"Previously on "Arrow"..." "He can't know that you're his father, and nobody else can." "Samantha, there is someone in my life now." "Please don't make me keep this from her." "You will if you want a relationship with my son." "I know who Oliver Queen cares about more than anyone." "Nora, honey, there's someone I'd like you to meet." "This is William." "Curtis:" "It's an implantable biostimulant." "This little piece of technology's gonna help me walk again?" "After it's implanted in your spine, yes." "[Shuddering]" "I can do this." "I can do this." "I can so totally do this." "Yes, you can, but either way, we've got you." "It's no pressure here, Miss Smoak." "Curtis' implant is the longest of long shots." "I was expecting a little more encouragement from the husband of the genius who invented the thing." "My man works miracles with technology, but the human body doesn't play by the same rules." "Well, here we go." "Here we go." "Here we go, here we go." "Yeah." "We're going." " Ooh!" "Ow!" " Ohh!" "Ok." "It's ok." "Got you, got you, got you." "[Breathing heavily]" "Well, that went nowhere." "Curtis ever tell you how we met?" "Uh-uh." "He came in with Achilles tendonitis." "He was training to qualify for the Olympics, so all he cared about was results." "Took me weeks just to get him focused on what really mattered." "How handsome his therapist was?" "Healing." "Got to be patient with yourself." "These things take time." "Are you sure what Conklin told you was the truth?" "Conklin was dying." "He had no reason to lie." "Whatever Reiter has planned, he's gonna kill everyone here." "Reiter:" "Mr. Queen..." "It appears we are within striking distance of my prize." "I want you both at my side when I claim it." "I don't give a damn about your superstitious crusade!" "Nevertheless, you'll both bear witness to its fruition." "You ok?" "Me?" "I knew you were gonna ask me, so I thought I'd beat you to the punch." "Heh heh." "Are you ok?" "A guy, a brilliant guy says he can put a microchip in my spine and I will walk again." "I'm enough of a geek to know science fiction when I see it." "You're still disappointed?" "Yeah." "You know..." "It's stupid." "Talk to me." "I wanted to be able to walk down the aisle on our wedding day." "Heh." "[Slow clapping]" "Darhk:" "Aw, you two just melt my stone-cold heart." "You almost make me believe in love again." "Nice to see you, Mr. Queen." "How was your Christmas?" "Son of a bi" "Ooh!" "Oh." "You're so brave for a political candidate and reformed party boy." "Oh." "Sorry about the limo, love the wheelchair." "Might I suggest motorized." "Unh!" "We have extremely powerful friends." "You do not know who you're messing with." "If it makes you happy, the messing ends today." "I tried to bring you into the fold, Mr. Queen," "I tried to kidnap your nearest and dearest," "I tried to kill you, but none of that took." "Well, like she said, you don't know who you're messing with." "I suspect that is true, but as they say-- well, or should-- the fourth time is the charm." "[Cell phone chimes and vibrates]" "Go ahead." "Take a look." "I'll wait." "William thinks that I'm friends with his mother." "Funny." "Heh heh heh." "Anyhoo, 6:00 on Friday, you're gonna hold a press conference and drop out of the mayoral race." "Oh, that's 6 pm, by the way." "I will be at home watching you from my brand-new television." "What did he show you on your phone?" "Who's William?" "He's my son." "♪ Arrow 4x15 ♪ Taken Original Air Date on February 24, 2016" "== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man" "Please say something." "Felicity, I can explain." "Stop." "I cannot hear another lie." "You know, it's--it's more complicated than that." "God, Oliver." "Are you the only person on this planet that considers the truth complicated?" "Just to be clear, I don't care that you have a child." "I can't believe that you have a child that you didn't tell me about." "What does it say about our relationship if your first instinct is to always hide the truth?" "William's mother made a condition that the only way I would be allowed to meet my son is if I agreed to keep him secret, even from you." "Who even makes that kind of ultimatum?" "Just a--a mother who's trying to protect her son, and she thought that the best thing for him was to keep his world separate from mine." "After everything that has happened, can you really say that she was wrong?" "Well, it didn't work, did it?" "Somehow, Darhk still found out." "Laurel:" "Hey." "We