This was another great week for the Arrowverse shows on the CW. I think my favorite was Legends of Tomorrow followed by the Flash.

I am going to try and get these recaps out on Friday so I can focus on other posts I have been meaning to get to the first part of the week. I am also still trying to figure out how I like to do these recaps like I did with the Supergirl episode (below) by looking at subplots along with the weekly story or do a straight recap of the episode then expand on them.

I am also going to move my recaps of Riverdale to a seperate post, most likely with the

Episode 4: The Faithful

Main Storyline

The episode begins on a plane. The man who will turn out to Thomas Coville is drunk and telling the guy next to him that just when life seems to be going great, that is when things fall

apart. Next thing the plane starts to crash, Coville looks around the cabin and sees the other passengers praying and trying to appeal to a higher authority to save them. The plane lands

in the water and Alex is on the plane and Coville looks out his window and sees Kara on the wing looking like an angel from heaven. As it turns out this is a flashback to the Season one pilot where we first met Kara aka Supergirl as she saved Flight 237. — Back to the present Samantha is at Ruby’s soccer game, doing work of course, when she is approached by another parent who tells her that she and Ruby are special and hands her a pamphlet. Back at the L-Corp, Lena and Kara visit to check on Samantha who is in the process of closing her first major deal as head of L-Corp. Kara sees the pamphlet on the desk and Samantha tells

her that somebody gave it to her at Ruby’s Soccer game. The symbol on the pamphlet is that of Rao, the Kryptonian God. Kara is still investigating the mysterious group as Jimmy and Wynn are leaving CatCo. They ask why Kara is still at the office

and she tells them about the pamphlet and the three attend the meeting to check it out. The group, called The Children of Rao, are people who have been saved by Supergirl and Coville is the leader. Kara is very unsettled that someone has formed a cult around her and the

things she has done as Supergirl. They are met by one of the followers, Olivia who says that she can’t explain what the group is and they have to experience it for themselves. It turns out that Olivia was saved by Supergirl after she jumped off a building one evening at a party where she went to drink her sorrows away after finding out that the people who were trustworthy hooking up behind her back. During a Girls Night Out (Kara, Lena, Samantha, Alex, and Maggie) to celebrate Samantha’s first big business deal, Kara, has to leave to take care of building fire. As it turns out, the

fire was set by Olivia’s boyfriend, who has put himself in danger so he could be rescued by Supergirl and become a part of The Children of Rao Kara asks Maggie if there something she can do anything to stop Coville, to which Maggie responds saying it is a freedom of speech issue and unless they can prove that Coville is telling his followers to put themselves in danger. Kara confronts Coville, who realizes that she is Supergirl and asks her if she is there to test his faith. Coville tells Kara that after he was rescued and saw her on the wing of the plane, he devoted his life to learning about Rao and recovering Kryptonian artifacts. He tells her he found a Kryptonian probe (similar to NASA’s Voyager I) and that is where he has gained his knowledge of Rao from. He gives Kara a Rao artifact and tells her maybe she needs to reaffirm her beliefs, to which Kara tells him to stop perverting the teachings of Rao. Later, Kara is brooding at CatCo when Jimmy comes in and tells her that having Faith is not always a bad thing. He recounts the time Superman first saved him as he was falling off a

scaffolding as he was trying to snag a picture of a fire. He tells her as he fell he prayed that he would be saved and next thing he knew, there was Superman. While they are talking, Kara activates the artifact and has an idea on how to track Coville by following the specific radiation the artifacts use, as a power source. Coville apparently

