S02.E05: League of Assassins

[Actionmage]

While Oliver tends to the Canary’s wounds, he tries to get her to talk about where she came from but she refuses. However, after Oliver and the Canary are attacked at the Queen mansion by a trained killer from the League of Assassins, she confesses to how she’s connected with the nefarious group. Meanwhile with Moira facing multiple counts of murder and conspiracy for her part in the destruction of The Glades, the Assistant District Attorney offers her a choice – plead guilty now and avoid the death penalty or take your chances in court. Thea begs her mother to fight for her life but Moira seems resolute about taking the offer. Meanwhile, Oliver is furious with Laurel for joining the prosecution’s team on his mother’s case.

 

Other than DA shenanigans. a fun episode, if I remember rightly!

[Actionmage]

Gee, so much to enjoy, but mostly the super Paul Blackthorne! This should be used to try and snag him a supporting actor nomination.

 

We had Jean trying to get Moira to fight for her life, and eventually Oliver and Thea swearing to always love her. (Here's hoping that Malcolm screws the pooch by being cavalierly unkind about Moira.)

 

We had Sarah backstory that dovetailed with Ollie backstory. We had our first Ivo sighting and first 'omg! He's insane' moments. (I wondered about whether she underwent the bullet test that Oliver and the others underwent before Ivo saved her. It would fit with the "Pain and I came to an understanding...".)

 

We had Laurel being whiny about her new job and the crap being new brings, yet  we got the awesome Thea rebuttal to the "better" plan (of Laurel's  devising) of "Sounds like blackmail!" growled from the feral depths of Thea's heart. So, can we consider this the First Blackmail? *g* Only partly joking. Life is better than death, but Laurel's petulant 'I dare you to say something to me' glare was tiresome.  As was watching the 'Everybody runs away' speech. For a woman who just four episodes ago told Oliver that they couldn't be a couple again, she sure decided to mentally add 'with benefits' to his dinner as a friend invitation. *sigh* I wish the writers would pick a Laurel and be done with it.

 

 

For all the times our Mandarin-speaking buddies keep going to the only Chinese diner, you can't tell me no one there doesn't have ties to China White or Ra's or any other thugs/villains with an Asian tie-in or background. I keep expecting someone to pick up their cell or go into the kitchen and send a message to The Boss. In a way, I hope that comes true. It'd teach Our Heroes to remember this lesson: Never underestimate so-called civilians! All is not as it seems, right? (::cringes remembering all the times Dig and Felicity's names were spoken over open comms.::)

 

Mr. Blackthorne's scene at the end with KC? Still gutted me. Now, I'm a parent, so that may play into how I feel, but the way his voice chokes and breaks ( and in the tower scene when Sara says she's got to leave) just sells the whole enchilada for me. I also think that this is the episode where it crystalized for Quentin who The Hood was. He's no dummy, so after his reunion with Sara, decided to put the thought to the side and go on.

 

I still enjoyed the heck out of the episode.

[statsgirl]

I love Sara's low heeled boots.  Also that she gets along so well with Diggle and Felicity.  She seemed almost jealous that the three of them (Oliver/Diggle/Felicity) get along so well as a team.  I guess she really is missing being in Starling City.

 

"You're not flinching"

"Pain and I came to an understanding a few years back"  (That helps set up Felicity being jealous of Sara's scars.)
 

Oh the anvil of the canary landing on the flotsam after the Queen's Gambit sank!

 

Laurel says she has no influence over the DA and Donner to get out of prosecuting Moira and what she had she used to get the plea bargain.  What the?  All she had to do is say since she's been so associated with the Queen family and so close to Oliver that having her second chair could have the verdict thrown out.  The case is paper-thin anyway,

 

How are 10 years worth of phone records and e-mails going to prove Moira wasn't coerced?  Does Moira look stupid enough to send something in an e-mail?

 

Oliver;  Not good [about his day].  Found anyone for me to hit yet?

Queen Manor, in addition to having a really inefficient cleaning staff (did no ask who that blonde suddenly living there is?), is badly put together if Sara can just reach up and tear down a whole length of molding.

 

Wow, Oliver is really manipulating Laurel.  That's so romantic.

 

"It's your funeral, Sara."
"Wouldn't be my first."

 

I like Sara, I really do.  What I hate is that as soon as Sara is on an episode, Oliver forgets about everyone else.  This time it includes Laurel, which sends her into a spiral of self-pity 'What is wrong with me that everybody leaves?"  How much time do you have, Laurel?  The self-pity that Tommy 'left' her is really the worst because he wouldn't be dead if she hadn't ignored everyone and gone to CNRI.