got your 911." "Felicity:" "Darhk paid us a visit." "He's holding a 10-year-old boy hostage, says that he will release him if Oliver drops out of the mayoral race." "Oliver:" "Let's get in touch with Alex, have him schedule a press conference for Friday at 6 pm." "John:" "You're not actually going for this, are you?" "The boy Darhk has-- William-- he's my son." "Felicity:" "Yeah." "I just found out, too." "Apparently, the only two people that knew about William were Oliver and Darhk." "Actually, I found out, too." "Um-- um, what's our next plan?" "William lives in Central City, right?" "Yep." "I will call Barry, see what CCPD can do." "Is it ok if I tell Barry that William's your" "Barry knows, too." "Let's also get in touch with Malcolm." "He has an ax to grind after what happened with the League, and, um, Malcolm knows, as well." "Maybe it would be easier to list the people who don't know about your son." "[Cell phone vibrates]" "Ahem." "Samantha's here." "Who's Samantha?" "It's William's mother." "Alex." "She said her name was Samantha Clayton." "The name struck a bell from the million-dollar check you told Thea wasn't gonna be a problem." "It's not gonna be a problem." "Ok." "Then why did I just get a 911 text from Thea telling me that you're pulling out of the race?" "Have you heard from William?" "Do you know where he is?" "I don't, but I'm doing everything I can." "Oh!" "I knew it." "I knew the second I realized he was gone," "I knew that you had to have some sort of involvement in this." "Oh, my God." "What was I thinking letting you get into his life?" "Two months later, and he's missing." "Samantha, I need you to tell me exactly what happened." "No, Oliver." "You need to tell me what the hell is going on, and you need to give me my son back right now!" "I am trying, but you need to tell me what happened, please." "I--I went upstairs to get him for dinner, and he was gone." "Gone." "No--no note, no sign of struggle." "Just vanished." "I called the CCPD, and they have been looking everywhere, but it's already been 48 hours, and still nothing, but then a crime scene technician pulled me aside and said that I needed to talk to you about this." "Barry Allen?" "Yes." "That's the one." "Oliver, you promised." " I" " You promised me that you wouldn't tell anyone about my son." "Barry figured it-- that's not what's important right now." "What is important is I'm gonna do everything-- and I mean absolutely everything in my power-- and we will get him back!" "What can--what can you do, Oliver?" "What can you do that the entire police force hasn't been able to do?" "S-Samantha..." "I'm the Green Arrow." "This doesn't make any sense." "Oliver:" "Well, like I said," "I'm not the person that I used to be." "Samantha, these are my friends." "They're gonna help us find William." "You probably remember..." "Laurel Lance." "I am so sorry that you're going through this, Samantha." "We will help you get William back." "Look, Laurel." "It was one time, and I knew that you and Oliver were together, but I was young and stupid and selfish, and I should have been honest with you." "No." "Oliver should have been." "Come on." "Oliver:" "Does CCPD have anything?" "No." "It was a clean grab." "Do we have any other angles we can work, other than Malcolm?" "Finding William isn't the problem." "Beating Damien Darhk is." "Every time we've faced him, we have been beaten thoroughly." "That's because we can't go against his magic." "We just need to fight harder, we need to fight smarter." "You know, Oliver." "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." "We need a new strategy." "What bout Constantine?" "He's in Hell." "Really?" "What's going on?" "I mean, he's actually literally in Hell." "Oh." "But I might know someone else." "Her name is Mari McCabe." "She possesses a totem which is powered by magic." "She calls herself Vixen." "What the hell was that thing?" "Cerico doesn't pay us enough to find out!" "[Eagle screeches]" "Quick!" "[Lion roars]" "[Growling]" "Aah!" "[Roar]" "Come on out." "Face us like a man!" "Woman:" "I've got a better idea." "How about I kick your ass like a woman instead?" "[Growling]" "I had that under control." "I know." "What?" "Not enough in Star City to keep you busy?" "I need your help." "I have got to get me one of these." "Mari." "Laurel, hey." "Good to see you." "You, too." "Oliver:" "Mari, this is John Diggle and my sister Thea." "Pleasure." "It's nice to meet you." "Sorry it's under such horrible circumstances." "You