Arrow – Reversal

By: Stacy Miller

The episode opens with a Black Siren (Katie Cassidy) wearing a brunette wig meeting a man in a bar. They take their conversation outside in the alley where he asks her to tell him a secret about her. “I promise not to tell. Cross my heart and hope to die,” he assures. Black Siren kisses him and smiles.

Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) have a romantic dinner. Felicity comments that she hopes this dinner doesn’t turn out as badly as their first.  Oliver doesn’t think it will as he’s readier now than he was back then. A woman interrupts and assures Mayor Queen that she is voting against that awful Anti Vigilante referendum.  After the woman leaves their table, Felicity jokes that now that she is the mayor’s girlfriend, does that mean she’ll get a cut in her taxes or out of jury duty. Their conversation turns to the new business venture Felicity is embarking in with Curtis (Echo Kellum).  Oliver is glad that Felicity has something else to focus on other than the team.  Speaking of Team Arrow, Felicity gets a call and has to leave her dinner with Oliver.

Back at the Arrow Cave we see John (David Ramsey), Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) and Felicity learn that a man was found dead in an alley from a sonic scream, obviously the work of Black Siren. I guess learning her secrets proved deadly after all! “What do you guys think, Black Siren turn Black Widow?” Curtis asks. The victim was an accountant.  Why did Black Siren target him?  Rene (Rick Gonzalez) enters with the latest poll tallies on the Anti Vigilante bill.  The percentages aren’t as high as they should be after all Team Arrow has done for Star City. Black Siren and the Anti Vigilante bill aside, Curtis and Felicity discuss their new business and he asks her whether she’s filed the articles of incorporation paperwork. Felicity admits she hasn’t had a chance and she told Oliver at dinner that she was being stretched too thin. Curtis apologizes that his call interrupted dinner between Oliver and Felicity.

Meanwhile, Black Siren meets with a man who gives her a file.  She tells him that eliminating this new target shouldn’t be a problem.

Felicity returns home and tells Oliver on the phone that although their dinner was interrupted, he can still come over for dessert.  Sensing an intruder, Ms. Smoak pulls out a knife for protection and is surprised to see computer hacker Alena (Kacey Rohl) in her apartment. Alena tells Felicity that she needs her help. Alena says that she’s there not as Helix, but has some distressing news “Caden James is working on something terrible and I need your help to stop him.” An angry Felicity reminds Alena that she (Felicity) went against her team to break Caden James (Michael Emerson) from the ARGUS storage container.  Alena counters by telling Felicity that she (Felicity) only did that because James was to help them with Adrien Chase. It seems as though being confined at the ARGUS facility broke Caden James and turned him into a criminal mastermind bent on world domination. Whatever James is planning indicates three percent of the world population or three million people will be collateral damage. Alena tells Felicity that if they can hack Caden James’ computer server, they may be able to figure out what he’s planning.

Meanwhile, John, Curtis and Dinah learn that a college librarian (the woman in the file Laurel was given) has been the second victim of Black Siren.

Back at Felicity’s apartment, Oliver arrives just as Alena and Felicity are leaving. Felicity tells Oliver that he was right when he said that Caden James was a bad person. Oliver urges Felicity to at least tell the team before taking off with Alena to stop Caden James.

Curtis tells Team Arrow they may be able to locate Black Siren by tracking the frequency of her canary scream. Black Siren picks up the car keys for a woman who dropped them in a parking lot. They exchange pleasantries on the woman’s shoes.  Is she Black Siren’s next target?  Smart money is on yes as Dinah finds her dead.  Soon Black Canary and Black Siren are fighting each other.

