Arrow “Checkmate” was written by the team of Beth Schwartz and Sarah Tarkoff and was directed by Ken Shane. While this is Shane’s directorial debut, he’s been First AD on the show since the first season – we were in good hands. “Kapiushon” was written by the team of Brian Ford Sullivan and Emilio Ortega Aldrich and was directed by Kevin Tancharoen – given the epic fight between Stephen Amell (Oliver) and Dolph Lundgren (Kovar), they couldn’t have asked for a better director for this episode! I’ve been waiting for those fight scenes all season!
“Checkmate” begins with Oliver seeking out Talia (Lexa Doig). There’s a great fight sequence, and without the costume, it’s easy to see Amell doing the fighting which is always super-satisfying as a viewer. Talia admits that she wanted Prometheus to destroy him utterly because Oliver killed her father too – Ra’s Al Ghul. Talia tells Oliver that Prometheus is Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra).
When Oliver returns, he finds Chase in the boardroom. Chase wastes no time in taunting him, telling him he looks tired… but maybe Oliver has simply been asleep the whole time. When they meet in the parking lot, Chase continues, telling Oliver that he’s ten steps ahead of him and he doesn’t even know what game their playing! Segarra impressed me in these scenes – something he’s really failed to do up to this point. He’s quite gleeful as he taunts Oliver.
Chase has Susan (Carly Pope), but the team has made sure that all their loved ones are safe. Felicity, however, is missing. Diggle (David Ramsey) and Oliver go to check out Chase’s house, finding a sub-basement. They run into Doris (Parveen Dosanjh) and tell her that Chase is the Throwing Star Killer, but it’s a trap, and Oliver has to flash bomb his way out.
At the office, Chase runs into Rene (Rick Gonzalez) and Quentin (Paul Blackthorne). I loved the two of them clearly wanting to rip Chase’s head off and not able to. Chase taunts them that it’s nice that it’s all out in the open now.
Curtis (Echo Kellum) and Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) go to Chase’s mother’s house and find footage of Susan being tortured. Back at the lair, Oliver is berating himself, once again, for getting involved with Susan. Felicty (Emily Bett Rickards) finally shows up. Oliver tells her that he’s not angry – but he is worried about whatever she’s getting into. He reminds her that keeping secrets is never good, but Felicity puts him off, saying it’s not a good time.
Felicity gets proof that Chase’s real name is Simon Morrison and the proof that his identity is fake is enough to have the ACU arrest him. Oliver goes to Pike (Adrian Holmes) with the information of the false ID and also tells him that Chase is the Throwing Star Killer. Oliver tells Pike to work the lead. This is after Oliver holds a press conference ordering the Green Arrow to turn himself in within 24 hours.
Felicity goes to Kojo/Alena (Kacey Rohl) for help finding Susan and finds there is a quid pro quo price for their help. Felicity has to break the security code on a surveillance drone. There’s a dark side to the impressive headquarters. Felicity enlists Curtis’ help and he’s sure that neither Diggle nor Oliver would sign off on it. Felicity insists that she’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions.
Pike is attacked and stabbed in an alley before he can do anything and is left in a coma. Pike’s hospital room looks more like a storage closet. Chase is there to taunt Oliver again, telling him he’s one loss away from being destroyed.
Oliver returns to the lair and trashes it. Diggle tries to talk to Oliver and tells him that there’s always options and that Oliver isn’t alone. Oliver tells Diggle that he’s done a good job in helping him change. Diggle tells him that they aren’t targets, they’re his teammates. Oliver insists that they make him vulnerable, but Diggle insists that caring about people is what makes Oliver human. Oliver suggests that being human might be a luxury he doesn’t have.
The team goes in and Diggle brings Doris to the big confrontation. Oliver finds Susan in an elevator. Chase insists that he’s ten steps ahead of them. Chase stabs Doris, and Oliver and Chase fight. It’s another great fight scene. Talia shows up and shoots Oliver in the leg.
Oliver is missing, Susan is at the precinct with Quentin. Felicity goes to Helix for help in finding Oliver and has to make another deal to get information. Chase accuses the Green Arrow of killing his wife, and tells Quentin that he won’t kill him because if he does, he’ll get Oliver back in pieces.
Oliver tells Talia that her father was an honorable man, but she’s aligned herself with a psychopath. Talia tells Chase to make him suffer. Chase assures Oliver that he’s not going to kill him. Oliver counters that his friends will find him because they’re his strength. Chase tells him, he’s going to help Oliver discover who he really is.
In the flashbacks, Gregor (David Meunier) gets away, and Anatoly (David Nykl), Oliver, and Viktor (Mike Dopud) have to kill him. Anatoly tells Oliver that whatever he thinks is inside of him is actually a part of him. Oliver can’t name it and separate it from himself.
Gregor is at a hockey game, so Oliver and Anatoly manage to take out his guards. Oliver does the “voice,” and Anatoly wants to know what it is he’s doing! Oliver shoots Gregor and then pulls the arrow through.
