Arrow Talk Podcast - ARROWTALK

In flashbacks, Oliver and Talia kill an illegal drug merchant from Robert Queen's list. Talia again presses Oliver to return home, but he chooses instead to help Anatoli kill Gregor.

During the S.T.A.R. Labs incident, CCPD undercover officer Tina Boland develops a sonic scream after watching her partner die at the hands of drug dealer Sean Sonus. In the present day,

Oliver welcomes the seemingly-revived Laurel into the team; but it becomes clear that she is Laurel’s Earth-2 doppelganger, having been broken out of S.T.A.R. Labs by Prometheus. Laurel escapes and calls Oliver for an arrangement, ending in her capture. Learning about Paul, Rene convinces Curtis to focus on his capabilities, not his flaws. Laurel is captured, and Oliver places her in an A.R.G.U.S. facility, hoping to change her one day. Oliver reveals his plans to follow (Earth-1) Laurel's dying wish, to find a new Black Canary. In a bar in Hub City, a woman with a sonic scream stops an attempted assault in a bar. Meanwhile, Oliver convinces Adrian to represent John. The latter’s corrupt superior, General Walker, arrives to assume his custody; but Adrian manages to bring John to his own jurisdiction. In flashbacks, Gregor, the Bratva traitor, attempts to force Oliver’s obedience; but the latter is rescued by a female archer named Talia.

Prometheus obtains further intel about the team from Evelyn. He then attacks and hospitalizes Curtis, injecting him with a tuberculosis vaccine developed by Justin Claybourne, a corrupt pharmaceutical manufacturer named on Oliver's former kill list. Flashbacks show that Oliver killed Claybourne after discovering that he financed a TB epidemic, then raised the price on his drug to boost his company's profits. When the team tracks down Prometheus, Evelyn reveals her true allegiance and escapes with Prometheus. Investigating Prometheus on his own, Billy sends information he discovers to Felicity just before the villain captures him. The information turns out to be about Claybourne's illegitimate son, who may now be seeking retribution. Oliver deduces that Prometheus is at Claybourne's former office building and goes there alone. He finds that Prometheus has staged it to resemble Oliver's prior attack. Oliver kills Prometheus, only to discover he has actually killed a gagged Billy, whom the real Prometheus set up as himself to trick Oliver. Curtis's husband Paul leaves him after discovering Curtis is a vigilante; Felicity mourns Billy's death; Diggle is recaptured; and Oliver finds Laurel Lance alive and well inside the lair.

Oliver finds himself back at Queen Manor; both his parents are alive, he is about to be married to Laurel Lance, and Diggle is the Hood. However, it is revealed that he, Diggle, Thea, Sara and Ray are all being held unconscious inside pods aboard a Dominator spaceship. Meanwhile, Felicity, Curtis and Cisco Ramon try to hack into the Dominators’ mainframe using a piece of their technology. The team recovers a necessary device with the help of the Flash and Supergirl, and they manage to locate the others. Oliver begins seeing flashes of his former life, as do Sara and Ray. All five captives soon realize that they are inside a shared hallucination. Their escape attempt is blocked by manifestations of Malcolm Merlyn, Deathstroke, Damien Darhk and their mercenaries, all of whom are defeated by the captives. The captives then leave the dream and awaken inside the ship. Escaping in a shuttle, they are rescued by the Waverider. Ray deduces that the Dominators were gathering information from their minds, using the hallucination as a distraction, to help them complete a special “weapon”. The team learns that the Dominator mothership is headed toward Earth. This episode continues a crossover that begins on The Flash season 3 episode 8 and concludes on Legends of Tomorrow season 2 episode 7.

A new vigilante appears in Star City, known as "Vigilante", one who kills criminals in cold blood. Quentin tenders his resignation as Deputy Mayor. He later tells Thea about the throwing star and his drunken blackouts, but believes he is being set up. The team intercepts the Vigilante during a bank robbery, but he gets away, as does Eric Dunn, the head of the robbers. D.A. Chase forces one of the other robbers to reveal Dunn's location, and Green Arrow saves him from the Vigilante. Thea convinces Quentin to go into rehabilitation, while Oliver and Susan start getting closer. The team poses as the bank robbers to lure in the Vigilante, who again escapes even after Oliver defeats and nearly unmasks him. Thea tells Oliver about Quentin and the possibility of his being framed; they deduce that Prometheus must know Green Arrow's identity. Evelyn is revealed to be working for Prometheus. In flashbacks, Kovar introduces Oliver to his servant Galina, Taiana's mother. He also claims that the Bratva has only been using Oliver for their own ends, including making a deal with him. Kovar then releases Oliver back to the Bratva.

