Explosions go off throughout the bunker. Afterward, Oliver wakes up in darkness and calls to Felicity. He finds her nearby, laying on the ground, and Oliver grabs a gun and looks for Adrian. Once he's sure that he's not there, Oliver goes back to Felicity. She says that it was an EMP explosion that fried every circuit in the bunker... including her spinal implant that lets her move her legs.
Oliver sets up chem lights and confirms that Adrian isn't there. The elevator and security doors are off-line, and the emergency exit is welded shut. The air vents are out as well, and Felicity figures that they're trapped.
Eleven Months Ago
In the bunker, Felicity points out to Oliver that more crime lords keep popping up to take over for Damian. She suggests that they expand the team, but Oliver insists that he doesn't have the temperament to train a new team. He tells Felicity that they're a good team and she agrees. Curtis comes in and sees them together, and loudly interrupts to show them a thermal imaging prototype that he "borrowed" from Palmer Technology. It shows the image of the current crime lord on his yacht, and Oliver goes after him.
Now
Quentin leaves a message on Oliver's voice mail, and tells Rene that Oliver has disappeared. He explains that every defense attorney in town is appealing to have Adrian's convictions overturned. Rene reports that Felicity hasn't checked in either. He calls Curtis, who is at the office and discovers that the power is off. Curtis hears an explosion.
Oliver tries to shoot through the door with explosive arrows, but the door is designed to repel nuclear blasts. He figures that Adrian is up to something and trapped them there, and Felicity wonders who is left. Oliver figures that Adrian is after his son William but doesn't know where he is yet. He goes to check Cisco's blueprints.
At the apartment, Lyla checks on Diggle sleeping on the couch. She insists that she's fine, and points out that neither one of them has a job that fits the conventional definition of morality. Lyla reminds Diggle that the team has been playing judge and jury for years. As they argue, Curtis knocks at the door. Curtis, Rene, and Dinah are outside, and Diggle asks what they want. They explain that there's a problem at the bunker.
Felicity figures that the elevator shaft is booby trapped and suggests that they get power so they can send a signal out. Oliver insists on climbing up the shaft anyway, ignoring Felicity's advice. He reaches the top and triggers a shock which knocks him down, and Oliver rips his side.
As Felicity stitches up Oliver's side, she returns to the topic of how Oliver didn't back her play with Helix. Oliver insists that he trusts her, and agrees to try her plan to get them out.
At the apartment, Curtis explains about the EMP explosion and confirms that Felicity was there. He suggests that they get cutting torches and climbing gear, and Lyla says that ARGUS is at their disposal. She asks if that's okay with Diggle and then leaves, and Curtis figures that Oliver and Felicity have five to six hours of air.
Felicity leads Oliver to the mainframe and explains that they'll use his old motorcycle engine to generate electricity from the starter.
The past
As Oliver goes after the crime lord, Curtis is surprised to learn that Felicity and Oliver aren't linking up again. He says that they exchange long looks between them, and Felicity insists that they're not. Felicity says that William represents the fact that Oliver doesn't trust her enough to share crucial information with her. Curtis tells her that Oliver can't change the way he looks at Felicity, just as Olive comes in with takeout. Stammering, Curtis excuses himself for a date night with Paul,
Now
Rene and Curtis go down the shaft and Curtis explains that his T-Spheres are in the bunker and were fried by the EMP blasts. Meanwhile, Dinah notices that Diggle is distracted and asks if he's okay. She figures that Diggle confronted Lyla about the ARGUS black site and it didn't go well. Diggle refuses to talk about it, and Dinah offers to talk about it in exchange for her talking about her undercover partner, Vinnie. They kept things from each other because they had to. Lyla comes in with the remaining equipment, and Curtis reports that the EMP fried the hydraulics systems so they have to cut through the magnetic seal.
Oliver starts up the motorcycle and Felicity thanks him for trying things her way. He says that he didn't back Felicity's plan because of a lack of trust, and Felicity points out that Cayden is much less worse than the Bratva. Oliver says that he doesn't want Felicity to be like her, just as the mainframe powers up. The connecting cable burns out and Felicity realizes that a pipe with toxic flammable gas is now leaking. Oliver tries to seal it with duct tape but the tape doesn't hold. He goes over the blueprints again and finds a steam tunnel under the bunker. Felicity suggests that they blast open the hatch with an explosive arrow.
Curtis and Rene start cutting through the magnetic seal. There's a small explosion and they return to the surface. Curtis figures that there are high levels of methane on the other side of the seal, and Dinah suggests that they use hydrochloric acid.
