At a suburban home in Opal City, Oliver and Diggle park outside. Diggle says that it's the house that Claybourne bought for his mistress. When Oliver rings the bell, Amanda Westfield answers the door. She knows who Oliver is and lets him in, He explains that her son may have been the serial killer terrorizing Star City, and Amanda says that she hasn't seen her son since Claybourne's funeral. She tells Oliver that she left Star City because there was nothing for her there, and Oliver explains that her son erased all traces of himself from the Internet. Amanda asks what happens when Oliver finds him, and Oliver says that he wants him to get help. She figures that Oliver wants to cage up her son like the animal, that the animal that killed Claybourne, and refuses to help. Amanda tells Oliver that she won't change her mind and orders him out.
A prison bus is transferring several female prisoners, including China White, Carrie Cutler, and Lisa Warner. Carrie gets up and claims that she's stretching her legs, and a guard tells her to sit down. She flirts with him, distracting him until Lisa breaks his neck with her manacles. China takes his gun and shoots the driver dead, and Carrie tells the other prisoners to get out. Once they leave, Lisa says that it's time to return home and drives the bus toward Star City.
Oliver and Diggle return to the bunker and they tell the others what happened. Felicity hacks Amanda's email to see if she is in contact with her son. She gets in but warns that there is a lot of data for her to go through. Dinah tells Oliver and Diggle about the escape, and Oliver says that he's going to find them. Diggle asks Dinah if she's ready for her swearing in ceremony, assuring her that it's no small thing, and she agrees.
The next day, an aide reminds Oliver that the City Council has a vote scheduled after the swearing-in ceremony. Susan comes in and Oliver apologizes to her for missing their last few dinner dates. The reporter finally asks if he's Green Arrow. Oliver jokingly says yes and then tells her that he thought she was joking and joked back. He dismisses her conclusion as insane and says "no" for the record. Oliver apparently accepts his denial and Oliver leaves for the ceremony.
Five Years Ago
At the hospital, Oliver suggests to Anatoly that they go after Gregor at the bath house where he is most vulnerable. Anatoly warns that they will need an army, and Oliver says that he's going to stay there until they take out Gregor and protect the Bratva. His mentor wonders if he was going to leave, and Oliver explains that he has to get back to his life. Anatoly says that Oliver is a sin-eater, like a man who has historically eats the sins of the dead to take them on as his own. Oliver interrupts to say that he's seen the orderly pass by several times in the last ten minutes, and figures that he is one of Gregor's men. Anatoly says that it's time to go.
Now
Oliver swears Dinah in and everyone applauds. Afterward, Thea asks Oliver if everything is okay with Susan. Oliver tells Thea what Susan asked earlier, and assures his sister that he handled. Quentin tells Oliver that Warner escaped, just as Felicity texts Oliver the trio's location. He says that he'll deal with three women like he did before, but Quentin insists that it's personal.
When Arrow and Quentin arrive at the address, they find dead Triad men. Overwatch hacks the security camera and sends the footage of China, Warner, and Cupid killing the triad men. Quentin says that they have to stop the women before more bodies drop.
Later back at the bunker, the team reviews the footage. It shows China questioning a man about the depository, and they figure the trio is looking for something in storage. Oliver says that they have to find them and stop them.
Five Years Ago
Oliver helps Anatoly down the corridor, and a man steps out and opens fire. He comes after them and Oliver takes him down and then shoots as another men comes after them. Oliver and Anatoly get to the basement and take cover as Gregor's men move in.
Now
Frank gets an anonymous letter. Once he reads it, he tells his assistant Chapman to summon the entire ACU for a meeting.
Thea arrives at the bunker and talks to Felicity. She says that Susan suspects Oliver is Arrow, and both women agree that the reporter won't drop it. Felicity hacks into Susan's computer and finds all of the information that she's gathered connecting Oliver to Arrow. Even if Felicity deletes it, Susan will get the information from the same source.
