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Are we assuming that Malcolm hasn't told Darhk that Oliver is the Green Arrow? If so, then why hasn't he? Malcolm knows the real identities of every member of Team Arrow as well as the location of their 'secret' Arrowcave. I can see him hiding Thea's identity and the Arrowcave location to protect her, but why hide Oliver's identity? It won't increase the risk to Thea since she's already at risk as Oliver Queen's sister.

Midnight Lullaby, good points. I'm going to add them to my summary above in the interests of completeness. Samantha, as a character, would make a lot more sense if she was supposed to be a bad person - someone who is seeking revenge on Oliver and deliberately trying to sabotage his present-day life and relationships. But, no, the EPs apparently are presenting her as a good mother and a good person.

The strength of the Olicity moments just makes it all the more jarring and perplexing that Oliver would choose to lie to Felicity about something so important in his life - and it is a lie, not an omission. (Remember his trips to Central City?) I realize that MG's argument in support of Oliver's secret-keeping is that Oliver must honor his promise to Samantha (not to tell anyone about William) in order to have any kind of relationship with his son and to keep his son safe. That sounds good on the surface. However, there are a ton of flaws with this argument (summarized): 1. Samantha had no right to lie and keep his son a secret from Oliver for 10 years, and Oliver seemed minimally upset by that fact. 2. Samantha had no right to demand such an unreasonable promise from Oliver, and Oliver barely argued with her. 3. Oliver has legal rights to see his son - rights that he could easily have gotten in court. (Yes, this would've exposed William's paternity to the world, but see other points.) 4. Oliver and Samantha are not being good parents by allowing William to have play dates with, and become emotionally attached to, someone who's essentially a stranger to him. 5. Oliver has an obligation to be truthful with his fiance, as well as his friends and team mates, who all put their lives on the line for and alongside him (esp. given what Oliver did in S3). 6. Oliver could've have told Felicity (and even Thea and Diggle) about his son and sworn them to secrecy, without Samantha ever finding out. 7. Honoring his promise to Samantha meant and means lying repeatedly to his fiance and friends/team mates, when trust is the foundation for both a marriage and working together as Team Arrow. 8. Oliver had the choice between lying to Samantha or lying to his loved ones, and he chose to lie to his loved ones. 9. Oliver chose to give priority to Samantha's wishes and feelings (and also his own wishes and feelings) over Felicity's wishes and feelings. 10. While keeping William a secret from the general public is justifiable for his safety, keeping him a secret from his fiance (or even his fellow Team Arrow members) is not justifiable because Oliver knows they can keep a secret. 11. If being able to see William and develop a relationship with him was Oliver's primary concern, then Oliver had and has legal rights as his father (as stated above). 12. If William's safety was Oliver's primary concern, then telling Felicity (and even Thea and Diggle) would not have jeopardized that safety. 13. Given his vigilante lifestyle and enemies, Oliver's making repeated trips to visit William was more risky than telling Felicity about his son. 14. After learning that Malcolm knew about William, and esp. after betraying Malcolm and cutting off his hand, Oliver should've told Felicity and Team Arrow immediately so that they could help him protect William. He also should've taken steps to inform Samantha of the potential danger. (Once again, Malcolm knows something about Oliver that Felicity/Diggle don't know.) 15. After learning how Thea tracked down Samantha and William and learned his secret, Oliver should've told Felicity so that she could use her hacker skills to erase electronically any eivdence of Moira's $1M check to Samantha and any trace of their college connection. 16. Certainly, after Barry, Malcolm and Thea all found out about his son, Oliver should've immediately told Felicity (and probably Diggle as well, since his rebuilt trust with Diggle is only a few months old). Bottom Line: In making his decision, Oliver was only thinking of himself and what he wanted. He was not thinking about what's best for William, and he certainly wasn't thinking of Felicity. ETA: Samantha complained about Oliver's pre-island spoiled, womanizing persona and then demanded a promise from Oliver that would force Oliver to become that lying asshole again to his loved ones. When Oliver told her that he isn't that person anymore, she replied "I know" and yet she still forced him to become like that person again and made his life harder on purpose. So tell me again, how is Samantha a good person?

Fall In Love With Olicity did trend in the U.S. on Feb. 17, 2016: Later that evening, during 414, Mama Smoak, Felicity, Thea and Arrow trended in the U.S.: Source: http://smoakandarrow.tumblr.com/post/139552344644/trends-february-17-2016

S4 returned last fall with higher ratings (and happy Olicity), despite Oliver & Felicity being together and driving off into the sunset at the end of S3.

I love the fans' reply tweets... https://twitter.com/ARROWwriters/status/700170630096760832

Go to link to see animated gif of Oliver & Felicity holding hands in 414... https://twitter.com/JamesBamford/status/700200965824090116

Except he's not being honorable. He can't. Either he has to lie to Samantha or he has to lie to his loved ones... and he chooses to lie to his loved ones. He outright lied to Thea last night - and who knows how many times he's lied to Felicity, as well as the rest of Team Arrow, about his trips to Central City.