knows about the unlimited power source he possesses and decides to go on a recruiting drive for the cult. He and some of his followers have brought the probe, which is about to go nuclear and set it in the basement of the National City Hockey rink during a sold-out game. When Supergirl arrives there is not enough time to evacuate the stadium without causing mass panic. Supergirl also has to deal with the fact that there is Kryptonite in the Probe that is going to explode. Coville tells Supergirl she can save everyone if she just believes. When it is clear that Supergirl is too weak because of the Kryptonite, Coville tries to stop the countdown but can’t. Kara reveals herself as not a god by cutting her hand and showing Coville and his followers her blood, causing Coville’s followers to flee. Luckily Alex arrives in time and gets the Kryptonite far enough away so that Supergirl can use her heat vision to burrow into the Earth’s core and ALex and Coville push the probe into the hole and everyone is saved. Even after he is arrested, Coville believes that he has done nothing wrong and it is his purpose to help Kara, saying she’s lost her way. Kara, Alex, and Lena join Sam for Ruby’s talent show which has a group of little girls dressed as Supergirl, As Ruby sings the Willy Wonka song, Alex leaves and Kara follows her. ALex tells Kara that Maggie doesn’t want kids but she does and been going along with Maggie because she loves her so much. Later that night, back at Samantha and Ruby’s apartment, Samantha has a vision of being covered in Kryptonian symbols and a priestess telling her that soon she shall Reign. At the same time something in one of the holding pods in the second Kryptonian pod, last seen in the season premiere comes out of stasis.

—

New Characters:

Thomas Coville:

Coville seems to be a new character with no counterpart in the comics universe. He does have some of the characteristics of Devem who I mentioned last week, who led the Cult of Conner during the post-Infinite Crisis event, 52.

Coville (played byRob’s Lowe’s lesser-known brother Chad, btw he has a cool name ) presents more than what could have easily been a villain of the week type of character. He is also the first person to see through the Kara persona and see Supergirl, for who she really is.

I am sure we will see him again.

Samantha (Reign) & Ruby Subplot

The foundation for the thread that will become the main story of the season begins this episode.

Samantha is a savvy businesswoman who is definitely struggling with her duties as a professional and a mother.

Ruby’s father is no longer in the picture

The part that will become Reign asserts itself, as she sees a vision of one of the people that sent her from Krypton

Alex & Maggie’s Wedding Subplot

The impending breakup of Alex and Maggie once again is foreshadowed as the topic of having children pops up again

Alex reveals to Kara that this issue is a big

CatCo / D.E.O. Characters Subplot

Four episodes into the season and Jimmy as The Guardian has yet to appear

Wynn does his usual tech geek thing but not much else

J’onn is only seen in a few scenes, including one where he joins his father for prayer.

Other DC Comics connections:

The Holy Order of Rao

Raoists were a religious group of Kryptonians that worshiped the Krypton’s system sun known as Rao as a god. They were formed during the time when Jor-El became president of his people and ushered in a new age of scientific advancement. At this point, they were known to had been zealots who possessed hidden temples across the planet. They were opposed to the preaching of the new government that Jor-El had created and did not believe his words about bringing their people into a new age of spiritual enlightenment.

Next Week:

Episode 5

“Damage”

When multiple children get sick from lead poisoning, Morgan Edge points the finger at Lena and blames her creation of the lead bomb she made to save National City from the Daxamites. While Lena knows she never intended any harm, she fears there may have been a flaw in her design, leaving her responsible. Kara teams up with Samantha to clear Lena’s name, but it turns out to be harder than they thought. Meanwhile, Alex and Maggie make a crucial decision about the future of their relationship.

