Prometheus, aka Adrian Chase, is holding Oliver captive until he confesses his secret. Chase has wanted to break Oliver since day one, so there’s a chance that he doesn’t actually want Oliver dead, at least not yet. During Oliver’s torture, he flashes back to a troubling time with the Bratva.
Chase begins his torture by pushing Oliver’s head into a bucket of water for 145 seconds. He tells Oliver that his father struggled for 145 seconds in the water before he died; Oliver’s arrow didn’t kill him instantly. Oliver wonders what Chase’s game is here; torture seems a bit beneath him. Of course, this just allows Chase to show his hand. He tells Oliver that he wants him to confess the one thing that he won’t tell anyone. Oliver has no idea what he’s talking about, but Chase is confident that he will confess in a matter of time.
This torture has Oliver flashing back to his time with the Bratva. Gregor warned the Bratva that Kovar was going to bring destruction. Gregor told Ollie that he is not a hero, and everyone he loves will wither and die. Gregor died before they could figure out Kovar’s plan. With Gregor’s death, the Bratva needed a new leader, or Pakhan. Anatoly became Pakhan and got the ceremonial ring because there’s always a ring right? As Pakhan, Anatoly was obligated to continue with his deal with Gregor; he must live up to the commitments made before him.
Gregor was right; Kovar wanted to overthrow the Russian Government. Kovar tells Oliver that now would be a good time to go back home, and Anatoly actually almost agrees. He tells Oliver that this place isn’t good for him; the monster keeps coming out. Anatoly and the Bratva try to intercept a package that Kovar is receiving. Kovar shows up in force and gets away with enough sarin gas to kill thousands.
The Bratva captured one of Kovar’s men. They need to know his plan, so Oliver takes the reigns. When Anatoly checks in, the man is dead and very bloody. Oliver was skinning the man. He broke fairly quickly, but Oliver kept cutting for practice. Anatoly was definitely onto something when he told Oliver that dividing a man in two only makes the monster stronger, eventually stronger than the man.
Kovar’s plan was to lure a bunch of government officials to his casino opening and kill them with the sarin gas. The Bratva tried to stop Kovar and his men, but Anatoly’s right hand man, Viktor, sold them out. Oliver shut off the gas as the hood and found himself face to face with Kovar. He had Kovar beaten, and he was surrendering. Oliver killed him anyway. Anatoly warned Oliver that he kills because he likes it, and he only uses the hood as an excuse to be able to kill. In the end, Kovar was resurrected by none other than Malcolm Merlyn. Does Merlyn ever not have his hand in something? I’m curious to see what his dealings with Kovar are and how Kovar will return. Did Merlyn know that Oliver was in Russia?
Oliver’s memories made his confession to Chase that much easier. Chase threatens to kill Evelyn. When Oliver won’t kill her himself, Chase finishes the job. Finally, Oliver is ready to confess. He screams at Chase that he kills because he likes it. The list was only an excuse. Chase says that his crusade was built on a lie. He used his father’s memory as an excuse for a killing spree. Chase is thrilled that he finally broke, and he lets Oliver go. When Oliver returns to the Arrow cave, he is a different man. He tells his friends and trusted teammates that he doesn’t want to do this anymore.
