Line #46 Recap/ArrowS4E5Haunted


1	'''Season 4, Episode 5''':
2	!Haunted
3	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arrow_s04e05.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:350:For one night only.]]
5
6
7	Sara is on a rampage across the city attacking women who look like Thea before finally finding and trying to kill her. Oliver calls in [[Series/{{Constantine}} John Constantine]]--who he had met on Lian Yu and assisted in recovering a mystical artifact--to restore Sara's soul to her body. While assisting Quentin in a mission for Darhk, Diggle discovers his brother's records are being erased, and finds out the truth about Andy and why he was killed by H.I.V.E. Felicity and Curtis discover Ray Palmer is still alive.
8
9	----
10
11	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Discussed. Since Oliver is the only person crazy enough to run, he's basically guaranteed the mayor's seat. But winning with 10% of the vote will make his life much more difficult than winning with 90%.
12	* ActionizedSequel: To ''Series/{{Constantine}}'', since John wasn't much of a fighter on the show. He could throw one solid punch, but in combat wasn't skilled. Here, he can at least hold off a swordsman (albeit during an out-of-body experience, outside the physical plane).
13	* AffablyEvil: Damien Darhk continues to give sage advice on how to deal with the soulless Sara between his instructions to Captain Lance. Darhk is also courteous enough to bring information about Andy Diggle as a reward for completing a H.I.V.E. mission with efficiency.
14	* AllThatGlitters: Recovering the artifact (a large jewel on a wooden staff), John breaks the jewel off and hands it to Oliver to bring back, explaining that guys like Reiter see the flashy stuff but it's the staff that contains the real magic.
15	* AntiHero: Constantine still is one. He's a snarky conman, but still "pure of heart". Likewise Oliver himself is able to cross the "pure of heart" barrier despite the evil things he's done, and shows this by saving Constantine's life.
16	* AwesomeButTemporary: Creator/MattRyan's guest spot as John Constantine is seen by many as the highlight of the episode (and is largely its entire point), which the producers have repeatedly described as a "one-off".
17	* BaitAndSwitch: In the ActionPrologue Sara brutally but efficiently stops an AttemptedRape like in her Canary days, only to attack the victim as well.
18	* BavarianFireDrill: When security guards capture Quentin and Diggle planting the trojan, Quentin knocks Diggle out and shows his badge, claiming Diggle is a hacker that he followed there. Too bad Dig didn't know the plan before...
19	* BlankWhiteEyes: Sara when the incantation starts.
20	* BittersweetEnding: Sara's soul is restored, and it seems she's back for good. However, Diggle learns a [[BrokenPedestal sad truth]] about his brother.
21	* BrokenPedestal: Diggle finds out his brother had been into criminal activity and had been assassinated by H.I.V.E. to eliminate competition.
22	* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The spot in TheUnderworld where Sara's soul is being kept prisoner takes the form of a facsimile of Nanda Parbat where [[MobileMaze intruders keep getting back to where they started]] for all eternity -- unless you have someone like Constantine who can navigate the place.
23	* CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker: Felicity jokingly announces over the Arrowcave PA system, "This is your overlord, Felicity Smoak..."
24	* CanonWelding: The ''Constantine'' series wasn't created as part of the Arrowverse, so the flashback story has to take an awkward detour to fit him into the show and explain Oliver calling him up. In fact, aside from setting up how Sara comes BackFromTheDead for real, this episode's primary purpose is integrating that show into this universe.
25	* ChickMagnet: Given a LampshadeHanging. Constantine says that he'd have come to see Oliver sooner if he knew he were surrounded by so many pretty girls. Felicity then snarks that she's glad the latest person from Oliver's MysteriousPast isn't another gorgeous woman.
26	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: After Flashback-Oliver saves his life, Constantine tells him he has a boat waiting to take him off Lian Yu, and Oliver is welcome to join him. Oliver chooses to stay to help rescue the prisoners.
27	* CombatPragmatist: Constantine manages to defeat a shade of a powerful assassin [[MundaneMadeAwesome using a levitation spell to remove his footing]].
28	* ContinuityNod: Beyond the past Arrow moments, the episode is rife with nods to ''Series/{{Constantine}}''.
29	** When John's face is shown for the first time, his show's theme music plays, and reoccurs through most of his scenes.
30	** John mentions restoring a soul, likely the events of Episode Five of ''Constantine'', where he and Papa Midnite did that after a voodoo ritual was distorted.
31	** John gripes about angels trying to force him to do things, like Manny always did. Although there's a bit of a ContinuitySnarl there.
32	** John escapes handcuffs yet again, as he did when he met Jim "The Spectre" Corrigan.
33	** The place where John stores mystical items is likely Jasper Winter's mill house from the series.
34	** John's [[MyCard business card]] returns (he never got new ones made), and yes, the phone number still works.
35	** John is never seen smoking, only stomping out a cigarette and asking for another, similar to the smoking restrictions NBC had on the first half of the series.
