Arrow – Purgatory

By: Courtney Grooms

After last week’s great time loop episode, Oliver (Stephen Amell), Laurel (Katie Cassidy Rogers), John (David Ramsey) and the rest of the gang were all sent to the famous Lian Yu island to build a weapon…That even they don’t know what it is.

After emerging from the tent with Laurel to discover they somehow made it onto the island, Oliver tells William (Ben Lewis), Mia (Katherine McNamara) and Connor (Joseph David-Jones) the three of them were supposed to stay safe in Star City, not understanding why they followed him here. But they didn’t! Connor says a bunch of guys in tac gear came and stormed the bunker — they were A.R.G.U.S. agents. Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) comes out of a tent and apologizes saying she needed them there and she didn’t have time to convince them. She tells everyone Mar Novu needs them to build a weapon and it has to be done on Lian Yu.

Lyla tells them everything they need to build the weapon are on the island, in the crates outside the tent. She then goes on to explain the weapon is powered by plutonium and Dinah (Juliana Harkavy), Roy (Colton Haynes) and Rene (Rick Gonzalez) are on their way to the island with samples from Star City. Oliver asks Lyla what he’s doing back on Lian Yu and why the weapon needs to be built here of all places. Over the past few days the island has seen a rash of energy spikes. Mia asks if the weapon they build will stop the Crisis from happening. Lyla shakes her head. She doesn’t know what the weapon is for, but Novu said this is how they survive it.

Oliver talks to Mia and William alone and tells them that Mar Novu has seen his fate — he doesn’t survive Crisis. Oliver says he’s been fighting his fate over the past couple of years because of the two of them and now he can’t fight it and has to let what should happen occur

Meanwhile, Dinah, Roy and Rene are on a plane traveling to Lian Yu with the plutonium. Dinah goes over comms and tells the island team they are five miles south and inbound for landing. John tells Dinah they will meet them at the airstrip to unload. Dinah notes there is no wind to speak of so it looks like they’re in for a smooth landing. Soon after; however, Dinah notices something in the sky. The radio is breaking up, but Dinah is able to mention something is incoming. John walks out of the tent, trying to get Dinah to reply on the radio, with Laurel and Oliver following. As they look up they see a missile shoots the plane out of the sky, crash landing on the Island.

After getting coordinates for the crash site, William notes that the plutonium landed in a different spot compared to Rene, Dinah or Roy. John says the team are the priority, but William believes they still need the plutonium to build the weapon. They devise a plan for John, Connor and Lyla to go rescue the team. Oliver and Laurel help with the weapon while William and Mia track down the plutonium.

While out looking for Rene, Dinah and Roy we see Lyla apologize to Connor about their first meeting here on the island. She said she envisioned getting to know her future son over a meal and not en route to a plane crash. Connor assures her it feels right for their family as most of their milestones got interrupted by some sort of international emergency. Suddenly, they come across Rene who is in pretty bad shape alongside Dinah. But Roy isn’t with them. Lyla leaves to take Rene back to the camp while the others keep searching for Roy.

Oliver finds the plutonium, but Laurel has been captured and Edward Fyers (Sebastian Dunn) reveals himself. He tells Oliver it seems he’s been given a new lease on life, although he’ll be sure to finish the job this time. More of his men show up and Oliver takes out a gun and starts shooting. Laurel is able to get free and starts fighting back as well. After it’s just the two of them again, Oliver tells Laurel that was Edward Fyers and Billy Wintergreen – they were on the island when he first got there and they’re both dead. Oliver gives Laurel the case of plutonium and tells her to bring it back to William. Oliver starts walking alone and someone shoots an arrow at him, which he catches. Yao Fei (Byron Mann), who once helped Oliver on the island before he died, reveals himself.

Oliver asks Yao Fei if he’s real and nods. Oliver wants to know why he tried to shoot him and Yao Fei says, like the first time, to keep him from danger. Yao Fei tells Oliver there are forces at play that want him to not succeed. Oliver says Fyers and his men know about the weapon and they want to use it for themselves, but Oliver won’t let them.

