"The Scientist" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American television series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'', based on the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

character

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

, revolving around billionaire playboy

Oliver Queen Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

as he returns to

Starling City Star City is a fictional city that appears in stories published by DC Comics, best known as the traditional home of the superheroes known by, or affiliated with, the shared alias of Green Arrow. Beyond that, it is also known to other characters ...

, after having been shipwrecked for five years, and becomes a bow-wielding, hooded vigilante who sets out to fight crime and corruption. It is set in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed. ...

, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe. The episode was written by

Andrew Kreisberg Andrew Kreisberg (born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, producer and comic book writer. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''Supergirl ...

and

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serve ...

from a story by

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...

and Kreisberg, and directed by

Michael Schultz Michael Schultz (born November 10, 1938) is an American director and producer of theater, film and television. Life and career Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of an African-American mother Katherine Frances Leslie (1917-1995) ...

Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on The CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...

stars as Oliver, alongside

Katie Cassidy Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy (formerly Rodgers) (born November 25, 1986) is an American actress. Following several minor television roles, she came to attention as a scream queen after starring in the horror films '' When a Stranger Calls'' ...

David Ramsey David Paul Ramsey (born November 17, 1971) is an American actor, director, and martial artist, best known for his roles in The CW Arrowverse series '' Arrow'', '' The Flash'', ''Supergirl'', and '' Batwoman'' as John Diggle / Spartan, portrayin ...

Willa Holland Willa Holland is an American actress and model. She is known for her roles as Kaitlin Cooper in the Fox teen drama ''The O.C.'', Agnes Andrews in The CW series ''Gossip Girl'', Aqua in ''Kingdom Hearts'', and Thea Queen / Speedy in ''Arrow''. ...

Emily Bett Rickards Emily Bett Rickards (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series ''Arrow'', her first television credit. She has also reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows ''The Flash'', ''Legends ...

Colton Haynes Colton Lee Haynes (born July 13, 1988) is an American actor and model. He is known for his starring role as Jackson Whittemore in the MTV supernatural drama series ''Teen Wolf'' and as Roy Harper / Arsenal in the CW superhero television ser ...

Manu Bennett Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is a New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series ''Spartacus'', Allanon in '' The Shannara Chronicles'', Slade Wilson / ...

Susanna Thompson Susanna Thompson (born January 27, 1958) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films ''Little Giants'' (1994), ''Ghosts of Mississippi'' (1996), ''Random Hearts'' (1999) and ''Dragonfly (2002 film), Dragonfly'' (2002). On televisio ...

, and

Paul Blackthorne Paul Blackthorne (born 5 March 1969) is an English actor. Although born in Shropshire, he spent his early childhood on UK military bases in Britain and Germany. Blackthorne broke into acting via television commercials in England. His breakthro ...

. The episode also serves as a

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

to the spin-off series ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'', with the introduction of guest star

Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...

as Barry Allen, who arrives in Starling City to personally investigate a superhuman-related crime. "The Scientist" originally aired on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

on December 4, 2013, and was watched by 3.24 million viewers according to

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. It had a season high viewership and a series high 18–34 rating. The episode was met with positive reviews from critics.

Plot

When a masked thief with superhuman strength steals a centrifuge from Queen Consolidated,

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

crime scene investigator Barry Allen arrives to help the investigation. Later, he reveals that he is searching for super-powered beings in the hope that he will find the murderer of his mother, and exonerate his father for the accusation. In addition, Barry is also a fan of the Arrow's exploits. Oliver realizes that the thief was enhanced using the same serum that Ivo was searching for. Roy starts helping Sin to find her missing friend, who was a failed subject of Blood's experiment. Oliver shoots Roy in the leg to prevent him getting further involved. Oliver tracks the thief, revealed to be Cyrus, but is injected with an unknown

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849– ...

. In order to save Oliver's life, Felicity reveals his identity to Barry to help find an

antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...

. Meanwhile, Merlyn puts pressure on Moira to tell the truth to Thea. Moira instead contacts Ra's, who wants to kill Merlyn for breaking the League's code by destroying the Glades. As a result, Merlyn leaves. In a flashback to the island, Oliver and Shado find the serum, but when they inject it to Slade without the required

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

, his heart stops, just as Ivo arrives with his men.

Production

Preparation ran from September 19 until September 27, 2013. Shooting ran from September 30 until October 9, 2013. The episode also serves as a

to the spin-off series ''

'', with the introduction of Barry Allen, played by guest star

Release

"The Scientist" was first aired in the United States on

on December 4, 2013. It was aired alongside the U.S. broadcast in Canada on CTV, while it was first aired in the United Kingdom on

Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

on December 9, 2013. The episode, along with the rest of the second season, was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and DVD on September 16, 2014, and began streaming on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in the United States on October 8, 2014.

Reception

Ratings

In the United States, the episode received a 1.2/3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 1.2 percent of all households, and 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 3.24 million viewers. The episode was the most viewed of season two, and had the show's largest audience since February 2013, and a series high 18–34 rating (1.2/4). It also matched the show's season high 18–49 rating and matched its series high rating among men 18–34 (1.4/6) and men 18–49 (1.5/5). The Canadian broadcast gained 1.87 million viewers, the second highest for that night and the eight highest for the week.

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 90% approval rating for the episode, based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 8.45/10. Jesse Schedeen of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

scored the episode an 8.5 out of 10, praising the emergence of super-powers and flashbacks but questioning Gustin's ability to hold his own. Mike Cecchini for ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...

'' scored the episode 4.5 stars out of 5. Caroline Preece, also for ''Den of Geek'', gave a positive review as well.

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...

's Dave Trumbore gave the episode an "A−" grade. Morgan Jeffery at ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'', gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5. Alasdair Wilkins of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' graded the episode a 'B'. Mark Rozeman of '' Paste'' magazine gave a positive review of the episode.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scientist 2013 American television episodes Arrow (TV series) episodes Television episodes about drugs Television episodes about theft Television episodes set on fictional islands Television series set in 2008 Television episodes written by Greg Berlanti Television episodes written by Andrew Kreisberg Television episodes written by Geoff Johns