Directed by Kevin Smith

— — — — — — —

Episode 4: Elongated Journey into Night

The episode begins with Cisco and Gypsy spending some quality time together. Just as things are about to get hot and heavy, Gypsy’s father, Breacher, shows up on Earth-1 and takes an immediate disliking to Cisco. Luckily Gypsy comes back in the room and saves Cisco. The scene shifts to the Central City Police office where the mayor is holding a press conferences. Joe is preoccupied with the news from last episode, but has yet to tell anyone. Barry pulls Joe away to update him on the bus that received the dark matter remnants from The Flash’s return to Earth, informing him that the driver of the bus is dead. When they get to S.T.A.R. Labs they are met by Breacher, who asks why the facility is so poorly guarded. Cisco arrives and explains that this is Gypsy’s dad, who he brought to show him where he works. Cisco intorduces Barry as his personal assistant, Barry Allen and aks him to give Breacher a tour while Cisco figures out the answer to the age old question: how to make his girlfriend’s father like him. Wells, the expert on over protective fathers, gives Cisco some advice, Take him out to get some coffee, find out what they have in common, besides Gypsy. After refusing to ever drink coffee again becasue of what happened on his Earth, Breacher tells Cisco the reason for his visit: he wants to hunt Cisco like an animal and kill him since Cisco is not good enough for his daughter. He is a sport about it gives him a 10-second head start, but not before warning Cisco not to use any powers to try to escape this world and he has to survive for 24 hrs. Back st S.T.A.R. Labs, while Cisco is hiding the rest of the team follow up on the coroner’s report from the bus driver’s file. While looking through the evidence pictures, Barry notices an IOU from a guy named Ralph Dibny and as Iris pulls up a picture of the guy, she notices that Barry seems uncomfortable. She also makes the jab towards Barry that Ralph is handsome like Oliver Queen. It is obvious from Barry’s reation that he and Ralph have a history. Barry and Joe pay Ralph a visit at his private detective office, as he finishes hitting on a client Mrs. Broome (a nod to Ralph’s co-creator John Broome). Barry and Joe ask Ralph if he was on the bus the day of the incident. Ralph doesn’t cooperate due to the past tensions between him and Barry.

Immediately after the door shuts, it reopens. Ralph thinks that Barry and Joe have returned but it is a couple of goons come in to shake things up and hang Ralph upside down from the roof…obviously his private investigating has turned up something they want. Before the goons can drop him, he slowly stretches like silly putty down to the ground. Joe and Barry watch in amazement, learly Ralph was lying about not being on the bus. They take Ralph back to S.T.A.R. Labs and run some tests, discovering that Ralph’s cells are elastic and is now a human Stretch Armstrong. The kicker of his elastitiy is when Ralph sneezes, forcing his entire face falls off his skull. Caitlin thinks that she can find a cure if she gets some of Ralph’s DNA from prior to his being exposed to the Dark Matter. Once again it is obvious that Barry has an axe to grind with Dibney as he wants to lock Ralph up, anticipating he will start hurting people like Kilg%re and Hazard. Caitlin calls Barry on the way he wants to treat Ralph, the two have a minor arguement over second chances. Barry gives in he and Iris head to his office to find something with Ralph’s DNA which should hopefully help to stabilize him. AS the two look through Ralph’s office, which has already been trashed, Barry clues Iris in on his history with Ralph. Ralph was the lead detective when Barry was a junior CSI. Ralph planted evidence and then committed purgury while working a big case. He was eventually thrown off the force.Iris finds a hair brush and a bomb in Ralph’s desk drawer. Barry speeds into action, vibrating them both down through the floor, racing them away as the building explodes. Returning to the lab, Joe and Barry approach Ralph, who is spread eagle with extended limbs, and tell the information that someone is trying to kill him. Joe, who has pulled his phone records, knows he’s been calling the mayor and wants to know why. Ralph declines to answer, so Joe and Barry make a trip to City Hall to find out. Caitlin is able to whip up a concoction for Ralph to drink that should help him regain control over his body. Within seconds of drinking the serum, his arms and legs zip back to their original form. Caitlin explains that Ralph can control his cells, which casues Ralph to smile, think about his belly, and have an instant six pack …if only. Barry and Joe lean on the mayor to learn the reason why he would be calling Ralph, a private detective. The mayor admits that he cheated on his wife and Ralph has photographs of it. He begs Joe to just let him handle it, instructing his two thugs, the same ones who hung Ralph over the edge of the building, to just hurry up and finish the job. Barry confronts Ralph about his blackmailing the mayor, and Ralph reminds Barry that hadn’t he cost him his job so many years ago, than things might be differnt. He tells Barry he’s not a dirty cop, but he is doing a dirty thing at the moment. The argument between the two escalates and Barry punches Ralph directly in the nose. Ralph’s head absorbs Barry’s entire fist which was awkward, gross, a visually stunning at the same time. Back at the apartment, Barry and Joe are discussing Ralph and why he gets on Barry’s nerves when the doorbell rings. Surprise! the Mayor two thug cops. As they step inside, they draw thier guns and fire but Barry, of course is able to catch all the bullets before they hit Joe, knocks out the two cops, while noticing that they’re the ones on the mayor’s detail…I think we know who the villain of the week is. All the while this is happening, Cisco is still trying to avoid Breacher, again taking Well’s advice to fight him on his own terms. Cisco traps Breacher in a force field which lasts a whole 5 seconds. Cisco hides behind Barry’s costume as Breacher enters the room, and sees video of Ralph all elongated and starts yelling about Plastoids, which apparently on his Earth, are evil. Ralph has decided he to blackmail the mayor anymore. Breacher appears and tries to kill Ralph, thinking he is a Plastoid. The Flash arrives and trys to protect Ralph from Breacher’s attacks. The mayor takes Joe prisoner at gunpoint and makes him get inside a helicopter. Breacher prepares to finish of Flash and Ralph when Vibe shows up, telling Breacher that if he has a problem with The Flash, then he has a problem with him. Cisco disfuses Breacher then everyone freaks out that there’s no way to help Joe. The Flash looks to Ralph and asks he can stretch his arm up to the helicopter, to which Ralph hard passes, laughing when The Flash says he knows he can do it. As par for the show, Barry pulls off his mask to show Ralph that he is the Flash and challenges him to do something good to prove he’s not a dirty cop. Ralph throws his arm up to the helicopter, grabs it, and watches as The Flash run on his stretched arm to save Joe. Joe breaks the the tension by deciding to tell Barry that Cecil is pregnant. After the Team celebrates the good news with cigars, Breacher and Gypsy are getting ready to head back to work catching criminal of the Multiverse. Breacher tells Cisco that he still hates him, but respects a steadfast warrior who will fight the fiercest of enemies (Breacher humble brag) to protect his loved ones. Cisco finally learns Gypsy’s name after her fater he calls for Cynthia to join him, which truely elates Cisco. The cliffhanger of the epsiode follows Caitlin to apartment door where someones scratched message “We miss you. Come back soon.” #lossofsecuritydeposit Barry meets Ralph back at his P.I. office. Ralph is a bit disappointed that Barry repaired the office and he can’t claim the insurance for it. Barry says he wants to help Ralph and move forward from the past. He wants to study Ralph’s powers and train him to use his powers for good. Ralph asks if he gets a cool costume and a cool superhero name. Barry suggests Plastic Man which Ralph says is the dumbest nickname he’s ever heard. Barry also learns that Ralph’s lead on the mayor’s case was from a man named Mr. DeVoe, which causes Barry flashbacks of Abra Cadabra and Savitar mentioning that name last season. Ralph does his classic nose wiggle saying he smells a mystery.

