BWW Recap: ARROW Tries to Support The Candidate

Star City's elected officials don't have a long shelf life, it's obvious why Ollie (Stephen Amell) would be concerned with a family friend eyeing a run for mayor. We've got a full quiver and an eye on the target, we'll get you caught up on ARROW.

We begin with Team ARROW in mid-fight. Black Canary (aka Laurel Lance, played by Katie Cassidy) rides a zipline down to bash a few bad guys' heads, Speedy (aka Thea Queen, played by Willa Holland) is still having anger issues (she's a bit too aggressive) and ARROW (Amell)? He has to contend with aruging with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) over why she doesn't have a code name. Gpod thing for Felicity she's a multi-tasker. She also manages to locate the bomb and ARROW quickly difuses it.

Back at the compound, Ollie confronts Thea about her excessive violence. She tells him she knows when to draw the line and she doesn't have time for one of his lectures because Mrs. Danforth (Jeri Ryan) and her daughter Madison (Tiera Skovbye) are stopping by.

It's also Felicity's first day as head of Palmer Tech. Ollie has purchased a fern and packed her a lunch. It's too sweet.

And it triggers our first flashback when Felicity asks "who are you": the question is asked by a gunman who's weapon is pointed at Ollie's head. This is the island he parachuted onto in the flashback last episode. Ollie quickly disarms and stabs the guy to death. He checks in with via computer with Amanda Waller and he is given a cryptic message to prepare to infiltrate. So, it isn't just a recon mission.

Back at the Queen loft, it's brunch. Madison is graduating with a degree in ancient philosophy (good thing she's a trust fund baby). The brunch reconnection has both Ollie and Thea confused until Jessica drops a bombshell: Green Arrow has inspired her to take up Ollie and Thea's late mother's mission and plans to run for mayor. She would like both of their support. They exchange troubled and concerned looks.

At Palmer Tech, Felicity gets some bad financial news about the company. Fortunately, Curtis Holt (aka Mr. Terrific, played by Echo Kellum) reveals he developed an alogorithm to pinpoint who should be laid off. Felicity has a better plan: no one is getting fired, the board's bonuses will be cut. The board is playing hardball.

We cut to Mrs. Danforth's press conference to announce her candidacy. Thea has a bad feeling about it.

Sure enough, Mrs. Danforth is barely a paragraph into her speech and bullets rain down. She is moved safely out of the way. Thea tells Ollie to protect Danforth. She's off to kick some assasin butt.

But the machine gun is being radio controlled. The real assasin is a member of Danforth's security team. Ollie arrive just in the nick of time to throw the bad guy over the rail and then Ollie jumps down to chase after him. He gets away, though.

Back at the compound, Team ARROW isn't so sure the assasin was part of the Ghost group that's been terrorizing the city. For one, he wasn't wearing a mask. Oh, and he left behind evidence in the form of finger prints on a windshield (Ollie bought the truck for the evidence; the benefit of having money now that his girlfriend inherited a company). The prints aren't very usefully, though. Turns out the guy has managed to cut and splice various fingerprint parts into a new print.

Ollie pays Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) a visit at the police station. Quentin is reluctant to hear Ollie tell him that his vigilantism will be different this time. Besides, a guy hidding behind a mask isn't what the city needs right now.

Flashback #2: Ollie in the woods, preparing to infiltrate. Women are being held against their will. He tears his shirt, rubs dirt on his face and then rolls the guy he just killed onto a landmind.

Felicity confronts Curtis and he tells her his alogorith was supposed to be used so that people could prove they should be paid more, but the greedy board turned it into code to fire people. The first layoff arrives and sees the files on the desk and realizes it's not just a small downsizing. Felicity looks like she is about to cry.

Diggle (David Ramsey) and Laurel share some quality time and he reveals he has been investigating the Ghosts for over two years. They are members of H.I.V.E.(the Yale to the League of Assasin's Harvard, if you will). Laurel is shocked that he's been doing this behind everyone's back.

The body guard turned assasin is revealed to be Lonnie Machin (aka Anarky, played by Alexander Calvert). Damian Darhk (Neal McDonough) was behind it (if there was any doubt). He's only paying Anarky half the agreed upon amount because he screwed up. Machin asks for a second chance and Darhk warns him that H.I.V.E. doesn't give third chances.

