In a darkroom, the stalker develops photos of Laurel and Dinah.
At the station, Dinah greets Nick and says that she's not heading home yet. She goes into her office and finds another threatening note on her desk.
Diggle is getting his mail, and finds a note saying "You Will Suffer".
Rene finds a note saying that I will kill them all, and he tells Zoe that it's just a prank.
The stalker puts up another clipping of the vigilantes in Star City.
Oliver, Felicity, and William have pancakes, and Felicity says that William needs to tell them why he was expelled. William says that he got into a fight and went for the nose like Oliver told him. Oliver reminds him that it was a lesson in self-defense, and William says that Oliver decides everything on his own. He storms off, furious, leaving his parents to stare at him.
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Zoe and Dinah fail to find the bombs using the Archer program, and William and Roy come in. They haven't had any luck tracking Blackstar down, and William figures that the bombs aren't in position yet so they can't be found. Roy says that he might know a place, and they go to the old bunker. They realize that someone has been there, just as Blackstar and Connor shoot them with tranq darts.
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Diggle shows Curtis the note and asks how the search for Dante is coming. Curtis says that they're close to finding him, and tells Diggle that he's been offered a job at the Kohler Humanitarian Institute. Diggle says that the work he's doing for ARGUS is already helping people, but Curtis tells him that he doesn't believe that.
Dinah teaches Zoe how to fight at the Ramirez apartment. Rene comes in and once Zoe leaves, Dinah admits that she's nervous about being outed as Black Canary and worried that people will treat her differently. Rene offers to crack some heads if she has problems, and tells her to keep earning respect. He shows her the note, and Dinah explains that she and Laurel both got them.
Kullens is sleeping, and a man comes into his room and injects him with a syringe. When Kullens wakes up, he discovers that he's paralyzed from the drug and the intruder cuts his throat. Nearby on a dresser is a threatening note.
The next morning, the team learns about Kullens' death and they figure it's connected to the two body drops from the week before. The families of the other victims reported that the victims got notes as well. Laurel is at a conference, and Oliver and Curtis haven't gotten notes. Paul comes over with Kullens' tox report, but it shows clean. Dinah says that the MO feels like one she read about in Central City, and calls Singh.
When William wakes up, he realizes that he's tied to a chair with the others. Blackstar punches him and asks for the access codes for Archer. When Zoe refuses to give them up, Blackstar puts a note to her throat. William speaks up, saying that there's no point in giving her the codes because she'll kill them like she killed Felicity. Blackstar tells him that someone else killed Felicity and plans to blow up the city.
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Diggle tells Curtis that he talked to Lyla and determined that they can't lose him. He offers Curtis the head of R&D for ARGUS and can make all of the decisions, and tells a surprised Curtis to think about it.
Singh calls Dinah and says that and reminds her that one undercover cop infiltrated the gangs and stopped a bloodbath. He tells her to have faith in herself.
William is working on a Rubik's Cube and Felicity helps him. Oliver comes home and greets William, who ignores him. Felicity gives them a minute alone, and Oliver says that William has a right to be mad at him. He admits that he sometimes forgets that William is just a kid, and he and Felicity think that William should come back to Star City to live with them. The security alert on the front door goes off, and Oliver carefully opens it. It's Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, who say that they're grandson William called them.
Oliver lets the Claytons in, and they tell Oliver and Felicity that they're worried about William. They say that they're filing a ship for guardianship, and William asks Oliver to step out so they can talk to the Clayton alone. Once he goes, Frank Clayton says that Oliver is a convicted felon and has put William at risk, and Irene Clayton insists that neither of them are fit to be William's parents and Samantha would agree. Oliver vows that no one will take William away from them.
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Connor is guarding Roy and Dinah, and says that William and Zoe are with Blackstar. He says that they should have stayed out of it, and Dinah tells Roy that Connor is Diggle's son.
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Oliver calls Dinah to check on the case, and then tells William that they need to talk. He says that he can't have William calling for backup every time that he's mad for him. Oliver insists that he's heard everything that William has said about him, and wanted to give him a normal life. William says that he wants to live with his grandparents and have a normal life, and walks out.
At the station, the team confirm that there have been eight similar murders in Central City and then Star City. Curtis identifies the neuromuscular drug that was used on the victims, and there's only been one shipment of it to Star City: to an abandoned house in the Glades owned by a John Doe.
The team enter the house and split up to search the house. Curtis and Rene go upstairs while Diggle and Dinah search the ground floor. Diggle finds a bloodstained tub, and Curtis finds an old piano. A monkey toy falls down on the keyboard, startling him.