Oliver, Diggle and Felicity privately track Prometheus, who starts killing seemingly random civilians with throwing stars. A news report on the killings causes tension in the city and angers the recruits, since they were not informed. Felicity steals one of the stars from Billy to examine. A pattern between the victims relates to Oliver's list from when he started out. This further angers the recruits, Evelyn most of all, as they did not know about Oliver's "kill list" from when he first returned. Felicity uses the pattern to predict future victims, and the team splits up. Evelyn encounters Prometheus and engages him, managing to cut his arm before being overpowered. Oliver then arrives, but Prometheus escapes. Meanwhile, Thea discovers that Quentin never quit drinking. Evelyn reconciles with Oliver, and Felicity tells Billy that she works with the Green Arrow, which intrigues him. She later tells Oliver that evidence she has discovered suggests that Prometheus could be an SCPD officer; Quentin is shown awakening from an alcohol-induced sleep with a slash across his arm and a throwing star in his possession. In flashbacks, during a Bratva operation, Oliver is abducted by Kovar's men and taken to him.

Oliver rescues Rene, who tells him that he gave up Green Arrow's true identity to Church. Church plans to kill Oliver as the Mayor instead of the vigilante. Diggle rejoins the team and recommends bodyguard Christopher Chance, the "Human Target", to help them. Christopher impersonates Oliver at the City Hall and fakes the Mayor's death when Church's mercenary attacks. The team realizes that Church plans to consolidate the drug traffic of five cities through Star City, needing Green Arrow eliminated for his plan to succeed. Oliver and his team, joined by Diggle and Christopher, raid Church's meeting and capture him and other crime lords. Oliver publicly claims that his faked death was part of a sting operation. Prometheus kills Church during transport, despite Church telling him Green Arrow's identity. Television reporter Susan Williams obtains evidence that Oliver was in Russia during the time he was supposedly stranded on the island. Meanwhile, Oliver finds out that Felicity is dating Billy Malone, a police detective recently assigned to the Anti-Crime Unit. In flashbacks, Oliver is ambushed by other Bratva members. However, the men are killed by Christopher, whom Anatoli had hired to protect Oliver.

Oliver's team captures an associate of Church's and delivers him and his loot to the SCPD. Afterward, Rory formally leaves the team saying that he cannot work with Felicity. Oliver leaves Star City to help Lyla break Diggle out of prison, over Felicity and the team's objections. Quentin and Adrian personally deliver the evidence to the SCPD, which turns out to be a disguised bomb. The explosion allows Church's group to break in and steal weapons and equipment. Oliver infiltrates a federal prison and locates Diggle, who agrees to escape to safeguard Oliver. Oliver takes him and Lyla to a H.I.V.E. safe house. Felicity attempts to reconcile matters with Rory. She and the team determine that Church plans an assault on the SCPD's anti-crime unit, where Adrian is interrogating Church's man. Rory rejoins the team, and they help everyone inside escape the attack. However, Curtis is injured and Church captures Rene, intending to torture him to death. Oliver returns and vows to rescue Rene, while Adrian decides to trust the vigilantes' motives. In flashbacks, Anatoli tasks Oliver with gaining information from, and then killing, an associate of Kovar. Oliver completes the assignment, and Anatoli welcomes him into the Bratva.

Green Arrow investigates a new drug, "Stardust", but still believes his team is not ready for the streets. While he is being informed about Prometheus, Rene and Evelyn secretly raid Stardust dealer Derek Sampson's warehouse. The raid goes wrong and Sampson ends up with superhuman strength and an inability to feel pain. Oliver learns what happened from District Attorney Adrian Chase, convincing him that he still cannot trust his recruits. Felicity advises him to accept the recruits as they are, and Green Arrow finally uses his new team to stop Sampson from creating more superhumans. Oliver also publicly endorses Thea's decision to appoint Quentin as Deputy Mayor after negative news stories almost cause her to resign. Felicity admits to Rory, the Ragman, that she was the one responsible for Havenrock. Diggle is incarcerated and hallucinates Floyd Lawton as his cellmate due to guilt over killing his brother. Afterward, he tells Lyla he will not fight the charges against him, so she asks Oliver to help her break Diggle out of prison. Flashbacks focus on Anatoly teaching Oliver the need to trust his brothers in the Bratva.