 

I think this is the best Quentin episode.  I love how he figures it out "You sent Felicity Smoak to warn me ... you know the Arrow... you're the girl in the mask...you've been in town for weeks kicking the crap out of people...would you have even told me you're alive?
But why doesn't he recognize addict behaviour?  Laurel is practically glowing with it.

"What are you without your side arm?"
"A man with a spare."

 

Poor clock tower with your broken glass.  Little do you know.  And they don't even bother to fix  you in the meantime.

 

Oliver and Thea to Moira:  "Whatever comes out, you won't lose us. Ever"  And she loses both of them by the end of the season.

[Sakura12]

This episode was one of my favorites. It was really a Sara and Quentin episode IMO.

 

I didn't mind Oliver dropping every thing to be with Sara in this episode it all makes more sense having seen the rest the season. He thought he watched her die twice only to have been wrong and not only that each time she was put in an even worse situation. The guilt Oliver was carrying around for what happened to Sara was there from the first episode. Finding out she became an assassin after

killing Ivo so she wouldn't have to be a murderer

must've killed a part of him. Then he wanted so badly for her to stay and reunite with her whole family and had to let her go again not knowing if he'd ever see her again. 

 

This also showed that once Sara felt comfortable around Oliver that she's much more open about what happened to her then he was. She just confessed to being a killer in front people that are basically strangers. Diggle and Felicity were Oliver's friends not hers. So I also liked that she was grateful to Felicity for not treating her badly because of what she is. I also liked that both Diggle and Felicity took to Sara pretty quickly, unlike someone else. Sara treated them with respect so they treated her with respect. Of course that is just something called having manners. 

 

I loved Quentin and Sara's relationship both Paul Blackthrone and Caity Lotz were able to show the relationship between father and daughter with very little dialogue. It almost made me think that Sara was a daddy's girl (which is probably another reason for Laurel's jealousy of her little sister). I loved the way Quentin noticed how different Sara was right away and his concern and heartache when she jumped up ready to attack at the slightest sound. And him jumping straight to she's the woman beating up people in the glades from her sending Felicity to warn him when he couldn't figure out who the Arrow was after over a year of being around him. 

 

I also liked Sara's hunched shoulders and looking down at the ground like she was expecting to be punished after killing a guy in front of her father. And him being a father and just so happy that she wasn't dead and understanding that she's been through a lot and had to do things no one should have to do. That showed up again in 2.13 as well. Their goodbye scene was once again heartbreaking. 

 

I also think this is when Quentin forgave Oliver, if Sara went through some horrific things so did he. 

[Actionmage]

I forgot to mention the parallel from the episode where Tommy finds out about Ollie being the Hood. In the hospital, where Malcolm's recovering, Tommy asks Oliver if Oliver would have ever told him about being the Hood. Oliver takes half a beat and says "No."  Tommy's eyes ( I miss you Colin!!)- something just dims.

 

Here, it was Quentin in the Tommy role. Sara just as evenly and quicker, imo, answers that she wouldn't've told her family she was alive. Yet, in Quentin, something didn't dim or bank. It felt like steeling himself, since he does know and she is there. Either he sort of already knew there wasn't going to be time to spend with his baby girl or that the time they had wasn't going to be enough for him. The "I can't let you go!" just kills me. Every. frickin'. time.

 

They parallel quite a bit, but this case? Was handled well, imo.

[catrox14]

Oh gosh. Great observation about the parallel with Tommy.  I just watched that episode a couple of weeks ago, and I am still so gutted by that scene.  Tommy and Oliver have more chemistry than Laurel and Oliver...but then again, Oliver has more chemistry with Sally than Laurel.

 

Paul Blackthorne is just a gift to this show as is Susannah  I don't know which hurts more his reunion with Sara or the departure.  Great work either way. 

 

One thing I've noticed is that Oliver is a shoulder toucher.  I don't know why but I love that.

Edited June 26, 2014 by catrox14

[tv echo]

I had forgotten how good this episode was - my thoughts:

 

Detective Lance and his daughters - I really believed the love between Lance and Sara.  PB and CL really sold it for me.  Their scenes were heartbreaking.  In contrast, I never really buy that Laurel loves her father because of the way she speaks to him.

 

Sara as the Canary - Loved her fight scene in the Clock Tower.  You can tell it's really CL in some of those shots.  I try to imagine KC doing that same fight scene and can only hope that they find a great stuntwoman who greatly resembles KC in both face and body.