Vixen is supposed to be Oliver's friend, so I don't understand the woman's voice at all.

From TheMovieNetwork review of 414: Even though WM and OB are the official co-writers for this episode, I bet that MG gave significant input into some of the dialogue (especially Thea's speech to Oliver). WM is usually better about writing character development and relationship-related dialogue. I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall during script discussions between MG and WM. Also, this episode was originally supposed to be directed by Antonio Negret (iirc). So I wonder if after JBam took over the directing duties, they added more action stunt sequences. Btw, based on some of the reviews that I've read, the reviewers who are okay with Oliver's secret-keeping are not making any distinction between keeping William a secret from the general public and keeping him a secret from Felicity, but just latch onto the keeping William secret equals keeping him safe argument. On the other hand, the reviewers who are not okay with Oliver's secret-keeping point out that telling Felicity would not make William less safe because she would keep the secret. Oliver is simply choosing to lie to his loved ones rather than lie to Samantha.

Here's another Examiner review of 414 - this time by Allison Nichols (rated it 2 out of 5 stars)... 'Arrow' 4x14 'Code of Silence' Review: A breathtaking gift Allison Nichols February 17, 2016 8:10 PM MST http://www.examiner.com/review/arrow-4x14-code-of-silence-review-a-breathtaking-gift

Even Matt Carter is on Felicity's side and not Oliver's... ‘Arrow’ season 4, episode 14 review: Felicity’s (potentially) big news; William’s clear and present danger February 18, 2016 http://cartermatt.com/195720/arrow-season-4-episode-14-review-william-questions/

Yahoo reviewer doesn't understand Thea's stance either... 'Arrow' Recap: Buildings Fall, Felicity Stands Tall Robert Chan February 18, 2016 https://www.yahoo.com/tv/arrow-recap-buildings-fall-felicity-stands-120948341.html ETA: Incidentally, the answer to the Yahoo reviewer's question? Felicity loves and trusts Oliver and would not violate Oliver's privacy that way by electronically tracking him.

Just About Write's scathing review of 414 (it's very lengthy so I only quoted portions, but I recommend you read the entire article)... Arrow 4x14 Review: "Code of Silence" (Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire) 6:41 PM http://www.itsjustaboutwrite.com/2016/02/arrow-4x14-review-code-of-silence-liar.html

ScreenCrush reviewer thought 414 was a "pleasantly surprising hour overall" but still thought that Oliver's "deception" made little sense... Review: ‘Arrow’ Hits Another Stunt High Breaking its ‘Code of Silence’ Kevin Fitzpatrick | 7 hours ago http://screencrush.com/arrow-code-of-silence-review/

Robert Dougherty's scathing review of 414 (gave it a score of 5/10)... Arrow S4: E14 -- 'Code of Silence' By Robert Dougherty February 18, 2016 08:55AM EST http://www.themovienetwork.com/review/arrow-s4-e14-code-silence

Vulture review of 414 (the headline says it all)... Arrow Recap: Handsome Little Liars By Jenny Raftery February 18, 2016 9:05 a.m. http://www.vulture.com/2016/02/arrow-recap-season-4-episode-14.html

IGN's generally positive review of 414 (but this episode's inconsistency is noted)... ARROW: "CODE OF SILENCE" REVIEW JESSE SCHEDEEN 17 FEB 2016 http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/02/18/arrow-code-of-silence-review

From Laura Hurley's instagram... https://www.instagram.com/p/BB6g4blypo4/

EW mosly just recaps episodes, but here's this bit... Arrow recap: 'Code of Silence' BY CHANCELLOR AGARD February 17 2016 — 11:09 PM EST http://www.ew.com/recap/arrow-season-4-episode-14

Here's an Examiner review of 414 by Meredith Jacobs... 'Arrow' recap: Lies come to light February 17, 2016 9:07 PM MST http://www.examiner.com/article/arrow-recap-lies-come-to-light

Den of Geek reviewer gave 414 a rating of 3/5 stars ("Arrow muddles a funny, action-oriented episode with more convoluted secret son drama")... Arrow: Code of Silence Review Kayti Burt 2/17/2016 at 9:41PM http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/arrow/253026/arrow-code-of-silence-review

Collider reviewer gave 414 a rating of only 2 stars (Fair)... ‘Arrow’ Recap: “Code of Silence” – Built on a Shaky Foundation BY DAVE TRUMBORE 9 HOURS AGO http://collider.com/arrow-recap-code-of-silence-season-4-episode-14/

Blastr reviewer is surprisingly blase about Oliver's secret-keeping... The mayoral debate arrives and Oliver's secrets catch up to him in the latest Arrow Trent Moore Thu, Feb 18, 2016 12:18am http://www.blastr.com/2016-2-18/mayoral-debate-arrives-and-olivers-secrets-catch-him-latest-arrow

I don't know yet if the Los Angeles Times reviewer, James Queally, is going to review 414 (he doesn't review every Arrow episode), but here's a tweet from him... https://twitter.com/JamesQueallyLAT/status/700184530682929152