In an unnamed prison, hacker, criminal, and bee enthusiast Brie Larvan pecks away at a keyboard. Apparently you’re allowed to have computer time in prison, even if the crime that put you there involved computers (back in episode 18 of The Flash) where she shortens her sentence by 50 years and gets out of prison. Meanwhile, Team Arrow has a giant sparring smorgasbord in the Arrow Cave, but the only one excited to be there is Oliver. The streets are quiet since Darhk went to jail, so they would all like to take it easy. Thea gets a text from Alex about a job offer from Ruve Davis, but Laurel has a different idea: public relations for Palmer Tech. On the island, Oliver confronts Reiter and is joined by Taiana, who opens fire on him. The weird part though is the bullets seem to just pass right through.
Speaking of Palmer Tech, Curtis and Thea go over the schematics of the chip in her spine for mass production, the down side being the price tag. Curtis continuously sneezes all over everything, prompting Felicity to send him home, just as her mother and Thea both arrive for a private chat. Meanwhlie in yet another unnamed prison, Damien Darhk is bound to a table when Malcolm Merlyn appears and lets him know that Hive is leaving him behind. Oliver continues to workout in the Arrow Cave and doesn’t exactly take it so well when Laurel tries to talk to him about his breakup with Felicity. Don’t forget about their fling a hundred years ago. After everything that has happened, Oliver thought he’d be tougher by now. I thought you would too buddy. Heyo!
The Palmer Tech board assembles and one of them collapses to the ground and a swarm of bees flies out of his mouth. It’s Brie Larvan, and she wants the tech that’s in Felicity’s spine. She hacks into the comms to let her know her demands and that she’s taken the board hostage while bees surround the building. Curtis sees all of this at home and runs out to get help. Brie gives Felicity the ultimatum, turn it over or the board starts dying, but she takes Thea and her mother and tries to escape through an air vent. Curtis arrives at the old campaign offices for Oliver’s mayorship and stumbles upon the Arrow Cave, promptly passing out after seeing everyone in costume. Back in the jail, Damien Darhk meets some of his fellow inmates (one of whom is “Murmur” from season 3 episode 16). The three goons try to kill Darhk, but the prison guards break it up.
Thea, Felicity, and Mama Smoak make it out of the air vent, only for the bees to find them and chase them into a broom closet. Curtis wakes up in the Arrow Cave and freaks out but is quick to jump at the task of taking Felicity’s spot on the team. In a quick island interval, Reiter really wants his Idol back and tosses Taiana across the room (maybe without touching her? It’s unclear). Curtis works on hacking the bees and manages to break through long enough for Felicity, Thea and Charlotte to make an escape. They’re met by Oliver, Laurel and Diggle outside, but Curtis’ hack on the bees fails and the bees form into a giant…bee…man? Robot? Just go with it, because he changes everything and all of the bees sting Oliver.
The team works to help Oliver in the Arrow Cave, but the bee has gotten inside him and is replicating. Felicity, Thea, and Mama Smoak go back to the broom closet, where some ill-timed family talk gives her an idea. After some thinking, Curtis realizes that with one powerful frequency they could probably disable the bees inside Oliver; lucky for him, they have the Canary Cry collar around. Double lucky for Curtis, it works! On the island, Oliver and Reiter tussle, and the magic-powered soldier appears to have the upper hand so he begins making his “I am the bad guy and this is my plan” speech, only for his magic to run out and Oliver to clock him in the teeth.
Felicity’s plan is actually pretty good. She takes Curtis’ T-Spheres and hops on the secret elevator to get to the board room. The problem, of course, is this elevator only goes to the defunct Arrow Cave, so they have to manually stop the elevator on the level of the conference room, and blow a hole in the wall. It actually works as easy as they make it sound, but Brie Larvan appears with a gun just as they get the board members on the elevator. Felicity sends them down with her mother to safety. Larvan takes Thea and Felicity hostage and tells them why she needs the implant. She has a tumor on her spine and will be paralyzed if it’s removed. Felicity, wanting all of this to end, tells her where to go in Curtis’ lab to find the specs for the chip.
Curtis remains giddy about his position, and the bee technology, and is quickly chastised for smiling by Oliver. Laurel has a side bar with him to remind him to stop being a major douche. Ollie of course has his reasons for being tough, but Laurel reminds him the hope that he brings people as Green Arrow, and maybe he needs some of that himself. Back in the prison, Mr. Amar and the two goons come to Darhk’s cell, where Murmur knifes them both following the reveal that Darhk threatened his grandmother. He tells the man with his mouth sewn shut to call his organization and to deliver a message. I’m sure he’ll get right on that Damien.
Felicity tries to crack into the bees on her own in her office, and Thea repeats the title of the epiosde (beacon of hope!) for the third time that night. Oliver apologizes to Curtis, who reveals that he’s created a virus, lodged in a trick arrow, that can be uploaded into the bees and dissipate them. You’ve come this far already, just roll with it. Back at Palmer Tech, Brie returns from Curtis’ lab with the schematics for the chip, but she also has had a revelation: Felicity is the reason she was in prison to begin with. Team Arrow makes it back to Palmer Tech only to be attacked by the collective Bee Man again. Oliver gets away and fires the trick arrow, which does little besides make him hiccup. Things get positively wacky, but the day is ultimately saved by Felicity, who stabs the bee man with a broken lamp. Yes. It’s not over though as Brie is still standing and shoots Oliver in the chest. Curtis meanwhile hacks the bees yet again and forces them to sting her.
The good news is that Brie Larvan isn’t dead, just in a coma thanks to the robot bee stings, and the extra good news is that it Curtis is allowed to be a part of Team Arrow whenever he wants. Curtis, on the other hand, would rather be at home with his husband, or so he says. In our final Island flashback, Oliver goes to Taiana, and Reiter disappears. Though he’s hunting for his idol, this is the perfect time to go to the prison and free her friends. Back in the present, and despite having been trapped there all day, Felicity and Thea share a moment at Palmer Tech. Thea tries to convince her to come back, asking if she doesn’t miss the thrill of it. Felicity never did it for the adrenaline though, she did it to make a difference, and she thinks she can keep doing that, just in the public eye with Palmer Tech. Away from the public eye however, Malcolm Merlyn meets with Damien Dahrk’s “ace in the hole,” a mutual friend of his and HIVE’s. That friend? Andy Diggle.
You can watch a preview for next week’s episode, titled “Eleven-Fifty-Nine” and airing on April 6, using the player below. You’ll also find Emily Bett Rickards’ important message about tonight’s Arrow underneath and visit ChristopherReeve.org for more info.