 

Laurel - Cringed at her "everyone leaves me" self-pity speech.  Everything really is about her, in the world according to Laurel.  Also, I agree that she could've gotten out of being on the prosecution team due to her longstanding relationship with the Queen family.  In the real world, she would never be assigned to that team in the first place.  She just sounded more concerned with her new job than anything else ("But I just got this new job, Ollie!  I have to prosecute your mother and try to put her to death if she doesn't take my fantastic plea deal.  How else am I going to succeed in the D.A.'s office?" (my words)).

 

Moira and her children - In the jail scene where Oliver and Thea convince Moira not to take the plea deal but to fight, they say that they will still love her and support her regardless of what secrets are revealed at trial.  Ironic, considering how they each react later in the season when Moira's BIG secret is revealed.

Edited June 27, 2014 by tv echo

[Actionmage]

This was a great set-up episode, looking back. I merely thought it great when I originally saw. I had caught the Tommy-Oliver/Quentin/Sara mirroring, but was busy letting everything else wash over me.

 

This second time, so much- as has been pointed out by fellow forumites- ended up paying off down the line. Thea and Moira's almost endless makeup/breakup, Oliver's belief that Moira couldn't surprise him again with a secret, The coming of Al Ghul's child.  The nod to Laurel's need to know the Truth, regardless of anything else. Imo, the foreshadowing of the Quentin/Laurel "I think I know who The Arrow is" talk. As an off-shoot of Nyssa's coming to town, also Malcolm's return for Thea (we really didn't think he was dead dead, right?)

 

It's just such a good, meaty, fun episode, despite the very heavy backstory Sara gets.  (Fun, not as in light, but in our tv buddies doing what they're best at.)

[icandigit]

I'm obsessed with the clock tower fight when the arrow comes in. The musical score drops out for  a second during one of his punches that makes the whole thing cooler than it already was.

 

I'm starting to think that Sara may be one of my favorite characters on the show.

[Sakura12]

This was such an epic fight scene and you can see Caity actually doing the stunt fighting. I loved that they all got to do something. Quentin being the guy with a spare, Oliver taking down an assassin and Sara killing Merlyn's teacher. 

 

 

Also the Nolanverse Batman shout out with the "be mindful of your surroundings". 

Edited June 27, 2014 by Sakura12

[statsgirl]

One thing I didn't understand .... Sara deliberately took Quentin back to the clock tower for the fight to be on grounds that she had chosen.  But did she also tell Oliver? It seems to me that she didn't and he asked Felicity to find out where Sara is, but if that's the case, how could she know that she and her father alone would be enough to stop the assassins?

[catrox14]

I assumed Oliver was following her.

 

My favorite part of that fight? Quentin just shooting the guy. Boom. Done. LOL. Dude so did not see that coming.  I kind of wish they hadn't killed off the head guy there. He's a great actor and I would have liked him to come back as part of the LoA on occasion.

[KirkB]

One thing I didn't understand .... Sara deliberately took Quentin back to the clock tower for the fight to be on grounds that she had chosen.  But did she also tell Oliver? It seems to me that she didn't and he asked Felicity to find out where Sara is, but if that's the case, how could she know that she and her father alone would be enough to stop the assassins?

 

 

It was probably a little bit of hubris on Sara's part. She assumed she could handle just about anyone the League sent after her, and for the first part of the fight at least it looked like she was right. That's probably why the next time someone from the League shows up, it's the one person Ra's must have known Sara would not simply kill or dismiss: Nyssa.

Edited July 2, 2014 by KirkB

[Sakura12]

I also think Sara assumed they wouldn't kill her because of Nyssa. That's why the assassin said something about her not being safe just because she's the beloved. I'm guessing Ra's ordered her capture alive if possible or dead if necessary. 

Edited July 2, 2014 by Sakura12

[pootlus]

I love Sara's "Yeah, come on if you think you're tough enough!" look at the start of that clip.

 

Also can never get enough of CL kicking arse.

[tv echo]

I've been re-reviewing past seasons during this midwinter hiatus and I just finished 2x05 (League of Assassins).  The following piece of dialogue struck me as particularly funny in hindsight:

 

Diggle: "What are you doing? Oliver told you to stay put. I thought you didn't want your father to know you're still alive."
Sara: "I don't. But it's better than him not being. Where do you think you're going?"
Diggle: "With you. I'm not going to let you go out there without any back-up."
Sara: "Dig, you may be a three-tour Special Forces veteran, but I was trained by the people that make the Special Forces look like a kindergarten class. So step aside or get put down."
Diggle: "It's your funeral, Sara."

 

It's funny because later, in Season 3, we see Diggle, Thea and Laurel fighting League assassins on multiple occasions - and not only emerging unscathed, but defeating them.

