. I'm not saying they need to get rid of Laurel or Thea, just give more reason for them to be in the field than Oliver seems to have lost his edge.

[BkWurm1]

At the very least they should set up shifts and take turns who goes out so they all can deal with their other duties.  (Diggle being a family man, Oliver with his Mayor mixers, Laurel with her late night DA stuff, Thea with dating - Felicity never gets a night off until they recruit Mr. Terrific)

 

Unless they are facing the ghosts, they don't need four people in every location.  Breaking into a building should be about stealth, not brute strength.  They keep getting caught because they bring too many people.   

[bijoux]

Well, they could have them handling garden variety criminals. Or have those fled SC along with the general populace? Is no one knocking over liquor stores anymore? Aside from Sara on a rampage, all we've had are Ghosts and Anarky and Double Down, who were both Darhk's hires. I'm ready for things to be shaken up a bit. Or to have a scene with regular crooks and drug dealers holed up in a - wait for it - warehouse, bitching about these damn Ghosts getting everywhere before they do. Actually, no. There must still be some thugs out there, Sara ended up attacking them before being re-souled.

[calliope1975]

 There must still be some thugs out there, Sara ended up attacking them before being re-souled.

 

I also think it would make more sense to have team ups in different parts of the city for your everyday garden variety criminal. Have Thea and Laurel in the North Section while Digg and Oliver are in the South. These Ghost fights are becoming less and less impressive, and they weren't that great to begin with. Too many masks makes for a bloated, disorganized fight.

 

I thought the fighting and filming of the fights this episode were awful, but since Bamford's directing again fairly quickly, TIIC mileage clearly varies. 

[lemotomato]

FWIW, Bamford said on his panel at HVFF that one of the stunt guys, Curtis (Colton Hayne's former stunt double), did the fight coordinating in this episode.

Edited November 28, 2015 by lemotomato

[kismet]

FWIW, Bamford said on his panel at HVFF that one of the stunt guys, Curtis (Colton Hayne's former stunt double), did the fight coordinating in this episode.

Where was all the parkour then?

Splitting out the team to multiple areas makes more sense... the problem is then they'd have to write & film random scenes otherwise people would complain about who is sitting out of the action. And that would be just as boring and repetitive as the flashbacks or LL random court scenes.

[Sakura12]

They should do it like AoS does it where everyone is split into teams, then sometimes switch up the teams to keep things interesting. When you need a big take down that is when the whole team comes together. Otherwise having smaller more contained fight scenes look so much better. 

[calliope1975]

Where was all the parkour then?

Splitting out the team to multiple areas makes more sense... the problem is then they'd have to write & film random scenes otherwise people would complain about who is sitting out of the action. And that would be just as boring and repetitive as the flashbacks or LL random court scenes.

 

Yeah, now that makes me believe 2 people failed at their job.

 

I was trying to figure out why AOS works so well with multiple teams, but I think it's because the show was always set up with a large team that continued to grow. Arrow is/was focused on one guy and his mission/journey, and I don't think they've figured out how to expand the fighting scenes organically with all the new peeps.

[Sakura12]

I suppose on AoS everyone is trained to fight (May, Bobbi, Hunter, Mack) or has powers (Daisy and Lincoln). No one is a newbie that needs to be watched or trained.  

Edited November 29, 2015 by Sakura12

[statsgirl]

Skye was, but they took care of training her in s1.

[AyChihuahua]

AoS really does do a good job of splitting up into smaller teams, plus IMO each team has its own good chemistry.  I love Hunter and Bobbi, but also love Bobbi and May.  Love Daisy and May, also really love Daisy and Mack.  Hunter and May was great, Hunter and Daisy and Mack was really great.  

 

For me, everyone on the show has good chemistry, so any combination they come up with works well.

Edited November 29, 2015 by AyChihuahua

[Sakura12]

I even liked Lincoln and May. Mostly because Lincoln was waiting for his ass kicking the entire time and all May wanted to do was apologize. 