—

New Characters:

Ralph Dibny

Ralph Dibny was created by John Broome & Carmine Infantino, first appearing in The Flash #112 (Vol.1) 1960

When they first met in the comics, there was a rivalry between the two of them. Barry was jealous over all the media attention the Elongated Man was receiving as a new vigilante in Central City.

In the CW Universe, Ralph’s origin is completely different, being the result of exposure to the Dark Matter and not Gingold, although there is a can of the stuff in his desk drawer. His comic book origin is:

In season 1 Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) had an Easter-egg-filled list of the people who were hurt in the particle accelerator explosion which included Ralph Dibny, one can only assume him being alive is a result of this being the new Flashpoint timeline.

Initially, I had doubts about if they could pull of the effects needed to do Ralph justice, but they di down to the classic nose wiggle.

One can only expect/hope that Sue, his future wife, and crime-solving partner, will soon show up in the CW Universe

Breacher

Breacher was created by Sterling Gates and Pete Woods and made his first appearance in the New52 series: Justice League of America’s Vibe #3 (June 2013)

Like his CW Universe counterpart, in the DCU proper, Breacher is the father of Gypsy, whose real name is Quell Mordeth, not Joshua

Cisco briefly grabs a machete, when thinking of ways to protect himself from Gypsy’s dad, as an easter egg reference to one of Danny Trejo’s iconic Machete character.

