Arrow – What We Leave Behind

By: Stacy Miller

As the episode opens, Evelyn (Madison McLaughlin) is in a secret meeting with Prometheus in which she is giving him information on the secret identities of Team Arrow. Evelyn a traitor? So it isn’t so!

Meanwhile, as it is the holidays, a very fancy Christmas party is being held at City Hall. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) introduces Billy (Tyler Ritter) to her friends, trying to make it less awkward as possible. But, unfortunately, she says something that causes Curtis’ (Echo Kellum) husband Paul (Chenier Hundal) to question what Curtis is doing so late at night if not at work with Felicity. At the party, Oliver (Stephen Amell) introduces sister Thea (Willa Holland) to reporter Susan (Carly Pope). Thea is not exactly a fan of Susan’s and is surprised the woman is with her brother.

John (David Ramsey) and Rene (Rick Gonzalez) are talking about the holidays and how children make them special when Evelyn arrives with Christmas presents for the team. She gives them holiday stockings with their names written on it. Aw, so cute. This makes it hard to believe that Evelyn is a traitor. I repeat, say it isn’t so!

Back at the City Hall holiday party, Oliver is telling the guests how watching (being sent to an alternate universe by an alien race) It’s a Wonderful Life last week made him realize how important much making Star City a safer place is to him. Outside, Paul and Curtis are having an argument when Prometheus arrives. Paul is surprised to see how well his brainy husband fights. Unfortunately, Curtis ends up in the hospital with a knife wound. He is then forced to confess to Paul that he is part of Team Arrow. Paul can’t believe that Curtis has been lying to him all this time and issues an ultimatum: “You can be a vigilante or you can be married to me, but you can’t do both. I can’t do both.” Then, Paul leaves Curtis’ hospital room.

It’s flashback time. Instead of seeing Oliver’s adventures in Russia, we learn about Curtis. Apparently, he was drugged with dycloseral by pharmaceutical head Justin Claybourne (Garwin Sanford). Claybourne was greedy and determined to make as much money as he could off of dycloseral because it was in demand because of a TB epidemic. This was around four years ago and Justin Claybourne was one of the people “who failed this city” according to his name being on the list Oliver had from Robert Queen. Oliver believed he killed Claybourne at that time, but since it looks like Justin Claybourne could be alive Oliver goes to the old pharmaceutical company lab to confront him. Rene is with him and when Prometheus arrives, it is fight time. Evelyn arrives to help the guys. Ah, no. Actually, Rene and Oliver learn that she is on Prometheus’ team when she tells Oliver that he doesn’t help people, he hurts them. Evelyn and Prometheus then take off. Betrayal, thy name is woman!

Because Prometheus now knows who they are, the Arrow hideout doesn’t seem the best place to be anymore. Billy tells Felicity that he will bring Prometheus to justice because Billy is a cop and that’s what cops do. Interestingly, it is confirmed that Justin Claybourne is in fact dead. Billy goes to the lab for more details. He finds a picture of a baby and texts it to Felicity right before he’s captured by Prometheus. Cop Lesson 101: Always bring backup. Even Team Arrow knows that.

Another flashback shows that Oliver shot Justin with an arrow and gave him a day to stop raising the price of the drug. But Justin had an association with AK Desmond Group, who were responsible for the TB outbreak so they could make a drug to be used to fight it and make the price of the drug high to corner the market. Oliver was furious and wanted Claybourne dead. Oliver’s actions always come back to haunt him. It is then that we learn that the picture of the baby is that of Claybourne’s illegitimate son who wants revenge on the man who killed his father. So, it looks like Claybourne’s illegitimate son is Prometheus.

In another flashback from four years ago, we see Oliver asking Felicity to get AK Desmond’s address. And we see that Oliver had shot and killed Claybourne on the rooftop of the building. In the present, Oliver meets Prometheus who asks how he felt about killing Justin Claybourne. Let’s take this conversation inside, so Prometheus flings them both off the roof and inside the building. Prometheus tells Oliver he knows everyone Queen cares about and intends to make him suffer. “You’re not a hero. You’re a killer and I’m going to show them that.” Oliver shoots Prometheus with arrows, but to his horror he kills Billy who Prometheus switched outfits with. What a perfect way to pile on the guilt for an already guilt ridden Oliver Queen. Oliver returns to the Arrow hideout and tells Felicity that Prometheus tricked him into killing Billy. Distraught over his mistake, Oliver urges Team Arrow to get away from him, but John says in a show of support, “We are exactly where we’re supposed to be.”

Curtis comes home to find Paul with his bags packed. Paul is leaving him as he doesn’t want to stand in the way of his husband’s superhero activities, but can’t stand by and watch Curtis put himself in danger either. Oliver goes to see Susan who encourages him to focus on all the positive things he has done in his life and now dwell on the mistakes. John received a phone call from wife Lyla asking him to come to the safe house location because of something with their son. But as he’s walking in, John faces men with guns.

As the episode concludes, Oliver goes to the Arrow hideout. A woman with blonde hair is looking at all the Team Arrow costumes and when she turns around says, “Hi Ollie.” It is Laurel (Katie Cassidy)!