Arrow Recap With Spoilers: The Calm

Team Arrow has become a well-oiled machine, all communicating as Felicity tracks a truck full of stolen RPGs while Arrow follows on foot. He blows the cab of the truck separate and continues to pursue the criminals driving while Diggle recovers the weapons. Roy also arrives to shoot out the tires, and Arrow triggers a trap to catch the last criminal, who attempts to escape on foot.

The news is praising Arrow for once, noting that crime is down in Sterling City. Felicity watches this as the guys all return to the Arrow cave. Ollie is living there now, so Felicity gives him a fern to brighten the place up. Ollie compliments Roy for his work in the field. He and Felicity discuss an upcoming meeting with the board at Queen Consolidated; they are hoping Ollie can get the company back. Then Felicity leaves, complaining about having an early day at work. Diggle is also about to leave to see Lyla, when Ollie gives him a handmade arrowhead necklace, a gift for his soon to be born daughter. Diggle has noticed that Ollie has fallen in love with Felicity and wants him to ask her out.

Flashback to Hong Kong

Ollie is running through an outdoor market, being pursued by a henchman of Amanda's. He attempts to steal a cell phone and then to use the computer in an internet café to email his mother before being stopped and beaten. Apparently, this is not his first escape attempt.

Back in Sterling City, Laurel is showing Ollie one of the crooks he captured as Arrow being sent to prison. Their friendship seems as strong as it has ever been now that she knows his secret. She tells him that she has a surprise for him, then goes to greet her father, who is about to make a speech. Quentin has apparently gotten promoted to Captain, in part because he is no longer fit to be in the field. In the press conference, Quentin announces that Arrow has been an asset to the city, and while as a rule, vigilantism is not tolerated, he will not ignore the contributions Arrow has made. The task force that has worked on finding him is disbanded. Ollie thanks Laurel for this surprise.

A group of criminals grouse about Arrow. One of them, Zytle, nominates himself for leadership. When another man shoots him down, Zytle injects him with a dose of vertigo, explaining that he has tweaked the formula to be more addictive, and to target the brain in a way that makes the user's worst fear become real. From the view of the drugged man, Zytle's face morphs into something monstrous. Zytle kills him, then again nominates himself as leader. No one argues.

Ollie and Felicity take a walk and talk. She complains about her new job and gives Ollie a pep talk about the board meeting. Ollie asks her out. Felicity is surprised but accepts.

Felicity is now working as tech support in an electronic store. Arrow is on the street, pursuing another criminal, but manages to smoothly confirm his dinner date with Felicity at the same time, even though Dig and Roy can hear them and Felicity is supposed to be working. The police also are following the same criminal. Quentin and Arrow see each other, and Arrow thanks Quentin for his speech before hurrying off. Quentin yells after him "You got a hot date or something?"

In Hong Kong, Amanda lectures Ollie about his many escape attempts. He tells her that he will never stop trying to escape. Amanda threatens him and tells him that they're going to try something new.

A handsome man comes into Felicity's store to buy a piece of tech. She lets him know about a better model coming out soon, and the two discuss computers.

Lyla and Diggle are at the doctor's office, who tells them that Lyla's contractions are Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor). The doctor leaves and Lyla tells Dig that she knows he is scared. He admits it, and they share a tender moment.

Arrow arrives at the restaurant by rooftop and takes off his suit, revealing a dress suit underneath. After stowing the bag with his Arrow gear, Ollie goes in to the dining room, where Felicity is waiting at their table, looking amazing. They're a little nervous and awkward, which Felicity attributes to them both knowing each other so well that they don't have any of the usual first date stuff to talk about. He tells her that there are things about him that she doesn't know, and admits to not always having been on the island during those five years away. Felicity is not surprised and asks where he was. Ollie tells her Hong Kong, and other places as well. He says he's thought about his time in Hong Kong a lot lately, and the trust issues he developed while he was away. Ollie tells Felicity that she was the first person he saw as a person, rather than a threat or victim. She is embarrassed, remembering that she was chewing a pen when they first met, and he remembers that it was a red pen.

Zytle has been tracking Ollie due to a GSP device that was planted on the Arrow suit earlier that night during the pursuit. Zytle fires a rocket launcher into the restaurant. Ollie hears it just in time, grabs Felicity, and dives out of the way. People are killed in the resulting explosion, and Felicity knocked unconscious. Ollie takes her to the Arrow cave, where Roy finds the GPS, destroyed in the explosion. Ollie blames himself, though Dig tries to tell him not to. Ollie calls Quentin as Arrow to fill him in. Felicity wakes up and Ollie comforts her.

Ollie and Quentin both find each other again in a tattoo parlor, where Zytle lies in wait. He injects Arrow with the new vertigo, and Arrow hallucinates Zytle as his biggest fear, himself. So, it is Ollie vs. Arrow, and Arrow is badly losing the fight when Quentin intervenes and saves him. Then Quentin falls, clutching his chest, and Arrow returns the favor, stopping Zytle from killing Quentin.

