Episode Report Card Tippi Blevins: A- | 416 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT War Games
By Tippi Blevins | Season 9 | Episode 17 | Aired on 2010.04.09
Watchtower. Clark is impatient as Chloe tries to track down the earpiece's serial number, as seen when Clark X-rayed John's pocket. Chloe, worried, says the earpiece seems to be government-issued. "Why would the government take Green Arrow?" Clark asks. Oliver walks into the room at this opportune moment, with a quip at the ready: "Considering what I pay out every year, it better not be for tax evasion." Clark and Chloe both turn at the sound of his voice. Chloe, obviously relieved, rushes over to him and throws her arms around his neck. They hug and look into each other's eyes with big smiles as Clark watches their reunion. He gives them all of three seconds before interrupting: "I'm glad you're safe, too," he says, a slight tang of piss in his voice. Did he want a hug from Oliver, too? Oliver and Chloe, momentarily oblivious, rub noses and continue holding on to each other. They finally glance over at Clark, who prompts Oliver to fill them in on what happened to him. Chloe and Oliver finally sheepishly tear themselves away from each other and get down to the matter at hand. Oliver, using terrible, pork-related dialog I won't repeat, explains the scene we saw earlier, up to and including Waller telling him about recruiting heroes for the government. "I'm guessing you didn't get the Evite," he says when Clark looks confused. "No," Clark says, "but someone else did, which explains why John Jones was covering for them." I guess it's not the wildest leap someone on this show has ever made, but still: Huh? The only other bit of info Oliver has is that the organization is called Checkmate, which triggers Chloe's memory of Sylvester Pemberton's death and how he warned her that "they" had come for the Justice Society and would come after Watchtower's gang next. "His dying word was 'check,'" she says, the pieces finally falling into place. Chloe goes over to one of the computers.
She pulls up some security footage of John talking to Tom Bergeron, who she identifies as one Edward Lott, the CEO of a manufacturing company. "He seems pretty high-profile for a secret agent man," she says. Oliver thinks Checkmate may be recruiting people who are already established in business, while Clark suggests they may be planted there. The computer beeps with new information. "You're not going to be happy with where he was planted next," she says. Soon after his talk with John, he wound up in the morgue. Clark and Chloe trade serious looks. Oliver puts the brakes on: "Whoa, slow down, guys. You can't seriously think John murdered this guy." Instead of answering, Clark turns to leave. Chloe offers to go with him, but he zips off before she can finish getting the words out. "Looks like you got benched," Oliver says brightly. Chloe looks grim, but she's already thinking of their next move. Together, she and Oliver figure out they should be looking up the nearest psych ward to talk to Icicle, who killed Pemberton. Oliver's raring to go, but Chloe stops him: "You know, Oliver, now that Green Arrow's officially on Checkmate's radar, I think it might be a good idea to just hang your tights for one night." The words sound like professional concern, but her tone and expression are personal. Oliver protests that they're not tights. Heh. "But I see your point," he says. "Unfortunately for me, that means attending a LuthorCorp shareholders dinner, which, yeah, I'd rather be shot at." Chloe smiles and starts to leave, but Oliver calls her back. A little stutter in his voice, he asks her to be careful. Aw. Chloe's as charmed as I am. Oliver watches her go, his expression going from proud of her to worried about what might happen to her.