By: Dave Clark
The big storyline for tonight's episode, of course, revolved around William, Oliver's son. Darhk reveals to Oliver that his has son and this forces his hand to let Felicity and the gang in on the secret. Felicity is obviously upset about this blatant lie but she's there to help in any way she can to retrieve William from Darhk and keep his mother safe. Oliver goes to Detroit to get the help of Mari McCabe aka Vixen who has magical abilities and she would be able to track William down. She locates him but Darhk is there waiting for them, one step ahead of Team Arrow. Vixen is able to match Darhk, briefly, but he magically gets away again.
Darhk uses William as ransom to get Oliver to drop out of the mayoral race and to endorse Darhk's wife. Oliver obliges to the demands but Darhk doesn't seem to quick to live up to his end of the deal. The team is able to track him down again and this time Vixen reveals that she's not the only magically gifted person she's met that uses a totem to harness her powers. They attack Darhk again but this time Vixen is able to steal and then destroy the totem which weakens Darhk and appears to have removed his powers. Due to the danger that William had been in and after a discussion with Mari who is a foster child herself, Oliver realizes he needs to sacrifice his relationship with William. He creates a video for William for when he turns 18 to explain why he's not part of his life.
In the flashbacks we see that Baron Reiter has found what he's been searching for, but there waiting is the reanimated body of Conklin speaking in a foreign language. He's unfazed by bullets and he appears to be protecting whatever Reiter is looking for but when Oliver is left alone with Conklin he speaks English and disappears as the mark that Constantine left on Ollie's body begins to glow. Reiter then forces Oliver and Taiana into the cave.
Felicity is still not adapting to the chip implanted into her spine, still unable to walk or stand yet. At the end of the episode she's come to the realization that she cannot deal with the way Oliver handles relationships. She removes the engagement ring and her leg begins to twitch. Without saying another word she gets up and walks out on Oliver.
What I Liked:
The truth is finally out there. Felicity knows about Oliver's son now. This truth forces her to put some distance between her and Oliver by calling off the engagement, at least for now.
All things Vixen. The totem effect that shows which animal's abilities she's currently using was done fantastically. When they released her origin story via an animated series I was hopeful we'd see her on Arrow or The Flash and I was not disappointed.
Darhk was great tonight. We didn't get much in the way of his backstory or anything but he was exceedingly villainy with his puns and actions and it was viciously fun.
What I Didn't Like:
Actually, I enjoyed this episode. The flashbacks didn't explain much but there was some progression there. Overall, I had fun with this episode.
I will say the lack of Curtis Holt is bothering me more and more each week. Let's give this guy some solid screen time!