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.
Previously on Arrow:
Where the hell did you come from?
What do you think you're doing, Officer Lance?
This is my daughter. She was nearly killed tonight.
As a parent, you're welcome to stay. But as a beat cop, you're free to go.
- Let me help you. - Okay. You can help me.
To do what I do, I need intel. You can be my eyes and ears in the Glades.
- That's how you can save the city. - How do I contact you?
Leave that in the alley wall, and I'll know to contact you.
- I told you to stay away from me. - The copycats are still alive.
Tommy Merlyn isn't.
I lost a friend that day too, and I would gladly have given my life for his.
Well, don't worry, your life is over. Your life as a free man.
Put your weapon down.
I'm not your enemy.
Then put your weapon down.
Nice mask.
Why'd you help me?
Oh, thank God.
Police scanners have been blowing up. Laurel called half the force with that alarm.
Because going after actual bad guys is so last year.
To her, I am the bad guy.
- Since when? - Since I didn't make it to Tommy in time.
How did you get out of there?
I had help from a masked blond woman in black.
- Another copycat vigilante? - No. She was different.
Trained, and she used a sonic thing.
- Sonic thing? Could you be more specific? - She turned it on and the glass shattered.
- Who was she and why would she help? - And how did she know to help you?
Good questions. I don't like the idea of another player.
I'll see what I can find.
I'd like to know what you were doing at Laurel's office.
She makes you public enemy number one. Figure this is a good time to chat?
I thought that I could talk to her and make her understand that I'm doing things differently.
That I'm not the bad guy.
I was wrong.
Wonderful.
Now we have a dead Japanese soldier in our home.
Those men were looking for these corpses. Aren't you the least bit interested in why?
I'm interested in how many there are and where they're operating from.
They'll be coming for that. Means they'll be coming for us.
And as we've already seen, they're not the friendliest bunch.
So it kind of looks like you've done that before.
Back in Xinjiang, I was pre-med.
She's a woman of many talents.
Come on.
- Come on where? - To higher ground.
We need to get to a vantage point where we can establish the enemy's position.
What about Shado?
I'll be fine here.
We shouldn't split up.
Let her play with her corpse. We'll be back before she knows it.
- Here you go, bud. - On the house, Officer Lance.
Hey, no, no, no, here you go. A dog this delicious?
I'd have to book myself for robbery. Take it.
- All right. - Take care.
All units, 10-78 at Second and Fletcher.
Please respond.
Lance, patrol. Delta Charlie 52, 10-60. Officer responding. Over.
Negative, DC-52. Disregard 10-78 and resume patrol.
According to whose orders?
Lieutenant Pike.
Excuse me.
What is going on here, huh? This is my beat. Why did Pike wave me off of this?
- Quentin, it's under control. - Excuse me, what is under control?
Barton Mathis.
That seems to be what the M.O. indicates.
He's doing consecutive life sentences in Iron Heights.
Not anymore.
The quake split open a section of Iron Heights. Mathis was among the escapees.
The brass wanna avoid a panic, so they're keeping it quiet.
- Keeping it quiet from me too? - Come on. Pike knows what happened.
- The man got in your head. - And I caught him. No one knows Mathis better.
And I've got all your notes and your files.
Pike's order.
If you go anywhere near this, he's gonna have you arrested for obstruction.
I've found police reports from the last few months...
that may involve our mystery girl.
They describe a masked woman in black attacking attackers.
- She put five would-be rapists in the hospital. - You sure it's her?
Broken limbs, ruptured eardrums. Your sonic thing.
That's her.
- She's targeting criminals. - Misogynist criminals.
First the Hoods, now her. You've started a movement.
I don't wanna start a movement. We catch her.
I'm not letting this city get overrun with vigilantes.
Hi, detective.
So...
Miss Smoak gives you a way to call me now.
She vouches for you. You told me you're trying to help this city without dropping bodies.
That true?
What do you think?
Let's just say I'm willing to be convinced.
This city is hurting.
And the police...
I always thought we didn't need to go outside the law to find justice.
But in light of recent events...
I'm not so sure anymore.
Barton Mathis.
The media calls him the Dollmaker.
Because he suffocates his victims with a flexible polymer...
that he pours down their throats, and then he dresses them up like dolls.
I put him away.
Because of the quake...
he's out and he's killing again.
These are from six years ago.