Mr. Terrific and Wild Dog spot the Triad man, James Wong, as he gets into his car. They grab him and demand to know what the depository is. James says that the depository holds the $100,000 that Tobias Church got from the Amertek deal. He doesn't know where it is, and Wild Dog punches him unconscious.
Arrow and Quentin go to a Los Halcones money laundering facility. Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific are staking out the Bertinellis, and Dinah and Spartan are watching the Bratva. Oliver suggests that they call Dinah "Black Canary," and Quentin says that he's fine with that as long as she does Laurel proud. They hear gunshots up ahead and go to investigate.
The three women take out the gangers and Cupid points out that they still don't have the money. Warner says that they gave up the name of someone who does know where the money is, and assures them that everything is going as planned. Arrow and Quentin arrive and order them to surrender. Warner fires at Arrow and Quentin goes after her as she runs out, while Arrow fights Cupid and China.
Outside, Warner tells Quentin that he's a liar. She turned herself in based on what he said, but then she saw a news report about him working with Damien. Quentin says that Damien threatened Dinah, and insists that what he's doing and what Warner is doing is not the same thing. She says that she's doing whatever it takes, fires, and runs.
An ACU assault squad drops in, and Cupid and China run off. The leader tells Arrow that they're under orders to arrest him for Billy's murder. Arrow fires a flare arrow to cover his escape,
At the bunker, Oliver tells the others that the ACU found out about Billy. They tell Quentin that Prometheus orchestrated things so Oliver would kill Billy, and Adrian covered it up. Quentin wants to talk to Frank, but Oliver says that he has to handle it because he's the mayor.
The next day, Oliver, Adrian, and Quentin call Frank into a conference room. Frank says that Arrow is a person of interest in Billy's murder, and shows them the letter. Inside is a ME report showing that Billy was killed with an arrow like Arrow uses. The original report said that the cause of death was undetermined, and Frank figures that there's a cover-up. Oliver says that he has it on good authority that Arrow wasn't responsible, but is not at liberty to say. Frank refuses to drop it and excuses himself. Once he's gone, the men wonder who sent the report to Frank. Oliver dismisses Adrian and then tells Quentin that Prometheus sent the report. The envelope was postmarked from Opal City, and Oliver figures that Prometheus is pushing back against Oliver visiting Amanda.
Susan texts Oliver to meet her in his office. He goes in and Susan says that she got fired. Her producer received an anonymous tip that she's plagiarized her stories for the last year, and her laptop is filled with incriminating evidence. Susan figures that it's connected to her asking Oliver if he was Arrow. Oliver says that he doesn't know anything about it, and Susan asks if he's going to deny that she's Arrow. She says that he has a Bratva tattoo on his chest, and photos showing Arrow in Russia at the same time that Oliver was there. However, she can't go public with any of it because she's been discredited, and figures that Oliver set the whole thing up. Furious, she walks out.
Oliver goes to the bunker and asks Felicity if she hacked Susan's computer. Felicity says that Thea asked her to put a few things on Susan's computer, and wonders what Thea did.
Five Years Ago
Gregor enters the basement and says that he will spare Anatoly if he hands over Oliver. Oliver prepares to surrender, telling Anatoly that Gregor will kill both of them. Anatoly refuses to let Oliver suffer for his sins, but Oliver goes out anyway.
Now
Thea visits Quentin, who says that Warner is his mess to clean up. He tells Thea about why Warner turned crooked again, and Thea tells him that Warner is a criminal. She says that Quentin has to stop taking responsibility for other people's sins, and says that she committed her own sin. However, Thea tells Quentin not to worry about it and to deal with Warner because she's a criminal.
That night, the three women go after some Bertinelli thugs. China kills the first one and Cupid and Warner take down the others. When the fourth thug, Enzo Russo, tries to run, Cupid brings him down with a bolo arrow and Warner demands the location of the money. She assures her teammates that the ACU is all over ACU, and they have the thug take them to the depository.
Oliver calls Thea to his office and tells her that Susan got fired. He says that Thea should have come to him, and Thea says that they would have had the same conversation and Oliver would insist that Susan wasn't going to out him as Arrow. She tells her brother that she was trying to keep Oliver's hands clean, and Oliver points out that Thea just blew up Susan's life. He says that Thea knew what she was doing and wonders who does that to a person.