 

The Flarrowverse writers need to get some pointers from other writers on how to write a team show. Because no ones skills should be dumbed down to make the lesser trained characters look better. 

Edited November 29, 2015 by Sakura12

[AyChihuahua]

I even liked Lincoln and May. Mostly because Lincoln was waiting for his ass kicking the entire time and all May wanted to do was apologize. 

Yeah, I honestly can't think of a combo I haven't enjoyed.  Everyone has appropriate chemistry with everyone else, which is really pretty impressive.  I have a particular love for Hunter and Bobbi (whether together or in other combos), but honestly, I think everyone is pretty great.

[Primal Slayer]

They definitely need to take pointers from AoS in both the team aspect and fight aspect. AoS isn't defined by a original team, they let all their charecters to have different relationships that run deep in different ways and breaking up TA into smaller teams and missions.

[BkWurm1]

AoS also had the guts to take one of the characters not working and radically retool him so he did work even if that took him away from full time regular status.  That was gutsy. 

 

It's that gutsy storytelling that I'm missing on Arrow these days. AoS has a certain feel to its normal episodes, but they are also unafraid to do something very different like spend and entire episode on a flashback that was more than just exposition that we already knew come to life.  It mattered to the plot but even more so to the characters.

 

I'm also puzzled how shows like Gotham and AoS seem to get so much more story accomplished in a single episode.  Is there a lot of filler in Arrow episodes?  Does maybe the required fights and the flashbacks really eat up that much time? 

Edited November 30, 2015 by BkWurm1

[EmilyBettFan]

Poor Felicity would have to review materials from two different sites. At least with AoS they have many people to help them in that area. It's just Felicity. Unless they bring in Curtis.

[morakot]

Mind you, the show is Arrow, not Team of Arrow.

[NumberCruncher]

Mind you, the show is Arrow, not Team of Arrow.

Not according to the producers, unfortunately...hence the problem.

[Whimsy]

Gentle warning. Some posts are moving off topic. I know there hasn't been an episode in awhile, but this is still the thread for this particular episode and you need to stay on topic.

[tv echo]

In a recent Culturess interview, James Bamford talked about shooting this long Thea scene in 407...

Quote

The first episode you directed, “Brotherhood,” included a sequence with a long take following Willa Holland’s Thea down a hallway and into an elevator as she fights a couple of villains. I think it’s one of Arrow‘s best action scenes to date. What went into designing and filming it?

This was a sequence that I had in mind for years on end. It was inspired by a much longer sequence from an action feature film by John Woo, Hard Boiled, which goes on for over three minutes. Although on a TV series, we don’t have the screen time for a three-minute shot, we attempted to cram as much action into a solid 57-second one as possible. Even then, the shot was cut short in the final cut by approximately seven seconds from the original, trimmed so as to skip the last section and jump cut to what is the end of the fight. I hope that the audience can one day see the whole shot in its full glory.

The writers asked me if there was anything I had wanted to do on the show that hadn’t been done before. I told them about this shot, and they wrote it into the script. It was originally scripted as Arrow and Diggle fighting their way down a hallway, in [and] out of an elevator, etc. As the story developed, the action evolved to Speedy being the carrier of the action. Having been a stunt coordinator/fight choreographer myself, I planned this shot very differently than many directors would have. I first envisioned that visual of the shot and where/how I wanted the fight to travel.

We got to work on designing and building the set, including a working elevator, to my specs. For this shot to work, we needed the whole set, including the elevator doors, to be controlled by us, as timing was critical. Side-note: the doors failed to function correctly on the first 12-14 takes of the fight, so the fighters were completely exhausted in the final take you see on the aired episode. I believe there was some vomiting occurring between the last few takes. One solid minute of sheer fighting is a very long time for anybody.

Step two of the process is the actual choreography of the physical movements of the characters within the environment. Once I had decided on the set, I got together with fight choreographer Curtis Braconnier and talked through the specifics of my wants. Unlike many directors, I asked for very specific techniques, pace, and style at very specific times within the combat. Curtis has a great understanding of how I do things and my visual style [and] martial arts preferences. He went away and got to work with the stunt performers on the fight right away. As the weeks progressed, we would check back in with each other to ensure the plans were going down the path that I had specified and renamed on track. Curtis and his vast creativity [were] able to bring my dream to life before my eyes.