It's my personal file.
Well, maybe it's not just the file that's personal.
Mathis killed eight girls before I got him last time.
I don't want any more on my conscience.
So why don't you let the police do their job?
I could say the same thing to you.
They're spread so thin, they can't even risk letting the public know that Mathis is out.
You said you're trying another way?
Maybe I am too.
You have such beautiful skin.
- Lance's file give you anything? - Last time the Dollmaker was active...
he ramped up to one kill every three days.
That gives us two to catch him.
Can we connect the victims?
Young. Pretty.
According to Lance's file, he couldn't figure out how he chose them.
As if porcelain dolls weren't creepy enough on their own.
Mathis doesn't have any family or known acquaintances.
Lone wolves are harder to catch.
But they do have the right to an attorney.
Call Lance. Tell him to set up a meeting for tonight.
- Where? - At the office of whoever represented Mathis.
So I'm assuming this takes priority over finding out the identity of your secret admirer.
I got that covered.
Hey. I was wondering when I was gonna see you again.
There's someone new in town. A woman.
She's targeting men who target women.
I know. I've seen her.
Find her but don't engage.
Leave that to me.
The archer makes quite a mess.
I'll add that charge to the indictment.
Well, you called it right. He showed.
I know him pretty well. At least, better than others.
This place is a mess. Twice in three weeks, you're ducking bullets.
- I'm fine. - You don't look fine. You look tired.
Think I'll give you two a moment.
Did you just come here to tell me how tired I look?
No, I came here to check up on you and check up on some court records.
Barton Mathis is out. I'm looking for his attorney.
Why? You're no longer a detective.
Yeah, well, I'm just doing a little digging off-the-books.
Dad, this case...
it took you to such a dark place last time.
Yeah, well, I think we both know that it wasn't Mathis who did that.
Look, nobody knows this guy better than me. Nobody's got a better chance of stopping him.
Every girl that he kills is another one on my conscience.
No.
No, Dad, it's not.
Whatever guilt you're feeling...
you're just using it to justify a vendetta.
Well, maybe I'm not the only one.
Are you okay?
Thea, you have to stop asking me that every time you come to visit.
Don't count on it.
Well, then, I'm afraid you'll be asking it for the next 25 years to life.
Please don't talk like that.
There's not a lot of value in the power of positive thinking...
when you're being put on trial for mass murder.
Let's just try to take things one step at a time, okay?
Well, I'd have to check with my lawyer...
but I don't think retail therapy is a viable legal strategy.
Well, I spoke with her.
And she said that you could wear regular clothes to your pre-trial hearing.
So I picked these.
Hm.
I wish the fashion police was all I had to worry about.
- Please don't joke. - Thea.
Listen to me. I need you to understand what's happening here.
Five hundred and three people are dead and there is a measure of guilt that is owed me.
I'm ready to accept my punishment.
Even if that means spending the rest of your life in here?
Yes.
Tony Daniel?
- Help you with something, officer? - Barton Mathis.
According to the DA's office, you handled his post-trial appeals. I'd like to know where he is.
So you can give him a parking ticket or something?
You wanna talk to me about one of my clients...
come back with a detective's shield...
or a court order.
- What, you find that funny? - Well, a little bit.
Where do we find him?
- Iron Heights Prison. - He got out.
He what? How?
You spent hours with him. Where would he run?
- Where? - I don't know. I swear.
- Agh! - What are you doing?
I thought you were done killing people.
- He'll live. - But he'll report me to my lieutenant.
He won't talk to anyone.
- What makes you so sure? - Because he has another shoulder.
Agh!
Okay, okay, okay.
No, there's— There is another place.
He was always drawing it. Sketching. His cell walls were covered with the place.
Well, what's the place? Was it in Starling City?
The Bisque Museum.
He said the building reminded him of Germany.
Where porcelain dolls were invented.
I'm sorry. I guess he just gets enthusiastic sometimes.
The lady at the desk said that a guy matching Mathis' description...
checked in last week. Room 52. And he paid in cash.
Listen. Just so we're clear, when we go through that door...
- ... we're here to arrest Mathis, not torture him. - You asked for my help.
That wasn't easy and neither was aiding and abetting. I am still a police officer.
Do you want to catch him or not?
Let's go.
Detective.
It's been too long.
- Felicity, I need a trace. - On it.
You sick son of a bitch.