spoke to Felicity on the phone." "Hey." "And this is Samantha, William's mother." "Laurel:" "She's a friend, a hero in Detroit they call Vixen." "Oliver:" "Mari and I had an animated encounter last year, and we've stayed in touch ever since." "How are you gonna help me find my son?" "With magic." "Magic." "Yeah." "It's a long story, but the short version is that this totem gives me the ability to channel the ashe-- or the spirit-- of any animal." "Do you have anything of William's with you?" "Yes, I do." "Just this." "It's his favorite." "Don't you dare tell Barry about this." "Ahh." "[Sniffing]" "He's in the city." "I think I can find him." "Ok." "Good." "Dig and I will cover you." "Laurel, get in touch with your father." "We're gonna loop in the SCPD." "Felicity, I need you to..." "Would it be all right if you sat with Samantha?" "Working up a search profile." "Sure." "Thank you." "Thea." "Yeah." "Malcolm's coming over." "I'll go talk to him." "We're gonna find him." "He's gonna be ok." "Can you feel it?" "The energy, primordial." "[Electricity crackling]" "[Voice whispering]" "What is that?" "Destiny, Mr. Queen." "I know you're here." "There's no need to lurk in the shadows like the bogeyman." "You haven't seen me in a while." "And I'm not the man I used to be." "Yeah, I know." "They told me." "Not pretty, is it?" "Well, could have been a lot worse." "Could have chopped your head off." "And I would have been better off for it." "He took the League away from me and gave it to Nyssa al Ghul." "And that was more important than saving your daughter's life?" "Yeah." "Heard about that part of the story, too." "Refusing to bargain with Nyssa to save me." "My intention was to save your life and to keep my seat of power for the betterment of the world." "Did you tell Darhk about Ollie's son?" "Do you really think I'd do something like that?" "Just answer the question." "No." "No, I won't because you should know me better than to ask me the question." "I know you all too well." "You should know one thing, Thea." "No matter what happens, I will always love you." "It's what fathers do." "[Eagle screech]" "Crazy world we live in, huh?" "Metahumans, magic," "Oliver Queen father." "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." "No, man." "I totally get it." "Samantha put you in a tough spot." "Couldn't have been an easy decision for you." "I totally get why you made it." "She was right." "William was safer when I didn't know about him, so maybe if I never find out, I" "Can't even go there, man." "You'll eat yourself up inside with the "what if this" or the "maybe that."" "Part of being a parent." "Most important thing now is focusing on getting your boy back home safe." "John..." "How do you do it?" "I know where Sara is every night, Oliver." "I know what she's doing, who she's with." "She sees my face every single day." "I'm there for her, and she knows, and I know that I would never let anything bad happen to her." "I keep her close, man, and that's how you keep your children safe." "Samantha:" "Ok." "He was wearing a blue hoodie, plaid shirt, gray corduroys, and, um, a diamonds baseball cap." "He's a big fan." "Oliver likes baseball, too." "Here's hoping that the innate fatherly influence stops there." "Um, does he have any distinguishing features, freckles, birthmarks, anything like that?" "Oliver told me that there was someone in his life, someone special, and her name was Felicity." "He wanted to tell you, and I wouldn't let him." "I didn't know who he was now," "I didn't know what kind of person he was." "That's going around." "Jut try and remember that I was the one that made him choose between you and knowing his son." "Quentin:" "All right." "I got the whole force, what's left of them anyway, canvassing for William." "Thank you." "You don't seem as surprised as I expected." "What, that party boy Oliver Queen knocked up some girl?" "I'm amazed there isn't an army of little Olivers running around out there." "Well, there may be." "Heh." "Certainly got around back then." "Yeah." "Ahh." "You ok?" "I don't know." "It's the mother Samantha." "Um, she was with him when--when I was with him." "Oh, baby." "I don't know why it still stings." "It was a million years ago, and it's not like I didn't know that Oliver cheated on me." "Yeah, but that's one thing." "Knowing he had a kid?" "I'm sorry, sweetheart." "Come here." "Thank you." "[Cell phone vibrates]" "It's Oliver." "He knows where William's being held." "John:" "I count 4 