BWW Recap: Meet Barry Allen 'The Flash' on The CW's ARROW

This week on the CW's ARROW, it's what we've all been waiting for: we finally get to meet the Flash (Grant Gustin) AKA Barry Allen.

But first, Mrs. Queen is back at Queen's consolidated and looking fabulous. She and Oliver are dropping in on a meeting with Isabelle, who is not pleased with how having Moira back at the company will look. The reunion is cut short when Diggle informs Oliver that there has been a break-in and Oliver and co. head out to investigate it.

Barry Allen strolls onto the crime scene-late and wet and rambling adorably. It becomes clear very quickly that although he may be fresh faced, as a crime scene investigator from the Central City Police Department, he is at least qualified to be there. Barry deduces that it was an industrial centrifuge that was stolen, and at the crew's blank looks, he and Felicity gleefully fill everyone in on what exactly that is, bonding over their science geek knowledge.

Oliver decides that it's time to get back to normal, and more importantly it's time to show everyone that all that murder trial stuff is behind them. How are they going to show the world that the Queens are back and better than ever? The Queen way of course: a party. Oliver, with his finely tuned party planning skills, offers to take the reigns on this one. Ah Oliver-planning soirees, keeping bad guys off the streets of Starling city-is there anything you can't do?

Barry is setting up shop at Queen's consolidated, much to the chagrin of Oliver. Barry wants to know all about the vigilante and bombards Felicity with questions. When Felicity asks why Barry is so obsessed with the vigilante, he takes a dramatic beat-just long enough clue us in that a sad backstory is on its way-before explaining that his mother was murdered when he was eleven. Of course, no one caught the killer, but maybe, just maybe, the vigilante could.

Malcolm wants Thea to know that he is her biological father since she's all he has left in this world (because he killed his other child and hundreds of people and it still didn't fill the void his wife death left-shocking). Moira, understandably, is opposed to the idea of this man who killed her husband having a relationship with her daughter. Moira must have learned something in prison because she is not taking Malcolm's demands sitting down anymore. Moira has called the head of his archery cult, whose codes look down on what he did with the Glades. They want him dead, and Moira advises him to forget about his daughter and run. Go Moira! Okay, so there's no way Mr. Merlyn is letting Moira have the last say; he is definitely coming back with a vengeance. Again.

Oliver intercepts their killer, and promptly gets his ass handed to him. It's been so long since someone so thoroughly shut the Arrow down that it's almost refreshing to see him lose. Almost. Back at the Arrow cave, Oliver finally tells Diggle and Felicity about Ivo and the plan to create super humans. Look at Oliver opening up to his friends, even if it's totally only out of necessity.

At Queen's consolidated Barry Allen has been found out, thanks to Diggle's investigative handiwork. Barry is actually just a lowly assistant whose bosses have no idea he hopped a train to Starling City but Barry assures Oliver and Felicity there was a good reason. See, Barry's father has been serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife but Barry knows he didn't do it. Because he saw who did. Kind of. He saw a man that ran (flash-like) through his house and of course the police didn't believe him, so that's why he's attracted to these impossible cases, and we're guessing it's also why he's so curious about the Arrow.

FLA SHBACK

The Island group-Oliver, Shado, Sarah and Slade-have found their way to the marooned Japanese submarine. They're searching for the miracle drug and hoping to use it to save Slade's life. They find the drug onboard and inject poor Slade but his body can't handle it and he dies, which is right when Dr. Ivo and his team bust in breaking up the upsetting moment.

END FLASHBACK

Oliver confronts the super human again but this guy is a weapon-super strength, speed-he's even more of a threat than Malcolm Merlyn. Oliver had assured Felicity that he has beat one before, yet the Arrow still ends up passed out on the floor, where Felicity and Diggle find him with two needles stuck in his thigh. Oliver is out cold and Diggle thinks calling 911 (and thus Revealing his identity) is the only way to save him. Felicity objects but she can't figure out what's he's been injected with and thus can't save him-but she knows someone who can. Thank god for Barry Allen's acute lateness, as he missed the last train back to Central City by ten minutes and the next one's not until morning. So they drug him (was that really necessary?) and bring him back to headquarters to save Oliver.

Will Sarah go back to team Ivo? Will Barry be able to save Oliver? Will we ever see Laurel again? Tune in next week for the next installment of the two-part finale! ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8/9c on the CW.

Photo Credit: Cate Cameron/the CW

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