Back at the compound, Team ARROW catches a break. There's a sticky substance on the fingerprint that can be traced back to a patented compound owned by a shuttered paper mill that is a subsidiary of Palmer Tech. Speedy and ARROW ride their motorcycles into the mill. Speedy breaks a drug dealer's arm when he won't answer her questions. ARROW tells her to hit the showers.

Felicity has pieced the fingerprint jigsaw puzzle together and identified Machin. Thea and Ollie continue their discussion about excessive use of force. It quickly devolves into a full fight between the siblings. Thea is full on crazy. She is not the same since they used the Lazarus Pit to heal her.

Flashback #3: The sound of a guy blowing up has drawn other mercenaries to Ollie. He tells them it is a mine field and he washed up on the shore three years ago and has been living on the island.

Back at Palmer Tech, the firings continue. Curtis himself is on the list. He tells her his husband would be thrilled because they can finally take that trip.

Ollie visits Danforth down at the precinct where she is in protective custody. Madison is not with her. She had finals and so she went to the library (with police officers). Ollie tells her she should call her daughter. We cut to a phone ringing and a cop dead in a pool of blood.

Danforth gives a tearful press conference where she begs for her daughter's safe release. Quentin and Ollie have another pissing match where Ollie offers help and Quentin rejects it.

Flashback #4: Ollie is being led to meet the head of the mercenaries. The guy recognizes Ollie as the missing billionaire. He offers Ollie the job of the guy who stepped on a landmind.

Anarky has summoned Darhk, but Darhk feels Anarky has crossed a line. He ends his partnership with Anarky and tells him to clean up the mess he made.

Thea confides in Laurel about Ollie using the pit to bring Thea back. Guess who will be using the pit next to resurrect her own sister?

Quentin confronts Darhk who tells him he has nothing to do with Madison's kidnapping. Quentin tells him they are through and Darhk makes a threatening remark about Laurel. So much for lines one doesn't cross. He hands Quentin an address of where Anarky is keeping Madison, though.

Felicity is second guessing the move back to Star City. Ollie tells her nothing worth doing is ever easy. Quentin calls him with the details about Madison.

Good thing, too. Anarky is in the midst of torturing our Ancient Philosophy student, but Team ARROW busts through the skylight. Anarky has a flame thrower and eludes capture. Diggle and Canary take Madison to safety and Green ARROW and Speedy pursue Anarky.

Speedy is sloppy and Anarky tases her, Green ARROW and Anarky fight for a bit, Green ARROW gets knocked down, Speedy reenters the fight and...takes it to far. She sets the guy on fire as Green ARROW tries to calm her down. Green ARROW quickly shoots an arrow at the overhead water mane, saving Anarky from burning to death.

Back at the precinct, Madison is reunited with her mom. Her mom has decided to no run for mayor after all. Quentin thinks Ollie was behind burning Anarky.

Flashback #5. Old man collapses in the field of poppies (the mercenaries are forcing the people to grow poppies for opium) and a woman pleads for water. Ollie tells her to get back to work.

Back at Palmer Tech, Felicity has re-assmebled the board to advise them she has hired back everyone they made her fire, including Curtis. Curtis has been working on a proprietary new app that will revolutionize tech. The board tells her she has six months and then will need to present the tech at the next shareholders' meeting. Outside of the board room, Curtis tells her he know she was bluffing, but she tells him she bets he has an idea that will revolutionize things.

Laurel tells Ollie she is going to take Thea on a girl's spa weekend. It's a ruse, though. She's taking her to Nanda Parbat. The League of Assasins (and Thea's dad Malcolm) should know what to do. After all, it's their Lazarus Pit. And she has a second motive, of course. Namely, the resurrection of her sister Sara.

Anarky has escaped from the ambulance driving him to the hospital, killing the paramedics. He paints an anarchy symbol on the side of the ambulance with their blood,

At the Queen loft, Felicity and Ollie share a moment on the balcony. He's made a decision. Seeing as he can protect himself and be a force of hope even the Green ARROW cannot, he's going to run for mayor.

Final scene: a reluctant Thea at Sara's grave as Laurel opens her sister's coffin. It isn't really much of a cliffhanger to end the episode (we know Sara will appear in the spin-off LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. It seemed like the entire episode was pretty much set up for the rest of the season. Your thoughts? Comment below and follow me @triggercric and follow @BWWTVWorld for all the latest updates, scoops and recaps.

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