Violet recaps Season 2 Episode 6 of Arrow, titled Keep Your Enemies Closer, where Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity take a trip to Mother Russia, where some unexpected things happen! But is it true that what happens in Russia stays in Russia? Following the recap, both Violet and Josh share their thoughts on the episode.
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Arrow, Season 2 Episode 6: Keep Your Enemies Closer Recap Overview
Need a quick Arrow episode recap of Season 2 Episode 6 titled Keep Your Enemies Closer? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Arrow episode recap for Keep Your Enemies Closer if you need more information!
- Roy gets arrested helping Arrow, but Officer Lance lets him go. A.R.G.U.S. kidnaps Diggle and asks him to find Lyla, who went missing while tracking Deadshot in Russia. Oliver and Felicity decide to go to Russia with Diggle.
- In a flashback, Ivo needs Oliver‘s help finding a Japanese submarine on the island that was carrying the “Miracle” serum. Isabel joins Oliver on the trip to Russia. Moira’s lawyer tells Thea to break up with Roy.
- Oliver’s Russian mafia friend, Anatoli Knyazev, helps get Diggle into Koshmar prison, where Lyla was caught trying to break into.
- Knyazev was a fellow prisoner when Oliver was on the freighter. Thea breaks up with Roy. Diggle gets into a prison fight.
- Oliver and Isabel talk over drinks, then go back to his room for a quickie, to Felicity’s dismay. Diggle finds Deadshot, who is the only one who knows where Lyla is, so they team up to escape.
- In a flashback, Sara tricks Oliver into confirming for Ivo that Shado and Slade are alive. Deadshot leads Diggle to Lyla. Diggle’s confiscated coat explodes, allowing Diggle, Lyla, and Deadshot to escape, with help from Oliver, Felicity, and Knyazev.
- Diggle lets Deadshot go, and Deadshot reveals that H.I.V.E. hired him to kill Diggle’s brother. Moira reconciles Thea and Roy. Lyla and Diggle get back together.
- A hurt Felicity demands an explanation from Oliver about Isabel. In the final flashback, Sara prevents Ivo from killing Oliver, and Ivo reveals that he knows Oliver‘s real name.
Arrow Episode Recap: Keep Your Enemies Closer, the Details
Roy Helps Arrow, The Gang Heads to Russia to find Lyla
Season 2 Episode 6 of Arrow, titled Keep Your Enemies Closer, begins with Roy sticking his piece of arrow into a tree to signal Arrow. Cut to Queen Consolidated, where Isabel and Oliver are arguing about Oliver missing board meetings. Felicity interrupts to talk to him about his “evening plans” with Mr. Harper (Roy).
That night, Arrow meets up with Roy, and tells him to go home. Some guys are in a warehouse making a deal for an imprinter to make counterfeit money, when Arrow swoops in and uses a trick arrow to burn the bag of money to be used as payment. One guy runs off, and Roy chases him outside and starts punching him. Just then, Officer Lance shows up with the police and arrests Roy. Inside, Diggle is helping Oliver take the rest of the guys down. Just when Diggle thinks he’s clear, a guy tazers Digg and he passes out.
The men take Digg to an interrogation room somewhere. A woman named Amanda Waller comes to talk to him. He figures out it’s A.R.G.U.S. that has taken him, and asks to see Lyla Michaels. However, she went missing in Moscow while tracking a lead on Floyd Laughton a.k.a. Deadshot. Waller knows how Digg and Oliver spend their nights, and asks him to bring Lyla back.
At the police station, Roy tells Officer Lance that he was working for Arrow. Thea shows up, and Lance says they’re letting him go.
In the Arrow Cave, Digg returns and says he needs a few personal days to find Lyla in Russia. Oliver says it’s time he and Felicity visit the Queen Consolidated subsidiary in Moscow.