We had the advantage of having a script much longer in advance then normal for a TV series schedule, so our planning process was stretched out over a longer period then we would usually have. The fight had a chance to morph many times… into the wonderful ballet of combat you see now.

Overall, the shooting of the fight didn’t take long, although to get it just right we shot over 14 takes. In a one-r you don’t get to edit away mistakes. The whole shot has to be perfect. So, the performers get quite wiped out by the end. I’m very proud of what we accomplished on a relatively tight schedule, on a television budget, with very talented people involved all around.

Edited October 19, 2017 by tv echo

[BkWurm1]

On 10/19/2017 at 8:51 AM, tv echo said:

Side-note: the doors failed to function correctly on the first 12-14 takes of the fight, so the fighters were completely exhausted in the final take you see on the aired episode. I believe there was some vomiting occurring between the last few takes. One solid minute of sheer fighting is a very long time for anybody.

1

Um, yikes.

[tv echo]

407 (Brotherhood) – No Oliver Queen voiceover intro.

407 (Brotherhood) – Diggle gives Oliver evidence that HIVE had his brother Andy killed because of his criminal operations:
Felicity: "I've heard of having money to burn, but stealing money to burn, that's new.
Diggle: "Darhk's not kidding - he really wants this city to die."
Thea: "Yeah, but why? I mean, what does HIVE have to gain from any of this?"
Oliver: "A base of operations. They have to be able to operate out of somewhere. What better spot than a dead city?"
Laurel: "With almost a dead police department."
Diggle: "Any luck from that tooth we got off the HIVE member that we took down?"
Felicity: "Only that the deterioration of the DNA markers was most definitely not natural."
Laurel: "Which means it was caused by what?"
Felicity: "Curtis and I have been trying to figure that out for the past month."
Oliver: "Maybe Ray will have better luck."
Felicity: "I will ask."
Diggle (to Oliver): "Hey, you got a sec?"
Oliver: "Yeah. (Diggle hands him folder, which Oliver opens to see photos of Andy Diggle) Where'd you get this?"
Diggle: "I got that from Lance. Who got it from Damien Darhk."
Oliver: "John, this -"
Diggle: "Is pretty definitive evidence that HIVE had Andy killed because his criminal operations conflicted with theirs."
Oliver: "That doesn't track at all with what you have told me about Andy."
Diggle: "Oliver, that doesn't track with what I knew about Andy. But... I guess I really never knew him at all."
Oliver: "There's got to be some explanation. Maybe he was undercover."
Diggle: "Hey, man, listen, it's all right there. The facts are the facts."
Oliver: "All I'm saying, Andy was your brother, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Trust me. Things aren't always what they seem."

407 (Brotherhood) – Felicity asks for Ray Palmer's help in analyzing the Ghost's tooth:
(Felicity opens loft door to Ray.)
Felicity: "Ah, thank you for coming by on such short notice."
Ray: "Well, happy to have something to do. To be honest, I'm feeling at a bit of a loss of what to do with my newfound freedom. And height. (Chuckles) Is everything always this big?"
Felicity: "If you're looking for something to do, why not try, oh, I don't know, declare yourself undead, try getting your company back."
Ray: "You said you had something that you needed help on?"
Felicity: "Don't change the subject."
Ray: "I'm not! I am a recently undead billionaire CEO. My time is at a premium. What can I do for you? (Felicity holds up tooth in glass bottle) Thanks, I was wondering where my tooth went."
Felicity: "John pulled this off of a Ghost. It's their cyanide retirement plan. We tried pulling DNA off of it, but -"
Ray (viewing tablet screen): "But half of the genetic markers are missing. That's impossible."
Felicity: "You mean like, 'A guy who can shrink to the size of a French fry' impossible?"
Ray: "Well, do you have any equipment? I'm fresh out of chromatographs."
Felicity: "Got that. Can we circle back to why you won't come back to Palmer Tech? Your return is exactly what our stock price needs."
Ray (viewing chromatograph results): " It's incredible. (Laughs) The genetic code has been selectively degraded."
Felicity: "We know. We think it's to scramble the DNA markers so they can't be IDed. But how?"
Ray: "Well, it looks like it was done with a synthetic compound. Like a chemical CRISPR/Cas9. Lastrapium trioxide. Wolfman Biologics has a patent on it."