Flash Facts:

The story starts off dealing with the team trying to figure out what is going on in the season’s larger story but is pretty much an origin for Ralph, who looks like will be appearing as a regular, especially after he mentions the connection to Devoe.

Gypsy’s real name is, in fact, Cynthia, however, her Pre-Crisis name was Cynthia Reynolds, then changed to Cynnthia Mordeth in the New52 Vibe title

Also in the Vibe series, On Earth-19, his home Earth, Breacher led a rebel army to overthrow the supervillain Rupture, aka Armando Ramon, brother of the superhero Vibe.(whether or not this is the same in the CW Universe remains to be seen)

Next Week:

Episode 5

“Girls Night Out”

Having received an ominous threat from her old boss, Amunet / Blacksmith, Caitlin fears that her past time as Killer Frost may be back to haunt her. Felicity comes to Central City to help the girls celebrate Iris’s bachelorette party, while Cisco, Joe and the guys take Barry out for a night on the town.

— — — — — — —

Episode 4: Phone Home

Ivy Town, 1988 A young Ray, who was shown having the first of many ET moments this week in the cliffhanger, has apparently run afoul of some A.R.G.U.S. agents, similar to the ones from last seasons INVASION crossover, and is killed. Back on the Waverider Ray has figured out what The Legends need… some good old team building to help introduce Zari to the team. Zari is not to keen on the whole team idea, pointing out that the team is made up of people who are trying to overcompensate for their shortcomings such as Ray trying to do team building, the obvious sexual tensions between Amaya and Nick. the fact that Rory has been drunk all day, and the fact that Stien obviously doesn’t want to be there. Ray has promised Rory he would pay him to do a “trust fall,” as Rory falls backward, Ray disappears and Rory hits the floor. Apparently, when young Ray was killed back in 1988 due to the presence of an anachronism that they created when they broke time, Ray wound up erasing his future self aboard the Waverider. As soon as the team finds out why Ray disappeared they head back to the future to the day before the events that would take little Ray’s life, which just happens to be the day before Halloween. Upon arriving before Ray is killed in 1988, future Ray reappears (oh time travel you sneaky mistress). Once on the ground, Ray takes a walk down memory lane, which turns out not to be how he remembers things. As they follow young Ray they learn there’s no threat chasing little Ray; instead, he has taken the creature he encountered at the end of the last episode home…oh and it’s a baby Dominator. little Ray’s has nicknamed his new pet “Gumball” and the two have apparently bonded The team decides the best way to handle the situation is get the baby Dominator and return it to it’s mother, who shows up later looking for it, like any good parent would. The Legends have to call an audible when little Ray gets in the way of the Legends’ plan to kidnap Gumball when Ray skips school and nearly catches Zari and present-day Ray in his room. Zari hides under the bed while Ray shrinks inside his Atom suit to the size of an action figure becoming Gumball’s newest favorite toy. As is par for the course with the Legends, things only get worse when Ray’s mom comes home to find Ray has skipped school. Amaya and Nate, dressed as animal control officers, step in to rescue Ray and Zari. Nate makes no attempt to hide that he noticed how great Ray’s mom looks while Amaya assesses the situation inside the house. They tell Ray’s mom that there is a creature loose in the area they’re there to check on leads they received. Ray’s mother tells them how reckless little Ray is, how he fails to make normal friends, and that he would rather spend time with his “weird” inventions, which both versions of Ray hear. The criticisms discourage poor little Ray, who decides to take Gumball and run away from home. Zari is able to follow little Ray, finding the boy and his alien in an outpost named Camelot. Like last season, this highlights Ray’s fantasies about the knights of the roundtable. actual Zari tries to convinve little Ray to release Gumball, which happens with some help from the older Ray who is still in his shruken state. The A.R.G.U.S. agent, has also followed little Ray to his hideout. The are all taken to the A.R.G.U.S. lab, where Gumball is sedated and his psychic, mind-altering abilities are surpressed. Ray, who was shrunken when the agents arrived, sizes back up and busts Zari out of her holding cell and save little Ray in the nick of time. Ray tries to talk his younger self out of saving Gumball, but Zari sees how distraught the boy is and agrees to help him save his alien friend. The three of them return to the lab, only to be cornered by the suits. Little Ray removes the inhibator from Gumball, which freaks Ray out, but not to worry Gumball gathers his powers and uses mind control to subdue the agents, making them perform “Good Morning” from Singin’ in the Rain.