John, Dinah and Connor are still searching for Roy as Connor spots a hand reaching out for help. Roy is sat on a rock with his arm stuck. Dinah notices the plane fuel and the cables and soon everything is going to be up in sparks. The three of them try to set Roy’s arm free but it’s no use. Connor says the best way to get Roy out might be amputation. Connor tells them he has a med kit in his backpack and that it’ll have what he needs. John, not liking that option, says that if they can just move what is pinning Roy’s ar, they have a chance at saving it — they owe it to him to keep trying. While they’re trying to free Roy something is heard rustling in the leaves. Dinah checks it out and it turns out to be Laurel. Dinah tells her Rene is injured but okay; however, Roy is in a bad spot. Laurel says the guys who shot down their plane are Oliver’s old island enemies and they’ve been dead for the last twelve years.

The girls get back to the guys who are still trying to free Roy. With no luck, John says they have to dig Roy out but Laurel says they’re going to be getting some company soon and not the good kind. John is hoping they can hold them off and Dinah mentions the fuel is about to spark. Connor tells John they are out of options and John says he doesn’t accept that – they always have a choice. Roy interrupts and says he’ll make it if they cut his arm. Roy tells John it’s better his arm than their lives. Connor brings his kit over and Laurel and Dinah distract the enemies. After getting everything ready, Connor uses a sword to cut off Roy’s arm.

Back at the camp Rene explains that Fyers and his men have the camp surrounded so they can expect an attack any minute. William says he’s done building the weapon and once the plutonium finishes transferring the energy he can turn it on. Oliver comes back and tells William to power up the device, but William replies the sphere is absorbing the energy of the island and if that’s what brought those dead people back to life in the first place then activating the device will destroy them. Lyla says if this is their best chance of surviving the Crisis that they need to take the risk.

All the team merge back together to fight Fyers and his guys while Roy, William and Lyla are down in A.R.G.U.S. The plutonium has finished transferred the energy, so the weapon can be turned on. Although, there is a specific set of DNA that the weapon needs in order to be unlocked – Oliver’s DNA. In the midst of the fight Oliver and John are able to get back to A.R.G.U.S. and William tells Oliver the sphere is touch-activated. Therefore, it’ll turn on the moment he picks it up, which it does not. After trying numerous amounts of times William figures out that it’s actually Lyla’s DNA that will activate the weapon.

Oliver says he thought the weapon was supposed to help them survive Crisis. Lyla replies that’s what Novu told her. John tells Lyla he understands why she has to do this. Lyla picks up the sphere and activates it. When she does Fyers and his guys disappear, as well as Yao Fei. John asks Lyla if she’s all right. She says she has to go and leaves.

The following morning Oliver tells the team that he talked with A.R.G.U.S. and Lyla organized a rescue boat before everything happened. John said whatever Mar Novu has planned for Lyla she can handle it. As everyone is getting ready to leave Oliver makes his rounds and starts saying his goodbyes and getting closures, knowing that Crisis is coming and his life to an end. He thanks Rene and Dinah for being there for him. He tells Roy that he’s happy he’s back on the team and sorry for everything. He confesses to  William that he’s happy he’s had the chance to see the type of man he’s become and asks John to track down Felicity and tell her to not keep Mia and William separated.

Mia tells Oliver her whole life that all she’s heard about is this legendary Green Arrow and his team. She should’ve been proud of him because he was a hero and all she could see was that was the reason he wasn’t with her. Oliver apologizes for causing her so much pain, that he and Felicity just wanted to protect her. Mia thanks him for letting her be part of his story, even if just for a little while.

At the end of the episode the sky turns red and flashes of lighting occur as Lyla appears. But she isn’t Lyla anymore – she is a Harbinger telling Oliver and Mia the Crisis is here.