Sick? I've never felt better.
Fresh air agrees with me.
Yeah, well, don't get too used to it.
I caught you before. It's just a matter of time before I do it again.
Fair enough. In the meantime, however...
I have someone who'd like to say hello to you.
Say hello, dear.
She's a little inarticulate.
She's done nothing to you.
Please don't hurt her. Just let her go.
And allow her to wither away in a mediocre and forgettable life?
No. No, no, no. She deserves so much better.
She deserves to see her beauty preserved.
Pristine.
Forever.
Don't worry. I will turn her into something special.
Now, pay attention, detective.
What comes next is really quite exquisite.
The sound of an esophagus slowly hardening.
Like a symphony.
- Felicity. - I'm trying, he's blocking the trace.
Don't do it. I'm begging you. Is that what you want?
I am begging you. Please, just stop.
It's for the world to enjoy.
After all...
everyone loves a pretty doll.
The police found her body an hour ago.
Does the victim give us any forensics we can use?
CSI did a complete forensics work-up, but they sent everything out to a private lab.
Can you get in?
No. They took their system offline.
Seems like someone hacked into a lot of police-related systems last year.
Then we do it like we did the Merlyn job.
So glad you invited me to tag along.
Tranq dart. He'll be out for 36 minutes.
Yeah, I remember.
You're up, Felicity.
So this is what a typical night's like for you. A little breaking and entering.
All right. I got toxicology first.
What are all these?
Chemical ingredients of all the makeup found on the victims. Skin cream, nail polish, lipstick.
Wait, wait, wait, stop. Scroll back. Scroll back.
This one. "Ethylparaben. Sodium laureth sulfate."
I've seen this before.
It's skin cream. Forensics found traces of it on her fingers.
Probably something she used before he grabbed her.
Skin cream. Mermaid something. One of the victims, she had this in her purse.
I had the lab analyze it. It's the same— You know, it's the same formula.
- Felicity. - Already on it.
How the hell could she do that?
Ethylparaben and sodium laureth sulfate is Mermaiden's proprietary formula.
Two victims with the same taste in skin cream. That can't be a coincidence.
I could never figure out how he chose his victims.
I think you just did.
We shouldn't have left Shado.
Well, it's her life.
It's her choice.
- You listened to my advice. - What advice?
- To avoid attachment. - Yeah, that was bad advice.
Well, it'll save your life.
- Maybe I don't wanna live under those terms. - Yeah, well, maybe you're an idiot.
Hey, you think that caring about people gets you killed.
I think it's what keeps people alive.
I was wrong about you.
You're definitely an idiot.
Then that's who I am.
- I'm not changing. - Agh!
You should be happy I haven't avoided attachment to you.
Harper.
It's been a while, hoss.
I been busy.
I can see that.
I'll give you a hundred.
- Four. - Two-five.
Done.
If you throw in some information.
Ugh.
Come on. You've got your finger on the pulse. I'm looking for someone.
A blond. Likes black leather.
- Sounds like your type. - And beats the crap out of guys with a bo staff.
That still sounds like your type.
Look, I wanna put eyes on her. What do you know?
Not much.
You know Cindy? Folks call her, uh, Sin?
She got short, spikey hair.
She's been seen a couple of times hanging around with your, uh, black-leather girlfriend.
So where can I find Sin?
She hangs out over at Fifth and Boynton.
And that is what I know.
So this is it?
- Skin cream? That's our lead? - It's something.
- What do we know about the product? - It's made from crushed mother of pearl.
That's super high-end. Only carried in a handful of boutiques.
And it's marketed for women with extremely delicate complexions.
He picks his victims for their skin. The cream is how he finds them.
Only four stores carry it. Three have surveillance systems.
I've ran facial recognition through all of them looking for Mathis but come up empty.
- He must be staking out the stores outside. - Fine, so we'll do the same.
That could take days we don't have. He's probably out looking for another girl.
So that's what we give him.
I'll go to the stores that carry Mermaiden, and buy it in each one.
It's too dangerous.
More dangerous than going undercover in a mob casino or jumping out of a plane?
It's my life. It's my choice.
There are only two ways onto this island.
By sea and by air.
So what, you're gonna steal whatever they use to get onto the island?
Well, I'm tired of living here. Aren't you?
Oh, my God.
Appears to be two or three klicks offshore.
What the hell?
