“Broken Arrow” opens with Roy surrendering himself to the police, posing as the Arrow. As two bank guards watch the arrest on TV, the power in the bank slickers. One goes to investigate it, where he’s quickly murdered by a metahuman with heat vision. The second guard is also murdered.
Videos by ComicBook.com
At the Starling City Police Department, Roy is brought in for booking. Oliver is there waiting, still under arrest, and Captain Lance tells Oliver to stop Roy from taking the fall. But, Laurel comes in and says that Starling City can’t arrest Roy and Oliver for the same crime of being the Arrow. With his hands tied, Captain Lance lets Oliver go.
Over at Ray’s office, Ray finds Felicity working on his computer. He asks Felicity if she alright, given Roy’s arrest. He then backtracks on when he said that he loved Felicity (in the previous episode), since she didn’t say she loved him back.
Oliver see Roy in a questioning room, where Roy says that this is his chance to “save” Oliver’s life. He also thinks that this arrest will serve as his penance for accentually killing a cop in Season Two. Oliver begs him to stop but Roy refuses.
This triggers a flashback for Oliver, where he Maseo and Tatsu are in hiding. Oliver decides to take his battle with ARGUS straight to Amanda Waller. Maseo give Oliver the security cards he needs for access her location.
In the present, Oliver runs into Malcolm Merlyn. Merlyn says that Ra’s Al Ghul will still pursue Oliver as his successor regardless of Roy’s stunt. Oliver tells Malcolm that he’s going to free Roy from jail. When Oliver goes to the ArrowCave, they learn of the metahuman’s robbery. But before they can plan any further, Captain Lance and his squad raid the ArrowCave with a search warrant. As the troops storm in, Lance tells Oliver that he finally has him. But, Lance’s forensics team can only find Roy’s fingerprints in the cave. With nothing to physically prove Oliver is the Arrow, Lance leaves.
With the cops following his every move, Oliver doesn’t know how he can help Roy and stop the metahuman, but Felicity suggests that they seek Ray—The Atom—for help. Felicity Ray if he will stop the metahuman. Ray gladly accepts.
In the past, Oliver finds Amanda Waller, but she’s being held prisoner in her own facility. Once Oliver frees her, Waller reveals that she’s been held hostage by the U.S. Military. She then says that a doomsday virus will soon be unleashed upon Hong Kong. She tells Oliver to flee, hoping that they’ll meet again some day.
At Iron Heights, Roy is brought to see Thea Queen in the prison’s visiting room. Speaking through a glass pane and phone, Roy says that he can’t say a word to Thea. Though he cuts her off from any information, Roy promises that he’ll be fine.
In Ray’s lab, Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle work with Ray. Ray is able to uncover the metahuman’s identity, Jake Simmons, and his last known address. The Atom goes to the address to confront Simmons, with Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle coaching him via radio. There, Simmons attacks Atom. The Atom hits Simmons with an energy blast, but it only seems to strengthen Simmons. After Atom is quickly overpowered and defeated, Simmons escapes. Atom retreats to his lab, where Oliver criticizes his superhero performance. Oliver tells Ray that he needs to train more and not rely so heavily on his Atom suit.
In the past, Oliver, Maseo, and Tatsu realize that they may not be able to stop the virus’ release, but they can at least steal the vaccine that the army has stored in a military compound. They raid the army base holding the vaccine, and successfully steal two vials of it.
In the present, Roy is escorted to his cell. But on his way there, the escorting guards are knocked out by angry inmates. The swarm of Inmates try jumping Roy, but even with their combined strength, they are beaten unconscious by Roy.
Over at Oliver’s apartment, Captain Lance storms and raids the area. But, a commanding officer enters and tells Lance to back down from his dogged pursuit of Oliver. Thea then enters the apartment and tells Lance to back off. Lance then receives a call from Iron Heights, who inform him of the failed attack on Roy. Lance tells Thea what happened.
In Ray’s lab, Ray and Team Arrow try to figure out how raw energy powers Simmons. Felicity thinks that large sums of electricity could shut Simmons down, and says that she’ll go to Starling City’s power grid and reconfigure it in a way that could stop Simmons. Thea then enters the lab and tells Oliver of Roy’s recent attack. Oliver says that he must save Roy no matter what, despite Diggle’s pleading. Stubborn as ever, Oliver says that he refuses to lose Roy and sets out to rescue him. Felicity chases after him, and asks him why he’s being so bull-headed. She says that even if Oliver rescues Roy, the Arrow is finished. With the Arrow identity tarnished , Oliver says he doesn’t know who he is anymore. Felicity says that Oliver can simply be the “man that she believes in.”
Back at Iron Heights, Lance pays Roy a visit. Lance asks Roy why he’s taking the fall, saying he doesn’t deserve to be there. Roy corrects him, citing how he killed a cop who was married with children.
At Starling City’s power grid, Felicity accesses the grid in a bid to shut Simmons down. But Simmons is there as well, and grabs Felicity. Using her communicator, Simmons contacts the Atom and taunts him to come fight again. Felicity is able to break free from Simmons’ hold and hide, but she’s still in mortal danger. Ray goes after Felicity, but this time Oliver is controlling the Atom suit remotely. With Ray/The Atom as his puppet, Oliver remotely fights Simmons. An explosions severs Oliver’s connection however, and Ray is left on his own. He is quickly outmatched, but Oliver coaches Ray to fight harder with his heart. Reaching deep within, Roy fights like a prize boxer and knocks Simmons out.
In Iron Heights, Roy is shivved by a prison guard. With no one around to help, Roy bleeds to death. When Oliver returns to his apartment, he finds Captain Lance consoling Thea. Lance then informs Oliver of Roy’s murder, and blames the death on Oliver.
Oliver goes to the ArrowCave with Diggle and Felicity. He says that he shouldn’t have listened to them, and blames himself for not rescuing Roy. But then, Roy enters the Cave, alive. Oliver asks how this happened. Diggle explains that he, Roy, and Felicity had the entire plan worked out days ago. Roy explains that the man who stabbed him was actually an ARGUS agent who used a blade dipped in a chemical. The chemical slowed Roy’s heart enough to make it look like he died. Once he was announced dead, the ARGUS agent smuggled Roy’s body to Diggle. With the Arrow “dead,” Oliver is now finally cleared of any connections. But this also means that Roy Harper is dead to the world. With no other choice, Roy must go underground. He leaves Starling City to start his second life.
In the past, Oliver gives the two vaccine vials to Tatsu and Maseo and tells them to inoculate themselves. They refuse to take the vials though, and agree that the three will use them to engineer a vaccine for the masses for when the virus eventually hits.
Ray takes Simmons to Ciscos’ STAR Labs metahuman prison in Central City. Cisco goes over Simmons’ records and discovers that Simmons was nowhere near Central City when the Particle Accelerator’s exploded. Since Simmons wasn’t exposed to Dark Matter (the energy that grants people super powers), Cisco wonders how Simmons is a metahuman.
Back in Starling City, Thea is attacked by Ra’s Al Ghul in her apartment.. Thea tries defending herself, but Ra’s stabs Thea in the chest. Bleeding out on the floor, Thea’s life hangs by a thread (if she isn’t already dead). Looks like somebody needs a Lazarus Pit.
