Arrow Talk Podcast - ARROWTALK

Darhk returns to H.I.V.E. and kills the remaining board members before renewing his plans for "Genesis". Oliver and Felicity meet an immortal shaman, Fortuna, who educates Oliver about dark magic. Fortuna explains that Darhk's idol channels darkness and death, feeding him more power, but there is an opposing force that channels light and hope. After a mystical ritual, Fortuna tells Oliver that the darkness inside him is too strong to channel the light. In Star City, Diggle locates Andy, but is captured after a brief shootout. Andy puts a tracking device on him, then allows Diggle to escape so that Darhk and his team can go after Diggle, Lyla, their daughter, and steal the "Rubicon" to the world's nuclear weapons. Oliver manages to stop Darhk by channeling the power of light, nullifying Darhk's powers and forcing him to retreat. Diggle and Andy battle again, with Diggle ultimately killing his brother. Thea is taken by H.I.V.E. to a secret underground city. The team realizes that Darhk plans to detonate nuclear weapons and build a new world over the ashes.

As the team mourns Laurel's death and tries to determine their next move against Darhk, there is a sighting of the Black Canary stopping an illegal weapons exchange. Oliver discovers that Laurel's sonic device is missing from her belongings from the hospital. The imposter turns out to be a H.I.V.E. prisoner named Evelyn Sharp whom Oliver left behind after he saved his team when they were kidnapped by Darhk, believing that she was with Darhk voluntarily. Captain Lance looks for a way to resurrect Laurel, even soliciting Nyssa al Ghul for help. Diggle, angry at being betrayed by Andy, goes after Darhk's wife, Ruvé Adams, but Oliver intervenes to prevent him from doing something he would regret. As a result, Ruvé uses her mayoral authority to issue arrest warrants for all vigilantes. Sharp goes after Ruvé publicly, but Oliver is able to talk her out of killing the Mayor. At Laurel's funeral, Oliver reveals Laurel as the Black Canary to preserve her image with the city. Afterwards, Oliver vows to kill Darhk. In flashbacks, Oliver and Laurel struggle to come to terms with Tommy Merlyn's death. In the end, Oliver leaves Laurel to cope on her own, and returns to the island of Lian Yu.

Andy Diggle tells his brother that he was approached by Malcolm about a plan to break Darhk out of prison. Oliver and Diggle foil H.I.V.E.'s plan, but it turns out to be a ruse designed to let Malcolm and League followers invade the bunker and steal Darhk's idol. The team attempts to locate Malcolm, with Andy providing intel. Malcolm delivers the idol to Darhk, but it will not work because it is incomplete. Diggle reveals to Andy that he personally hid the missing piece in another location. Oliver does not trust Andy and confronts him; Diggle interrupts the interrogation and sides with his brother. Darhk orchestrates a prison riot, and the team sets out to stop him, with Andy joining them. However, when the team reaches Darhk, Andy turns on them and gives Darhk the missing piece to his idol. With his powers restored, Darhk stabs Laurel as revenge upon Captain Lance before escaping with Malcolm, Andy, and several inmates. Laurel later dies at the hospital. In flashbacks, Oliver helps the island prisoners escape and sets off a bomb to bury Reiter and keep him from leaving the tunnels.

Brie Larvan orchestrates her release from prison and travels to Star City in search of the bio-mechanical chip that is being used to allow Felicity to walk. Brie attacks Palmer Tech, holding the board hostage until Felicity turns herself over. Curtis tracks down Oliver's hideout, discovering his secret in the process, so that he can offer his help to the team to save Felicity, her mother, and Thea. The team arrives at Palmer Tech, but Oliver is stung by one of Brie's robotic bees. Back at the hideout, Curtis realizes the sting actually implanted a bee within Oliver and it is replicating itself. Laurel uses her Canary Cry to disrupt the frequency controlling the bees to save Oliver. Felicity is able to evacuate the board members, while Brie reveals she is after the chip because she has a tumor that is going to leave her paralyzed. Curtis develops a virus to shut down the bees, which works and uses them to stop Brie. In flashbacks, Oliver goes after Reiter who reveals that the idol has already started to grant him mystical powers. As his powers dwindle, Reiter escapes into the tunnels.

Cupid returns to Star City and begins targeting high profile couples. While the team works to track her whereabouts and prevent any more killings, Laurel works in court fighting Damien Darhk's attempt to have the charges dismissed against him. After several failed attempts find a suitable witness, Captain Lance volunteers to testify to his involvement with Darhk. The team discovers that Cupid is targeting couples that have recently been married. In order to draw her out, Oliver convinces Felicity to stage a "secret" wedding with him to set themselves up as targets, and then leaks the information to the media. The plan works and Cupid attacks Oliver and Felicity at the ceremony. Felicity distracts her long enough for Diggle and Thea to apprehend her. At the trial, Captain Lance's testimony is deemed sufficient to establish probable cause for the charges, and Darhk is remanded into custody without bail. Captain Lance is suspended pending an investigation, while Felicity quits the team for good. In flashbacks, Oliver leads Reiter to a mystical idol, but steals it and runs off into the tunnels.