36	* ContinuitySnarl:
37	** John mentions being ordered around by angels against his will, in a flashback five years before the episode. John only encountered Manny a year before this episode. However, his interactions with Manny seemed to indicate that this had not been the first time he had encountered angels, so it's likely he's had problems with him, or at least his species, before.
38	** Oliver having known about Constantine since the start of the series makes it pretty odd that he didn't call in that favor while he was dealing with Ra's al Ghul, or more to the point when he realized that Damien Darhk was a full-blown sorcerer.
39	* ContrivedCoincidence: Just as Conklin seems to have undeniable proof that Oliver in the flashbacks isn't telling the truth because of the communications kit, Reiter is busy interrogating John Constantine, who is an outsider infiltrating the island and providing a convenient scapegoat.
40	* {{Crossover}}: Technically, with ''Series/{{Constantine}}''.
41	* DeadpanSnarker: John Constantine has not changed since his show ended.
42	* DespairEventHorizon: Like her father in the previous episode, Laurel gets pretty close to it when she believes that she will have to kill her sister.
43	* TheDreaded: Constantine's advice for Oliver once he hears that his enemy is Damien Darhk? ''Run.''
44	* DeathSeeker: When Sara turns up at the hospital, Thea tells her to GetItOverWith as she deserves it.
45	* FaceRevealingTurn: John Constantine in the flashback, and Sara in the present (Oliver not having known that she was alive).
46	* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: When present-day Oliver calls in his debt, Constantine is shown standing on a foggy street with antique-looking street lamps. Perhaps Constantine started [[Series/LegendsOfTomorrow time travelling earlier than we thought?]]
47	* {{Foreshadowing}}: For ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' with the introduction of John Constantine, Ray Palmer turning out to be alive, and Sara wearing a white overcoat (and when her soul is pulled from the Lazarus Pit, a white negligee) foreshadowing her becoming the White Canary.
48	* FreezeFrameBonus: Look closely, and on Curtis Holt's sleeve, you can see the words "Fair Play" written on it, in reference to his future identity as Mr. Terrific.
49	* FreudianTrio: The rescuers of Sara's soul.
50	** Constantine, the guide during the JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind (Superego).
51	** Oliver, friend of both Constantine and Laurel and only focused on the mission (Ego).
52	** Laurel, usually acts reckless which Constantine called her out for when the journey began (Id).
53	* FriendshipMoment: Oliver forgives Laurel for her actions and rejects the idea that he should distance himself from her for political expediency.
54	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Constantine, who walks into the flashback plot to recover a priceless artifact before walking right out.
55	* {{Hypocrite}}: Oliver is once again accused of being this by Laurel. In the end, he tells Thea that he has no right to be angry about them keeping secrets. Laurel certainly has a point, and Oliver is currently STILL keeping a major secret from her regarding her father being a spy for Team Arrow against Damien Darhk. It was also his idea.
56	** Ironically, Laurel's speech actually highlights her hypocrisy more than Oliver's. Her accusation that Oliver keeps secrets and doesn't treat her as an equal falls flat when she hid the fact she resurrected a soulless Sara who is ''out on the streets killing people''. With that, Oliver has a damn good reason not to trust her with anything. In the same speech, she complains Oliver never thinks about how she feels, when Laurel's actions have put ''Oliver's'' sister in the hospital, while he's busting his gut to save Laurel's sister.
57	* HiddenDepths: Curtis won an Olympic bronze medal in the decathlon.
58	* InternalReveal: Oliver finds out that Sara is alive, and that Thea's bloodlust has only been abated because she killed the men Malcolm Merlyn served up to her. He is ''not'' happy and proceeds to give Laurel hell.
59	* IOweYouMyLife: In the flashback, Oliver saves Constantine from a non-magical [[SpikesOfDoom spike trap]]. Constantine says he owes him a favor, which Oliver calls in during the present day plot. Oliver says he owes Constantine after he saves Sara's soul, and although Constantine says it MakesUsEven Oliver makes it clear that he can call on him at any time.
60	* ItsALongStory: Quentin on why he's working with HIVE. [[WhatTheHellHero Diggle makes him tell it anyway.]]
61	* ImprobableAge: When Oliver questions whether Alex is old enough to be a political strategist, Thea reminds him that [[LampshadeHanging she owned and ran a nightclub before she was even old enough to drink]].
62	* {{Irony}}: [[Recap/ArrowS2E20SeeingRed Previously]], when Roy was on a Mirakuru-fueled rampage across the city, it was Sara who suggested [[ShootTheDog killing him to save everyone else]]. Now, Sara ''herself'' is on a similar type of rampage across the city, and her own sister ponders killing her to save everyone else. In both instances, it's Oliver who (correctly) assumes that they can instead be restored to their former selves, and killing them isn't necessary.
