Getting closer on how to stop The Monitor, Oliver, William, and Mia travel to Russia in this week’s episode of Arrow. Meanwhile, John finds an old friend and tries to recruit him in the battle against the Crisis. There are only a few more weeks until the crossover starts, so keep reading to find out how close Team Arrow is to stopping the Crisis and Mar Novu on the latest episode of Arrow, “Prochnost.”
Right on target! A new episode of #Arrow starts NOW on The CW! pic.twitter.com/4nqrazKqZt
— Arrow (@CW_Arrow) November 20, 2019
At the bunker, Oliver is training Mia when William comes in, telling them he has something to show them. William created a facial recognition program to find the general Curtis told them about. General Alexi Burov is in Moscow. Curtis said that the energy wave that destroyed Earth-2 can be replicated, which means they can weaponize it. William says that before going off the grid, Burov was working on plans for a weapon called The Pulse Wave Generator. Oliver says they need the plans, and William says they also need plutonium. It’s the only thing that can power Burov’s machine. Mia wants to know where they’re going to get something like that, and John walks in, saying Bialya; there’s a facility near the border where all kinds of radioactive material are stored. He thinks a two-man fire team can get the job done. Oliver asks John if he wants to take Connor, but John answers no, he wants to check in on Sandra, and he promises to stay out of sight. John tells Oliver he has someone else in mind that can help. Oliver turns to William and Mia and tells them he’d like them to accompany him and Laurel to Russia.
John shows up at an auto place, telling an employee he’s looking for Jason. “Jason” moves away from underneath a car in front of him and reveals himself to be Roy. Roy wants to know how John found him, and John tells him William found him.
“Isn’t Oliver’s son, like, 13?”
John says it’s a long story. He tells Roy he needs his help. Roy tells him whatever he’s about to ask him to do; he can’t. John says he hasn’t even heard what he has to say. Roy says he doesn’t need to. John knows what he did. Roy says he’s not a hero anymore, not with his condition. John asks if he’s just going to walk out on him, the same way he did Thea. John tells Roy that Thea told Oliver he left without even saying goodbye. Roy explains it was the best for both of them. He needed a fresh start, which is what he’s doing now. Roy starts to leave, but John stops him and tells him he knows it was a struggle for him earlier in the year, but this Crisis is a bigger threat than anything they’ve ever faced. He wouldn’t be there if they did not need him. Roy tells John if he decides to help, it’ll be a one-time thing. John says that’s all he’s asking. He tells Roy he hopes he doesn’t mind, but he brought him a change of clothes. He unzips his bag and reveals Roy’s Arsenal suit.
Oliver, Laurel, William, and Mia get to Russia. Anatoly comes in and hugs Oliver. “Welcome to Russia, my favorite American.”
Anatoly tells William he hopes he doesn’t think badly of him. The last time they met was when William was little, and Anatoly was on the wrong side of history. In Russian, William tells Anatoly it’s water under the bridge. Oliver says he was surprised to learn Anatoly was in Russia. He thought the Maldives would be permanent. Anatoly tells him with Diaz dead; there was reason to stay away. He got bored, reinvented himself, and is now a bar owner. Oliver asks him how the search for General Burov is going. Anatoly replies it’s not very easy, but he does have friends he can call. Oliver says he knows but doesn’t want them involved in this. Mia wants to know why and if he has friends that can help. Oliver interrupts her and says the people Anatoly describes aren’t really friends. Oliver wants to keep this one in the family, and Anatoly says he’ll work to find Burov the hard way.
In Bialya, Roy asks John if he thinks the energy weapon is going to stop The Monitor, and John tells him that’s the hope. Then, he says the place they’re at is where the military stores all its excess plutonium. The problem is it’s impenetrable, which is why he asked Roy to come. A shipment is coming in that night, and they’re going to steal the plutonium before it gets inside. Roy wants to know why he didn’t just bring Dinah or Rene. John tells him they have their hands full in Star City. Roy wants to know what he’s really doing there since John doesn’t really need him. John mentions how Roy said he wanted to atone, but he can’t do that by fixing cars. He can do that by rejoining the team. John knows Roy thinks he can’t control his bloodlust, but that’s only because they haven’t figured out a way that works. Roy tells him there is no way, so whatever he’s about to say, he doesn’t want to hear it. They’re already there, so he’s going to help, but once they’re done, Roy’s going to disappear to a place where no one can find him.
In Russia, Anatoly tells the team he has a classic bad news/good news situation. The good news is he found General Burov. The bad news is he is a man who likes betting and blood, which means the only place to find him is Krovavaya Banya, AKA “The Bloodbath.” Oliver says it’s a fight club and William mentions it sounds like where he met Mia. Mia explains when she first left home; she had to find a way to make money, so she fought and won. Oliver tells Anatoly they and Laurel will go to the club to find Burov and tells William and Mia they are going to stay put. Mia wants to know why Oliver brought them on the mission if he’s not letting them help. Oliver tells her this is not a regular mission; this is the Bratva. They are terrible people, and she and William are his kids.
Oliver, Laurel, and Anatoly get to the club, and Oliver tells Laurel they want to move quickly and keep their heads low. Anatoly points out the general, and they talk to him. Oliver tells Burov they want his expertise with something sensitive. Moving to a quieter part of the club, Burov tells them that he abandoned the Pulse Wave Generator project because it’s too unpredictable and bad business. He wants to know why he should give it to them. He’s willing to make a deal. Oliver asks him what he wants. Burov tells him a fighter, someone to upset the favorite. Oliver clarifies: he wins, and he’s given the plans? Done deal.
