The episode opens with Oliver releasing Slade and knocking out the ARGUS guard assigned to keep him in his cell. Slade says that the Mirakiru that drove him insane has worn out and that it all feels like a bad dream. Slade asks why Oliver didn’t kill him for killing his mother, but Oliver gives Slade a flash drive containing info on Slade’s son, Joe. Oliver says he wants to find both their sons and gives Deathstroke his old armor.
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Oliver brings his new recruits Slade and DIGGER HARKNESS (aka Captain Boomerang) to meet up with Nyssa and Malcolm. An RPG flies in from the forest and destroys Oliver’s plane, wrecking their only ride home.
In a flashback, Kovar discovers that Oliver has escaped his prison and orders his men to find him. Oliver makes a beeline to his trunk in the woods, but Kovar’s men find him and corner him.
In the present day, Oliver splits up his New Arrow team to find his son and the other hostages. Deathstroke, Digger, and Oliver find Felicity, Thea, Curtis, and William’s mother Samantha in cages, but they quickly discover it’s a trap. Artemis and Talia spring down from a tree and Digger reveals he was working for Chase all along. Digger and Talia offer Slade a chance to switch sides. Deathstroke seemingly switches sides, but then reveals that he was just trying to disarm Digger. While Deathstroke beats up Digger, Oliver stops Talia from killing Samantha. When Nyssa and Malcolm show up, Talia and Harkness escapes in a puff of smoke.
In a flashback, Oliver uses a knife to kill most of Kovar’s men and then escapes to the woods with a rifle. Kovar heads after him to “finish” him.
Back in the present day, Deathstroke puts Artemis in a cage, so Oliver can interrogate her. Oliver then sends Curtis, Thea, and Felicity to find the plane they came with and sends Malcolm with them to keep them safe. Felicity kisses Oliver before she leaves, saying that he doesn’t want to regret anything else about their relationship.
Black Siren takes Diggle and Quentin to a monastery on the island where Rene and Dinah are being held.
Nyssa, Slade, and Oliver try tracking Talia through the woods, but loses the trail. Nyssa runs ahead, while Slade gives Oliver a pep talk. Slade says that Oliver is suffering from survivor’s guilt and that Oliver’s past will keep haunting him until he forgives himself for the death of his father.
Samantha tells Felicity that she’s staying on the island to find William. Meanwhile, Thea accidentally steps on a landmine while arguing with Malcolm. Malcolm offers to switch places with her and then forcibly switches with her when she refuses. Malcolm says that all he’s ever wanted was to protect her. Thea tries to argue with her more, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Digger and some of Chase’s men. Malcolm orders them to leave. When Digger approaches, Malcolm detonates the landmine…seemingly killing them both.
Nyssa, Slade, and Oliver find the plane Oliver and Slade lived in for a while, and then Nyssa points out the monastary in the distance.
In a flashback, Oliver kills more of Kovar’s men, until Kovar comes after him with a helicopter.
When Slade and Nyssa enter the monastary, Oliver tells Nyssa to split up. As soon as Nyssa leaves, Slade knocks Oliver out and tells an approaching Black Siren that he has a gift for Chase.
Slade and Black Siren drop Oliver off in the second prisoner room, and Oliver catches Diggle, Rene, Dinah, and Quentin up on everything that’s happened.
Meanwhile, in a flashback, Oliver shoots down the helicopter with his gun.
Thea mourns the death of Malcolm, and Felicity comforts her by saying that Malcolm proved that he loved his daughter. Thea wishes that she could have seen more of good dad Malcolm instead of psycho killer Malcolm. Curtis finds the plane but then quickly discovers that Chase has planted radio controlled C4 throughout the island.
Oliver gives Dinah her sonic dampener, which Dinah then uses to bust everyone out of their chains. Talia hears Dinah’s scream, but she’s confronted by Nyssa. The two quickly square off in a one v. one swordfight. Nyssa gets the upper hand on Talia, and then Deathstroke runs in to take out Talia’s other assassins. When Oliver shows up with the other prisoners, he explains that he needed Deathstroke to “betray” him so that he could get the dampener to Dinah. However, Deathstroke couldn’t find William in the monastary. When Oliver says they need to find Chase, Chase just walks in with a ton of assassins and Black Siren.
Chase says that Oliver will have to kill him to find William, but Oliver refuses, which sparks the start of a major fight.
In another flashback, Oliver finds a wounded Kovar and tries to kill him with his rifle. Oliver’s out of bullets, and the two start fighting again.
Meanwhile, Dinah fights Black Siren in a scream-off. Black Siren gets the upper hand, but Quentin knocks Black Siren out from behind before she can finish Dinah off.
We then see Oliver fight Chase in the present day and Kovar in flashbacks. Oliver gets Kovar and Chase in the same headlock. While Oliver snaps Kovar’s neck in a flashback, he ultimately refuses to kill Chase in the present day. Oliver tells Chase that he might have been a killer before, he’s not a killer anymore. Oliver says that Chase can blame him for his father’s death, but Oliver isn’t going to blame himself anymore. Chase says that William is dead, but Oliver calls his bluff. Felicity gets in touch with Oliver and says that Chase has the explosives rigged to a deadman’s switch, which explains why Chase is insistent that Oliver kills him. While Oliver is talking to Felicity, Chase uses the assassin smoke trick to escape.
In a flashback, Oliver dons a wig as the Chinese fishing boat approaches Lian Yu. In the present day, Oliver watches Chase motor away on a boat. Oliver manages to jump aboard the boat before it leaves and starts fighting Chase again.
In a flashback, we see the opening scene of Arrow replay again…as Oliver shoots the bonfire to signal the fishermen and escape from the island.
In the present day, Oliver beats up Chase some more, but Chase reveals his true plan all along: get Oliver off the island so that he can watch all his friends die. It turns out that Chase sabotaged his own plane, so none of Oliver’s friends could escape. Chase then pulls William out of the boat’s cabin and gives Oliver a choice: kill Chase and save his son, or let Chase live and watch all his friends die. Oliver pretends to put his bow down, but shoots Chase in the leg instead.
In the final flashback of the season, Oliver calls his mother (who makes a surprise cameo appearance!) and tells her that he’s alive and coming home.
Chase says that Oliver has won, but that he’ll be pretty lonely without all his friends and family. Chase pulls out a gun and shoots himself, triggering all the explosives on Lian Yu. The episode ends with Lian Yu erupting into explosions as Oliver looks very sad.
Who lives and who dies? We’ll find out in the fall!