Edited January 15, 2016 by tv echo

[rtalive]

I am also recently re-watching s2, and this is great episode. I love Arrow(Oliver)/Canary(Sara) dynamic. They feel real to me, and look awesome in stunts and fights. I think it is because of their great chemistry and back story. Also Sara as a character is so interesting and complicated. I really like her darkness and determination but also love to her family and friends and compassion for others. I think this is what Black Canary from the comics is supposed to be. I also like Sara chemistry with Felicity in this episode. It really shows these two can become great friends and partners.

The dialogue with Diggle about the league was also one of my favorite lines of Sara. It is really too bad that they showed the league so weak in s3 and so easily beaten by the inexperienced at that point team arrow, but I guess the writers are just inconsistent at their story telling sometimes because this suits them.

[Chaser]

If you watch this episode with the belief that the show wanted KC out, it makes sense. You see the beginnings of Sara as Black Canary and Laurel's exit. Sara was establishing the backstory with the LOA and the Canary reference. Laurel was bulldozing towards self-destruction. 

If you watch this episode believing the EPs party line about this all being part of the plan, then this episode is confusing as hell. You are told Sara is the start of Laurel's evolution into Black Canary. However, they establish Sara's relationship to Lance in this episode. They could have easily switched Oliver and Sara. Oliver protects Lance (which would have been hilarious with the state of that relationship and Lance being in the dark) and Sara reveals herself to Laurel. Instead, Laurel is kept far from Sara. No wink-wink to Laurel becoming Black Canary.

Even removing the Black Canary plot line, I don't know what they were doing with Laurel. From her POV, Oliver comes to her office to be her friend. He stresses this few times in their interaction and about how he cares about her and then she goes speechifying about how everyone leaves her because he didn't sleep with her. Was she looking for pity sex? The whole time that's happening, we are getting a crash course in everything Sara went thru. 

Weird. 

Good episode, but some odd choices.

[Sakura12]

Laurel barely played part of Sara's story in S2. And Sara was definitely not part of hers. I know they never called Sara, Black Canary. But she wore a black outfit and choose the name Canary because of a pet she loved growing up which was a black canary. Giving Sara a heroes origin story side by side with Oliver's made it look she was destined to be Black Canary. That's why I think their whole plan was derailed when KC's lawyers came for them. Then the "plan" became Laurel was always destined to become BC, which apparently happened off screen.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Sakura12

[ladylaw99]

When Sara was introduced she was a natural badass, she never looked like someone trying to be a great fighter she just natural was.  I miss this about Arrow.

[TrueMyth]

12 hours ago, Chaser said:

If you watch this episode believing the EPs party line about this all being part of the plan, then this episode is confusing as hell. 

This is part of what worries me about Olicity.  Until season 5, things seemed pretty end game for Oliver and Felicity, but 5A has been confusing as hell with that reading, especially in 5x08 and 5x09.  Certainly degrades my trust in the writers.

[rtalive]

On 1/4/2017 at 5:36 AM, Chaser said:

If you watch this episode with the belief that the show wanted KC out, it makes sense. You see the beginnings of Sara as Black Canary and Laurel's exit. Sara was establishing the backstory with the LOA and the Canary reference. Laurel was bulldozing towards self-destruction. 

If you watch this episode believing the EPs party line about this all being part of the plan, then this episode is confusing as hell. You are told Sara is the start of Laurel's evolution into Black Canary. However, they establish Sara's relationship to Lance in this episode. They could have easily switched Oliver and Sara. Oliver protects Lance (which would have been hilarious with the state of that relationship and Lance being in the dark) and Sara reveals herself to Laurel. Instead, Laurel is kept far from Sara. No wink-wink to Laurel becoming Black Canary.

Even removing the Black Canary plot line, I don't know what they were doing with Laurel. From her POV, Oliver comes to her office to be her friend. He stresses this few times in their interaction and about how he cares about her and then she goes speechifying about how everyone leaves her because he didn't sleep with her. Was she looking for pity sex? The whole time that's happening, we are getting a crash course in everything Sara went thru. 

Weird. 

Good episode, but some odd choices.

This episode put the end of Oliver and Laurel, and moved to Oliver and Sara, so yes I agree they wanted to make Sara the Black Canary from that moment on. Maybe at first they were thinking that she will be just beginning, but her character and the actress were amazing, so they just got inspired to write for her and people liked it. Laurel on the other hand had a story perfect for a villain. Maybe they were thinking to bring her to the darker side.