In the Arrow cave, the gang discusses the new, improved vertigo and how Quentin is stable. Ollie sends Roy to do recon on Zytle. Diggle starts to follow, but Ollie stops him, insisting that Roy can handle it. Felicity and Ollie head to the board meeting.

In Hong Kong, Ollie wakes up on a bed in a home, his wounds being treated by a beautiful woman speaking Japanese. She mentions that it is the home of her and her husband. Her husband turns out to be the henchman who stopped Ollie's escape and beat him up.

Laurel goes to the hospital to see her father. She is furious that he was in the field. Laurel tells him that she was asked for the proper documentation for if he dies a few months back when he was hurt. He says that he can't give up being a cop. "If I'm not a cop, what am I?" "You're my father."

When Ollie and Felicity show up for the board meeting, they find out that someone else, named Ray Palmer, is also bidding on Queen Consolidated. Palmer shows up, it turns out that he is the same handsome man who Felicity met at work. He's charming and quite wealthy.

Ollie starts the meeting by making a passionate speech about the company being his family, and quoting Moira. It is clear that everyone is quite moved. Then it is Palmer's turn. It is clear that aside from being incredibly charming, he knows a lot about technology. In fact, he hacked into the company's computers and it able to show how the company financially suffered when Ollie was in charge. Palmer also talks about how Sterling City needs saving and he has a plan to save it, and rename it Star City. It is an impressive display.

Ollie and Felicity exit, defeated. Ollie is fairly pragmatic about the situation; he says that it was selfish for him to want the company when being Arrow makes him absent so much. He's not sure he can be both Oliver Queen and the Arrow anymore.

The teams has figured out who Zytle's targets will be, and all of them are either out on bail or parole, meaning each one is wearing a tracking anklet. They are all in the same location, at a heavyweight fight. Knowing that Zytle has no problem with innocent bystanders being hurt and that everyone there is at risk, they start to suit up. However, Ollie takes Dig out of the field. Diggle fights angrily, insisting that it is his choice. Ollie tells Dig that it is not, and he can't keep risking his life for Ollie's crusade. Not with a baby girl coming any second. Diggle is furious as he leaves.

At the boxing match, Zytle sets up a bomb with a five minute timer.

Arrow starts fighting Zytle's thugs at the arena and takes one out. Another one asks Arrow what he is waiting for, and Arrow responds "my partner" just as Roy arrives and dispatches the thug. Zytle and another of his goons runs for it, Roy tells Arrow to get them, he'll handle the bomb.

Felicity manages to figure out where the bomb is in the building and sends Roy. On the roof, Zytle gives Arrow another dose of vertigo, and accuses him of being addicted. Arrow calmly swallows his fear and begins to fight. Suddenly, Black Canary arrives to join the fight.

Felicity look up the kind of bomb Roy describes and tells him to cut the yellow wire. But none of the wires are yellow, so she tells him to break one of the Freon pipes overhead and use it to freeze the bomb. He succeeds with one second to spare as the crowd cheers over the fight in the background.

Arrow defeats Zytle, who insists that there will always be vertigo, and someone to sell it.

Arrow and Black Canary walk and talk. She overheard the team on the radio and suggests Felicity change the frequency more often. She's not sure how long she will be in town. Black Canary advises Arrow that they are not their masks, and they need people who don't wear masks in their lives.

Palmer finds Felicity walking the hospital corridors, not too surprising since he pinged her phone. He wants her to come work for him at Queen Consolidated, if only to help him remove the porcupine farting videos that she left on all his devices after hacking them. She is furious that he got the company away from Ollie and turns him down, walking away.

The reason Felicity is in the hospital is to see Lyla, Diggle, and their newborn daughter. Ollie arrives too, and Dig goes to Ollie to thank him and tell him that he was right to take Diggle out of the field. Now that his child was born, everything has changed. Dig holds out a hand to shake Ollie's who neglects the handshake and hugs Dig instead.

In Hong Kong, Ollie is about to walk out, when the man guarding him tells Ollie that Amanda left him in charge, and if Ollie escapes, his wife and son will be killed. His little boy stands nearby.

As they leave Lyla's hospital room, Ollie tells Felicity that they need to talk. She doesn't want to, because she knows what is coming. Ollie apologizes, but he doesn't think he can be both Ollie and Arrow. She tells him to stop dangling maybes. If this is how he wants it, she needs him to tell her that he doesn't love her, to stop giving her a reason to hope. Ollie kisses her deeply. "Don't ask me to say I don't love you." Felicity leaves, hurt. Ollie's phone rings. When he answers, it turns out to be Barry Allen. Barry ays he woke up and needs to talk to Ollie, who promises to be right there.

Sara and Laurel visit on a rooftop. Sara doesn't want their dad to know she is in town. The sisters chat until Laurel gets called into work. They hug and Laurel leaves. Once she is gone, a deep voice greets Sara. She turns to see who it is, and one by one, three arrows shoot her in the chest and stomach. Sara falls off the edge of the roof to her death, landing right in front of Laurel, who cradles her sister and sobs.