Flashback Time: Miracle Serum; Isabel Tags Along to Russia
Flashback to the freighter, Ivo joins Sara and Oliver. When Ivo asks Oliver’s name, Sara silently shakes her head no, so Oliver tells him it’s Tommy. Ivo asks how he came to be on the island, and Oliver says he was the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Ivo asks if he happened to come across a Japanese Imperial Navy submarine. He explains that in World War II the Japanese had developed a serum called “Miracle” that caused increased strength and rapid cell regeneration, and were transporting their only supply via submarine, when it came under attack. They now know it ran aground on this island. Ivo says it’s up to Oliver to help them find the sub.
When Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity get to the airfield, Isabel shows up, knowing they’re heading to Moscow, and says she’s coming too. When they arrive in Russia, Isabel informs Oliver that she has set up a meeting with the COO of the Moscow subsidiary of Queen Consolidated. She also accuses Oliver of having something going on with Felicity, though Oliver denies it. Oliver sends Felicity to the hotel, while he and Digg go meet with a member of the Russian mafia.
Back at Verdant, Moira’s lawyer visits Thea to tell her she has to end her relationship with Roy, because it reflects negatively on her mother that she is dating a felon.
“The Nightmare” Prison
Oliver and Digg show up at a club to meet with Anatoli Knyazev, who has a picture of Lyla which was taken 2 days ago at a prison, where she was trying to break in. The prison, Koshmar, which means “the Nightmare,” is the worst in Russia. Knyazev tells them the only way into Koshmar is as a prisoner. He has a guard there that owes him a favor. Digg volunteers to go in.
Knyazev gives Digg a large bag of drugs to help land him in Koshmar. Felicity shows Diggle a picture of Knyazev’s guard friend, who will know where Lyla is. Diggle reveals that Lyla was his wife. They met in the army in Afghanistan, but they couldn’t figure out how to stay married without a war to fight. He says he can’t leave here without her. Diggle goes outside and gets arrested.
Diggle is then taken to Koshmar, where his coat is taken from him, as planned. He is given prison clothes and thrown into a cell. His cellmate is in for making a speech against government corruption, and comments that it’s rare to see a man of his color in Koshmar, as they are not popular there.
Knyazev, Oliver, and Felicity meet up with some guys with guns. Knyazev tosses a manila envelope to them. Oliver speaks Russian to one of the men, who then hands him his keys, which he then tosses to Knyazev.
Another Flashback, a Breakup, and a Prison Fight
Flashback to the freighter, and we see that the man in the cell next to Oliver is Knyazev. Sara visits Oliver, and tells him not to let on that they know each other, or they’ll kill them. She tells Oliver she thought he was dead too. She says she doesn’t have a choice in helping them. He reveals that his friends are not dead. On the island, we see that Shado is caring for Slade, who is badly burned. He tells her to leave, but she refuses. He starts shivering, and Shado presses herself against him to give him her body heat.
At the club, Thea breaks up with Roy.
In Koshmar, Digg’s cellmate tells him to stay away from a certain group of men, who are in charge. His cellmate directs him to the guard he’s looking for. But first, the group of men attack Diggle. They fight, and the guards pull Diggle off the other guy and take Digg away.
Oliver and Isabel Get to Know Each Other, Diggle Finds Deadshot
Back at the hotel, Oliver meets up with Isabel, who is unhappy that he missed the tour. He explains that he saw a Russian vehicle he had to have. They have a couple of shots.
At the prison, the guards tie Diggle up in a freezing cold room, where they tell him he will stay for 6 hours. He tries to argue, and they change it to 7. Another prisoner in the room comments that that was stupid — and we see that it’s Deadshot. He says he knows Diggle’s here about Lyla. Digg realizes that Lyla actually found Deadshot, rather than just a lead.