407 (Brotherhood) – Team Arrow looks for sample of the synthetic compound; and Diggle discovers that Andy is one of the Ghosts:
Oliver (over comms): "On site. We're clear for entry."
Diggle (over comms): "All right, Felicity, what's next?"
Felicity (over comms): "We need a sample of the chemical. With it, Ray can unscramble the DNA markers and we can have a shot at IDing some of our Ghosts."
Laurel (over comms): "Where do we find this thing?"
Felicity (over comms): "Working... According to their recently hacked computers, second floor, northwest corner. It's a yellow liquid."
Oliver (over comms): "Incoming. Four Ghosts, north entrance."
Thea (over comms): "I'm on it."
(Oliver and Thea fight Ghosts.)
Diggle (over comms): "Felicity, we're in. Looking for the compound."
Laurel: "Got it."
(Ghost starts shooting at her, but Diggle takes him down.)
Felicity (over comms): "Green Arrow and Speedy need assistance."
Laurel (to Diggle): "Thanks!"
Diggle: "You should go, get out of here."
Laurel: "And what about you?"
Diggle: "I've got this. Go."
(Laurel leaves.)
Diggle (over comms): "Felicity, I'm going for an ID on the Ghost that shot at us. Stand by.  (Pulls mask off Ghost's face)  Andy?"
(Andy punches out at Diggle and runs off.)

407 (Brotherhood) – Team Arrow discusses the surprise, back-from-the-dead appearance of Andy Diggle:
Felicity: "Even death's not permanent any more. Sorry.”
Diggle: "No, no, it's okay. Nothing seems to make sense anymore. Andy. I can't believe this."
Oliver: "Okay, it's obvious that HIVE faked his death. Maybe it was part of his recruitment -"
Diggle: "You saw the file. You saw what kind of man my brother was - what kind of man he is."
Oliver: "We don't know anything, not until we hear it directly from Andy."
Laurel: "And how are we supposed to do that?"
Oliver: "We get him out of HIVE."
Diggle: "Oliver, how are you still giving him the benefit of the doubt?"
Oliver: "Because he's your family. You said he was a good man. Maybe a part of him still is."
Diggle: "I don't know."
Felicity: "I do. Last month at the lumber yard, a Ghost had a chance to kill you, but didn't. I remember thinking how weird that was, unless that Ghost was Andy."
Diggle: "So, what, he had a chance to kill me and he didn't, so I'm just supposed to forget he's a killer?"
Thea: "No, but you should still remember he's your brother."
Diggle: "I can't square that circle, Thea. That HIVE member was nothing like my brother. The man that was my brother's dead. He's dead."

