“Tremors” is episode twelve of season two of Arrow.
The episode opens with a new inmate being processed. He apparently robbed a convenience store across from a police precinct. The man is asked to step through a metal detector, which he sets off. He claims replacement joints, and is manually scanned before he is taken to a cell. Whose inmate is Ben Turner, the Bronze Tiger. The man gives Turner a location, which Turner is supposed to go to tonight at midnight. Turner points out that they are locked up. The man says that his son is with his mother, and he won’t get to see him anyway. But if he does this, his son will get the money. ‘This’ being smuggling Turner’s weapons inside his body. A guard comes and asks what Turner did to the new inmate. Turner truthfully states the man did it himself, then kills the guard.
In the previous episode, “Blind Spot”, Oliver told Roy he would train him – Roy having hospitalised someone at his first attempt with his new powers. The first bit of training is slapping water in a bowl, like Shado taught Oliver which builds arm strength. Roy doesn’t need strength, but he does need control. But he punches through the bowl and table. Oliver explains that he knew someone like Roy, injected with the Mirakuru. He was Oliver’s friend, but the drug warped his mind to the point where Oliver didn’t recognise him anymore. What Oliver can tell Roy about the other is that Oliver put an arrow through his eye. Oliver doesn’t know this yet, but that wasn’t as fatal as he thought.
Oliver talks to Diggle and Felicity about Roy, saying that Roy was already angry at the world before he was injected. He says that Slade Wilson was his friend, and Oliver thought he could help him. He plans to not make the same mistake with Roy. Felicity gets an alert from Iron Heights – Oliver isn’t judgmental about her hacking the prison; he’s proud. Felicity tells him the Ben Turner has escaped, killing ten guards on the way out. Felicity says that the prison is better at keeping secrets than prisoners.
Turner is meeting with a man, telling him to dismiss his guards first. The man wants Turner to help retrieve an item, showing him a picture. Turner recognises it and asks the man if he knows what he is messing with, because it will kill hundreds. Thousands, according to the man.
Roy is still struggling with control. He thinks the Arrow is just finding new ways to annoy Roy, and Roy is already angry enough. Oliver tells him that anger is good, it provides energy. Roy needs to channel it. Roy wants to come with, so that he can see why he is doing this.
Moira is meeting with Walter, she though by himself, but there’s a Mark Francis (Nicholas Lea) there as well. There are concerns about Sebastian Blood’s policies, because they will bankrupt the city in months (there’s more to worry about than that). The problem is that there is no viable opponent to run against him for mayor. That’s what they want Moira to do. She thinks they are joking. They aren’t.
Oliver is with Roy when Felicity contacts him. Turner killed an architect and stole from him the plans to Malcolm Merlyn’s house. All of Malcolm’s holdings are in receivership. Roy wants to know who Oliver is talking with. Oliver explains that someone he put ion prison got out. Does Roy have a hoodie with him? In the garage of Malcolm’s house, the men are taking something. A prototype earthquake machine. When asked why he was needed, Turner tells the other men that it’s for Oliver and Roy. Roy loses control during the fight and starts beating a man to a pulp as Turner gets away with the machine.
On the island, Oliver and Sara are following Slade using the tracker. He appear4s to have headed back to the cave with the bodies. Oliver wants to tell Slade that Ivor killed Shado because of him. Sara does not think that’s a good idea, letting Slade think Oliver is responsible for the death of the woman Slade loved. However, in the present Oliver tells Felicity and Dig that Slade found out anyway – from someone else. That was bad. He doesn’t want to make similar mistakes with Roy. Roy really wants the truth, rather than lies, and Oliver is worried about his lack of control. Roy is worrying himself on occasion.
In the previous episode Blood managed to thoroughly discredit Laurel – and faked the death of the man in the skull mask with a, possibly willing, patsy. Everyone thinks Laurel has lost it and is suffering from substance abuse (admittedly, she probably is). She lost her job at the DA’s office. Lance comes to see her, because he misses her. Laurel states she has an interview for a new job at Joanna’s law firm; Lance wants her to go for a meal with him. Which turns out to be taking her to a support meeting. Laurel does not take this well. However, she is having serious problems, and is refusing to admit this. So, Oliver calls for help.
Moira is apparently quite a popular potential prospect for mayor; Walter ran polls. Thea also thinks her mother should run.
As an aside, there’s a mention of a new team. Which is corrected to a new ‘squad.’ Three guesses what that squad’s full name probably is.