Smallville (TV Series)

Checkmate (2010)

Justin Hartley: Oliver Queen, Green Arrow

Quotes 

• Amanda Waller : Green Arrow, welcome to Checkmate.

  Green Arrow : You got the wrong Green Arrow. I don't remember signing up for any chess club.

  Amanda Waller : You're a guest of the U.S. government. And the time has come for you to do your patriotic duty.

  Green Arrow : Yeah, well, I didn't know Uncle Sam was into drugs and bondage. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the "I Want You" posters, doesn't it?

  Amanda Waller : Well, I'm sorry you think these tactics are crude. But I fear for our country's security. That's why I'm recruiting capable people like you.

  Green Arrow : Recruitment? Well, I gotta tell you, it feels more like kidnapping than a booth at a job fair.

  Amanda Waller : Well, call it what you will. But it's time you elevated your service to your country. You have a long plane ride coming to think it over.

• Tess Mercer : So it's you... parading around in tacky green leather.

  Oliver Queen : It was me.

  Tess Mercer : I can't believe you wear tights.

  Oliver Queen : They're *not* tights.

  Tess Mercer : They look like tights.

• Green Arrow : You could use some conflict resolution. Rule number one, you don't shoot your date. Rule number two, think about your wardrobe choices.

  Edward Lott : You're one to talk.

  Green Arrow : Oh, no. Don't get me wrong. I love black on black. It's just really hard to pull off.

• Tess Mercer : You buried an arrow into my chest, Oliver.

  Oliver Queen : Actually it was a Taser.

  Tess Mercer : Well, it bruised.

  Oliver Queen : Well, better bruised than dead.

• Tess Mercer : I didn't think you were gonna show.

  Oliver Queen : Well, you know, I figure it's a public place. There's only so many weapons you can throw at me.

  Tess Mercer : I'm sorry. For everything I've done that's destroyed your trust.

  Oliver Queen : I don't think there's enough stationery for that, Tess.

  Tess Mercer : I told you how to shut down The Castle's power grid. That's worth something, isn't it?

  Oliver Queen : What am I supposed to do here? You want me to do, uh, handstands because you helped solve a problem that you created?

  Tess Mercer : I never would have gone after you if I had known that you were the Green Arrow.

  Oliver Queen : So it's back on me?

  Tess Mercer : This might be the last time that I ever see you. When I joined Checkmate, I took an oath. An oath I wanna break. But there's only one way to leave Checkmate.

  Oliver Queen : [sighs]  What are you gonna do?

  Tess Mercer : [Clears throat]  I'm gonna go AWOL. I'm gonna go underground.

  Oliver Queen : That's good. You know, I got to ask you a question, though. Did it hurt to do something moral for once, Tess? Did it hurt you?

  Tess Mercer : Oliver, I'm taking a chance just being out here with you in the open.

  Oliver Queen : Yeah, okay, I understand that. Okay, we've gotten that far. W-what is it that you want? You're asking me for something. What is it you want? What do you want?

  Tess Mercer : Forgive me, Oliver. Oliver, I need your help. Please.

  Oliver Queen : There are times when I wish I could go back, those Santorini sunsets, your freckles and your big dreams of changing the world. Back when I could trust you. Then you betrayed me, Tess. You, of all people. And if you ever come near me or my friends ever again, I will expose you to the world. Do you understand?

  Tess Mercer : [Breathes shakily, starts crying] 

• Clark Kent : Why would the government take Green Arrow?

  Oliver Queen : Considering what I pay out every year, it better not be for tax evasion.

• Clark Kent : You want to fill us in on what happened?

  Chloe Sullivan : Definitely.

  Oliver Queen : Absolutely. Uh, so let's see. One minute, I am saving someone's bacon. Uh, next thing I know, I'm the only pig on a Pork Chop Express. Some harpy gets on a monitor. She starts telling me this is the welcome wagon and she's recruiting heroes for the U.S. of A.

  [to Clark] 

  Oliver Queen : I'm guessing you didn't get the Evite.

• Chloe Sullivan : Thanks for keeping my seat warm at Watchtower.

  Oliver Queen : Well, you're welcome. Don't get used to it.

  Chloe Sullivan : Oh, but your timing is so good. I mean, if you hadn't flipped back Castle's electric switch when you did, I would have been...

  Oliver Queen : Chloe...

  Chloe Sullivan : But, uh, you know, I kind of liked being out in the field, knowing I had a warm bed to come home to.

  Oliver Queen : That's very, very funny. It scared the life out of me.

  Chloe Sullivan : You better be careful, Ollie. I'm gonna start to think you're falling for me.