Darhk reveals to Oliver that he has William, and he will only return him if Oliver drops out of the mayoral race. Oliver is forced to reveal the truth about his son to the rest of the team, which causes a rift between him and Felicity. Oliver asks a Detroit-based superhero, named Vixen, for help as her powers are derived from magic. Vixen tracks William's location and the team goes in to rescue him. They only find Darhk and his men, as William had already been moved. The attack causes Darhk to demand an immediate resignation from Oliver and support for Ruve Adams. After, the team discovers the root of Darhk's powers and set a plan to destroy his mystical idol. The plan works; Darhk is left powerless and William is saved. They also discover that Malcolm was the one who kidnapped William. Later, Oliver sends William and his mother away for safety. Felicity also decides to break up with Oliver, and with a bio-mechanical implant from Curtis she is able to walk again. In flashbacks, a passage is discovered that leads to Reiter's "ultimate power", and the spell on Oliver's stomach allows him to pass unharmed.

Malcolm joins Darhk, his wife Ruve Adams, and the other leaders of H.I.V.E. where it is revealed that they are on "Phase 5" of their plan. In order tie-up loose ends, Darhk sends a group of mercenaries, known as the Demolition Team, to take out Captain Lance. They fail, and Felicity is able to track them to their hideout. Oliver, Thea, Laurel, and Diggle go after them but are almost killed when the Demolition Team destroy their own building to escape. Meanwhile, Thea discovers that Oliver has a son, and supports his decision to keep it a secret. With Curtis' help, Felicity realizes that Demolition Team are planning to destroy the venue for the mayoral debate between Oliver and Ruve, leaving Ruve alive as a sympathetic survivor. Oliver and his team stop the mercenaries in time for Oliver to win the debate. After, Darhk kidnaps William. In flashbacks, Oliver kills Conklin to win the trust of the other prisoners as Reiter forces them to dig for an "ultimate power" hidden on the island.

Oliver refuses Nyssa's offer, instead he attempts to convince Malcolm to relinquish control of the League to Nyssa in exchange for the cure. Malcolm claims Nyssa is lying and refuses to go along, while Nyssa agrees but proclaims that if Malcolm backs out then everyone will be considered an enemy. Oliver convinces Nyssa to provide a sample to prove to Merlyn she is not lying. After witnessing Thea get better, Malcolm agrees to the deal. At the exchange, Malcolm double-crosses Nyssa and she is forced to retreat. Oliver convinces Malcolm to challenge Nyssa to a duel, with the winner remaining the leader of the League. Before they fight, Oliver uses ancient rules to trade places with Nyssa as her husband. Oliver bests Malcolm, but instead of killing him he cuts off the hand wearing the Demon's Head ring and knocks Malcolm unconscious. Oliver exchanges the ring for the cure. Realizing her mistake, Nyssa disbands the League and destroys the ring. Angered by Oliver's betrayal, Malcolm informs Darhk about Oliver's son. In flashbacks, Reiter takes a stone from Oliver that has the symbols he seeks.

The team goes after a burglar, and Oliver and Thea manage to corner him. He escapes when Thea loses consciousness and almost falls off a building. Malcolm reveals to Oliver that this is Thea's bloodlust; since she has not taken a life, the bloodlust is killing her. Felicity tracks the burglar again. Oliver stops him, but when it is revealed to be Roy Harper, Oliver's surprise allows Roy to escape. They track Roy to Palmer Tech, where they discover he is being controlled by a man who goes by the name the Calculator. Felicity tracks the Calculator through the web, who reveals he intends to shut down the entire city killing everyone in the process. The team locates his bomb and destroy it before it can shut down the city infrastructure. Meanwhile, Darhk's wife enters the mayoral race, Thea slips into a coma, the Calculator is revealed to be Felicity's father, and Nyssa escapes her cell in Nanda Parbat to offer Oliver a cure for Thea in exchange for Malcolm's life. In flashbacks, Reiter tortures Oliver for information on the maps he acquired, with Oliver starting to hallucinate seeing Shado.

Felicity returns home from the hospital trying to figure out her place on the team now that she is a paraplegic. While Diggle and Lyla are out on a date, an A.R.G.U.S. agent seeks them out for assistance, but he is kidnapped before he can tell the pair what is happening. Diggle and Lyla go to Amanda Waller, who denies any knowledge of what happened, but gives Lyla a portable hard drive that reveals the operative was taken by an organization known as "Shadowspire". Oliver and Diggle recognize the name, with Diggle recalling first meeting the group in Afghanistan when they were war profiteers. With Andy's help, the team tracks Shadowspire. Oliver pressures Felicity for help, who has started having hallucinations of her hacker counterpart. She struggles under the pressure and Diggle is almost killed. Shadowspire infiltrates A.R.G.U.S. looking for a Rubicon access code, killing Amanda Waller when she refuses to help. Oliver and the team, with Felicity, enter A.R.G.U.S. and stop Shadowspire. In flashbacks, Reiter is revealed as the leader of Shadowspire.

