'Arrow' recap: 'Genesis'

Following the death of Laurel, Arrow is kicking it into high gear as they finally start unraveling the secret of Darhk’s plan, Genesis. Knowing that the team is weakened from the loss of one of their vital members, both in and out of the suit, Darhk is gearing up for a fight and he’s not pulling his punches; right away, we see the team separated as they’re forced to find every solution possible to taking down the Darhks while they also grow slightly closer, including Felicity’s (temporary?) return as their I.T. support.

In H.I.V.E.’s headquarters, the board is worried about Darhk’s impending revenge after they abandoned him during his stint in prison. Their fears are proved valid when Darhk plays civil for only a brief moment before sharing his “jailhouse epiphany”: that he doesn’t need the board anyway, killing the two members present.

Meanwhile, Felicity seems to be back on the team, working with the remaining members to track down Darhk and the remaining H.I.V.E. board. One of the H.I.V.E. board members is found dead in an alley and they’re worried about finding ways to prevent Darhk’s attacks. Apparently, Oliver has a lead thanks to Constantine and is heading out to follow it, ordering the crew to lay low until he comes back.

Diggle v. Diggle
Diggle makes his way to Lyla and Baby Sara, the little family finally having their reunion while Diggle complains that he hates having to lay low at Oliver’s order. He decides to run a quick errand for Lyla, ready to make his way back when his phone beeps with an alert: facial recognition has found Andy. The two have a shootout in an abandoned factory before Andy runs off.

Diggle tries to follow him out, getting a call from Lyla that they’ve tracked him. She asks him to wait for A.R.G.U.S. but he can’t, unwilling to let Andy go one more time. He trails him into an abandoned factory but Andy’s backup shows up before Diggle’s does, resulting in John getting the butt of a rifle to the head.

Diggle wakes up, chained to the ceiling while Andy warns him Darhk is on his way and he’s there to “prep him.” He tries to reach out to Andy but the younger Diggle’s not hearing it, thankful to Darhk for “saving him.” John makes one final attempt to reach out to him, reminding him of his other family members, of Carly and Andy Jr. Andy doesn’t pay much attention to him, stabbing him in the gut without much thought or remorse.

After Andy has his “fun,” the soldiers untie John, freeing him to be able to disarm them and chain up Andy this time. Though Andy tries to goad him into killing him, Diggle refuses, reminding him that “the only reason you’re alive is because one of us is still human,” before stalking off.

Later, Darhk finds Andy tied to the pole and is surprisingly happy -- because their plan worked and Andy was able to plant a tracker in his older brother. As Lyla cleans up the elder Diggle, their proximity alarm blares: Andy’s behind their convoy and ready to finish the fight. Though Lyla and Diggle try to dial for help, they quickly realize they’re alone in their fight.

When Darhk joins them, Lyla realizes she has only one option: let John escape with Sara while she stays behind with Darhk. With Sara strapped in with him, Diggle escapes on a bike with Andy on his trail, while Lyla stays behind, knocking off the rest of the H.I.V.E. team. Andy traps Diggle in a corner, a distraction coming in the form of Felicity showing up with their van and knocking down the remaining soldiers.

Light v. Darhk
Felicity goes to find Oliver, who’s apparently been living in the bunker. She demands the truth and, upon his confession that he’s not sure where following this path will lead him, having seen men become soulless as a result of trying to fight and/or harness the magic, she announces she’s coming with him. She’s got the company jet ready for take off and rooms booked, reminding him that it’s a non-negotiable of his goal.

The two end up in Hub City, having followed Constantine’s lead into an underground casino. Felicity’s in her element, dropping down at the Blackjack table and winning with ease, making friends with the last lady remaining at the table. As Oliver worries about Constantine’s referral being a no show, the woman introduces herself as Esrin Fortuna.

Taking a break from the table, Esrin leads them to a private space, which turns out to be a cave room similar to the one on Lian Yu. She explains that there’s a couple of them around the world, including one in Star City, which is why it’s become Darhk’s newest headquarters. Esrin gives them a quick recap on the magic Darhk’s harnessing and how to fight it. “If the darkness inside you outweighs the light [...] you will only make him more powerful,” she warns him.

She starts up against Oliver, using a low dosage of power for him to ward off, which he fights off quickly. However, during his second attempt to fight against it, Oliver’s reminded of the enemies he’s faced and the losses he’s suffered, making him fall against her magic. When he tries to get her to try again, Esrin refuses, explaining that there’s nothing she can do for him.

The duo makes their way to the bar to try and strategize. Oliver is worried that he’s not going to be able to fight the darkness as he has too much darkness in him; Felicity reminds him that he can still change, that his darkness is not permanent.

The Truman Show: Star City Version
Thea wakes up to an empty bed, a far cry from the romantic weekend she had originally imagined with Alex. She finds him in the kitchen and the couple decides to take a walk around the town they’re vacationing in. Almost immediately, Thea realizes she’s not getting a signal and starts to hear a strange noise, making it sound like everything is on a loop. Alex reassures her that there’s nothing to worry about.

Despite his reassurances that everything is okay, Thea’s losing her mind. She accidentally knocks his vial of vitamins out of his hand, revealing a bottle full of yellow pills -- H.I.V.E. pills he got from Ruve. She freaks out about him having drugged her but he seems to be entirely unaware of any effects the pills are having on him.

Her vacation turns dark as she tries to run away, only to be cornered by H.I.V.E. soldiers and a wall that is a projection, locking her in a Truman Show-esque arena.

The OG Team Arrow Reunion
Felicity takes off with Sara while Diggle chases after Andy and Oliver catches up with Darhk and Lyla. Finally managing to corner Andy, Diggle waivers again. His facade trembles as Andy starts to threaten Lyla and Sara before a started John pulls the trigger, causing Andy to be similarly shocked.

Also surprised? Darhk, who is sick of Oliver trying to stop him; when he tries to stop Oliver once and for all, his mood changes from triumphant to fearful when Oliver reverses the magic’s effect, fighting Darhk off. When he disappears, Oliver runs to an unconscious Lyla.

After sending Lyla off with Felicity and Sara, Oliver makes his way to the Diggles only to see John closing Andy’s eyes. “He was never going to back off, Oliver; my family, they were never going to be safe.”

In the foundry, Oliver’s thinking is interrupted by Felicity. He shares that he was able to fight off Darhk as the voices of his loved ones played through his head, everyone from Felicity to John to Thea and Laurel.

John makes his way to Lyla, who’s awake and fine. Diggle tells her about the fact that Andy’s dead because of him; Lyla hugs him before remembering that Darhk took what was hidden in her arm during their fight. Turns out that Darhk stole Rubicon, a program that could prevent any country from preventing firing nuclear missles.

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.