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When Oliver goes to court to repeal the death in absentia declaration filed on his behalf, he runs into Laurel, who is trying a case against a crooked shipping magnate with ties to the Chinese Triad criminal society. Laurel argues that, while attempting to hide his involvement in drug trade, Martin Somers ordered the father of her client killed.
Somers’ name also appears in Robert Queen’s book and Oliver goes after him in his vigilante persona. Spooked, Somers calls on the triad for help in the form of drug trafficker China White. After Thea tells her brother he needs to open up to someone, Oliver visits with Laurel. They are attacked by White and crew, but Diggle and Oliver manage to fend them off. Quentin Lance, not wanting to lose another daughter, warns Oliver to stay away from Laurel.
As the Arrow, Oliver confronts Somers to get his confession about the murdered man. He fights with China White again before Lance and the police arrive. Cornered by Lance, Oliver escapes by giving up a recording of Somers admitting his crime.
Meanwhile, as Walter and Moira attempt to bring Oliver back into the business fold, Oliver makes the decision that he can’t do what he wants to accomplish by giving in to what everyone else wants him to be. Flashbacks to the island reveal Oliver burying his father’s body and discovering a book with the drawing of a strange symbol in it. As Oliver says goodbye to his father, he’s shot in the shoulder by an arrow. In pain, Oliver turns to see a man in the distance in a green hood…
Tropes applying to this Episode:
- Artifact Title: The titular father refers to the long-departed Robert Queen.
- Artistic License – Law: Somers' recorded confession is inadmissible because he was being coerced at the time. Even if it wasn't, his lawyer could reasonably argue he was just telling the Vigilante what he wanted to hear to stop himself from being killed.
- Back from the Dead: The episode opens with Oliver being legally resurrected.
- Bait-and-Switch: Ollie shows up at Laurel's apartment with a bag, and when she asks him what's in it, he tells her, "Every day I was on the island, there was something I thought about doing, and I told myself that if I ever got to do it again, I would do it with you." It seems like he's talking about sex, and the bag contains condoms. However, he then says, "Eat ice cream," and it's revealed that the bag has mint ice cream in it.
- Black Widow: It's revealed that Moira had a hand on the yacht being sabotaged.
- Blank Book: Island!Oliver discovers the book containing the List on his father's dead body, but when he looks through it all the pages are blank.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Oliver knocks a knife from China White's hand as she's about to kill Diggle, and later uses a flechette to pin Quentin's gun to the side of a shipping container.
- Call-Back: Thea tells Oliver not to bother pickpocketing her drug stash again, as she's planning to get drunk instead.
- Catchphrase: China White's first use of "Anything for a friend", though she doesn't get a friendly response.Somers: Thank you for coming.China White: Anything for a friend.Somers: We're not friends. You smuggle drugs, I let you use my port.
- Celebrity Paradox: The Walking Dead will later be acknowledged to exist in this universe. Laurel's client in this episode is played by Emma Bell, who was a cast member of that show's inaugural season (aired two years before this show's series premiere) and was the very first major casualty of that show.
- Character Development: Thea begins showing hints of not being an It's All About Me Spoiled Brat, telling Oliver that things were shitty for five years with him dead, and his return doesn't magically fix that, and he has to meet them halfway.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The Robert Queen Applied Sciences Center.
- Oliver understands when China White speaks to him in Chinese, another indication that he wasn't alone on that island in the North China Sea.
- Deadly Rotary Fan: The Batman Cold Open has the Hood encouraging Marcus Redmond to rethink the ethics of his pension fund embezzlement by knocking the safety grill off a ventilator fan and pressing his face to it.
- Death by Transceiver: One of Somer's goons makes a radio call to a perimeter guard, only for The Hood to answer.
- Ditch the Bodyguards: Diggle is fending the press away from Oliver's car when Oliver drives off without him. Moira chews him out and Diggle threatens Oliver with resignation if he does this again. After turning up Just in Time to save Oliver and Laurel's life, he snaps at him that this is why he needs a bodyguard.
- Due to the Dead: The first thing Oliver does when he gets to the island is find a place to bury his father's body and cover it with stones so animals cannot get to it.
- Event Title: The title refers to Oliver's road on being The Atoner for his father's dying wish.
- Exact Words: Oliver mentions during his legal hearing that he was the Sole Survivor in the yacht incident and that his father didn't make it. He didn't say how he died.
- The Faceless: Moira is shown getting into a car and discussing events with a fellow conspirator whose face is concealed from the audience.
- Funny Background Event: As they're leaving for the courtroom Tommy holds out a gentlemanly arm for Moira, who just rolls her eyes at him and brushes past.