It's firing on a fixed location.
- The plane. They must have found it. - Shado.
Kid!
That's the last store. You're gonna reimburse me for these, right?
I saved my receipts.
Go to the rendezvous point.
Stay in public.
I'm not a huge fan of dangling helpless girls in front of psychopaths like meat.
She volunteered.
Well, she must really believe in you.
So did your daughter.
She suffered a loss.
Grief's got a way of shifting a person's beliefs.
But then, you know all about that.
You've lost people too, right?
- Why would you say that? - Why else would you be doing this?
My youngest, she died.
I'm sorry.
Less than a month after it happened, I...
I ended up catching the Dollmaker case.
I threw myself into it.
I think, on some level, with each girl, I was trying to save...
Sara.
And just like with Sara, I couldn't.
He killed eight girls Sara's age before I caught him.
Someone's coming.
I got him.
Okay, I'm going to admit to being seriously wigged out right now.
False alarm, but next time I offer to be bait for a serial killer, please turn me down.
Delta Charlie 52 to Central.
Code 99. Possible 207 in progress.
Immediate back-up required.
You all right?
Don't move.
- She hit her head. - Go, go, go!
I thought there'd be more ceremony to this moment.
I'm a little disappointed, to be honest.
Get out of here.
It's Lance. S.C.P.D.
- It's Mathis. I almost had him. - Search the area. The whole building.
- Sorry. - For what?
Pike's orders. He wants you collared for obstruction.
What are—? What—?
Quentin Larry Lance, you have the right to remain silent.
If you give up that right, anything you say can...
They're charging Lance with obstruction.
He's in custody.
Mathis isn't. He'll be looking for another target.
I hacked Mermaiden and sent out an e-mail blast...
telling stores the product was defective.
- That'll slow him down. - Smart.
- What about Lance? - One legal problem at a time.
Docket ending 4587. State vs. Queen.
All right. I'll hear motions. Ladies first.
Your Honor, we would like to be heard again on the issue of bail.
Ms. Queen has languished in the Iron Heights Prison for months.
And in those months, did the 503 people she's charged with killing...
miraculously return from the dead?
I'm unclear on how the passage of time is relevant.
Might I remind the court, the defendant is presumed innocent?
No need. I went to law school. It's where I learned that bail, once denied...
cannot be set in the absence of change of circumstance.
Mr. Donner, what do you have for me?
Your Honor, the State has no pre-trial motions to make at this time.
But we would like to serve notice to the defense...
pursuant to Rule of Criminal Procedure 15.
I would like to conference with the District Attorney.
- There's really no need nor any obligation. - What about professional courtesy?
I would like to have a conversation with you before you seek the death penalty.
Your client aided and abetted an act of mass murder.
Five hundred and three conversations...
wouldn't convince me that Moira Queen shouldn't be the 504th fatality.
Your Honor... - Mom, we are gonna fight this.
Don't worry. No one is gonna take you from us.
We won't let it happen.
Oliver!
Oliver! Unh!
Shado! Agh!
I had to call in a lot of favors to get those.
I've been at the DA's office for less than a month...
and no one owes me any favors.
So how'd you get the charges dropped?
Your friend Pike and I have been working together on the anti-vigilante task force.
Last year you were working with the Arrow. What a difference a few months makes.
- The Arrow? - Seems more appropriate than "the Hood."
And now you're working with him.
I guess I'm not the only one in the family that's done a 180.
This city needs help. I just became less particular about where it comes from.
What's your excuse?
Still Tommy?
What would you tell me if I said it is?
That a guy with a bow and arrow can't save a guy who's had a building fall on top of him.
What's going on with you is not about the Arrow.
Then what is it, Dad?
Hm? I mean, why don't you tell me?
You seem to have all the answers.
That crack that you made about me feeling guilty about something.
Tommy's death.
Why would I feel guilty about that?
I don't know, I wish I did because it's eating you up.
Your psychoanalysis would have more credibility...
if it wasn't being offered under police custody.
I'm worried about you—
I'd stay away from Pike if I were you, and the Dollmaker case.
Excuse me.
Step off, Abercrombie.
Cindy?
- Sin? - What do you want?
Can't you see I'm busy?
I'm looking for a friend of yours.
Blond, black leather head to toe?
So I guess that's a yes.
Bright lights. Christmas lights. Christmas lights.
