In case the liberal application of liquor over the holiday season has affected your ability to keep up with the wacky antics of everyone’s favourite muscle-bound archer (sorry Jeremy Renner) – last episode left off with Roy getting shot up with super serum and Barry joining the exclusive club of people-who-know-Oliver’s-secret.

On Flashback Island, we said “goodbye” to the lovely Shado, and ‘hello’ to a new super strength version of Slade, who turns out to be the puppet master of all the bad shit that’s going on in the present day. Barry left Starling city for his very own spin-off Central City, just in time to get caught up in the explosion of a particle accelerator. Gee, I hope it doesn’t…  accelerate… him or anything (I am very sorry).

This week starts off with Oliver chasing a car on his motorbike. You can tell that that the driver’s a bad guy because he has a tattoo on his neck. Ollie very nearly commits some vehicular manslaughter, but instead of killing the guy he just strings him up by his feet and breaks his wrist. He’s merciful like that.

He returns to a sadly Felicity-free base. Oliver doesn’t seem too happy that she’s off visiting Barry in hospital. It’s definitely out of concern for Barry, and not at all to do with deeply buried feelings for his friend/secretary. Not at all. Oliver is pretty upset about his inability to find the guy in the skull mask.

Back on the island, Slade, Oliver, and Sarah gather around to bury Shado. Slade is pretty broken up, but not quite in the homicidal super villain way that he is in the present. Oliver wants to tell him the circumstances of her death, but Sara rightly tells him just how stupid that idea is. This cannot end well.

Laurel is popping pills in her office when her handsome boss arrives. He tells her that maybe Blood is up to no good. Ya think?

Unfortunately, as she speaks Oliver is running a Blood for Mayor event at the club. Great judge of character he is. Oliver asks Thea how Roy is, what with being shot by the vigilante and all.

Sean Maher from Firefly is here! He is sitting in a car alone reciting a speech about justice. Obviously a good guy. He pulls out a detonator and blows up a building.

Ollie heads to the burning building to try and save some bankers. He somehow gets in before the firefighters and pulls a man out of the rubble just in time.

On the Island Slade is freaking out. He is really keen on avenging Shado. It’s odd how quickly Oliver seems be getting over the death of his girlfriend. No wonder Slade is pissed.

Diggle brings Oliver a copy of the crazy bomber’s manifesto. He is not a fan of the government. Felicity comes home, after hearing about the bombing.

Laurel drops by the Blood campaign headquarters. She tells Blood that she is looking into Cyrus Gold, and he tells her that they were very close when he was in the orphanage as a child. He tells her a sob story about his mother killing his abusive father and then running off. It makes her feel kinda bad about investigating him. Not so bad as to not snoop around his desk, but you know how it is.

Roy is actually doing his job! This makes Thea very suspicious. He calms her suspicions with a quick make out session against a shelf. They knock down some glass and get a shard of glass stuck in his arm. Can Roy do anything without screwing up? At least he’s pretty.

Oliver meets up with Officer Lance on a rooftop. They are trading some info when a building across town blows up. Felicity traces the signal of the detonator to a van. Ollie gets into the second car/ motorbike chase of the episode. The bomber scrambles Felicity’s signal and gets away.

Back at the base, Oliver yells at Felicity for losing the signal, telling her to not be distracted (by other boys). She storms off and Diggle tells him what an ass he’s being about the Barry situation.

Laurel visits her dad at work. She asks him for help trying to find a woman connected to Blood.

The Vigilante swings by Blood’s office to try and dissuade him from holding a rally that is likely to get blown up. It is not effective.

Officer Lance tells Laurel that the woman she was looking into is Blood’s aunt, and that he is just a swell guy.

Oliver gets caught in a booby trap at the bomber’s apartment. If he moves he’ll be blown to bits. He gets Felicity to figure out how to disarm it.

Diggle finds explosives in the speakers at the plaza. Felicity turns up to help him disarm it, but the bomber finds them, shooting Diggle. Oliver is really loving his motorbike this episode. He chases after the bomber as chaos ensues. A piece of scaffolding is about to hit Moira when Roy catches it on his back.

Ollie catches the bomber. The bomber is about to detonate bombs across town, but Oliver shoots through the detonation device, which luckily breaks it, rather than just killing everyone.

Diggle heads home with just a flesh wound. Oliver apologises to Felicity, telling her how she’s not an employee, she’s a partner. Naww. They gaze at one another for longer than is strictly platonic.

Back on the island, Sara’s radio goes off. Ivo tells them that he’ll let them all get off the island if he gets the serum. Sara goes to get Slade to tell him the info, but he’s gone!

Laurel goes to visit Blood’s crazy aunt. She is very loopy. She tells Laurel that it was actually Blood who killed his own father, and that she’s in fact his mother. Unfortunately, as they speak, the Vigilante is agreeing to team up with Blood. This can’t end well.

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