guards patrolling the roof." "Mari's in position." "[Gunshots]" "Unh!" "Ha ha ha!" "I wondered how long it would take for your buddy Oliver to drag you into this." "[Voice distorted] Where's the boy?" "Oh, he's fine." "I had him moved about two minutes before you and your posse disturbed my evening in." "You know what?" "You might want to learn to be a little bit more discreet." "Have you considered black instead of green?" "You tell me where you've taken him." "Or what?" "You'll fire an arrow at me?" "I think we've seen that movie before." "I win, you lose, rinse, repeat." "This time, it's different." "Oh, really?" "Where's the boy?" "Ha ha ha!" "You have some very interesting friends." "Unh!" "[Gags]" "My, my." "I haven't seen that trinket in a dog's age." "The M'Changa province, am I right?" "Stay." "Oh, I like you, and I don't like many people." "[Groans]" "[Growling]" "I got you!" "What happened?" "Where did he go?" "I can't track him." "Darhk's protected by magic." "No, not just Darhk." "I lost William." "Samantha:" "Where's William?" "What happened?" "We had a small setback, but we are not giving up." "Setback?" "What do you mean?" "[Cell phone vibrating]" "Hey." "Blocked I.D." "Hello?" "Darhk:" "Oh." "Hi, Oliver." "How is your evening going?" "Mine somewhat eventful." "Some of your friends stopped by my place earlier completely unannounced." "Very rude." "I want to talk to my son, Darhk." "I want to know that he's safe." "Oh, this must be the first time your son's been kidnapped because clearly you don't understand how these things work." "I make the demands." "Well, you've made them, and I've agreed." "Friday night, I'm dropping out of the race." "Why wait?" "Give your green friend less time to botch things up." "So go find yourself a television camera." "I want to know that my son is safe!" "Oh, and by the way, you're going to completely endorse Ruvé Adams, save us all the trouble of those pesky little write-in ballots." "He moved up the timetable." "Wants me to drop out of the race tonight." "Thea, let Alex know." "Mari:" "I am so sorry." "I know you brought me here to fight magic with magic, but" "Mari, this is not on you." "There is still so much that we don't know about Darhk's power." "We--we don't-- we don't even know what the source of it is." "Wait." "I get my powers from this necklace." "Without it, I'm just a wannabe fashion designer who lives at home with her foster dad, so up to now, everyone I've gone up against with mystical powers has had some sort of totem like mine." "What if Darhk has an object that helps him with his magic?" "I think he does." "I walked in on him once or twice in front of this cabinet thing, and inside, there's some kind of, I don't know, idol." "Can you draw it for me?" "Yeah." "I'll give it a whirl." "Ok, Oliver." "What if this little art project doesn't yield any results?" "Well" "And what if it takes too long?" "M-Mari and Captain Lance are working on a way to eventually stop Darhk." "Right now, I have to save William." "What's he saying?" "Whatever it is, it's not good." "We have to get out of here now!" "Reiter, what are you doing?" "Proving what I know about you is true." "You can't leave us in here with it." "Reiter!" "You." "You are worthy to pass." "Thank you for coming on such short notice." "When I entered this race, it was because no one else was willing to step into the spotlight." "It has always been my hope that my actions would inspire others." "4 months later, and they have." "Knowing that, effective immediately," "I will be suspending my campaign and throwing my full support behind Ruvé Adams." "Now I would like to take a moment to thank all of my supporters for all of your hard work." "What you've done will not be forgotten." "Thank you." "New numbers are out." "You're leading by 16 points." "Alex, I'm sorry." "I know that you put your heart and soul into this campaign, and" "And your days of speech-making are now behind you." "Look, man." "I don't want sorry." "I just want an explanation." "That's why I'm sorry." "[Sighs]" "Sucks when you can't tell the truth." "Samantha told me about her ultimatum." "I just figured that eventually she'd trust me." "Yeah." "You'd work your Oliver Queen charm." "I didn't want to be a part of William's life without the opportunity for you to be a part of his life." "John's made it pretty clear that, uh," "I should have made more of an effort to be a part of William's life and that the best way to keep him safe would have been to keep