Before Thea can respond, Quentin comes in and Thea says that she's done. She leaves and Quentin tells Oliver that the women abducted Enzo. He figures that Enzo knows where the depository is, and suggests that Arrow go after them. Oliver says that the police should handle it, and insists that Prometheus hasn't given him any choice. Quentin reminds him that Damien and Slade didn't give Oliver a choice, either, and Oliver says that it's different because he was the one who fired the arrows into Billy, killing him. His friend repeats Thea's words about not taking on refusing to take on other people's sins, and tells Oliver that justice isn't being served. Oliver agrees to have Felicity scan for Enzo's phone while he talks to Frank and make sure that Billy's death wasn't for nothing.
Oliver goes to Frank's office and tells him that Prometheus manipulated Arrow into killing Billy. Adrian covered it up, and Oliver says that Arrow told him. Frank wonders why he should believe Arrow, and Oliver says that he knows that Arrow has helped Star City. When Frank points out that Arrow still killed Billy, Oliver says that Arrow will have to live with that for the rest of his life. All he's asking is that Frank doesn't let him stop Arrow from being the hero that the city needs. Frank says that he'll have to think about it, and Oliver leaves. As Oliver leaves, Felicity calls to say that she has Enzo's address. When he tells her to send it, Felicity points out that Arrow is wanted by the police and Oliver repeats his request.
At the hunker, Felicity tells Curtis, Rene, and Dinah where Enzo is, at Oak Hill Memorial Cemetery, and that Diggle is on the way. As they head out, Felicity gives Dinah Laurel's mask.
At the station, Frank tells the ACU officers that a unit has spotted Arrow heading for the cemetery, and the ACU will be there when he finds the women.
The team arrives at the cemetery and move into position. Meanwhile, the women enter a vault and check the crypt with the least amount of dust. The $100,000 is inside, and the women grab it and head out. The new Black Canary blasts them and the rest of the team moves in. When Cupid tries to run, Spartan fires a warning shot and Wild Dog tackles her. Warner says that taking the city back, and their hired thugs arrive. The team returns fire and Wild Dog takes a shot to the leg. Black Canary attacks China, and Mr. Terrific fights Warner.
The ACU arrives and China tells Arrow that she's going to enjoy watching them take him down. Frank shoots her in the shoulder and has his officers arrest the women and their men. They all ignore Arrow, and Arrow thanks Frank for his help. Frank says that the mayor vouched for him, and Arrow tells him that he'll have to deal with killing Billy for the rest of his life. As he leaves, Frank remembers that Oliver said the same thing to him.
Later at the station, Quentin goes to see Warner in the interrogation room. He assures her that his conscience is clear, and tells her that he's not going to use other people's sins to justify his own. As he leaves, Dinah asks if he's okay. Quentin says that he's fine, and Dinah says that she's not ready to take Laurel's place. He tells her that Laurel would want someone to carry on in her place.
Oliver visits Thea in her office and says that they need to talk about what happened. He says that Susan isn't returning his calls, and Thea apologizes for screwing up. Oliver tells her that she made a choice, not a mistake, and she reminded him of Moira. He figures Moira would have done the same thing, but she didn't always make the right choices. Oliver tells Thea that he's worried about Thea right now and sits down with her.
Five Years Ago
Oliver steps out and puts his gun down. Gregor assures him that Anatoly won't be harmed, and Oliver grabs Gregor's lieutenant and picks up his discarded gun. He shoots Gregor's men, and one of their guns lands near Anatoly. When Anatoly reaches for it, Gregor steps on his hand and prepares to shoot him.
Now
Adrian tells Oliver that he got a heads up on something. Oliver's assistant tells Oliver to turn on the TV. Bethany Snow is reporting that the mayor's office ordered the falsification of autopsy results to protect the identity of Billy's killer. She notes that it could trigger impeachment procedures against Oliver, and Oliver figures that it might be the end of his administration.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 23, 2017