407 (Brotherhood) – At a party honoring the police, Quentin gives Oliver a tip as to a possible Ghost facility:
(Oliver and Felicity come up to Diggle at the party.)
Oliver: "Hey. Alex hired a security detail, if you want to sit this one out."
Diggle: "Yeah, I'm going to be at the bar." (Leaves)
Felicity: "Well, this has to be a better way than how you usually spend your evenings - dressing in leather and tying people up."
(Woman walking by overhears her words and gives them a strange look.  Thea and Alex come up.)
Thea: "There he is!"
Alex: "They're waiting for you on the dais. You ready for this?"
Oliver: "About to find out... (Goes up to podium)  Evening. It is our great privilege to be here tonight to honor the Star City Police Department. These are a group of men and women who risk their lives for us on a daily basis. Never been an easy job, and it has certainly never been more difficult than it is right now in our city. These are the people that keep our streets safe. Who watch over us. They protect us. For that, I'm grateful. And so is the rest of Star City."
(Audience applauds.)
Quentin: "Not bad. Not quite as powerful as the Green Arrow's, but not bad."
Oliver: "Yeah?  Maybe I should get him to endorse me. (Quentin laughs) I need a favor from you. Need a location of one of Darhk's foot soldiers."
Quentin: "Could be a little difficult. Darhk called me into his office this morning for a little chat about how he doesn't trust me anymore."
Oliver: "Wait, wait, wait... Are you in danger?"
Quentin: "I hope not. But listen, when I was there, I saw something on his desk. Something about Slip 52 down at the docks. Now, if the Ghosts are there, maybe the one you're looking for will be there, too."
Oliver: "Okay. Thank you."
    
407 (Brotherhood) – Felicity reminds Oliver of the reason that he decided to run for mayor in the first place:
Felicity: "Leaving to fight Ra's on the mountaintop, going undercover with the League of Assassins, dating the Huntress -"
Oliver: "What are you doing?"
Felicity: "Oh... I am just listing all of the terrible ideas you've had over the past three years - of which throwing in with Damien Darhk has got to be the worst."
Oliver: "I am not throwing in with Damien Darhk!  I am using him to get at HIVE."
Felicity: "Isn't Lance already our man on the inside?"
Oliver: "Lance has lost Darhk's trust, making this the only way -"
Felicity: "To get yourself killed. You remember the last time you tried to take down an evil organization from the inside?"
Oliver: "This is different."
Felicity: "Why? Because you'd be doing it as Oliver Queen?"
Oliver: "Yep."
Felicity: "What about your mayoral campaign? You cannot be an effective candidate for mayor and Darhk's undercover stooge."
Oliver: "Ahem. Taking down Darhk is more important, especially now that we know he has Andy under his thumb."
Felicity: "First, there is a whole long list of things that we don't know about Andy. Second, you didn't decide to run for mayor to take down Darhk. You did it to give the city something that the Green Arrow can't give them.  Hope. Inspiration. Don't lose sight of that. Not even for John."

407 (Brotherhood) – Oliver and Diggle argue about Andy and Oliver’s idea on how to take down Darhk:
(Felicity is patching up Oliver's injury.)
Oliver: "This isn't on you, John. It was my call."
Diggle: "Ahem. I never should have let you make it. Felicity, can you give us a second?"
Felicity: "No, I think I should stay. (Diggle looks at her) I just, uh, remembered, I got that thing in the whatever with the what's-it." (Leaves)
Diggle: "Oliver, let this go, man. I have. You almost got yourself killed."
Oliver: "I've been a lot closer to almost killed."
Diggle: "Andy made his choice."
Oliver: "You don't know that. John, you saw what was going on tonight. Those men, they were under the influence of something. Whatever pill is scrambling their DNA is also making them susceptible to Darhk's suggestion."
Diggle: "All right, just because you have a blind spot for your family, don't expect me to as well."
Oliver: "That - that's not what this is about."
Diggle: "The hell it's not. Family is exactly what this is about. Criminal or not. Under the influence or not. Andy let his son and his wife believe he was dead for eight years, Oliver. Eight years! And there's no excuse for that. None."
Oliver: "John, I'm just - you don't know."
Diggle: "Oliver, you don't know. You have this inexplicable way of excusing everything just because it's family."
Oliver: "It's not inexplicable! I'm asking you - ahem. I'm asking you to hold out hope for Andy because I need that hope. I need to believe that no matter what happens in our lives, no matter how much darkness infects us, I need to believe that we can come back from that!"
Diggle: "And it was exactly that thinking that led you to the League last year. Doesn't seem like you learned much from that."
Oliver: "Felicity told you?"
Diggle: "Getting in bed with Darhk, Oliver? I don't see how you can even consider it."
Oliver: "We are going to take this guy down, and no idea is off the table."
Diggle: "I thought you're doing things differently, Oliver. Fighting Darhk from the inside is just fighting Darhk in the shadows. You want to do things differently? You want ideas, fine. Let's take this son of a bitch down in the light of day."