him close, even with all of this." "Your resignation's all over the news." "Have you heard from Darhk?" "Not yet." "[Cell phone chimes, vibrates]" "Speak of the devil literally." "It's not Darhk." "It's Mari." "She has something." "Mari:" "I e-mailed Captain Lance's drawing of Darhk's idol to a friend of mine at Detroit University." "Thea:" "And did he recognize it?" "It's a Khushu idol, very rare, very powerful, but its power requires a constant connection to one of the earth's Ley lines." "I never thought I'd say this, but huh?" "Ok." "Think Wi-Fi for magic, and the idol is his Internet connection." "If Professor Macalester's theory is correct and this map is accurate" "Then Darhk must be holed up near one of these Ley lines in order for him to get the strongest signal." "I'll start cross-referencing all the locations that we've encountered Darhk." "And you pulled out of the race." "Why isn't this man giving me my son back?" "He will, and everything will be fine." "You keep saying that, but it hasn't been yet." "You're doing everything you possibly can." "You can't beat yourself up about it." "Well, you don't know me very well, do you?" "Just before Christmas, Darhk took Thea, Felicity, John, held them captive." "We agreed that I would trade myself for them." "I did, and Darhk did not live up to his end of the bargain." "So you're worried that's playing itself out again now." "We're gonna get William back, Oliver, but when we do," "I think you should consider that..." "Maybe letting him go isn't such a bad thing." "What do you mean?" "Well, I heard what you told Felicity about keeping him close." "Owl ears." "Uh, I never knew my real parents." "I grew up in foster home, and my whole life, I wondered," ""Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "Why didn't my real parents want me?"" "A boy should know who his father is." "He should, and he will but knowing what William's going through right now," "I realize that I wasn't ready for the answers." "Learning about my heritage, my powers, the evil my mother fled our homeland to protect me from, no child should have to carry that burden." "I mean, look around you." "Oliver, the best gift you can give him is his childhood." "Keep him as far away from your world for as long as possible." "[Sighs]" "I can't imagine a greater sacrifice." "Isn't that what parenthood is?" "[Footsteps]" "Thea:" "Hey, guys." "I think we found something." "Felicity:" "Darhk moves his idol around, which makes sense, but" "John:" "It makes him a whole lot harder to track." "Felicity:" "Right, but after referencing a buttload of satellite feeds, thermal imaging data, and the Ley line map, I think Darhk is located out on a compound in Sky Woods." "Hello?" "Very good speech." "You look great on television." "Nelson Plaza, 3 hours." "William will be there." "Darhk says he's gonna release William 3 hours from now at Nelson Plaza." "Laurel:" "There's no guarantee with Darhk." "This could be a trap." "And now we have a chance to take out his power idol thingy." "Ollie, without his magic, he won't be able to do this to anybody ever again." "It--it will be game over." "Samantha..." "He's your son." "It is your call." "He's your son, too, Oliver." "Get him back and take this son of a bitch Darhk out." "Mari:" "I count 17 Ghosts." "Copy." "Black Canary?" "Ready." "Felicity:" "Spartan?" "John:" "I'm set." "Felicity:" "Let's do this." "[Explosion]" "[Machine guns firing]" "Vixen, you're up." "I'm guessing your insurance won't pay for that." "Cute." "Bye-bye." "When you're dead, I'll make sure that totem gets put to better use." "[Growls]" "Took the words right out of my mouth." "[Snarls]" "Well, that happened." "Speedy, Canary, I can't get a clear shot." "Where are you?" "Laurel:" "On our way." "Oliver:" "You find William." "I'll take care of Darhk." "[Groans]" "I'm sorry." "I can't hear you with your throats closing up like that." "Steady." "I've got the totem." "Has it had any effect?" "Felicity:" "Separating it from Darhk didn't do anything." "Go to plan "B."" "What's plan "B"?" "[Growling]" "Heh heh heh." "William:" "Please don't hurt them." "[Gasps]" "Aah!" "[Grunts]" "[Both grunting]" "[Sirens]" "Oliver:" "Get out of here!" "William:" "Mom!" "Samantha:" "William!" "Samantha:" "Ohh!" "Quentin:" "Medics checked him out." "He's in perfect health." "Oh, thank goodness." "There's someone here that you must have missed." "What's wrong?" "I'm kind of over the Flash." "I want a Green Arrow action figure." "Well, the