Arrow Talk Podcast - ARROWTALK

Oliver and Thea continue their training with Merlyn. Thea struggles with the secret of Sara's death, and confesses the whole truth to Laurel who tells her she isn't responsible; Thea also makes a deal to turn her father over to the League. Laurel confronts Merlyn and is easily outmatched, but they are interrupted by Nyssa and the League, and Merlyn is captured. Oliver decides to go to Nanda Parbat to rescue Merlyn to prevent Thea from losing touch with her humanity when she realizes that she has sentenced her father to death. Oliver and Diggle infiltrate Nanda Parbat, but walk into a trap set by Ra's. Instead of killing Oliver, Ra's expresses his appreciation for Oliver's courage and strength, and asks Oliver to replace him as the head of the League. Meanwhile, Thea confesses the truth to Nyssa and offers her the chance at revenge, and Ray tests the flight capabilities of his completed A.T.O.M. exo-suit. In flashbacks, Oliver is debriefed by General Matthew Shrieve. Afterward, he is promised that he can return home if he pleases. On their way home, Oliver and the Yamashiros are ambushed. Overrun, Oliver flees for safety with the Yamashiros' son.

While on the island of Lian Yu, Oliver begins Thea's training. After a night dreaming of Sara, Oliver goes to the A.R.G.U.S. prison to visit with Slade Wilson, where he discovers the guard dead and Slade missing. Oliver warns Thea and retrieves a gun from the site of his father's grave, but Slade arrives and captures them. Slade imprisons them in the A.R.G.U.S. cell, leaving them to the same fate Oliver left him. The duo are able to open the doors and escape. Oliver reveals to Thea that she killed Sara, while she grapples with the truth Slade arrives. The three fight and Thea wounds Slade with his gun, allowing them to imprison him back in the cell. In flashbacks, Oliver and Maseo go to Starling City to track an employee of Queen Consolidated who is working with China White to sell the of the virus she controls. They track the location of the buy and disrupt the proceedings. Oliver looks in on his family and discovers that Thea is using drugs, and a video message from his father explaining the list of names and encouraging Oliver to save the city.

While being transported from prison, Werner Zytle orchestrates an escape by poisoning a guard with Vertigo. As Oliver tries to keep Laurel off the streets as a vigilante, Malcolm arrives at the hideout to inform Oliver that to beat Ra's al Ghul he will need to bring Thea into the team. Oliver decides to reveal the truth to Thea who accepts and praises him for the work he has been doing as the Arrow. Laurel tracks down Zytle and takes him on herself, only to be poisoned with Vertigo. Laurel begins to hallucinate images of Sara, who confirms all of Laurel's self doubts. Oliver and Roy arrive in time to save her and get her back to the base for treatment. Later, Oliver brings Laurel along to take down Zytle. Laurel is dosed with Vertigo again, but overcomes her fears to stop Werner. Meanwhile, DJ Chase attempts to kill Thea, but Roy and Malcolm show up; Chase commits suicide when it is clear he has lost. Based on Malcolm's advice, Oliver takes Thea to Lian Yu for training. Laurel meets with Quentin and finally tells him the truth about Sara. In flashbacks, Oliver attempts to contact his family but is captured by A.R.G.U.S. and interrogated for the location of Maseo and Tatsu. Amanda Waller brings Oliver and Maseo to Starling City to find China White.

MALCOLM MAKES AN OFFER TO HELP TEAM ARROW — Still operating without Oliver (Stephen Amell) and desperate to stop Brick (guest star Vinnie Jones), Team Arrow is forced to consider Malcolm’s (John Barrowman) offer to help shut Brick down as Malcolm has a personal score to settle with the felon. Roy (Colton Haynes) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) point out that the team could use some help to save the innocents of The Glades, but Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is adamantly against it. They look to Diggle to make the final decision. Meanwhile, the flashbacks chronicle Malcolm’s descent from kind-hearted father and husband to cold-blooded killer after the murder of his wife. Jesse Warn directed the episode written by Beth Schwartz & Brian Ford Sullivan (#312). Original airdate 2/4/2015.