Things changed, because Caity Lotz did not had a contract with CW, and Cassidy had, she just wanted to suit up too much, no matter that this role did not fit her and her character. And they got rid of Sara abruptly, first she leaves, then they kill her. 

[Chaser]

Responding in Laurel's Thread.

[Goldmoon]

Can someone tell me when you think Lance realized Arrow was Oliver?

[BkWurm1]

It's complicated since what I thought in season two and what they said in season three really don't line up.  I would have said when Sara came back into his life he had to know Oliver was the GA when they both showed up when he had to leave early from Sara's Welcome Back From the Dead party.  Later in the season Lance implies he's trying not to figure it out.  

[Wayward Son]

On 04/01/2017 at 3:46 PM, Sakura12 said:

 That's why I think their whole plan was derailed when KC's lawyers came for them. Then the "plan" became Laurel was always destined to become BC, which apparently happened off screen.

Wait, what? Did Katie Cassidy sue the Arrow writers? 

[Sakura12]

1 hour ago, Wayward Son said:

Wait, what? Did Katie Cassidy sue the Arrow writers? 

For context, I wrote that when I was upset about something that happened in Season 3. I don't know what happened behind the scenes just that the narrative took a complete turn and it didn't make much sense. It still doesn't IMO. 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Sakura12

[BkWurm1]

9 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

Wait, what? Did Katie Cassidy sue the Arrow writers? 

There were rumors that she brought a complaint to SAG about the change in direction with her role or something or threatened to or started to sue.  It's not proven fact, but seemed to come from good sources though not directly and I couldn't even say who the sources were but some trusted in the fandom could if they were free to say but they can't so who really knows, lol?  We eagerly await the tell-all book a decade from now.  

[tv echo]

205 (League of Assassins) – 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."

205 (League of Assassins) – In a flashback scene, Oliver and Sara are in his cabin on The Queen’s Gambit, while a storm rages outside:
Sara (on phone): “Yeah, Dad, college is great. No, me and my new roommate totally hit it off. We're like besties. Okay. Yeah, dad, I got to get back to chem lab. Yes. It looks like I got a long night ahead of me. (Oliver whispers, “Sara, get off the phone.") Love you, Dad. Bye... Ollie. You are trouble.”
Oliver: “How is Detective Lance?"
Sara: "Ah, he's clueless, as usual. (Drinks a glass of water) Guess I was thirsty. Did you hear that? One… two… three… It's getting closer.”
Oliver: “That's not very scientific.”
Sara: “And what would you know about science, Mr. Ivy League Drop-out?”
Oliver: “I happen to know a lot about science. I know fermentation. I know biology.” (Kisses her)
Sara: “Laurel's going to kill me. She's so going to kill me.”
Oliver: “Your sister will never know. Just come here.” (Grabs her, as she giggles. They hear a loud crash of thunder.)
Sara: “Okay, that one was really close.”
Oliver: “Sara. We're going to be fine.” (Kisses her)
(Suddenly the entire cabin turns over on its side, things crash, and they get thrown onto the floor.)
Oliver: “Sara?”
Sara (dazed): “Oliver?”
(Sara gets sucked out through a hole in the wall into the ocean outside, as she screams.)
Oliver: “Sara!”
(Cut to ocean, where Sara is flailing in the water.)
Sara:”Help! Help! (Sees boat in the distance and hears Oliver yell, “Sara!”) Oliver!”
(Cut to present day, as Sara wakes up from the nightmare memory.)

205 (League of Assassins) - Oliver confronts Laurel about prosecuting his mother:
Oliver: "You're prosecuting my mother?"
Laurel: "I didn't ask for this case. I was assigned."
Oliver: "So say 'no'!"
Laurel: "It's a new job, Oliver. I don't have a lot of pull. And what pull I do have, I used to get that plea bargain for your mother."
Oliver: "This was your idea? Life in prison?"
Laurel: "The D.A. is serious about the death penalty, Ollie. We both know what it's like to lose someone. So think about it and save your mother's life."

205 (League of Assassins) – Sara is reluctant to let her family know that she's alive: 
(Sara is wandering around the inside of the Queen mansion, looking at mementos.)
Oliver: “Sara? Sara. You okay?”
Sara: “How did everything go with your mother?”
Oliver: “I ran into your sister. She's working on the case.”
Sara: “You didn't tell her –“
Oliver: “No. I know a little something about keeping secrets and respecting them, even though I don't totally understand why you're keeping yours. Is this-- is it because of what happened on the island?”
Sara: “No. After. There were things that I did - things that I had to do to survive. Things that there's no forgiveness for.”
Oliver: “Well, that's the thing about forgiveness - you can't get it until you ask for it.”
(League assassin crashes through the window and attacks them.)
Oliver: “Merlyn?”
Sara: “No.”
(They fight the assassin and defeat him. Oliver rips off his hood.)
Oliver: “Who are you?”
Assassin: “Just a warrior… like you.”
Oliver: “Why are you dressed like Malcolm Merlyn. Who sent you?”
(Assassin throws something to knock down the chandelier and escapes.)