Oliver and Isabel continue their conversation, and Oliver finds out everyone at Queen Consolidated thinks he and Felicity are sleeping together. Again, he insists she’s just a friend. Isabel explains that she’s interested in Queen Consolidated because she wants to succeed as a businesswoman. She also calls Oliver out on only pretending to be a lazy idiot, and says she knows he’s intelligent and driven, and also lonely, like her. Isabel notices that Oliver speaks Russian, and tells Oliver she was raised in Moscow until the age of 9. They go back to Oliver’s room for a quickie. When Oliver opens the door of his room to leave, Felicity is standing there. She tells him it’s time. Then Isabel comes out, and Felicity realizes what just happened.
Knyazev’s guard friend releases Diggle. As they hurry down the hall, Deadshot sneaks up behind the guard and kills him. He tells Digg he’s the only one that knows where Lyla is, and he’ll only tell him if Digg helps him escape. Digg and Deadshot run into a couple of guards and fight them. They’re able to knock them out, and Diggle gets a gun from one.
Meanwhile, Oliver and Felicity sit in a car waiting, and Felicity is mad about Oliver sleeping with Isabel. Knyazev gets back in the car, having successfully bribed a gate guard, and they drive on.
Sara Betrays Oliver, Diggle Escapes with Lyla and Deadshot
Flashback to the freighter. Sara unlocks Oliver’s cell and has him follow her. He promises Knyazev he’ll come back for him and the rest of the prisoners. She brings him to a radio so that he can try to contact Shado and Slade. Shado answers, but right then Sara pulls the plug. Then Ivo and his guy come in and tell Oliver he just confirmed that his friends are still alive, which means they’re still a threat — until they kill them.
Deadshot brings Diggle to Lyla, then demands to know the extraction plan. Digg says it depends what time it is. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the prison, a guard is trying on the coat that was confiscated from Diggle. Suddenly, a red light starts flashing on it, and there’s a big explosion. The three try to make their way out of the prison.
Outside in the car, Felicity has shut off the phones so the guards can’t call for help.
Deadshot, Lyla, and Diggle make it outside, but are confronted by several guards. However, it turns out Oliver is disguised as a guard, and helps them take the guards out. Gunfire is exchanged, but they are able to make a run for it to the car, and drive away safely.
Who is H.I.V.E.?
Diggle has Knyazev stop the truck, and orders Deadshot to get out. He marches Deadshot down the street and prepares to shoot him, but doesn’t follow through, because of his honor. Deadshot wonders how Diggle thinks his brother ended up dead. Diggle thinks that he shot at a client Andy was protecting, and missed. However, Deadshot says he doesn’t miss, and reveals to Diggle that his brother was the contract. As for who hired him, all he knows is an alias: H.I.V.E.
Oliver and company arrive safely back in the states. Isabel doesn’t think it’s necessary to talk about what happened between her and Oliver. Diggle thanks Oliver for having his back.
Moira has Thea come visit her at the prison, and Roy is already there. Moira reveals to Roy that Thea only dumped him because of her. Moira forbids Thea not to see Roy.
Lyla thanks Diggle for saving her. They appear to have spent some time in bed together, and it looks like they’re back together again. Diggle secretly begins to look up information on H.I.V.E.
Felicity Confronts Oliver, Sara Convinces Ivo Not to Kill Oliver
At Queen Consolidated, Felicity asks Oliver, “Why her?” Oliver says it just happened, and it didn’t mean anything. He explains that because of the life that he leads, he thinks it’s better for him not to be with someone that he could really care about. Felicity says she thinks he deserves better than Isabel.