Felicity pours the explosive powder from the arrow head onto the grate and Oliver shoots it, setting it off. There's a two-story drop to the tunnel and Oliver goes to get the climbing gear.
The Past
Felicity tries the salmon ladder without success, and Oliver shows her how to do it. He lifts her up and when he lowers her back down, they share a moment. They pull back and Oliver points out that Felicity has been drinking wine with the takeout. Felicity says that she's had a lot to drink and they kiss and then undress, and make love.
Now
Curtis and Rene come back and Curtis warns that the acid will take years to melt through the hinges. Lyle returns with an ARGUS copy of a T-Sphere. Diggle wonders what other surprises that they can expect from her.
Oliver has Felicity hold onto his neck and drops down into the tunnel. Once they're down, they discover that the tunnel is a dead end. As Felicity figures that they they've bought some time away from the gas, Oliver collapses from blood loss. Felicity wakes him up and Oliver apologizes to her for not having his back. He says that it was because of him, and says that he's not the man she thinks he is. Oliver explains that what they all did in his name was based on a lie. Adrian showed him that he did what he did because there's a part of him that enjoys killing, and he doesn't trust himself. With that, Oliver passes out.
The Past
After they're done, Oliver figures that Curtis was rooting for them to do what they did. Felicity pulls away and says that it was nice, but it doesn't change things between them. She says that even if there was no William, they wouldn't be together because Oliver doesn't trust her or anyone. Felicity wonders why, and figures that Oliver doesn't know. She loves him, but won't settle for anything but his full trust.
Now
Curtis admits that ARGUS improvements on his T-Sphere are impressive. Lyla realizes that Felicity and Oliver ran out of time ten minutes ago, and gives a file to Diggle. She explains that it's an audit of every black op that she's signed off on as director of ARGUS. Lyla tells Diggle that she doesn't want any more secrets between them, and wonders why Diggle can't stand behind her the way he stands before Oliver. She explains that she's trusted Diggle's choices even if she doesn't agree with them, and wants Diggle to do the same. Curtis gets a reading and interrupts them, and they go to get their teammates out.
Oliver wakes up and tells Felicity that the wound reclotted. Felicity figures that he disbanded the team because of what Adrian shows him, and says that she knows exactly what kind of man Oliver is. She points out that anyone would have broken after being tortured, and tells Oliver that he dealt with five years of hell and didn't become a monster. Before Oliver can respond, the T-Sphere blasts through the wall. Curtis communicates through it, telling them that the generators are rigged so that they can't be turned back on in case of a catastrophic attack. If they don' get the air vents back on line, the generators will spark off the methane when they come back online.
Curtis says that they have a plan, and Diggle, Dinah, and Rene go to the tunnels to get their teammates out. Meanwhile, Oliver carries Felicity out but collapses from the strain. Curtis sends the T-Sphere after them and it is carrying an adrenaline syringe. Felicity jams it into Oliver's chest and he wakes up.
Diggle leaps across the shaft to the ladder on the other side, and it slides down several stories. Meanwhile, Curtis works to get the ventilation fans online.
Oliver and Felicity arrive at the tunnel several stories below Diggle. The bottom of the ladder slides away, and Rene throws Diggle the line. Diggle lowers it to Oliver and Felicity, and Oliver starts climbing up. The fan starts below them, and Felicity loses her grip. Oliver manages to grab her arm and pull her back up onto his back, and Rene pulls them up.
Later, Lyla takes the team to a safehouse. Diggle apologizes and admits that he should have trusted her, but his judgment was clouded. He promises that they'll get through it and they kiss. Curtis gets Felicity's implants back online, and Lyla tells the team that Oliver just got out of surgery and will be fine. He asked to see Felicity, and she goes in.
The Past
The next day, Felicity finds Oliver exercising. He admits that she was right, and Felicity admits that she was wrong for walking. She tells them that one day they'll talk about why he doesn't trust her, but she's not ready yet. Oliver assures her that he's not going anywhere.
Now
Felicity enters the medbay, and Oliver tells her that he appreciates what she said. She apologizes for being a hypocrite, and admits that she was starting to become like Oliver after losing Billy. Felicity says that she got the tiniest taste of what Oliver has been through, and understands why he lied to her about William. She apologizes for judging him, and tells Oliver that he should figure out what kind of person he is.
William gets off the school bus in front of his home. Adrian approaches him and says that he knew William's father, and he knew Adrian's.
Written by Gadfly on May 4, 2017