205 (League of Assassins) – Oliver introduces Diggle and Felicity to Sara Lance, and Original Team Arrow learns about the League of Assassins:
Sara (looking at Oliver's Arrow outfit): "I remember the first time I saw this hood. Shado was wearing it. This is quite the set-up that you got here. Where you're launching your one-man war for Starling."
Oliver: "I'm not one man. These are my friends. This is John Diggle and Felicity Smoak. Guys. This is Sara."
Diggle: "Welcome home, Sara."
Felicity: "I was happy to hear you're not dead anymore. I mean, I didn't know you before you didn't die the first time. I'm still glad you're alive."
Sara: "You're cute."
Oliver: "We just had an uninvited guest in the Queen mansion. Trained. Highly skilled. And he was dressed like Merlyn."
Diggle: "Well, the last I checked, Malcolm Merlyn was dead, courtesy of an arrow jammed through his heart." 
Oliver: "It wasn't him. It was a follower, an underling bent on revenge. Whoever it was, he knows who I am." 
(Oliver gives small bag of dirt to Felicity)
Felicity: "Gee, I didn't get you a bag of dirt." 
Oliver: "I found it in the house. Copycat Merlyn tracked it in. I want you to analyze it. Hopefully it'll lead me right to him." 
Felicity: "Then what?" 
Oliver: "If this pretender wants to follow Malcolm Merlyn so badly, he can follow him right into a grave. Sara? We'll find this guy."
Sara: "I don't want you to."
Oliver: "What do you mean?" 
Sara: "He wasn't after you, Ollie. He's after me." 
Oliver: "Who is he?"
Sara: "He's called Al Owal. The First. And he's a member of the League of Assassins." 
Diggle: "Wait, wait. The League of Assassins? I thought they were a myth."
Felicity: "What's the League of Assassins? And please, don't say it's a league made up of assassins."
Diggle: "No, it's an urban legend. I heard about them in Afghanistan from a tribal leader. He claimed there was an ancient sect of assassins, deadly warriors that killed and vanished like ghosts. Thought he was smoking what he was selling."
Sara: "I tried to tell you, Ollie, but you wouldn't listen."
Oliver: "That's where you've been the past four years. That's where you learned to fight. (Sara nods) You're one of them."
Sara: "After the freighter, a member of the League rescued me; took me in and brought me to Nanda Parbat. They remade me into what I am. And I swore them my allegiance."
Diggle: "Why are they kicking down doors trying to find you now?"
Sara: "Because I left. And there's only way that you leave the League."
Oliver: "Is that why you didn't want to see your family?"
Sara: "A year ago, I was in Guyana. I was sent there for a man named Suarez. He was a local diplomat. And I slit his throat. In his bed. And his kids - they found his body in the morning. I'm a murderer, Ollie. You think that my family will be happy to see me?"
(Oliver's cell phone beeps with a message from Thea.)
Oliver: "I have to go to Iron Heights. Felicity, I need you to find this Al Owal."

205 (League of Assassins) – Felicity empathizes with Sara and also finds the possible location of the League assassin:
Sara: "Sorry if I upset you before."
Felicity: "We all join clubs we wish we hadn't. It took me a year to get out of that gym membership."
Sara: "Thank you."
Felicity: "For what?"
Sara: "Not making me feel like what I am. Oliver's lucky to have you both as friends. He hasn't always had the best luck in that area.
(Oliver enters the Arrowcave.)
Diggle: "How'd it go with your mother?"
Oliver: "Not well. Have you found somebody for me to hit yet?" 
Felicity: "Could be. Spectro analysis of the dirt from your house had trace amounts of aldicarb in them."
Oliver: "What?" 
Felicity: "It's a pesticide. Starling City used to have its own aldicarb plant, but per the EPA, it was shut down three years ago."
Oliver: "What's it being used for now?" 
Felicity: "Nothing. It's abandoned. But my guess is, it's the home base to one League of Assassins assassin."
Sara: "He will kill you." 
Oliver: "Like you, I am not that easy to get rid of." 
Sara: "This is my fight."
Oliver: "He made it my fight when he came into my house. And when he threatened somebody that I care about."