Once outside the lab, find some bikes, which they don’t “steal” more so borrowing as they are off to rendezvous with Sara. Speaking of Sara, she has been tracking Gumball’s mom,the Dominator queen, who has been turning Ivy Town upside down looking for her baby. Sara, knowing what an adult dominator is capable of, has been trying to locate the queen. After the queen attacks her, she is knocked out, wrapped her in goo, and has her memories viewed. Sara tries to reason with the Dominator, saying they also want to get her baby back, but the queen still reads her memories which led Mommy Dominator to Ray’s childhood home. After she cocoons Ray’s mother in a tree, Nate arrives to check on Ray’s mom, only to be seduced by the Dominator who makes him see Ray’s mom in her nightgown. Amaya arrives just in time before the situation turns into a cross-species Discovery Channel show. The queen does end up kissing Nate, which brings him back to reality about his sexual prowess. Nate and Amaya lead the queen to the meetup spot that Sara has set up, with them arriving the same time as Ray, Zari, little Ray, and Gumball. Little Ray says his tearful goodbye to his new best friend, accepting that he has actual humans around him who’ll take care of him in the end. The Dominator queen scoops up her kin, and the pair departs peacefully. The episodes B story involves Dr. Stien, Jax, and Rory. Jax notices that the jump ship’s records have been deleted. Jax and Mick grow suspicious and suspect him of working with the Time Bureau since it is obvious that he wants to let the Bureau handle the broken time problem. Jax and Rory confront him in the jump ship, going so far as to disable the jump ship. Stein convinces them he’s not working for the Time Bureau but has used the jump ship so he could visit Lily and deliver a communicator that allowed him to keep in touch with his daughter. Turns out he was making sure he’d be there for Lily when she gave birth but was afraid that if he told his teammates what he was doing they would think he wasn’t fully committed to their mission. Thus, he kept all of his work, especially creating a communicator that would work across time and space so he could check in with Lily without disturbing anyone on the team. With that cleared up, Jax and Mick borrow the Waverider, since they broke the jump ship, and take Stein to Central City 2017 for the birth of his grandson who is named Ronnie. They return to 1988 in time to help little Ray have the best Halloween ever, by dress up in their superhero costumes to give the boy support when his bullies find him in the middle of trick-or-treating. Legends go Trick ‘r Treating Later Ray and Zari decide to have a movie night after she admits she also loves musicals. However, Jax arrives to ask Ray for some help. Jax realizes that Stein no longer wants to be a part of their bonkers mission and to allow Stien the time to focus on his new family, they need to split up Firestorm.

—

E.T. References:

little Ray feeds Gumball candy just like Elliot did

little Ray and Gumball watch classic films (in this case, it’s Singin’ in the Rain because Ray loves musicals) with him just like Elliot did in E.T.

Gumball is hidden in a bunch of stuffed animals just like Elliot did in E.T. (E.T. ala Legends)

Gumball and little Ray are abducted by government agents like E.T. and Elliot

Zari manipulates the air which causes the bicycles to fly with the moon in the background like in the movie.

Other Easter Eggs:

Zari’s costume when the team goes Trick or Treating is very reminiscent of the “The Secrets of Isis” television show.

Question: Did the Legends erase young Ray’s memories after Trick ‘r Treating? If not wouldn’t this cause another anachronism? If they did, wouldn’t that just be a dick move?