Rene enters a room and hears a music box playing. He finds it in a wardrobe, and Curtis comes in behind Rene. Inside the wardrobe, they find a Slabside shirt and realize the killer, the Star City Killer, was at the prison.
Dinah goes down into the cellar and discovers that the lights are out. There's a workshop there and the board with the clippings of their activities on it and references to Oliver. The typewriter used to type the notes is also there, and a three-ring binder with more clippings and notes. The killer--Stanley Dover--comes up behind Dinah and cuts her throat, and then leaves. Dinah collapses to the floor, and the others find her bleeding out. An ambulance won't get there in time, and Curtis uses a mid-infrared laser he's developed but never used before. Curtis cauterizes the wound and Dinah stabilizes.
Felicity joins Oliver in the kitchen and Oliver snaps at her, saying that they know what's best for William. She says that maybe they need to think about what William needs, and points out that they don't provide a life of normalcy. Oliver says that he wants to be a better father to William than Robert was to him, and Felicity says that he is.
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Blackstar says that Felicity is still alive and needs Archer to find her. Zoe says that Blackstar is a liar, and Blackstar slaps her and asks William for the codes. He asks for an explanation, and Blackstar says that they owe each other. Blackstar wonders what William is getting out of it, and he admits that he doesn't know. He wants to contact Felicity and ask her why she left him, and Blackstar realizes that Oliver is William's father. Connor comes in, and Roy and Dinah escape and attack them. Roy fights Connor, while Dinah fights Blackstar and kicks Williams away on his wheeled chair. It breaks and Roy gets free, and he draws a gun on Blackstar.
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Dinah points at the workshop bench, and Diggle finds the clippings about Oliver. They figure the killer was in prison with Oliver and it's all about him.
The power goes out in the apartment due to the storm outside, and the family eat dinner. William complains that the chili is too spicy, and they realize that they're paralyzed as gas pumps into the apartment. Stanley comes in and removes his gas mask once the gas clears. He tells Oliver that he has nothing to worry about, and introduces himself to William claiming that he's Oliver best friend. Stanley says that he doesn't want to hurt any of them and just wants to talk, and assures them that the drug's effects are temporary. Stanley tells Oliver that the others don't understand Oliver like he does, and needs Oliver to listen to him. Oliver asks him to let Felicity and William go, but Stanley says that there are people out there who want to hurt them and he's done terrible things to protect them. Oliver starts to get his mobility back, while Stanley says that some people don't deserve to live. He insists that Oliver's teammates don't understand him like he does, and he only had time to "correct" Dinah. Stanley wants to go off and they can become a new team, but puts his knife to Felicity's throat and says that he doesn't like her.
Oliver tries to calm Stanley down, and Stanley says that his father used to give him the "medicine" so that he would listen. His older brother tried to protect him and take his punishments for him, but it only made him worse. William manages to move as well, sliding a soda bottle to Oliver. Stanley says that he "corrected" his parents, and figures that William understands. Oliver asks him where his brother is, and Stanley explains that his brother got upset when he found out that Stanley had corrected their parents, and wanted to send Stanley to Arkham. After that, Stanley killed his brother as well. He thinks that Oliver isn't listening to him, and says that he should have apologized to him for being mean to him at Slabside.
Felicity tells Stanley that he's worse than his father, and he's the Star City Slayer, Stanley's nickname in the papers. Oliver knocks Stanley out with the bottle, and Diggle and Curtis arrive.
Later at the hospital, the doctors confirm that Dinah is fine. The police are transferring Stanley back to Slabside, and he's killed older brother figures before. When that doesn't work, they become his new targets. Oliver goes to check on William, and Diggle gets a call summoning him to ARGUS. Curtis tells Diggle that he's taking the position in DC, and Diggle says that he's going to miss him and leaves. Once Diggle and Rene leave, Felicity says that she's happy that Curtis will get to do what he wants, and he tells her that he's signing over sole ownership of Helix to her. He thinks that she's been struggling to find her purpose and suggests that's how she can change the world.
Oliver goes into William's room and asks if he wants to go home. He admits that William was right and never asked him what William what he wants, and asks now if he wants to come home and live with them, or live with his grandparents. William says that he just wants a normal life, and Oliver admits that he thought he could give it to him. William thinks that it'll be better for him to be in Central City for now, and Oliver agrees.
The next day, William packs and Felicity hugs him. Oliver tells his on that they'll talk all the time and he'll visit William and his grandparents. He makes William to promise to call him if he needs anything. They say that they love each other and hug. Dr. Schwartz calls Felicity and gives her the news that she's pregnant.
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Blackstar figures that William won't shoot her, drops the knife, and says that she's Felicity's daughter… and William's sister.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 12, 2019