A happy couple is bound and beaten in a dimly-lit room – just another Wednesday in Star City. We see the female archer Cupid taunting them about love before executing them. The next day, a preliminary hearing is held regarding Damien Darhk, but his lawyer argues he’s actually a refugee from Morkovia. The Judge doesn’t go for the slick trick and requires he be held in custody. At the loft, Felicity packs up her things and Oliver compliments her on the progress of walking again. She tells him to remember to cancel the wedding venue and she’ll uninvite the guests. It’s really happening folks. As Oliver leaves, Felicity asks to make sure she’s still on Team Arrow, despite the break-up, and Oliver says “forever and always.”
In our first island flashback, Reiter leads the group through the cave and into a room where they find an idol, which keen observers will notice was Damien Darhk’s idol! He talks of his experience in Africa with warlords that destroyed his village, but he’s different and promises to prove it after shooting another prisoner. Team Arrow returns to the cave after a quiet night and the group decides they could all testify against Darhk at the trial, since he did kidnap them previously. Felicity breaks the news that she and Oliver aren’t an item anymore, and John tells Ollie it’ll be fine and she’ll come around. Captain Lance calls with news of an “old friend” and we find the love birds from the opening dead, positioned in a heart, and one of Cupid’s arrows at the scene.
The team thought Carrie Cutter was locked up at ARGUS, but Amanda Waller actually kept her word and reduced her sentence after her work with Task Force X. Thea reveals the couple she killed was a “power couple” that gossip sites love to talk about. At court the next day, Diggle takes the stand and talks about Darhk entering Oliver’s holiday party with gunmen and taking them hostage. Darhk’s scumbag lawyer points to the time he and Thea bought a ton of drugs (from episode 4.04) but conveniently forgets to mention that they did that to find crooked cops. Either way, it’s not a good look for John and when the court is in recess, Captain Lance says he’ll take the stand to testify against Darhk. Meanwhile Team Arrow, sans Laurel, head off to find Cupid’s latest victims which Felicity has tracked to a speeding limo. After a lengthy car chase, Oliver crashes the car but Cupid is crafty, and puts up a fight. Even after he ties her up with a trick arrow, she cuts herself out and makes her escape. Oliver, however, rips off part of her sleeve as she makes her getaway.
Back at the Arrow Cave, they try to profile Carrie, citing love betrayed her through her romantic relationships so she’s declared war on it. That’s some prime comic book stuff right there, folks. Oliver gets cornered by Thea and Diggle who tell him he’ll have to say the words to get back together with Felicity, and he says he will. On the Island, Reiter commands them to let the prisoner die and we see the idol glowing. He points out this is the power of just one life, imagine what the 12 more above them could do. Thinking on their feet, Oliver and Taiana make an escape and snatch the idol. Laurel and her dad meet up again and he reiterates that he’ll testify in court, even if it means losing his job.
Felicity ran some tests on the sleeve Oliver ripped from Cupid and found chemicals used to store fabric longterm, ie: a place where wedding dresses are held. There’s only one in town so the team descends on it. They don’t find much at first except some crazy cupid collages, and in one of them a cut out of Oliver and Felicity’s engagement announcement. Back at the cave, Oliver poses the way to catch her – pretend to get married. Felicity calls it the worst idea ever, but Thea seems on board, and can “leak the news” to the gossip bloggers. Luckily, Oliver hasn’t canceled the venue, because once he did that it means it’s over; Felicity reminds him that it already is over. On the island, Taiana tries to destroy the idol but it lands with a dull thud in the dirt, and Reiter lets them know over the radio he’s coming to find them in the caves.
In court, Captain Lance takes the stand and details everything he did for Darhk including the information he gave him about city leadership and more. When asked why, he reveals it was because Darhk threatened Laurel, and he has heard him say more than once he wants to destroy this city. While the defense questions him, Lance points out the obvious: why would he say these things and risk losing his job if they weren’t true? At the venue everyone is in position, including Felicity and Oliver. They start the process of exchanging vows, hers is short and sweet, his is long and sappy. On cue, Cupid enters and shoots Oliver in the chest with an arrow. She then reveals a trigger to detonate C4 throughout the building. She spouts off nonsense about love being death, but Felicity combats her with her own words, saying love is real and the true meaning of life itself. Spartan and Speedy leap in to take her down and manage to tie her up again. As she tries to escape, Oliver tanqs her.
The paparazzi watch as the cops haul away Cupid and Oliver asks Felicity if they can talk about what they said in there, she agrees. In the meantime though, the judge is delivering a ruling. A quick break to the island as Reiter’s guards find the idol, but they are quickly knocked out and have their guns taken by Ollie and Taiana. It’s a real Die Hard “Now I have a machine gun, Ho Ho Ho” moment. Back in court, the judge says the evidence against Darhk is thin but that she was compelled by Captain Lance’s testimony and denies the defense’s motion to dismiss and won’t allow bail for Darhk. Lance is confronted by Lieutenant Pike later who takes his badge and gun while IAD investigates his claims.
That night, Felicity comes to the Arrow Cave and Oliver reminds her he meant what he said at their pretend wedding. She says that she loves him, but what she said doesn’t apply to them anymore. She can’t handle the lies anymore, and though Oliver protests she is firm in her response. They’ll be fine without her she says, and there’s no fixing what’s happened. Felicity hands over the engagement ring yet again this time. Meanwhile in prison, Darhk is transported to his cell and opens his mouth to reveal a ring which he puts on his finger. It’s probably magic, or maybe it’s the fourth wall ring, because he looks right into the camera and smiles.
You can watch a preview for next week’s episode, titled “Beacon of Hope,” using the player below.