Next Week:

Episode 5

Return of the Mack”

When Nate thinks he has found a pattern to the anachronisms, it leads the Legends to London in 1897 to hunt down a time-traveling vampire. When they arrive in London, they run into Rip, but not everyone welcomes him back so quickly, leaving Sara to make a tough choice in the end. Amaya tries to connect with Zari, but she is still struggling with being part of the team. Meanwhile, Stein ) discovers what Ray and Jax are up to and is not entirely pleased.

—

Could we be getting an I, Vampire cameo by Andrew Bennett or Mary Seward, Queen of Blood…please!

— — — — — — —

Episode 4: “Reversal”

The episode opens with Black Siren back to causing trouble again. She seduces and murders a seemingly unimportant accountant at a bar. Meanwhile Oliver and Felicity are rekindling Olicity with a nice dinner date, Oliver remarks about their first “date” back in season 3’s premiere. Oliver acknowledges the fact that he wasn’t ready for this three years ago, but now he is. After a short chat with a fellow diner who realizes the two are back together and throws her support against the impending anti-vigiliante legislation up for a referendum, Oliver invites Felicity to be his date to the fundraiser, which she declines because she has her hands full with the team and the new startup with Curtis. Thier date ends prematurely when Felicity recieves a call from the team and has to run off, leaving Oliver to muse, “This is how it felt to be you, isn’t it?” When Felcity gets to the bunker, the team have no idea what Black Siren is up to and just have to wait for more information to come through. Dinah is at the crime scene as a cop and Curtis is in the bunker running comms. Curtis, the president of the Olicity fanclub tells Felicity go back to her date with Oliver and he will hold down the fort in the meantime.

In her absence, Curtis is able to track Black Siren via her sonic scream. But it’s not enough to determine a motive which allows Black Siren to kill two more seemingly random and boring people. Felcity returns to her apartment, hoping to have dessert with Oliver. Things take a turn when Alena, who recruited Felicity to Helix, shows up having broken into her apartment because she needs her help in stopping Cayden James. James is apparently planning something so terrible that it will result in the death of at least 4 percent of the population. Felicity questions Alena’s motives, but Alena says she’s a hacktivist and Cayden has crossed the line. As the two get ready to go get the tech they need to track Cayden, Oliver shows up right as Felicity, he offers to join them, but Felicity says they don’t need his help. Felicity and Alena head to some club to secure a ghost drive from someone names Amnesiac. Amnesiac suspects Felicity and Alena are narcs and has his men grab them, when a masked man bursts into the club and knocks out all of the guards…surprise it’s Oliver. Unable to resist his overprotective impulse, he followed the girls and got worried when he saw Amnesiac’s men take them away with force. Felicity is annoyed; it was her turn to protect him, as she is well aware the FBI is tailing him. Felicity retrieves the ghost drives she needs, and her and Alena head off to Helix’s old lair to gain access to the technology Cayden built and stop him. Once Team Arrow has returned to the bunker after failing to stop Black Siren from killing a third time, Curtis discovers that each victim’s hand were covered with a polymer that enabled Black Siren to steal fingerprints the victem’s fingerprints. Diggle realizes these people are purposefully boring and they be covert agent, but need Felicity’s help to connect the dots. Felicity, at Olivers request lets Diggle know that she is working with Alana to stop Cayden James as she feels incredibly guilty due to the fact that she’s reason James is free and creating chaos. She also figures out what is is after and how it connects to the three seemingly random murders: The three people are the only people on Earth who can open the super-duper secret vault that houses the internet. Curtis devises a way to track Black Siren’s canary cry, and using to find her base of operations. They pull footage from the McGuffin Device security camera, Diggle recognizes who Black Siren is working with, realizing that Felicity’s in trouble. Which means that Black Siren shows up at Helix’s lair and attacks Felicity and Alena. Black Siren isn’t alone, as we finally meet the mysterious Cayden James (Michael Emerson). James is disappointed that Alena, who he believed had such potential, would betray him. Team Arrow arrives in time to stop Cayden James’ men from killing Felicity, but alas, Cayden ends up escaping in the confusion of another exceptionally executed extended-take fight sequence. Alena also gets shot in the process. While Oliver is still not the Green Arrow after passing the quiver and pep talks to Diggle, he continues to play an important role outside of the hood. Felicity asks how Oliver how he did it all those years by himself, to which he replies that he wasn’t by himself, and he had her literally in his ear the entire time. Now as Felicity is the one struggling with not only her guilt but also the stress of the startup with Curtis (she still hasn’t come up with an name or idea for the startup, which means she hasn’t filed the article of incorporation, etc) and it is Oliver’s turn to be there for her, the way he wasn’t there for her last season when went against the team and help HELIX rescue Cayden James from A.R.G.U.S.. He also tells her to do what he has learned over the past 5 seasons: Let it go! … Let it go! Let of the past and make things right in the present. This moment is interrupted when Curtis calls with a location for the vault (man, he is so on tonight… you might say he is doing Teriffic) By the time Team Arrow arrives at the vault, Cayden James, his sidekick, and Black Canary have already accessed it. Cayden’s plans is to overload the vault’s system so it explodes, shutting down the internet and killing millions. Felicity joins the team onsite and tries to thwart Cayden’s plan. Cayden has anticipated Felicity’s presence and uses the vault’s firewall to lock Felicity out of the system, which means the only way she can stop the vault from exploding is direct access. Cayden’s men are all over the facility, and they’re armed, but lo and behold Oliver, is back in the bunker and has taken over the Overwatch position (another reference to the episode title, Reversal). He is able to guide Felicity past the gunmen and to the terminal, allowing her to save the internet and Wilddog’s Fantasy Football season. Going to the scoreboard of Olicity coming through for the other in a pinch, after six seasons we have Felicity: 1,000,000,000 and Oliver: 1). Black Siren escapes as does Cayden James, who reveals that he pnly need access to the vault because to upload some code for his “ARCLIGHT” plan and needed Felicity to lower the firewall. Apparently he really wasn’t actually trying to destroy the internet, he just wanted Felicity’s tech-fingerprints, not his, all over the vault. He also gives Black Siren a device to couter the ability for Team Arrow to track her Canary Cry. Back at the bunker Oliver assures the team that his being Overwatch was a one-time thing (sure, that is what they all say). Felicity visits Alena in the hospital, who tells her she has had her idea for the startup along: mass-producing her spinal implant which was created by Felicity and Curtis. Felicity also floats a name in mind for the company: Helix Dynamics, which is just oozing with synergy. Later that night, Felicity and Oliver continue their date from the other evening, but it’s interrupted yet again by Slade Wilson, who calls Oliver asking for help.