• Oliver Queen : What the hell do you want? Round two?

  Tess Mercer : Oliver, Clark's in trouble.

  Oliver Queen : Oh. You know, Tess, if you wanted a rematch, all you had to do was ask.

  Tess Mercer : I'm serious. He made me tell him where Checkmate's headquarters are, after he found out they captured something called Watchtower.

• Oliver Queen : [blocking a knife Tess throws at him]  What, are you crazy? Tess, this isn't a cartoon. You're gonna hurt somebody.

  Tess Mercer : That's the basic idea.

  Oliver Queen : All right, then.

  Tess Mercer : Don't you come near me.

  Clark Kent : [whooshing in]  Stop.

  Tess Mercer : Stay out of this, Clark.

  Oliver Queen : Our little lady here is a Checkmate agent. She knows my identity.

  Clark Kent : Not just yours. Tess, I need some answers.

  Tess Mercer : I'm not telling you anything.

  Clark Kent : Maybe the view will change your mind.

  Tess Mercer : [he grabs her and whooshes away to the roof of a tall building, dangling her over the edge]  Let me down from here.

  Clark Kent : [pulling her back]  Tell me about Checkmate. No lies.

• Oliver Queen : [being led into Tess' bedroom]  The only way you'd get me back in here is by force.

  Tess Mercer : [throwing a statue at him]  Don't flatter yourself. The best thing I ever did in this bed was kick you out of it.

  Oliver Queen : Oh, look, something out of your mouth I can believe.

• Oliver Queen : You're late.

  Tess Mercer : Mm. If you know what's good for you... don't start.

  Oliver Queen : Whatever kind of day you think you've had, trust me, I've had it in spades.

  Tess Mercer : Ohh. What happened? The jet late leaving Paris? The beluga not the right temperature?

  Oliver Queen : That's very, very funny.

  Tess Mercer : Yeah.

  Oliver Queen : You might wanna save the song and dance routine for the shareholders when you try to explain to them, uh... the sketchy deal with China. It's terrible.

  Tess Mercer : So that's what got you out of bed before the dinner bell.

  Oliver Queen : I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Barely had time to change clothes, actually.

  Tess Mercer : I can tell. Black on black. That's hard to pull off.

  Oliver Queen : Well, it's easier than you think.

  Tess Mercer : [realizing]  Green Arrow.

• Chloe Sullivan : Sylvester Pemberton came to warn me about Checkmate the moment that he was attacked by...

  Oliver Queen : Icicle. Huh. Well, either that's quaintly coincidental, or he's working for the same lovely lady whose gaze wilts small trees. What do you think?

  Chloe Sullivan : Last I heard, he was in the psych ward at Met Gen.

  Oliver Queen : Let's go.

• Chloe Sullivan : Now that Green Arrow is officially on Checkmate's radar, I think it might be a good idea for you to just hang your tights for one night. Go civilian.

  Oliver Queen : Well, t-they're not tights.

  [seeing her amused grin] 

  Oliver Queen : They're not tights. But I see your point. Yeah. Hm. Unfortunately for me, uh, that means attending a LuthorCorp shareholder dinner, which... yeah, I'd rather be shot at.

• Clark Kent : Did this woman give you her name?

  Oliver Queen : Nope. No name. Just, uh, that her organization was called Checkmate.

  Chloe Sullivan : Wait a minute. Checkmate? When Sylvester Pemberton from the Justice Society was murdered, he warned me that they came after us and they'll come after you. His dying word was "check".

  Clark Kent : If he meant Checkmate, these are the same people who took down the JSA.

• Chloe Sullivan : I searched the archived security footage that was taken from the cameras across the city. This was taken a few hours ago.

  Clark Kent : [seeing a picture of John Jones with someone]  That was right after I confronted him. Who's he talking to?

  Chloe Sullivan : We got a hit from the passport agency. Edward Lott. He's the CEO of a consumer manufacturing company. He seems pretty high-profile for a secret-agent man.

  Oliver Queen : Well, maybe they recruit people that are already established in the private sector.

  Clark Kent : Or plant them there.

  Chloe Sullivan : [her computer beeps]  You're not gonna be happy here he was planted next. Within an hour after this footage was taken, he was on the list of Metropolis General morgue.

  Oliver Queen : Whoa, slow down, guys. You can't think John murdered this guy. Come on, now.

  Chloe Sullivan : Clark, I'll come with you. I can run some...

  [he whooshes away] 

  Chloe Sullivan : ...support on-site.

  Oliver Queen : Looks like you got benched.