Recap / Arrow S2E14 "Time of Death"

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In the present, Oliver goes up against William Tockman (aka the Clock King). In the past, he, Sara, and Slade plot their way onto the Amazo.

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Tropes Applying to this Episode

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Dinah, when she was in Central City and divorced, has moved on to another man. Quentin doesn't know this and thinks her happiness over Sara's return means he can reignite the spark of their romance.
• After-Action Patch-Up: Felicity gets shot and insists on being patched up at the Arrowcave like the others instead of being taken to the hospital. As she's nowhere near as badass as them, Diggle slips her some painkillers under the guise of aspirin.
• Always Someone Better:
  • Felicity starts to feel this way about Sara. Since Sara is a trained fighter yet able to do both lab and computer work, Felicity starts to feel a little useless. Having Tockman get the better of her during the episode and blow up the Arrowcave doesn't help, since she's failing at the one thing she's good at. It's telling that, when she goes to the bank by herself to stop him, she's wearing Sara's jacket.
  • Also seems to be the case with Tockman at first, but by the end of the episode, Felicity prevails.
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: A cyber-attack variant — Tockman hacks the Arrow Cave's computers and forces them to self-destruct.
  Felicity: He—he's trying to break into our network.
  Tockman: I'm not trying. I am. Where are you? Are you home? Are you safe? Somewhere you think you're safe... Somewhere without windows for anyone to creep through? Underground, perhaps? You think no one can get to you? You think no one can touch you in the safety of your hidey hole? But I can. (Explosive Instrumentation ensues)
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: When the Arrow and Canary interfere in a bank robbery, Tockman diverts a bus into the path of an oncoming train, so Oliver has to rush to block the bus Just in Time showing Unflinching Faith in the Brakes. Later Tockman is prepared to start a gas main explosion that will destroy everything in three blocks.
• Artistic License – Law: Tockman tries to distract the Arrow by hacking into the train service so that the crossing lights won't activate, which means the city bus heading toward the tracks will be just on time to be side-swiped. Problem is though, bus drivers are required, by law to stop before every train track and visually check the coast is clear, because in real life crossing light and guard malfunctions are fairly common. Of course it also ignores that the possibility that someone requesting a stop would have ruined the whole plan.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • After her blowup at the family dinner and Oliver washing his hands of her, Laurel approaches Sara at Verdant and apologizes, revealing the pent-up trauma she's felt ever since her sister was Lost at Sea.
  • Quentin makes an apology to Oliver for the way he treated him in the first season. Both parties find it rather awkward.
• The Bait: Oliver liquidates 800,000 Queen Consolidated stocks and has the money stashed in his vault at Starling City National Bank to temp the Tockman into robbing it.
• Battle Couple: Now that Oliver and Sara have hooked up they have no problem continuing to work together in the field as the Arrow and the Canary.
• Cat Scare: Felicity hides on hearing someone come down the stairs at the bank, then shrieks when someone grabs her...it's Diggle.
• Chekhov's Gun: While on the island, Slade, Oliver and Sara can't figure out a way to get onto the Amazo without being seen. Then after the airplane is shot down, Oliver finds a parachute on board.
• Cliffhanger: In the present day, Oliver finds Slade Wilson in his home casually chatting with his mother.
• Clock King: Tockman plans his robberies down to the second. The news even uses this exact nickname for him.
• Continuity Nod: We see several of the scars Ollie and Digg have earned over the course of the show. Two bullet wounds for Digg, two for Ollie (and his arrow wound and torture scars, and some not yet explained).
• Cool Big Sis: The episode makes it clear that Sara is the surrogate version for Sin.
  Sara: Hey, Laurel's my big sister. I still have room for a little one.
• Did You Think I Can't Feel?: A surprising one to Laurel from Oliver (who can be a bit of a stoic jerkass himself). He's tired of taking the blame for everything bad that has ever happened to the Lance family.
  Oliver: I have stood by you through everything. The DUI, losing your job. Laurel, I was concerned about your well-being when you were trying to get my mother the death penalty.
  Laurel: (sarcastically) Yeah, and you've been a real stand up kind of guy.
  Oliver: Laurel, do you think you're the only one who is having a hard time? Do you think you're the only one with family issues? You have no idea... NO IDEA... what is going on with my family right now. But I am still standing here. And you are still blaming everyone but yourself.
  Laurel: Are you done?
  Oliver: (visibly shocked) Yeah... Yeah, I'm done. I'm done taking the blame and I'm done caring. So go have a drink. Get wasted. Go to Verdant. I'll pay for it. I have loved you for half of my life. But I am done running after you.
• Dueling Hackers: Felicity gets a shock when Tockman hacks into Team Arrow's communications, so she upgrades the firewall, only to get a nastier shock when the Tockman uses the Skeleton Key to break through that and cause all the computers in the Arrowcave to fuse out.
• Eating the Eye Candy: A subtle version, but when Sara comes across Felicity in workout spandex she helps position her hips and can be seen dropping her eyes to check her out. Oliver enters a moment later and is thrown by Felicity's outfit as well.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Tockman's sole motive is to get money so his sister can get treatment. His willingness to let a Bus Full of Innocents die removes any sympathy our heroes have.
• Every Scar Has a Story: Oliver, Sara, and Diggle all share their scar stories after Sara is hit in a stick fighting match against the two of them. Felicity tries to give her own, but it doesn't really measure up... until she gets one that does at the end of the episode.
  Felicity: My own scar... yay!
• Evil Counterpart: The Clock King for Felicity, being just as good if not better with computers than her, and completely lacking her morals.
• Explosive Instrumentation: Tockman uses a virus to blow up all of the Arrowcave's computers remotely. Felicity uses the same virus to blow up Tockman's cellphone when he's about to shoot Sara.