In the Quiver: Arrow Thoughts and Easter Eggs

Turns out it was Cayden James who saved Black Siren from Lian Yu, not Richard Dragon as I thought.

I thought Alena was trying to pull the old bait and switch with Felicity so Team Arrow would be distracted and allowing James the time to enact his plan. I also thought she was going to steal some tech from Felicity after she learned about the plans for the startup. I thought I saw he pick something off the table before they left to get the ghost drive. Turns out she was actually telling the truth. Is this the beginning of a new and less cynical ARROW.

If Cayden James, who has no counterpart in the DCU, like Coville (Supergirl)… If they wanted to eventually reveal that he is or eventually make him to really be Mister Bones, I would be cool with that.

This episode didn’t have an appearance of Detective Lance, FBI Agent Watson, or William.

I think this is the first episode with the new opening with the Team Arrow members symbols in the opening credits.

Next Week:

Episode 5

“Deathstroke Returns”

Slade returns and asks Oliver) for help in tracking down his son. When they learn Joe has been taken hostage by mercenaries, their mission to save him gets complicated by a terrible revelation that could shatter Slade’s hopes of reunion forever. Meanwhile, Vigilante reappears in Star City.

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Back next week…

Previous Recaps

Up, Up and Away with the CW’s Supergirl season 3 Primer

CW Primer: Up To Speed with THE FLASH and DC Legends of Tomorrow

CW Primer: On target with Season 5 Recap and Season 6 preview of ARROW

Week 1 Episode Recaps

Week 2 Episode Recaps

Week 3 Episode Recaps