This episode finally seems to move the Chase story along. Once again, however, Oliver is questioning what he’s doing to the team. It is still fun to watch his evolution in the flashbacks but it also seems to reinforce that Oliver really hasn’t come that far. The threads of this episode continue in the next…
“Kapiushon” actually takes place primarily in the flashback storyline of Russia which was a nice departure from the present storyline. I have to admit that I find Nykl a lot more compelling than Segarra, so enjoyed spending the time in Russia.
Chase is clearly enjoying physically torturing Oliver, regardless of what he’s said. He insists that Oliver is keeping a secret – something he hasn’t ever told anyone – not Thea (Willa Holland), Diggle, or Felicity. Chase papers the cell with everyone Oliver killed. He also shoots Oliver with three arrows.
In the end, Chase brings in Evelyn (Madison McLaughlin). Evelyn appears to have been “made more compliant,” but I can’t say that I ever bought the act. Chase says he wants Oliver to kill her. She gets the knife but won’t give it to Oliver. He eventually gets the knife, but Chase “kills” Evelyn. Oliver tells Chase he’s going to kill him, and Chase remarks they’re finally getting somewhere – and that is where Chase was going – Oliver’s love of killing.
The flashbacks are all about the evolution of Oliver’s secret. Gregor dies and Anatoly takes over – due to seniority – as the leader – the Pakhan. Anatoly has to talk to Kovar. Oliver suggests getting intel from his inside contact – Galina (Natasha Vasiluk). His first attempt is unsuccessful, but he eventually does talk to her, telling her both her children are dead. He also tells her that Tiana told him Kovar was a monster and made him promise to kill him. He asks Galina to help him keep his promise. She gives him the key to Kovar’s casino and pays for it with her life. Another life on Oliver’s hands.
Anatoly meets with Kovar because he has to uphold Gregor’s deals as the new Pakhan. It was a nice surprise to see Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) in Kovar’s office! About time we got a cameo from Barrowman! They discover that Kovar has something big planned. He’s taking a big shipment in order to overthrow the Russian government. Anatoly tries to get Oliver to go home, but he refuses, saying it’s his fight now too.
At the shipyard, Anatoly tries to keep Oliver out of trouble by assigning him watch. I loved that he says he’s on “overwatch” duty. It turns out that Kovar is taking receipt of a shipment of sarin gas. Anatoly thinks he’s defused the situation and tells Oliver, “see how easy it is to think first and kill later?” When Kovar does arrive, Oliver lays down a distraction, but ultimately joins the fight – loved the jump off the container and the ensuing fight scene! Great action!
Oliver horrifyingly takes one of Kovar’s men and tortures him – to death, long after he’s given up the information they need. Anatoly is appalled. Oliver tells Anatoly that the Hood helps him separate the darkness from himself. But Anatoly insists that dividing the self in two will only make the monster stronger – and certainly that also plays out for Chase.
The assault on Kovar’s casino is great – lots of great action and some great lines from Anatoly too. Viktor betrays Anatoly and leads the Bratva into a trap. Oliver manages to shut the gas down, and everyone makes a completely ridiculous escape from the gas. We get the utterly awesome fight between Oliver and Kovar. Oliver wins – and Anatoly tells Oliver that Kovar will face justice – Oliver doesn’t have to kill him. Oliver appears to kill him – but like Evelyn, Kovar isn’t dead either.
In the present, Oliver admits that he wanted to kill and he liked it. Evelyn is not dead and pops back up, saying she knew Oliver would break. Chase tells him that he infects every life he touches because his crusade is based on a lie. Oliver apologizes for the pain he caused Chase, and Chase burns off the Captain tattoo.
We flash to the past and Anatoly and Oliver getting the tattoos together. Anatoly tells Oliver that now, anywhere he goes in the world, people will know what kind of a man he is. Anatoly also gives Oliver back the hood he’d lost at the Casino. He tells Oliver that the hood is an excuse that allows him to kill. He knows Oliver is lying when he says he hates killing, and he tells Oliver that the hood won’t keep the monster at bay.
The episode ends with Oliver waking up, free to go. He stumbles back to the lair, where Diggle, Felicity, and Curtis are still trying to get a lead on Oliver who’s been missing for 6 days. Oliver stumbles in and announces that it’s over. He doesn’t want to do this anymore. He’s shutting everything down. And boy. Don’t you feel like you’ve mostly been here before?
One can only assume that the team will convince him that he can’t let a monster like Chase get away with everything he’s done. They’ll also convince him that what they do is not up to him. The team will go on now with or without the Green Arrow… yada, yada, yada.
I did like the emphasis on the flashback in the second episode. It provided a really nice contrast to the present storyline as we see Oliver becoming something else – and then realizing that that something else is an even greater problem. Both episodes had some good fight and action sequences. Amell did deliver a nicely nuanced and powerful performance in “Kapiushon.” What did you think of the episodes? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