Oliver enters the cage and starts fighting. He sees William and Mia, which almost catches him off guard, but he starts to fight back even harder and knocks out his opponent. Burov starts to give Oliver the plans, saying he’s a man of his word, but they’re interrupted when some guys come in, one of them holding a gun to Mia. Oliver tells the guy, Oleg, they have no fight with them or the Bratva. What Oliver was being handed was what they came for. When they have it, they’re gone. Oleg points his gun to Mia, and before he can do anything, Oliver runs over to him, but he’s tased, and so is Mia. They both pass out.
Oliver wakes up with Mia right next to him, both of them tied to chairs. Oliver tells her they’re probably at some Bratva hideout. He told her to stay put. What was she thinking? Mia tells him she was thinking that they needed to finish the mission. Oliver reveals to Mia that he was once a member of the Bratva and that he didn’t want her or William to get involved. Oleg comes in, saying Oliver went through a lot of trouble to get the drive. Even they couldn’t crack its security encryptions, so it must be worth a great deal. Oleg tells Oliver to tell him what it is, and he has five seconds, pointing his gun at Mia’s head. Mia tells Oliver not to tell him anything. He tells Oleg what the plans are. Oleg says now they can move on to the next phase.
Oliver manages to dislocate his thumb and sets himself and Mia free. Just as they’re leaving, Laurel and Anatoly show up.
At Anatoly’s bar, Oliver tells them they need to figure out when and where the sale is happening, so they can recover the drive. He tells Mia that she and William are going home. William says no. They just saved him from being murdered by a bunch of gangsters, and he’s on Team Mia. Oliver tells him Mia just got kidnapped by the Bratva. He is their father. It’s his primary job in the world to protect them. Mia says they don’t need that; in the future, they’re the ones that are saving the city. Mia says because he made the choice to protect them, she had to spend her whole life alone. She didn’t have a chance to get to know her brother or get to know Oliver. Oliver tells them he made a promise to their mother to protect them, past, present, or future, and he’s not breaking it. Mia storms off.
In Bialya, John and Roy run over to a truck, but they trigger an alarm. John says he’ll get the payload, and Roy keeps watch. He starts shooting arrows and fighting, but John stops him as he’s repeatedly punching a guy. John and Roy leave, and John texts Oliver that the target’s been acquired.
Mia tells Oliver to stop trying to send them home because they’re not leaving. Oliver says good; he needs their help. Anatoly tells them Oleg is selling the drive during the bloodbath. Laurel wants to know how they’re going to get in since they know their faces. Oliver tells her they use that to their advantage. He tells Mia they’re going in the ring together as a team. William will be helping them get in. Oliver explains that when Oleg realizes it’s him and Mia in the ring, that’ll cause a distraction, and that’s when they’ll steal the drive.
At the club, William walks up to the people in charge and tries to get Oliver and Mia in the bloodbath, speaking in Russian. He says if it’s not about money, how about stakes? His guys will fight six men since no one has survived six men before. Anatoly says there are no signs of high rollers, and now would be a good time to strike. William says they have about five minutes, give or take. Oliver and Mia start fighting.
Meanwhile, Laurel notices their cue, and she and Anatoly start walking, saying she’ll deal with the muscle and he’ll watch her back. Laurel gets upstairs but is stopped by Oleg. Before he can shoot her, Anatoly shoots him. Laurel takes the drive. After beating up the six men, the Bratva get to the ring, but they manage to escape before they can shoot Oliver and Mia.
At Anatoly’s bar, Oliver tells Laurel that John got the plutonium with Roy’s assistance. William says all they have to do is whip up an energy wave to destroy an all-knowing space being, easy. Laurel and Anatoly leave so Oliver can speak to his kids. He tells them he knows he hasn’t spoken to them about his time in Russia, and that is because he did some things there that he’s not very proud of. As he’s coming to grips with the fact that the two of them are grown up, he realizes that shielding them from the bad isn’t going to do their relationship any good. Oliver tells William and Mia that from this point forward, whatever they want to know, whatever they might want to ask him, is fair game. Mia asks him about Lian Yu, and Oliver tells them.
At the bunker, Roy asks him if what they have will be enough, and John tells him it should do the trick. Roy tells him he’s thinking about sticking around for a little while if they’re taking on a space god. He figured they were going to need all the help they can get.
Laurel meets up with Lyla in Star City, who asks Laurel if she brought the plans. Laurel tells her she’s decided not to join. Lyla tells her she’s not going to get her Earth back, but Laurel says if saving it means returning to the person she used to be, then what’s the point? She tells Lyla she should really tell her family the truth, and Lyla says not yet. John and Oliver walk up, and John tells Lyla he didn’t want to believe it. Lyla apologizes, and darts shoot at Oliver, John, and Laurel, knocking them out.
Seeing Oliver bond more with Mia and William and trusting them is such great progress than where they were in the previous episode. Roy being back is also refreshing since it’s been a while since we’ve seen him. Anatoly is always either a hit or miss. It was recently announced that Audrey Marie Anderson (Lyla) will be playing Harbinger in the “Crisis” crossover, so seeing exactly how she gets to that point and why is interesting.
Arrow airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m ET, following The Flash on The CW.
