The bunker is under attack! Prometheus, aka Adrian Chase, sent an EMP pulse through the bunker trapping Oliver and Felicity inside. There’s no time to think about the havoc that Chase could be wreaking on Star City because Oliver and Felicity only have hours left before their oxygen runs out underground.
It’s flashback time, once again. This time, Arrow flashed back to eleven months ago. This was before anyone joined Original Team Arrow, aside from Curtis of course. Felicity is trying to convince Oliver to start a team. He isn’t open to it, but maybe something that happens changes his mind. Felicity is still frustrated with Oliver’s lack in trust in her. Curtis knows that they still love one another, but Felicity reminds Curtis that it isn’t the existence of Oliver’s son that bothers her, it’s the fact that Oliver didn’t trust her enough with the important things.
Curtis doesn’t take no for an answer. He tells Felicity that Oliver can change, and what hasn’t changed is the way that he looks at her. Yes, even Felicity thinks that Curtis has been watching too many romantic comedies. Curtis has Oliver pick up Chinese food, reminds them that there is wine in the fridge, and then leaves for a forgotten date night with Paul (Thanks Arrow writers for reminding us that Curtis used to have a wonderful husband). Well Curtis is onto something because one thing leads to another, once Chinese food and wine are involved. Unfortunately, it’s just not enough. Felicity enjoyed their time together, but she just isn’t ready to jump back in. Oliver assured her that he’s not going anywhere.
Now, Oliver and Felicity are trapped, so they can use this time to talk about all the things that have led them to drift apart lately. The EMP, Electromagnetic Pulse, knocked out anything electronic in the bunker, including Felicity’s chip which enables her to walk. While they look for a way out, Felicity wants to understand exactly why Oliver wouldn’t back her play with Helix. He can’t come up with anything better than that he didn’t want her to become him. What he didn’t want to tell her was that he didn’t trust himself. After being tortured by Prometheus, Oliver admitted to enjoying killing. He reveals all of this to Felicity and tells her that she doesn’t know what type of man he is.
Felicity is smarter than most of them give her credit for. She reminds Oliver that after a week of torture anyone would admit to anything if they thought it would get them out of another second of pain. She knows that he went through hell for years and has gone toe to toe with the world’s worst criminals, and he didn’t become a monster. She reminds Oliver that she knows exactly the kind of man that he is.
Once out of the bunker, thanks to the help from the team that Oliver thought he never wanted, Felicity apologizes to Oliver. She was willing to do whatever it took to take down Prometheus after Billy died. She finally understands, at least a little bit, of what life has been like for Oliver for all of these years. She gets why he lied to her about William. This gives Oliver a sliver of hope that maybe she’s ready to come back to him and their relationship, but instead, she twists the knife a little bit. Felicity tells Oliver that he should figure out what kind of person he is, since he claims to not really know. I understand that he should find himself, but can’t she be a part of this? Can Felicity help him figure out the man he really is and wants to be? This was definitely a typical TV show move, but it didn’t sting any less. I’m going to hope these two love birds patch things up soon.
The Diggles have always been the happy and stable couple that you can rely on. Now, their relationship hits a bump in the road. Diggle is feeling like he doesn’t know his wife, but she’s feeling like he’s being a bit of a hypocrite. For years John has worked with Oliver during his days as the hood with his father’s crusade and now as the Green Arrow. Not once did Lyla get upset about the morally questionable choices they made because she trusted her husband. Once Diggle understood a little bit of her perspective, he softened his tune. He promises his wife that they will get through this, and she’s willing to give him full transparency into her life as the director of Argus.