He said he would go inside and replace them with Christmas lights.
That's what he said. He said he would go inside and—
You all right, pal?
You need a doctor or something?
No. I'm fine, thanks.
Laurel...
I checked the order, and you shorted us half a case of champagne.
I'm not paying for booze I didn't get.
- Can we get a count on that? - I've got four cases...
That won't help.
Yeah, well, neither is yelling at my vendors. But I wanna yell at someone right now.
Mom's gonna be okay.
Because we are gonna help her fight this.
As a family.
They wanna kill her.
I won't let them.
Thea, can you turn to channel 52, please?
Officer Quentin Lance and his daughter, Laurel, were abducted earlier today.
No ransom has been demanded.
S.C.P.D. are urging anyone with information regarding their whereabouts...
- How'd he get them? - Don't know about Laurel.
Detective Lance was abducted from the precinct.
Mathis shot a guard, which sounded the alarm.
I pulled up the security camera footage, and a van from Metamorpho Chemical caught my eye.
Metamorpho was condemned after the quake.
- Perfect place to make dolls. - Not tonight.
- Cops can trace this, same as we did. - They won't make it in time.
Hey.
- Wake up, Abercrombie. - What?
Did they send you?
Did who—? What? What? Unh.
Agh! Not my face.
I have a disapproving girlfriend.
Are you one of them?
One of who?
That's mine.
Let him go.
Isn't this nice?
All of us here together.
It's like Thanksgiving.
Laurel, stay calm. Stay calm.
Barton, I'm sorry.
I know you hate me. I know you hate me, okay? And I understand that.
But you hate me. So please let my daughter go.
Now, why would I do that?
Look at her. She's so lovely.
Maybe a little too much melanin in the skin...
but it's the imperfections that make art sublime.
I am the one that put you away. She had nothing to do with it!
She had everything to do with it!
She's your world. She's your very soul.
You know, I could kill you, I could maim you, slice you up into a thousand pieces...
but if your soul remains intact, what have I wrought?
Huh?
- Nothing. - I will kill you, you son of a bitch!
I will kill you! You son of a bitch!
Laurel. Sweetheart.
Close your eyes.
I'm here.
I'm here, honey.
If you struggle, it will take longer.
Do whatever you need to do. Just get him. Get him!
Let's take a better look at this face of yours.
You have such lovely skin.
You're going back to prison.
No. He's not.
It's okay, sweetheart.
It's okay. He saved us.
I know.
I know he did. And after I hunted him...
- It's okay. It's all right. - No. He came...
He came to save me.
- Yeah, I know. He saved us both. - No.
Not him.
Not the Arrow.
Tommy.
- What? - Oliver...
he told me to stay out of the Glades, and he...
You told me to get out of CNRI, and I didn't.
Tommy was only there because I was too stubborn.
Too stubborn to get out when I had the chance.
You were right.
I was blaming the Arrow because...
Oh, my God.
It's all my fault, Dad.
It's all my fault that Tommy died.
It's all right, sweetheart. It's all right.
How is she?
She'll be all right.
In time.
I might not always agree with your methods, but I can't argue with your results.
You saved my daughter.
Again.
She needed help.
And she wasn't the only one.
Thanks.
Moira.
- I know how hard this day has been for you. - Yes.
And believe it or not, I've actually been in worse situations.
Listen to me.
Donner knows how strong our defense is.
Don't let him scare you with that little death-penalty stunt of his.
I'm not afraid of dying, Jean.
I've made my peace with this world a long time ago.
Then let's win the case in the courtroom.
The trial is gonna reveal you were living under Malcolm Merlyn's thumb.
- It's gonna reveal everything. - Yes.
And that's what I'm afraid of.
Moira, what don't I know?
Don't you do this. You need to tell me.
I am your lawyer, and I am also your friend.
Thea and Oliver.
I'm finally in a good place with my children, Jean.
I have my family back.
But there are some things...
that must never be spoken of.
You shouldn't have come here.
I had no choice.
Ra's al Ghul has ordered your return.
I'm not going back. I can't.
That is not your decision.
Tell them that you couldn't find me.
Tell them I ran.
I won't lie for you.
Fine.
Don't tell them anything.
Something's going on with this woman. She keeps helping you out.
- We've gotta find her. - To stop her or send a thank-you note?
- That depends. - On what?
What side she's on.