- I Am Not My Father: What Oliver says while rejecting the idea that he'll become the heir apparent to Queen Consolidated.
- Insane Troll Logic: When assassins turn up to kill Laurel, Quentin puts the blame on Oliver just for being there. He then unsuccessfully tries to coerce his daughter into pulling out of the case. Compare with Oliver who is just as furious that Laurel's life is in danger and looks ready to kill Somers, but gives him one last chance to confess his misdeeds.
- I Owe You My Life: When China White and her Triad gunmen burst into Laurel's flat to assassinate her, Oliver is only armed with a kitchen knife, but Diggles arrives Just in Time for a Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind. Then Oliver throws the knife to save Diggle from being killed by China White. Although they're far from Fire-Forged Friends at this stage, these actions are appreciated by both parties.
- Ironic Echo:
- Quentin gets annoyed when Laurel uses his own words about working with the system against him.
- When Thea asks her brother what happened to him on the island, he refuses to talk about it. He then demands to know where she's off to, so Thea naturally responds in kind.
- Jerkass Façade: Oliver begins playing the Upper-Class Twit to the hilt so people won't expect him to shoulder responsibility. He realises he may have overdone it with Laurel however and makes an effort to reconcile with her. Unfortunately Oliver realises he can't save the city while being tied up in the business world, so he turns up at the dedication of the Applied Sciences Center to Robert Queen while Playing Drunk in front of his family and the media cameras. Later at his father's grave he apologizes to his father for disgracing his memory in this way.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Oliver's presentation may have left something to be desired, but he doesn't have experience running a Fortune 500 company.
- Knife Outline: To make him confess, the Hood pins Somers to the wall with arrows, at least one of them coming perilously close to a tender place.
- Lady in Red: China White is introduced wearing one, though she changes to a black Spy Catsuit when it's time to get dangerous.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: After the Hood tries to intimidate Somers into confessing his guilt in court, he calls on China White to handle the problem. She decides that the best way to stop the trial is to kill Laurel Lance and when that fails, Somers knows full well that he'll be next on the list.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Painful as it was for her to witness, Oliver's drunk act does convince Moira that he's genuinely ignorant of anything that her late husband might have known.
- Parental Abandonment: Laurel's client's Missing Mom died when she was a baby, implying Death by Childbirth. Her Disappeared Dad was killed via Slashed Throat because He Knows Too Much about the organization he's working for and about to turn over.
- Parent with New Paramour: Oliver finally makes it clear that he's not OK with his mom remarrying his late dad's CFO.
- Revealing Skill: Oliver saves the life of John Diggle by throwing an unbalanced kitchen knife from ten feet away, accurately enough to knock the knife from China White's hand. Oliver tries to pass this off as luck, but Diggle knows the skill required to pull that off and starts to suspect Oliver's Upper-Class Twit act is a façade.
- Running Gag: Oliver ditches Diggle again, with him threatening to quit if Oliver does it again.
- Second Episode Introduction: The episode introduced major recurring villain China White, as well as Oliver's first mentor Yao Fei.
- Scar Survey: Thea is shocked when she walks in on her brother putting on his shirt and sees just how extensive his scars are, and gets angry when he clams up in the face of her questions.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the assassination of Laurel fails, Martin Somers realises the Triads next step will be to burn their bridges by killing him, so he prepares to jump on a ship and run. The Hood gets to him first.
- Talking to the Dead: Thea tells Oliver of how she would visit Oliver's headstone to pour out her troubles, and laments how she felt closer to him then than to the emotionally-distant brother who returned to her. Oliver does the same with his father's headstone, before ordering the workmen to remove his own.
- Tastes Like Friendship: Oliver realises his Jerkass Façade is alienating people he'd rather have as friends, so reconciles with Laurel over mint ice cream.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Oliver saves Diggle from China White by throwing a kitchen knife at her.
- Tuckerization: Following the trend of naming characters after creators associated with the comics, Victor and Emily Nocenti are named after comic writer Ann Nocenti.
- Unwilling Suspension: The Hood hangs Martin Somers upside down and grazes his face with arrows. Martin is not amused and calls on his Triad contact for help.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: China White and the Vigilante have to break off their fight when the police turn up.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: A relatively light version with Flashback!Oliver after getting near the decomposing body of his dead father.
- Wham Line:Moira: He has no idea the yacht was sabotaged.
- Wham Shot: Oliver literally being shot by an arrow in the flashback.
- What Would X Do?Oliver: Thea, do you think this is what Dad would want for you?Thea: Dead people don't want anything. It's one of the benefits of being dead.
- You Killed My Father: Laurel's client's cry for justice.
