The next scene opens with Lois and Oliver backstage, sitting back to back with their wrists taped together. While Oliver struggles against their bonds, Lois pines for her ring. He tries to get her to focus on their more pressing troubles: "You see that pole over there? We're going there." She looks over at a jagged metal bar sticking out of a wall across the room. He coordinates their comical shuffling. As they scoot, scoot, scoot, Lois chides herself again for screwing up. Oliver tells her to ease up on herself. He rubs his taped wrists against the pipe. Lois is nearly crying. "I wanted this to be perfect, and not my normal mess," she says. "We're all a mess," he tells her. He's so patient. Most people would have been at "I can't believe you don't shut up!" by now. Lois says Clark isn't a mess. Ha! Ha ha! "Do you have any idea how much pressure there is being engaged to walking perfection?" she asks. I thought she was engaged to Clark? Where's this Mr. Perfect she's talking about? Oliver finally cuts through the tape and works on freeing Lois. He, too, calls Clark perfection, and expresses some insecurity about fighting crime next to him. Let's chalk it up to his trying to make Lois feel better, because I can't recall this ever being an issue for Oliver in the past.

When he gets Lois out of the tape, he goes, "You're free!" in a funny voice. It's sort of unnecessary but also really cute. Oliver thinks they're leaving now, but Lois disabuses him of that notion. She's not going anywhere without her ring. They make for the door, but Wayne and the other guard are just outside. Lois and Oliver duck back inside just as the guards come running for them. Lois blocks the door. Oliver peeks out from behind the stage curtain and sees the girls dancing. More guards watch over the casino's two exits. Oliver reports back to Lois: "We'll be lucky to get out of here alive. I didn't exactly bring my Green Arrow gear to the bachelor party." Surely he could take down a handful of guards. His barf-green jacket would temporarily blind his enemies! Oliver thinks and thinks. He scans the room, looking for something -- anything -- they can use. His gaze falls upon a rack of showgirl costumes. He shrugs helplessly. Lois looks where he's looking. Her expression of utter fatigue matches my own on first viewing. Like, oh goody, another chance to put Lois in a skimpy costume. Couldn't end the season without another one of those!