Green Arrow recruits Rene, Evelyn Sharp, and Curtis and begins training them using an extreme exercise from his Bratva initiation, revealed through flashbacks. As mayor, Oliver arranges to have AmerTek provide free medical care for Star City's disenfranchised at a special clinic. A new metahuman, "Ragman", appears and starts attacking AmerTek executives. The recruits leave Green Arrow because they do not trust him. Thea discovers that AmerTek CEO Janet Carroll is working with Church and Felicity learns that it was AmerTek's nuclear missiles that Damien Darhk used to try and destroy the world. Ragman and Green Arrow stop an arms buy between Carroll and Church. Ragman later reveals that he was the only survivor of the Haven Rock bombing. Green Arrow convinces him to put aside vengeance and join his team. Later, Oliver reveals his identity to the other recruits as a sign of trust and they agree to rejoin the team. Thea decides to appoint Quentin as Deputy Mayor. Church is attacked by another archer calling himself "Prometheus", who wants to personally kill Green Arrow. Meanwhile, Diggle, back in the Army and on a covert operation, is ambushed by his superior, who plans to sell a nuclear trigger and frame Diggle.

Five months after the death of Damien Darhk, Oliver is distracted from his new duties as mayor due to continuing as Green Arrow alone, his old team members having gone their separate ways. He is encouraged by Felicity to build a new team by recruiting the amateur vigilantes now working in Star City, like Rene Ramirez.[101] A new criminal crew appears, headed by Tobias Church, and kidnaps Mayor Queen in a bid to draw out and kill the Green Arrow, thereby taking over the city. He is rescued by Speedy, but she permanently quits the team after seeing that Oliver is again willing to kill. Church escapes from the Green Arrow and a team of several police officers, then later unites all the organized crime cartels and street gangs under his leadership. Oliver finally agrees to form a new team and includes Curtis at the latter's request. Elsewhere, a mysterious hooded figure in black attacks a policeman. In a flashback, Oliver encounters his old friend Anatoli Knyazev in Russia. Anatoli agrees to help him kill Konstantin Kovar, the tyrant running Taiana's village, by initiating him to the Bratva, the only group that can possibly defeat Kovar.

Darhk steals the laptop keeping him locked out of "Rubicon" and launches over 15,000 nuclear missiles, giving the team two hours to prevent worldwide annihilation. With Star City citizens rioting, Oliver addresses everyone directly, inspiring hope in them to stay strong, while Felicity and Curtis divert the missile aimed at Star City. Oliver goes after Darhk, while Felicity, Merlyn, and Thea track down "Rubicon". Felicity is able convince Cooper to stop helping Darhk, and Curtis devises a means to stop the missiles. Oliver is able to nullify Darhk's powers with the hope he inspired throughout the city. While the citizens of Star City take on Darhk's remaining men, Oliver and Darhk physically battle, with Oliver killing Darhk. Afterward, Lance, Thea, and Diggle leave the team for new lives, and Oliver is appointed Mayor. In flashbacks, Reiter and Taiana fight; Taiana is able to drain Reiter's life force enough for Oliver to kill him. After, Oliver is forced to kill Taiana, at her request, when she is unable to escape the darkness within. Oliver radios Amanda Waller to rescue the rest of the prisoners and keep the idol safe.

His power grown exponentially, Darhk attempts to reactivate "Rubicon" with the help of Felicity's former boyfriend, Cooper, and launch the remaining missiles. However, Noah, Felicity, and Curtis successfully shut down "Rubicon" for good.

Darhk begins taking control over the world's nuclear missles. The team seeks out Felicity's father, Noah, to help disable the "Rubicon" program. Darhk sends Danny Brickwell and Michael Amar to find and kill Noah, but Oliver and his team are able to rescue him from Darhk's men. Noah agrees to help, but requires a high-powered processor from Palmer Tech. Felicity learns she has been fired as CEO and is unable to get the processor, forcing the team to break in and steal it. H.I.V.E. locates the team when Noah hacks into "Rubicon". As H.I.V.E. attacks, Felicity and her father shut down "Rubicon" and stop all missiles but one, which launches and heads to Monument Point. Felicity can only redirect it to a less populated town, where it detonates. Oliver and Diggle find Darhk in a nexus chamber, gathering more power from all the deaths caused by the explosion. In flashbacks, Reiter escapes the caves, but Oliver and Taiana steal the idol again. The idol soon begins to affect Taiana.