Alena and Felicity are in an undercover club looking for Caden James. They find a guy who will take them to another guy that will lead them to Caden James.  However, Oliver is worried for their safety and thinks they are in danger. So, he beats their lead up!  Felicity is furious with her boyfriend because Oliver ruined everything!  Back at the Arrow Cave, Oliver and Felicity argue about both their actions. Oliver says that he was trying to protect her ashe was worried about the danger she put herself in by going off alone without the team. Felicity counters by saying that she didn’t want to bring attention to Oliver as he’s being monitored by the FBI. Each needs to trust that the other knows what they are doing.

Team Arrow is unable to connect the three seemingly random people that Black Siren killed.  But what if they weren’t random? There’s a strong possibility that these three were involved in some sort of covert operation and that their fingerprints were needed. The team will need to find the three people’s real identities in order to uncover why Black Siren targeted them. Curtis is able to locate Black Siren’s base of operations.  They see her talking with two men.  One no one knows, but the other John recognizes and tells Team Arrow that Felicity is in danger.

Meanwhile, Alena and Felicity are accessing Caden James’ computer server when an image of Black Siren appears behind them on the computer screen. She uses her canary scream to immobilize them.  When Alena and Felicity get back on their feet, they are surprised to come face-to-face with Caden James. The computer genius/criminal mastermind tells Felicity that it is finally good to meet her.  But, unfortunately, she is collateral damage. He’s really after Alena. Team Arrow arrives in the nick of time. Fist, arrows and bullets fly with a stray bullet hitting Alena.

At the Arrow Cave, Felicity talks with John and blames herself for breaking Caden James out when she learns that he is working with the evil version of Laurel and this action put Alena in the hospital. Felicity learns that the three people who were killed by Black Siren work in key positions that control the internet.  By using the fingerprints of the three, Caden James is planning to gain control of the internet and not just to take it down, but to have access to everything that is internet controlled.

Oliver and Felicity later have a candid talk.  Felicity comments that she doesn’t know how Oliver balanced his job as Green Arrow with the other roles in his life. Oliver says that it was because he had Felicity in his ear telling him that what he was doing was right.  So, Oliver plans to do the same for Felicity.

Meanwhile, Black Siren, Caden James and another man are at the internet vault. We learn that it was Caden James that saved Black Siren on Lian Yu. “Welcome to the inner sanctum,” Caden James says as the criminal trio enter the internet’s vault. Team Arrow arrive to stop Caden James and his group.   Caden James is trying to get into the system, but sees Felicity’s digital signature has appeared on the server. He admires her ingenuity, but creates some sort of virus to occupy Felicity’s time.  He tells Black Siren to keep Ms. Smoak’s friends occupied. So, it looks like Caden James is the brains and he wants Black Siren to be the brawn. Felicity is surprised when Oliver’s voice appears over her com; he is in the Arrow Cave in the Overwatch position advising the team like Felicity used to.  Having Oliver watching the team’s back (but in a different capacity) is almost like old times.

John faces off against Laurel.  Black Siren knows that she’s dealing with John Diggle and not Oliver Queen yet tells him that she just couldn’t stay away from him (Green Arrow) and then makes a snide comment that “There’s something different about you, I just can’t put my finger on it.”  John shoots his Green Monster crossbow after replying, “Then let me help you with that.” Black Siren uses her canary scream to stop John’s arrow. More fighting ensues, but Black Canary escapes.

Back at the Arrow Cave, Oliver tells the team that they need to find out why Lauren has aligned herself with Caden James.

Felicity then goes to visit Alena in the hospital and asks what Alena is planning to do once she gets out of the hospital.  Alena asks whether she can come work for Curtis and Felicity at their startup; she also suggests that Curtis and Felicity develop the spinal implant that Palmer Tech declined on.  Felicity decides to call company Helix.

Caden James talks with Laurel about his true plan, which wasn’t about taking down the internet.  He wanted Felicity to take down the firewall protecting the vault so her digital fingerprint and not his would be there.

As the episode ends, Oliver and Felicity’s passionate moment is interrupted when he gets a phone call. He tells Felicity, “It was Slade Wilson. He needs my help.”