407 (Brotherhood) – Ray gives Felicity the results of his analysis of the Ghost's tooth, while she tries to convince him to live again:
Felicity: "Hey."
Ray: "Hey. Sorry, I had Curtis grab some more toys so I could keep working on your tooth."
Felicity: "That's okay; I don't think we're going to be using the table for eating tonight, anyway. Oliver and John are busy fighting over John's not-so-dead after all brother."
Ray: "Do I even want to ask?"
Felicity: "Let's just say you no longer corner the market on not being as dead as people think. Though, in John's brother's case, he does have a pretty good excuse - unlike some people. Have you seen anyone?"
Ray: "Of course not; I've been busy here working on your tooth."
Felicity: "You're stalling. Ray, when you come back from the dead, you're supposed to start living again. What's going on?"
Ray: "I've been catching up on the past six months. My company, my city, my life. And I feel like Tom Sawyer watching his own funeral. Except in my case, nobody really cares."
Felicity: "That is not true, Ray."
Ray: "Renaming Starling 'Star City' is nice, but then take a look to what's happened to the place. And my company, this thing I've built that was supposed to outlast me, is now on life support."
Felicity: "Because it needs you."
Ray: "To do what? The same thing I was doing before I died? Obviously that didn't amount to anything."
Felicity: "Oh, self-pity is not a good look on you."
Ray: "Ah, I don't think it's self-pity. I think it's self-reflection. If I'm going to come back to life, I have to figure out what it is that I'm living for."
Felicity: "Okay."
Ray: "I played around with your bicuspid a bit. Ah, the, uh, compound definitely broke down the residual DNA on the tooth. It's pretty inventive, actually."
Felicity: "Is there any way to reconstitute the DNA so we have a shot at IDing these guys?"
Ray: "No. Once the alleles are decomposed, they're gone for good."
Felicity: "Yeah."
Ray: "So since that was a dead end, I took another look at the polymer the fake tooth was made of. Uh, I found faint traces of sodium fluoride."
Felicity: "Like from water? There's no way that the concentration could be high enough to leave behind any sort of residue."
Ray: "It would if there was an unusually high sodium fluoride count in the drinking water, like say in the facility that was closed down for that very reason."
Felicity: "Muller Psychiatric Center."
Ray: "You got to admire the irony of Damien Darhk keeping his army of bad guys in a defunct looney bin."
Felicity: "Not bad for a guy who thinks his life didn't add up to anything."
Ray: "Yeah. Never going to outlive that one."

407 (Brotherhood) – Over Diggle's objection, Team Arrow decides to rescue Andy from HIVE:
Oliver: "Everyone clear on the plan?"
Thea: "You know, I wasn't the first 80 times we went over it, but now I think I got it."
Diggle: "What's going on, guys?"
Laurel: "Felicity found a probable location for the Ghosts' base of operations."
Diggle (to Oliver): "These guys are not going to be easy to take out. How are you feeling?"
Oliver (sighing): "We're not trying to take down the Ghosts; We don't have the manpower. Going after Andy."
Diggle: "Guys, Oliver nearly got himself killed trying to help Andy. I'm not letting you do the same."
Thea: "I'm sorry, but it's not really just up to you."
Laurel: "I did everything that I could to bring my sister back, and I think your brother deserves the same."
Diggle: "No, Laurel, that's just it - I don't think he does. And I don't know what Oliver told you -"
Felicity: "He told them the only two things that matter - Andy's under Darhk's influence, and we need to get him out."
Diggle: "I can't let you risk your life for someone who does not deserve it."
Oliver: "That's your call. We've made ours. Let's move."