205 (League of Assassins) – Felicity volunteers to warn Quentin and assures Sara that she can keep a secret:
(Oliver stitches up wound on Sara's back.)
Felicity: "You're not even flinching when he -"
Sara: "Pain and I came to a little understanding few years back."
Oliver: "Done. 
(Oliver and Diggle walk apart.)
Oliver: "The League of Assassins. Why wouldn't she tell me what happened to her all those years?" 
Diggle: "Probably the same reason why you didn't tell us what happened to you on the island." 
Oliver: "We need to protect the Lances. I'll take Laurel."
Sara: "What can I do?" 
Oliver: "Nothing. You're hurt, and you need to stay here."
Sara: "What about my father?" 
Felicity: "I'll go talk to Detective Lance." 
Oliver: "Tell him he needs to get out town for a couple of days."
Sara: "Please don't tell him about me."
Felicity: "I can keep a secret. Just ask him (indicating Oliver)."
Sara: "You three are quite the team."
Diggle: "We have our moments."

205 (League of Assassins) – Felicity tries to get Quentin to leave town for a few days, but is unsuccessful:
Felicity: "Detective Lance! I knew you'd be getting home around now because your shift has ended. Which I knew because I kind of pinged your cell phone."
Quentin: "Miss Smoak." 
Felicity: "You have cockroaches and they mean business."
Quentin: "Since when did you start making house calls?" 
Felicity: "Since you're in danger."
Quentin: "I'm not afraid of cockroaches."
Felicity: "Yes, you're in real danger! You need to get out of town for a couple days." 
Quentin: "Listen, I'm in danger every time I put on this uniform, so you're going to have to be a little more specific."
Felicity: "There's an organization called the League of Assassins and three of its members are targeting you. It sounded a little less crazy in my head."
Quentin: "I doubt it." 
Felicity: "Malcolm Merlyn was apparently a member. That should give you some sort of idea about the type of people we're dealing with." 
Quentin: "Okay, I'll bite. What did I do to piss them off?" 
Felicity: "That, um, is a really long story. You just - you need to trust me. You're not safe here in Starling City."
Quentin: "Ms. Smoak, nobody's safe, okay? Especially not us cops. We get shot at for a living. And my shift? It just ended."
Felicity: "Detective Lance!" 
Quentin: "Good-night." 
Felicity: "Wait, you need to listen to me!" 
Quentin: "Good night, Miss Smoak."
Felicity: "So I guess this means you're not leaving town? Evening."
*  *  *
(Felicity returns to the Arrowcave.)
Diggle: "How'd it go?"
Felicity: "Badly. He either didn't believe me or didn't take me seriously. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have led with League of Assassins. What do we do now?"
(Sara starts collecting her stuff.)
Diggle: "What are you doing? Oliver told you to stay put. I thought you didn't want your father to know you're still alive."
Sara: "I don't. But it's better than him not being. Where do you think you're going?" 
Diggle: "With you. I'm not going to let you go out there without any backup." 
Sara: "Dig, you may be a three-tour Special Forces veteran, but I was trained by the people that make the Special Forces look like a kindergarten class. So step aside or get put down." 
Diggle: "It's your funeral, Sara."

205 (League of Assassins) – Sara reveals that she’s alive to her father Quentin:
Quentin: “No, it can't be. It can't be Sara.”
Sara: “It's me. It's Sara. Daddy… it's okay.” (Hugs him)
Quentin: “Sara? Sara? Sara!” (Cries)
(Cut to Chinese restaurant, where Sara speaks Chinese to the waitress.)
Quentin: “You speak Chinese now? Picked up a couple things in the past few years.”
Quentin: “Yes. Why didn't you let us know that you were alive? I mean, your mother and I - we - we missed you. And your sister did, too. You know that, right?”
Sara: “I know you got divorced.”
Quentin: “Yeah. But it wasn't your fault. That was on me.”
Sara: “Because of me. I'm sorry.”
Quentin: “It's all right. None of that matters now. You know why? 'Cause you're home, sweetie, you're home. Are you in trouble?”
Sara: “No, Dad. You are.”
Quentin: “You sent Felicity Smoak to warn me to leave town. You know the Arrow. You're the girl in the mask. You've been kicking the crap out of creeps in the Glades. You've been home for weeks. Tell me something - if these assassins, if they hadn't shown up, would you have ever let us know that you were alive?”
Sara: “No.”
Quentin: “Felicity said that these guys were part of a League of something. What do they want with you?”
Sara: “What all assassins want-- to terminate their objective.”
Quentin: “Oh, this is crazy.”
Sara: “Dad, we have to go.”
Quentin: “No, we are not going anywhere. Not until you sit down and you tell me exactly what you've gotten yourself into.”
Sara: “You are an amazing cop and you are strong and decent and honest. But these men, they will cut you down before you can lift a finger. Now please. Come with me.”

