Oliver‘s (Stephen Amell) attempt to take down a local slum lord (Duncan Ollerenshaw) on his father’s list is thwarted by the arrival of a new vigilante known as The Savior (Christopher Redman). Inspired by Green Arrow, The Savior begins kidnapping and murdering people he believes have wronged the slums of Starling City known as the Glades who include Ollie’s slum lord and the city’s Assistant District Attorney (Peter Benson) and then broadcasts his deadly form of justice over the Internet. With Felicity’s (Emily Bett Rickards) help Oliver attempts to trace The Savior’s transmissions back to the source, but their killer is always one step ahead of the emerald archer.
Laurel (Katie Cassidy) returns home from work to find both her mother (Alex Kingston) and father (Paul Blackthorne) pouring over maps and reports searching for any evidence that her sister Sarah (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) may still be alive. Despite wanting desperately to believe them, Laurel is forced to dash their hopes when she identifies the woman in the photograph as someone other than her sister. In doing so Laurel also uncovers her mother’s foreknowledge about Sarah planning to sail away with Oliver and how she blames herself for her daughter’s death.
Moira (Susanna Thompson) and Chen (Chin Han) work to hide any traces that they were the ones who hired China White (Kelly Hu) to kill Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman). With the relentless Malcolm about to discover the truth, Moira chooses to sacrifice her friend to the Dark Archer to hide her involvement in the conspiracy (and save the lives of her family).
The matter between Oliver and The Savior becomes personal when Felicity begins blaming herself for not saving the Assistant D.A. in time and Thea (Willa Holland) witnesses The Savior kidnap his next victim – Roy (Colton Haynes). With Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity’s help Oliver is able to discover The Savior is using Starling City’s abandoned subway tunnels to get around the city. Green Arrow saves Roy from his death sentence as Starling City’s lone remaining vigilante meets his sister’s boyfriend (and future sidekick?) for the first time.
This week’s flashbacks to the island focus on Ollie and Slade Wilson‘s (Manu Bennett) attempts trade the circuit board of Fryers’ (Sebastian Dunn) new missile launcher for a boat of the island. Although their plan is sound, things quickly go to hell when Fryer threatens to kill both Yao Fei (Byron Mann) and his daughter Shado (Celina Jade) if Oliver doesn’t hand over what they have stolen. The exceptionally well-trained Shado turns out to be too much for Fryer to control, but Yao Fei is shot in their escape and the pair loose the circuit board. However, they also gain a new ally in Shado who knows the mercenary’s plans for the missile launcher.
The series once again asks the question of what’s the difference between a killer like The Savior and the ever-increasing body count of Oliver’s deadly quest? If our protagonist is ever going to grow out of the role of vigilante and into the role of bona fide hero, it’s a question that’s going to have to be answered. “Salvation” moves Thea and Roy’s relationship forward as well as foreshadows Roy’s obsession with Green Arrow. As the episode comes to a close Moira’s attempt to stop the Undertaking may not have been successful, and has left her with her friend’s blood literally on her hands, but Oliver has his first clue to what’s coming when he notices the maps of the underground under the Glades match the odd diagram in his father’s journey.