SPOILER ALERT! (stop reading if you don’t want to know what happens in this episode)
I just want you guys to know, completely random, but I crack myself up while writing these recaps. I particularly love the subtitles for this episode. Get into the recap and my thoughts below!
Oliver and Conklin are heading back to Reiter and Oliver calls him out about sending that guy to kill him. He tells him that the guy he killed was actually Taiana’s (the mystery girl) brother. They make it back to Reiter and they both try to tell their side of what happened and he uses some type of magical twigs which tells him that Conklin was lying. He has him taken outside where Reiter hands Oliver a whip and has him use it on him. Oliver goes to talk to Taiana and tells her that her brother is dead but keeps out the fact that he’s the one who killed him. She asks him what happened and he tells her it was Conklin. She tries to go after him but he tells her he’s just a pawn in Reiter’s plan. He shows her the map he swiped from him and tells her he thinks it leads to wherever he’s trying to go
A Darhk proposal
We open with a chase (per usual) with the team taken down ghosts who were trying to take down an armored truck. They end up burning the money in the truck that was being delivered to restock the bank. Diggle shows Oliver the files Quintin gave him on his brother Andy but Oliver doesn’t believe what’s in them.
Felicity enlists Ray’s help in identifying the identification of the tooth pulled from a ghost. Felicity calls Oliver who’s at his campaign office and he rounds up the team to go get a sample of the chemical compound to help Ray unscramble the ghost’s DNA from the tooth. Ghosts show up and they fight to hold them off. Laurel is able to get a sample but a ghost shows up and shoots at her. Diggle shoots him down and tells Laurel to leave while he tries to identify him. He pulls the ghost’s mask off and it’s his brother Andy who’s not dead and punches him in the face before escaping.
Back at the lair Diggle is flabbergasted but Oliver suggests that maybe H.I.V.E. faked his death. He says nothing is definite and they don’t know the full story. The only way to get it is to break him out and hear what he has to say. Diggle isn’t having any of this and tells them that the brother he knew died long ago.
Darhk calls in Quintin to tell him to tread lightly because it’s kind of looking like he’s working with team Arrow. As Darhk leaves Quintin notices a piece of paper that says Slip 52. Malcolm pays Thea a visit because he believes the blood lust has returned. She tells him that she has it under control but he tells her she can’t control it. He gives her a file on a pedophile and pretty much tells her to kill him but she tells him to pretty much kick rocks.
That night at a benefit Oliver asks Quintin for a favor but he tells him that he can’t do anything at the moment because Darhk doesn’t really trust him at the moment. He does tell him about the note he saw and that he may be able to find what he’s looking for there. Meanwhile, Laurel tries to talk to Diggle about his brother and tells him he should try to appreciate that his brother is alive. He tells her that he doesn’t want to hold on to a false hope that he’s decent but she tells him that now is his time to heal.
Darhk shows up at the benefit to tell Oliver what he thinks he can do to help strengthen his campaign. He tells him he’s heard about his plans to restore the Bay but asks he leave it alone. Oliver asks him what would happen if he said no and he tells him he’ll no longer be unopposed. Felicity believes Oliver is crazy to try to go after Dahrk from the inside and tells him that he can’t do that and run for mayor.
Still struggling with the idea of Andy being alive, Diggle talks to Lyla about how he’s really feeling before they’re interrupted by a visit from Oliver. He tells him about the intel Quintin gave him and Diggle tells him they’ll go but just the two of them. AT the docks Darhk is holding a freshman orientation of sorts where he gives the guys a pill that makes them compliant. Oliver and Diggle’s cover is blown and they take down most of them before escaping.
Back at the lair Diggle tells Oliver to let it go but Oliver tells him that those men are under the influence of something that’s messing with their heads. Diggle still isn’t here for it and tells him there’s no excuse for Andy letting his wife and son believe he’s dead for eight years. Oliver tells him he needs him to hold onto some type of hope for Andy; he needs that hope. He needs to believe that no matter what happens in their life, how much darkness infects them, they can come back from it. Diggle turns it right back around on him and tells him that’s what got Oliver into trouble with the League in the first place and he doesn’t even know why he would consider working with Darhk. He tells him if he wants to do things differently they need to take Darhk down in the light of day, not in the shadows.
Felicity returns home to Ray who has been busy working on the tooth. She asks him what’s going on with him and he tells her he’s been catching up on what’s been happening over the past six months and he’s been pretty much forgotten. He tells her if he’s going to come back to life he needs to figure out what he’s living for. He then tells her that the only thing he was able to pull from the tooth was traces of sodium fluoride which links to the only location that has been shut down for having it in the water.
The team suits up to go check out the location but Diggle is still not here for any of it. They tell him they’re going to get Andy and he’s not going to stop them. The team heads in with high tech cameras that will reveal the ghost’s face. Their cover is qickly blown and they get right to action fighting off the ghost. Andy ends up attacking Thea and she finally takes him down just as Darhk shows up. He tries to kill her but it doesn’t work and she’s able to escape. Ray shows up to assist in fighting off the ghosts and goes to help Thea with Andy when Diggle shows up in time to help Oliver and delivers the best line of the episode, “My brother needed me. The green one”.
They all get back to the lair and Diggle thanks all of them before going to talk to Andy. Before he goes Oliver tells him he was right about Darhk and he plans to take him down in the light of day. Diggle confronts Andy about the files and asks him if any of it is true. He tells him all of it is and throws the files out of the cell.
Thea calls in Malcolm and tells her that she’s found a way to fight the blood lust without kililing anyone. She tells him about what happened when Darhk tried to use his powers on her, it took away the blood lust for a little bit and she wants him to help her figure out a way to make it permanent.
The next day Oliver holds a press conference at the Bay and makes the announcement that he still plans to restore the Bay. It even includes a hidden message just for Darhk about how he plans to fight for the city in the light and not in the shadows.
Some takeaways…
- So that bit about Darhk not being able to kill Thea… interesting. Look forward to seeing how that plays out and what they do to get rid of her blood thirst permanently. Maybe she just has to kill him and that does, just throwing that out there.
- I still think Andy is under the influence and they should take anything he says with a grain of salt. They should let him completely detox before questioning him further.
- We’re super close to the winter finale which means we’re that much closer to Legends of Tomorrow. Actually, we’re closer than we think because the Arrow and Flash crossover episodes are in two weeks and it looks like everybody is going to play a part. I’m actually really looking forward to it.
Are you excited for the Arrow and Flash crossover? Let me know below and on Twitter!