205 (League of Assassins) – Laurel has a self-pity party tantrum:
Oliver: “I noticed you didn't have a drink at dinner.”
Laurel: “No. I didn't. So will you now admit that you and my father overreacted last week when you thought that I was becoming a drunk?”
Oliver: “I am prepared to admit that I care about you.”
Laurel: “Is that why you insisted on walking me to my door?”
Oliver: “I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”
Laurel: “This is safe.” (Leans up to kiss him)
Oliver (resisting): “This - we shouldn't.”
Laurel: “Then why did you come all the way up here?”
Oliver: “I'm really sorry if I was sending the wrong message.”
Laurel: “No! No, no, I got the message. I get it loud and clear every day. Run. Run, run away from Laurel. Run as fast as you can.”
Oliver: “Laurel, come on.”
Laurel: “Sara, she got on The Gambit with you. My father, he - he climbed into a bottle. My mother, she - she climbed into her car and she drove away. And then Tommy… What is so wrong with me that everybody leaves?”
Oliver: “I will never leave you.”
Laurel: “Until you do. “

205 (League of Assassins) – Sara takes her father to the Watchtower; then they and Oliver fight League assassins:
Quentin: “Well, I can’t believe I didn’t think to look for you up here.”
Sara: “It's a good vantage point. You can see the whole city.”
Quentin: “Like a bird on a wire.”
Sara: “Where I was, they have you choose a new name. I chose ‘ta-er sah-fer.’ It's Arabic… for Canary.”
Quentin: “I bought you that Canary when you were ten.”
Sara: “I was as far from home as you can get, but I never forgot where I came from. You know how they say the first thing you forget about somebody when they're gone is their voice? You can remember their face, and the way they move, but you can't hold on to the way they sound. I never forgot your voice, Dad.”
Quentin: “Sweetheart –“
(Three League assassins crash through window. Quentin pulls out his gun.)
Assassin 1: “So, this is where you wanted your father to die.”
Quentin: “What the hell, Sara, who are these guys?”
Assassin 1: “Associates of your daughter, Officer Lance.”
Quentin: “Well, she always did have the worst taste in friends.”
Assassin 1: “Did you really think we weren't going to find you here?”
Sara: “No. I knew you would.” 
(She fights Assassin 1. Quentin fires his gun at the other two assassins.)
Sara: “You should be mindful of your surroundings.”
(Assassin 1 has Sara on her knees, but then Oliver crashes through the window into the fight. Then Sara, Oliver and Quentin fight the three assassins.)
Assassin 2: “Guns are a coward's weapon. What are you without your side arm?”
Quentin: “A guy with a spare.” (Shoots and kills Assassin 2)
(Sara has Assassin 1 in a choke-hold.)
Assassin 1: “You think because you are the Beloved, you will be granted your freedom?”
Sara: “There's only one freedom. Let me grant you yours.” (Breaks his neck, which Quentin witnesses)
(She then moves to kill the Assassin 3.)
Oliver: “You don't have to do this.  It's over!”
Sara: “Not yet.”
Quentin: “Sara, baby, don't.”
Sara: “Tell Ra's al Ghul that my family is off limits. His quarrel is with me.” (Lets third assassin go free)
Sara (to Quentin): “I'm sorry you saw that. I can't imagine what you must think of me.”
Quentin: “I think you're a survivor. I think you're one of the bravest people I've ever known. You're my daughter. It's time for you to come back home.”
Sara: “I can't.”
Quentin: “Why not?”
Sara: “They are never going to stop looking for me.”
Quentin: “I'll protect you. We'll protect you. (To Oliver) Tell her it's safe to stay.”
Sara: “If they hurt you… or Laurel or mom, then I really would die.”
Quentin: “But they need to know.”
Sara: “They can't. They can't, Daddy.”
Quentin: “Why not?”
Sara: “You know why! I came back to make sure that my family was safe, and you are. But if they knew I was alive, Laurel and mom, they would never stop looking for me, and that could get them both killed.”
Quentin (hugging her and crying): “I can't let you go. I can't let you go!”
Sara: “I have to - Dad, I have to - I have to go. I love you. Keep them safe.” (Leaves)
Oliver: “Detective. She's right. You have to keep her secret.”
Quentin: “It's already the hardest thing I've ever had to do. How do you live like this?”

Edited February 11, 2020 by tv echo