Green Arrow is pretty amazing." "Quentin:" "I will let you guys get reacquainted." "Hey." "Is everything ok?" "Detectives questioned William while the docs were checking him out." "Darhk didn't take him." "It was a guy with a missing hand." "You son of a bitch!" "I assure you, Mr. Queen, I had all the faith in the world that you would survive." "Oliver:" "Huh?" "Well, what about everybody else?" "You are my only concern." "We've gotten this far because of you." "Let's finish it." "You, too, Miss Venediktov." "Mr. Queen seems to behave at his best when you're around." "Is William gonna be ok?" "Yeah." "He's a tough one." "Just like his dad." "Heh." "Could not have done this without you." "Thank you." "Anytime." "Have you thought anymore about what I said?" "I--I just got him back." "Let me just say for all the frustrations" "I have about my real parents giving me up," "I am so grateful I was raised in a situation where that was my biggest issue in life." "Best things my parents ever gave me was that freedom." "That and this totem, that makes me a total badass." "You don't need a totem for that." "You're damn right I don't." "Take care of yourself, Oliver." "I'm just a phone call away." "Me, too, Mari." "Me, too." "I heard you found the boy." "You can't believe how relieved I am." " Cut the crap!" " Excuse me?" "I know it was you." "You took him out of spite!" "For us." "You have to believe me" "I did it for us." "You--you purposely-- you put him in danger." "How-- you know what?" "I'm not doing this anymore." "This song-and-dance where you come over to my apartment and you whisper your lies, it is over!" "Thea, I did it to protect us." "Shut up." "How could you possibly think that there was an us to protect?" "You know, sometimes, I lay awake at night, and I wonder what Robert would think about our relationship." "He raised me, he loved me, and I threw that all away the moment I became your daughter." "Yes." "Yes, you did, and it was your choice." "And I wish I never did." "Don't you dare speak to me like that." "You would be dead 10 times over if not for me." "I taught you how to fight, how to be strong." "I turned you from a delicate, spoiled brat into a warrior, and all I've ever gotten from you in return is your venomous spite!" "For a very good reason!" "You have no idea what you are up against." "You are incapable of seeing the bigger picture, but I can, and I would rather you hate me and be alive than love me and be dead." "Hi, William." "I hope you're well, and I hope you're safe." "There's something that I-- I want to tell you." "I wanted to tell you before, but..." "But this is better." "I'm your father biologically, that is." "As far as really being your father goes," "I haven't earned that yet." "A father should be there for his child every day no matter what to make sure that they feel loved, that they feel safe, and a child should be able to rely on their father and go to him for-- for guidance and reassurance." "I have failed to do that for you..." "And now I'm--I'm gonna tell you why." "I'm the Green Arrow, and my life is very dangerous, which is why..." "We decided to keep you out of it for all these years." "What happened to you in Star City, that was my fault, and I can't allow anything like that to happen ever again, and that's why I've asked your mother to move you far away and to not tell anyone where she's taking you," "including me." "It's also why I asked her to wait to show you this message until after your 18th birthday." "I wanted to give you a real childhood." "I wanted to give you that gift." "Good-bye, son." "I sure hope it's not forever." "How much of that did you hear?" "Enough." "[Sighs]" "Oliver, we need to talk." "About a number of things, I suspect." "Let's start with..." "I can't do this." "When your son was in danger," "I had to table what I was feeling about everything, but now that I've had some space," "I realize I need space." "Felicity." "I know the position" "Samantha put you in," "I know it was an impossible decision, but you were right." "You should have told me." "Marriage is about inclusion." "It's about leaning on your partner when things get complicated." "I don't think that you know how to do that." "I'm--I'm trying." "And now you're sending William away, and I understand why." "You know that I do, but once again, you have left me out of the decision." "Felicity?" "Oh, my God." "[Door shuts]" "== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man" "Greg!" "Move your head."