407 (Brotherhood) – Team Arrow executes a plan to grab Andy:
Oliver (over comms): "Oliver: We're on site."
Felicity (over comms): "Uh, satellite's reading a hell of a lot of activity for 3:00 in the morning. I'm guessing 50 or so Ghosts plus who knows how many recruits."
Thea (over comms): "Hey, wait, if the Ghosts are wearing their usual Halloween costume, then how are we supposed to tell which one's Andy?" 
Felicity (over comms): "That's what your fancy new cameras are for. A little gift from Curtis. The infrared lenses should virtually unmask our ghosty friends."
Laurel (over comms): "Sick."
Oliver: "Okay, ready?"
(Oliver, Thea and Laurel split up.)
Thea (over comms): ""I'm in position."
Laurel (over comms): "In position."
Oliver (over comms): "This isn't just a base of operations. It looks like a staging area."
Felicity (over comms): "For what?"
Oliver (over comms): "Equipment. Military crates marked G6:5. Does that mean anything?"
Felicity (over comms): "Maybe they're playing bingo."
Oliver (over comms): "Let's assume that's not it."
Felicity (over comms): "Deadly bingo."
Oliver (over comms): "Ahem. We need to get an ID on Andy. When we do, you wait for my signal before engaging."
Thea (over comms): "Yeah, I might not have that option."
Oliver (over comms): "Speedy?"
Felicity (over comms): "She's been spotted, third floor, southwest building."
Laurel (over comms): "I've been spotted, too."
Thea (over comms): "'I might be able to get a visual on our target!"
Felicity (over comms): "Waiting on confirmation. That's him, you got him, the one on your right."
Thea (over comms): "Actually, he's got me!"
(Thea and Andy have an extended fight sequence.)
Thea (over comms): "I got him. He looks pretty heavy, though, so I could use a hand."
Laurel (over comms): "I'm on my way."
(Cut to Oliver fighting Ghosts.  Then cut to Thea walking down the corridor and running into Darhk.)
Darhk: "It's Merida. Aren't you out a little bit past your bedtime? I've seen something of your fighting style. You were trained by Ra's al Ghul. Tell me - how is Malcolm doing these days? (Puts hand on Thea's throat but nothing happens) That usually works."
(Darhk's hand is affected, and Thea runs off. Cut to Oliver and Ray fighting Ghosts.)
Felicity (over comms): "Black Canary's got Andy, but she needs help reaching the exfil."
Oliver (to Ray): "I got this!"
Ray: "You sure?"
Oliver: "Go!"
(Ray flies off.  A Ghost is about to shoot Oliver, but it taken down by Diggle.)
Oliver: "It's, uh, nice of you to show up."
Diggle: "My brother needed me. The green one." 

407 (Brotherhood) – Oliver tells Diggle that he's decided to fight Darhk in the light of day:
Diggle: "Thank you, thank you, thank you - all of you. Palmer, even you, thank you."
Ray: "My pleasure. Feels good to do something useful. It's been a while."
Felicity: "Does that mean I can expect to see you at work tomorrow?"
Ray: "Ah… no. Can't keep doing the same useless, ineffective things. You know? I got to do something different. I'm going to take some time and figure out what that is. But, uh, it'll still include the occasional super heroics whenever you need me."
Laurel: "Where are you going?"
Diggle: "Well, I have a long overdue chat with my brother. I hope you were right."
Oliver: "Me, too. You were right."
Diggle: "About what?"
Oliver: "Darhk. I thought about what you said, and how to fight him. I'm going to do it in the light of day."
Diggle: "Good. What did you have in mind?"
Oliver: "You'll see."
*  *  *
(Oliver holds a press conference.)
Oliver: "Thank you all for coming. My, uh, my campaign advisor doesn't think that saving the Bay is the right fight, given the state the city is in. But I'd like everyone to know that I'm not blind to Star City's problems. And I wouldn't be here today if I wasn't confident that this program could help solve them. And the reason I chose the Bay is because it's in the center of the city. It's out in the open. For everyone to see. The fight to save Star City isn't going to be fought in the shadows. It's going to be fought in the light of day. And I promise you, all of you, that I will never stop fighting to save this city."

Edited February 25, 2020 by tv echo