“Three Ghosts” is episode nine of season two of Arrow and the mid-season finale.
In the previous episode, “The Scientist”, Oliver battled one of Blood’s people who had been enhanced with Mirakuru, the drug that was on the Japanese submarine. Oliver had ended up with several injections stuck in him and was in bad shape. Felicity didn’t want to call the police.
Barry Allen was sitting in the station, waiting for morning, having missed his train – again – when a dart struck him in the neck. When he came around, he was with Oliver, now revealed as the vigilante, and Felicity asked him to help Oliver.
The episode opens with him attempting to do so. They need to find out what is in Oliver’s system; Barry usually only works with dead people. He has four possible diagnoses, which he quickly narrows down to one. Oliver’s blood is unnaturally clotting – maple syrup is how Barry describes it He tells Felicity and Diggle that it’s lucky they have a rat problem and grabs a box of rat poison. Rat poison contains Warfarin – which is used in humans as a blood thinner. During this, Oliver sees Shado.
Barry is removing something from Oliver’s neck when Oliver comes around. And grabs him by the throat. Once pried off, Oliver wants to know what’s going on and is told that Barry saved his life. Which Felicity thinks Oliver should thank Barry for. Oliver is angry that his secret was shared, because it wasn’t anyone else’s to share. Felicity points out that Oliver was unconscious and dying; they didn’t have time to get his vote. Felicity trusts Barry; Oliver does not. When asked what he’s going to do, put an arrow in Barry, Oliver replies that he’s considering it. Felicity reassures Barry that Oliver is joking.
Felicity continues, asking how is this different than when Oliver’s mother shot him, and he came to Felicity for help? Or when Dig was dying of curare and Oliver brought him down here to save him. Oliver replies that the difference is that he did his homework on both of them. Barry interjects that he isn’t going to tell anyone and, whilst Oliver doesn’t have to thank him, he should thank Felicity instead of being kind of a jerk. Mr. Queen. Oliver gets a message from his mother asking him to come home; the man now has everything needed to mass produce the serum and they have to stop him. Barry explains – with lots of science geek stuff – that what he was doing when Oliver came around was potentially lifting Oliver’s attacker’s fingerprint from his throat. After Oliver leaves, Felicity makes a comment to Barry about never meeting your heroes.
Moira wanted Oliver because Thea is locked in her room. Thea, once reassured that Moira isn’t with Oliver, lets him in. Roy is in the bed with an arrow through his leg – that Oliver put there – and Sin is there as well. No hospital because in this town, as far as the cops are concerned, an arrow is the same as a bullet. Oliver calls Dig and asks him to come to the Queen mansion. Because Roy has been shot. With an arrow. Long story. And bring the med kit. Oliver explains that Diggle had medic training in the army and will patch Roy up. It’s the least Oliver can do. Especially as he’s the one who shot Roy. He suggests that perhaps the vigilante was trying to keep Roy safe. After Oliver leaves, the other three decide they aren’t going to let it go. Outside the room, Oliver sees Shado again who tells him to stop fighting and live. Meanwhile, the serum will be ready for distribution in 48 hours.
Barry is saying to Dig and Felicity that he knew the vigilante had partners. Barry, it seems, has been keeping score of what they have been doing. Oliver arrives and asks if there are any potential side effects from rat poison. Hallucinations and excessive sweating. Barry will run some tests. Barry also asks why Oliver doesn’t wear a mask, because greasepaint is a poor way of hiding Oliver’s identity. Oliver asks if Barry can find a mask that will conform perfectly to the shape of his face and doesn’t affect his aim when on the run. Oliver was probably being sarcastic; as it happens, Barry does know of something that would do the trick. They also have an ID for Oliver’s attacker – Cyrus Gold – and have a current location. Oliver is going to head out but Dig tells him he isn’t in condition to do so. So, Dig takes point.
Gold was near a motel and a room is discovered in there. With a rhyme about Solomon Grundy. Gold is behind Dig and Dig does not come off well in the battle, jumping out of the window and heading down the fire escape to get clear. Oliver asks Felicity to get backup and she calls Lance. Oliver meets with Lance and tells him about Gold, and how dangerous he is. And, at the moment, Oliver would be a liability. Gold is dangerous, so do not hesitate to kill him.
Thea and Sin find Laurel and ask for her help, explaining about Sin’s friend and how the police are treating it as a drug overdose. He earned money donating blood to Blood’s blood drive, and his blood surely wouldn’t have been accepted if he was a junkie. Alderman Blood is also courting Laurel it seems.
Lance asks Lucas to help, and gets a few members of S.W.A.T. too. This doesn’t seem like enough people. Especially when they end up betrayed from within, and Gold expects them. This does not go well.
On the island, Slade looks to have been killed by the serum, and Ivo drags Oliver. Sara and Shado away. He gives Oliver a choice. Pick which one of the two lives, and which dies, or both will die. This doesn’t look good for Shado. For one thing, Sara is known to be alive. For another, Oliver is seeing Shado’s ghost – one of the titular three – in the present.
The end of the episode reveals a new enemy, or a new face of an enemy. One with what sounds like a fairly unhinged grudge against Oliver.
The S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator is being turned on today, and Barry wants to get back and see this happen if he can.