Tatsu informs Oliver that his will to live and the cold temperature of the mountain are the only reason he survived. Oliver warns Maseo that Ra's will see his act as a betrayal and kill him for it. While Oliver attempts to rest and heal, members of the League arrive which forces Maseo and Tatsu to kill them to protect Oliver. Maseo cuts himself so Ra's will believe Oliver escaped. Roy and Diggle warn Laurel to stay off the streets, after Roy has to bail her out of a fight. Brick kidnaps the city's aldermen, but when Laurel and Roy track them down Brick escapes and kills one of the aldermen in retaliation. In exchange for the remaining aldermen, Brick demands that all police presence evacuate the Glades for good. The team is able to locate the aldermen and successfully rescue them, but the Mayor still agrees to remove the police after Brick reveals that he has targeted every legislative body member. Meanwhile, Felicity rejoins the team and provides Ray with the missing piece for his A.T.O.M. exo-suit. Chase, the DJ for Verdant, is revealed to be a spy for the League, who informs Maseo that Merlyn has chosen not to leave Starling. In flashbacks, Maseo makes a deal with China White to give her the counterpart to her virus in exchange for Tatsu.

THE TEAM DEALS WITH OLIVER’S DISAPPEARANCE — In the aftermath of Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) fight with Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable), Diggle (David Ramsey) and Arsenal (Colton Haynes) continue to protect the city in the Arrow’s absence. However, after three days without hearing from Oliver, they begin to fear the worst may have happened to their friend. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) refuses to believe that Oliver could be dead until Merlyn (John Barrowman) pays the team a surprise visit. Thea (Willa Holland) suspects there is something more behind Oliver’s disappearance and asks Merlyn for a favor. Meanwhile, Ray (Brandon Routh) tests a part of his new suit and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) takes up the mantle of the Black Canary. Glen Winter directed the episode written by Marc Guggenheim & Erik Oleson (#310). Original airdate 1/21/2015.

RA’S AL GHUL GIVES OLIVER AN ULTIMATUM; DINAH LANCE PAYS LAUREL A VISIT — Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law) returns to Starling City and tells Oliver (Stephen Amell) that her father, Ra’s al Ghul (guest star Matt Nable) has given Oliver 48 hours to find Sara’s killer or the League of Assassins will start killing the citizens of Starling City. Laurel (Katie Cassidy) is stunned when her father (Paul Blackthorne) delivers a very special Christmas gift – her mother, Dinah (guest star Alex Kingston). Meanwhile, Ray (Brandon Routh) tries to make amends with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Oliver sets a meeting with Ra’s al Ghul. Thor Freudenthal directed the episode written by Jake Coburn & Keto Shimizu (#309).

Oliver and Roy track down the home of Digger Harkness, a boomerang-wielding murderer, but they only find A.R.G.U.S. operatives looking for the same man. S.T.A.R. Labs' Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon arrive in Starling City to help Felicity analyze DNA from the arrow that killed Sara. Digger attempts to kill Lyla; Roy and Oliver arrive to stop him, but need assistance from Barry Allen, who uses his super speed to stop a couple of boomerangs from killing Oliver. Later, Lyla reveals Digger was part of the Suicide Squad, and Oliver agrees to allow Barry to assist in the investigation. Oliver's interrogation tactics lead Barry to question how emotionally stable Oliver is. The team track Digger's location, but it turns out to be a ruse that allows Digger to trace their hideout, where he wounds Lyla before being forced to run away. In order to escape, Digger plants 5 bombs around the city. While Oliver captures Digger, Barry uses the rest of the team to defuse the bombs at the same time. Flashbacks to Hong Kong show Oliver learning how to torture suspects effectively to get information.

Oliver must stop an Arrow-obsessed serial killer, Carrie Cutter, who is convinced that The Arrow is her one true love and will stop at nothing to get his attention. Unfortunately, her way of getting his attention is to kill people. Meanwhile, Ray asks Felicity to be his date for a work dinner with important clients. Thea auditions new DJs for Verdant and meets Chase, a brash DJ with whom she immediately clashes.

After a body is found strung up in the Wildcat gym, Ted Grant (J.R. Ramirez) becomes the main suspect. Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) argue over Ted’s innocence. Meanwhile, in flashbacks, when Maseo (Karl Yune) needs Oliver to remember where an informant for China White stashed key information, he asks Tatsu (guest star Rila Fukushima) to help jog Oliver’s memory. Roy (Colton Haynes) shares a secret with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). Peter Leto directed the episode written by Erik Oleson.