With Felicity in and out of surgery for her gunshot wounds, Oliver and the team continue searching for Darhk. Oliver turns to Captain Lance for information on Darhk's location, while Diggle interrogates his brother Andy. They track down Darkh's location, but only find several dead Ghost soldiers and an anarchy symbol painted in blood. The team realize that Lonnie Machin is back and is out for revenge against Darhk. Machin is caught and Oliver interrogates him for information on Darkh. Eventually, Oliver sets Machin free to go after Darhk, tracking him in the process. Machin goes after Darhk's family; the team arrive and save them, but Machin escapes. As repayment for saving his family, Darhk grants Oliver time to spend with his own family before Darhk kills him. Meanwhile, Felicity is left paralyzed from being shot. In flashbacks, Conklin presents Oliver as a traitor and the maps he found as proof to Reiter. While Conklin tortures Oliver, Reiter notices the spell on Oliver's stomach and forces Conklin to stop. In exchange for another prisoner's life, Oliver agrees to help Reiter.

Oliver's campaign starts an initiative to clean up the Star City bay. Darhk sends a drone to the bay and begins shooting at the citizens helping, injuring several. In response, Oliver and his team decide to call out Darhk as the leader of the Ghosts and H.I.V.E. to the local media. In retaliation, Darhk crashes Oliver's campaign holiday party and kidnaps Diggle, Felicity, and Thea. After failing to get any information from Darhk's soldiers, Oliver makes contact and agrees to exchange himself for them. Darhk tricks Oliver, and attempts to kill them all in front of him. Malcolm, dressed as Green Arrow, and Laurel arrive and rescue everyone. Afterward at the campaign holiday party, Oliver proposes to Felicity, who accepts. As they leave, Darhk sends his men after Oliver again, who shoot up Oliver's limo and hit Felicity. In flashbacks, Oliver returns to the ship the Amazo to acquire more maps of the island, but when he returns he is discovered by Conklin.

mmortal Vandal Savage searches for Kendra Saunders and Carter Hall, two metahumans who have existed for 4000 years, currently being hidden by Oliver, Barry, and their respective teams. Malcolm orchestrates a meeting between Savage, Barry, and Oliver. Savage demands they turn over Kendra and Carter, or he will destroy both Central City and Star City with the Staff of Horus. They devise a plan to deliver the pair as a ruse to get close enough to destroy the staff. The plan fails; Kendra and Carter are killed and Savage uses the staff to destroy everyone else in the city. Barry escapes and runs fast enough to go back in time to the point of the original negotiation with Savage. Barry informs Oliver of his time travel, so they change their approach to their plan. They deliver Kendra and Carter again, but with everyone's help Barry is able to steal the staff. He and Oliver use it on Savage, destroying his body. Afterward, Kendra and Carter decide to use their powers to help others in another city. Meanwhile, Oliver learns he has a son and decides to develop a relationship with him, without telling Felicity. Malcolm collects Savage's ashes.

H.I.V.E. continues to attack parts of the city, most recently destroying money meant for the city bank. Diggle gives Oliver information that H.I.V.E. murdered his brother Andy because he was criminal competition. The team heads to the research lab to locate a chemical they believe is being used by H.I.V.E. The team is attacked by Darhk's group, and Diggle discovers that Andy is still alive and working for H.I.V.E. The team tries to get Diggle to recognize the positive, but he refuses to see Andy as anything more than a traitor and unworthy of saving. The team believes Andy is being mind-controlled and locate him and the rest of H.I.V.E. The team successfully extracts Andy with help from Ray and his ATOM suit. After an encounter with Darhk, Thea learns that his powers may help cure her bloodlust permanently, after Darhk failed to drain the lifeforce from Thea.

As Oliver works on his campaign, Felicity continues searching for Ray with the help of Curtis Holt. Ray is able to send a new message, letting Felicity know that he survived the explosion because his suit successfully shrank him down to the size of a pea, that he is being held prisoner, and where to find the schematics to build a device to return him to his right size. In a second message, Felicity discovers that Darhk is the responsible for imprisoning Ray, hoping to get the technology from his suit. As Curtis works on the device, Darhk threatens to hurt Felicity if Ray does not give up his technology willingly. The team tracks Darhk to his hideout and with the device created by Curtis they successfully save and restore Ray. Meanwhile, Sara struggles with the bloodlust and decides to leave Star City to gain control. In flashbacks, Reiter sends Oliver on a search for another ancient ruin that is supposed to yield a "gift" for Reiter.