Flashback to the freighter, Sara stops Ivo’s guy from shooting Oliver in the head, saying he could still be useful. Ivo agrees, saying that once they get rid of his friends, they’ll need him to lead them to the graves. Ivo then reveals that he knows Oliver’s real name.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 2 Episode 6 of Arrow: Keep Your Enemies Closer
In this episode, we got a break from Starling City and the Glades for once and got to see the gang in a completely different and unexpected setting — Mother Russia. It was also interesting to see Diggle take the spotlight, fending for himself in the prison, where it appeared that he was able to hold his own. Oliver sleeping with Isabel seemed really random and out of character for the Oliver that we know at this point in time. I would have expected it of the playboy Oliver who existed before the shipwreck, before the island, but not this Oliver. Unless, maybe that was part of Oliver’s plan. Maybe, since Isabel saw through his ploys to make himself look lazy and dumb, he wants to make it appear to Isabel that he’s simply a playboy looking for thrills and action whenever the chance presents itself. After all, the title of this episode is Keep Your Enemies Closer, so if he considers Isabel his enemy, maybe it was all part of some master plan. If so, very clever, Oliver. But I’m guessing that wasn’t the case, based on his explanation to Felicity.
As for Sara, that was horrible how she tricked Oliver into thinking she was helping him. But maybe she’s actually playing double agent. She has to give Ivo some intel to make him believe she’s on his side, to save her own skin. She did try to warn Oliver that she had no choice but to help them. Then the way that she stopped Ivo from killing Oliver, it seemed pretty obvious that it was because she still wanted to help Oliver, and not just because he would be useful. I liked how Knyazev was incorporated into the storyline. When Oliver and Diggle met up with him, I didn’t even realize at first that this cleaned up, fun-loving Russian mafia guy was the same person as the defeated, ragged man who was Oliver’s cell neighbor back on the freighter that we had been seeing throughout the flashbacks! It didn’t click until they showed Knyazev in the flashback this episode. I liked how Oliver was able to use him as a resource this episode. Oliver must have been very helpful to Knyazev back on the freighter if he is so willing to help Oliver now.
It looks like Diggle is over Deadshot now that he knows the truth, that H.I.V.E. hired Deadshot to kill his brother. I suppose H.I.V.E. will be his new secret obsession. Will H.I.V.E. come between Lyla and Diggle like Deadshot came between Carly and Diggle? At this point, it seems like he’s trying to keep H.I.V.E. a secret from Lyla, and everyone else, for that matter. Will he seek Felicity’s help, or keep this information to himself? As of now, it appears to be the latter. But we all know that Diggle keeping secrets from everyone never leads to anything good.
Overall, not the most exciting episode. The next episode looks like it will be really good though.
Josh’s Thoughts: Arrow, Season 2 Episode 6: Keep Your Enemies Closer
Arrow seemed to focus a lot more on Diggle this week, and we learn that Lyla is his estranged wife. A wife he still is in love with. Why haven’t we heard about any of this before then? Ah well, Diggle will rescue her and they will live happily ever after right? Not before he has to work with his arch nemesis Deadshot though—right after Deadshot kills the inside-man guard that helped Diggle move around the prison. This all seemed a little weird to me. But it is nice to see Diggle getting more action of his own, rather than solely focusing on Oliver for the heroic deeds.
The weird hook up between Rochev and Oliver was inevitable. I find it a little weird that Rochev would want to sleep with Oliver (and vice versa) given the short history they have already had. I guess alcohol can make enemies into bed buddies.
I feel very sad for Felicity though. Oliver uses such a cop out as to why he slept with Rochev—basically playing the broken guy who can’t have meaningful relationships. That felt like a glimmer of the old Oliver, before he landed on the island, to me.
I am curious to know how much of Diggle’s wife will we be seeing? She has been on the show a couple of times, but will she have a more recurring role now? Given Diggle’s admission that he still cares about her, it would be weird for her to drop off the face of the show after the rescue. I suppose we will have to wait and see though.
Overall, I thought this episode was kind of mediocre, certainly not the worst episode, but not the best either. I enjoyed Diggle’s getting some more story, but wished it had been done a bit better. As for the island scenes, Sara sure seems like an evil witch so far, with how she screwed over Oliver to figure out who is on the island still. It would be hard to forgive her, I think. As for Slade, he certainly is going to be scarred for life…
Scenes from Arrow, Season 2 Episode 7: State v. Queen
Here are scenes from the next Arrow episode, titled State v. Queen:
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