• Fanservice Faux Fight: The episode opens with Oliver and Diggle training against Sara with staves. The men are shirtless in shorts, she's in a sports bra and yoga pants.
• Fatal Family Photo: Sin's dad, whose plane was shot down, hands Sara a photo of his daughter before he succumbs to his wounds.
• Flat "What": Oliver's reaction to finding out that Felicity is at Starling National Bank when Tockman is making a heist.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Felicity wears Sara's black leather jacket when trying to be more badass like her. Next season Laurel will end up doing the same.
  • Knowing her brother is concealing something from her, Thea points out that lies are what tore their family apart. The lies being told to her cause Thea to leave Starling City at the end of the season.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Averted; Diggle thinks that Felicity is jealous of Oliver hooking up with Sara, but she actually has other reasons. She can accept Oliver with other women, but not that she's a failure at the things he does value her for.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Felicity knocks out Tockman by using the exact same virus he used on her computers on his cellphone.
• Hope Spot: A light aircraft flies over the island, only to be shot down by a missile from the Amazo.
• I Always Wanted to Say That: Felicity always wanted to say she'd taken a bullet for someone. By the end of the episode, she can, so she supposes she should thank Sara for giving her the opportunity.
• I Can See You: Tockman tells his minions to cut short the robbery after seeing the Arrow approaching. Moments later he's hacked into Team Arrow's communications to speak to them directly.
• Improvised Weapon: Tockman stabs a minion with a clock's minute hand.
• Internal Reveal: Oliver learns that Slade is in fact alive and in Starling City, specifically in the Queen Mansion.
• Irony: During his apology Quentin says, "You're not a killer, Oliver" referring to how Oliver called himself a killer for causing Sara's death. Of course that was to cover for deliberately killing a whole bunch of people as the Vigilante.
• Janitor Impersonation Infiltration: The robbers stealing the Skeleton Key change from suits to cleaning overalls while in the elevator.
• Kids Play Matchmaker
  • Laurel only unbends on having a family dinner with Sara because Quentin thinks he has a chance of getting back with Dinah. She's not amused on finding it's just her father's wishful thinking.
  • Thea has a variant where, noticing the tension between her mother and brother, she sends a fake text message to get them in the house together. Ironically this works because Slade is in the Queen mansion as well, so Oliver suddenly has far more serious things to worry about.
• Just One Little Mistake: Tockman has to hack into the gas mains via the city network, which is all Felicity needs to track him down as she's entirely familiar with that system.
• Last Request: The dying pilot asks Sara to make sure his daughter is alright. That turns out to be Sin.
• Lost in a Crowd: The perps in the opening theft ditch their coveralls and lose themselves in a protest rally marching up the street near the building they just robbed.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Tockman has MacGregor's Syndrome, the same Soap Opera Disease that Alfred and Nora Fries suffered from in Batman & Robin.
  • Tockman used to work for Kord Enterprises.
  • Sara used to bartend at the Oblivion Bar.
  • An ad for a Blue Devil movie appears on a bus.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Whenever Laurel talks of how Sara has been back for a week, when she actually returned to Starling City months ago.
• Oh, Crap!: Oliver's reaction to seeing Slade Wilson, the man he believed he killed, in his living room.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Oliver gives one to Laurel for blaming everything wrong in her life on him and her family, noting that regardless of how she is acting, he has problems of his own and they are not responsible for her substance abuse and job woes.
• Scar Survey: A platonic version when Sara (sports bra), Oliver, and Diggle (both shirtless) compare scars after sparring.
• Ship Tease:
  • Although Ollie is dating Sara, he assures Felicity that he needs her around as well.
  Oliver: Diggle had mentioned you might be feeling a little left out.
  Felicity: What? No! I'm just used to being your girl. I mean, not your girl, but your girl. I know it sounds like the same word, but it sounds different in my head.
  Oliver: (cupping her cheek gently) You will always be my girl, Felicity.
  • Oliver tells Laurel that he has been in love with her for half of his life. Laurel is visibly thrown by this comment.
• Skeleton Key: The Skeleton Key that gets stolen in the Villain Opening Scene was meant for use in codebreaking of foreign intelligence targets, but can also be adapted to crack any bank vault.
• Taking the Bullet: Lampshaded after Felicity saves Sara's life by pushing her aside just as Tockman is about to shoot her, catching a bullet in the shoulder in the process.
  Sara: I wouldn't be here if you hadn't been so brave. Thank you.
  Felicity: It was nothing. I've always wanted to say I've taken a bullet for someone, and now I can. So really I should be thanking you.
• Third-Person Person: The Arrow tells Officer Lance that "Oliver Queen" ordered the Skeleton Key project shut down because he realised its potential for crime.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Sara, the trained assassin, and Felicity, the resident smart girl and Non-Action Girl. Made clear when they take down Tockman together.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Now that Sara has been returned to him, Quentin accepts that she and Oliver were just a couple of kids acting stupidly, rather than just blaming Oliver for everything.
• Villain Over for Dinner: Oliver comes back home only to find Moira in the middle of a meeting... with Slade.
• We Do Not Know Each Other: Upon seeing Sara for the first time since she was forced to leave Starling City, Sin promptly glomps her, much to Roy and Thea's confusion. She quickly makes up a story about how she always does that when people come back from the dead due to a zombie fetish, then rolls her eyes.
• You Have Failed Me: Tockman stabs a minion who moved from his position without being told instead of waiting a few seconds, which meant he was seen by a security guard causing an unnecessary shootout with the guard and responding police.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Laurel catches the Meaningful Look between Sara and Oliver and realises they've rekindled their old relationship. Unsurprisingly she hits the roof.