63	* IslandOfMystery: Lian Yu's status as this is finally explained by Constantine. The island is a [[GeniusLoci mystical nexus that draws darkness to it]].
64	* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: Or rather, to the metaphysical hole where Sara's soul was being stashed.
65	* KarmaHoudini: Laurel raises Sara from the dead against Nyssa, Thea and Malcolm's warnings. Sara then goes on a blood rage, killing several criminals, attacking ''multiple innocent women'' and hospitalizing Thea, while Laurel hides it from the rest of Team Arrow and on Oliver finding out - only yells that he's not thinking about ''her'' feelings. The result? ''Oliver'' calls in a favor to save Sara, Laurel gets her sister back and Oliver affirms her as his friend and equal.
66	* MatchCut: From Constantine [[MakeItLookLikeAStruggle punching Flashback-Ollie in the face]], to Oliver getting his face done up for the political interview.
67	* MustHaveCaffeine: Even Felicity is alarmed at a motor-mouthed Curtis powered by an excess of energy drinks.
68	* MyCard: Constantine mentions giving one to Reiter, and is shown giving one to Team Arrow (sadly, the RunningGag from his show regarding the "Master of the Dark Arts" bit is not used, nor did he ever get it changed).
69	* MythologyGag: Curtis Holt is a bronze medalist at the Olympics, like the comics Michael Holt. His gym clothes also match the color scheme and cut of the Mr. Terrific costume.
70	* NoJustNoReaction: Oliver's reaction to Thea saying John Constantine is [[MrFanservice a very specific kind of yummy]].
71	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Captain Lance has to plant a trojan virus that wipes files from a federal database, because doing otherwise would tip Darhk off that he's working for Team Arrow.
72	* OhCrap:
73	** Felicity and Oliver have this reaction when they realize that the women Sara attacked resemble Thea.
74	** Unstated reaction by John Constantine regarding the fact that Oliver is fighting [[TheDreaded against Damien Darhk]]. He doesn't flat out say the words, but his expression shows it, along with how he gives the advice to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere get out of the city to avoid him]].
75	* OnlyThePureOfHeart: The translation of the Egyptian "Keep Out" sign on Lian Yu. [[AntiHero Constantine]] subsequently walks inside, which says [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold a lot about him]]. Similarly, Oliver also walks right in, despite Constantine's earlier belief that he wouldn't qualify.
76	* PetTheDog: Constantine is able to escape Reiter by using Oliver as a hostage. Given the prevalence of the BadBoss trope in this series, it stands out that Reiter would care enough about the life of one of his men to allow this to happen.
77	* PowerTattoo: The Chinese script on Oliver's right flank turns out to be one. It starts out on Constantine's arm, and he later transfers it to Oliver as a ChekhovsGun against Reiter.
78	* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: With Constantine's help, Oliver and Laurel are able to successfully infiltrate TheUnderworld and bust out Sara's soul.
79	* TheReveal: Baron Reiter isn't on the island only to make drugs; he's hunting supernatural artifacts as well.
80	* SarcasticConfession: In the flashback, Oliver dismisses Conklin's accusation that he's a mole by saying he clearly must have parachuted in from a spy plane on a secret mission.
81	* SeenItAll: After four years of weirdness, Oliver was not that surprised that magic exists. He doesn't even bat an eye when he learns that [[IslandOfMystery Lian Yu]] is literally a magical DoomMagnet either, probably because [[DoingInTheScientist that explains a lot of what he had to go through]].
82	* SequelHook: As unlikely as it seems right now, Oliver tells John that he can call for his help wherever whenever.
83	* SexySoakedShirt: Sara's soul is dipped in a Lazarus Pit-like tub and is wearing a negligee when Oliver and Laurel pulls her out.
84	* ShoutOut: A twofer. Alex references the real-life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_incident Chappaquiddick incident]] (which is startlingly similar to what happened with the ''Queen's Gambit''), and Thea confuses him for talking about [[Literature/HarryPotter Quidditch]].
85	* SoullessShell: We finally get confirmation that this is what happens to people who are resurrected by the Lazarus Pit. A metaphysical pit holds it until their body is able to kill their murderer.
86	* TheStinger: Ray Palmer is alive, and attempting to contact Felicity with his suit's black box.
87	* TakeAThirdOption: Kill Sara or let her kill Thea? No problem, tranquilize her and call in the expert.
88	* TakeThat: Constantine gets in a subtle dig at Creator/{{NBC}}, the channel that mishandled and ultimately canceled his show, when he scratches his back with a dead peacock feather. The peacock, of course, is the mascot of NBC.
89	* TemptingFate: Thea is saying the plan to use her as TheBait isn't working when (of course) Sara chooses that moment to burst into their midst.
90	* TomeOfEldritchLore: It turns out that the golden staff with the red orb on top is the Orb of Horus, which John says is a grimoire (an ancient spell book). Apparently the only important part is the staff, not the orb itself.

Context Recap / ArrowS4E5Haunted