S06.E22: The Ties That Bind

[AudienceofOne]

So people liked this, huh? It annoyed me for all the same reasons this show has annoyed me all season except now Oliver and Felicity are fighting for stupid, sexist reasons that are stupid and sexist. Felicity shouldn't go into the field because she's a parent now? Is he f*ing kidding me? He's the parent and he even swore to give up Arrow completely but he's still in the field!  This season has been all about creating conflict over nothing  and now it's even extended to their marriage.

[BkWurm1]

I liked it because this episode explained his dumb choice in benching Felicity and better yet, had them confront his issue and Oliver getting over it and apologizing.  And I think it was more about fear than sexism and he was using William as the excuse.  

[AudienceofOne]

Just now, BkWurm1 said:

I liked it because this episode explained his dumb choice in benching Felicity and better yet, had them confront his issue and Oliver getting over it and apologizing.  And I think it was more about fear than sexism and he was using William as the excuse.  

You're right, I just felt the conflict itself was contrived. I also felt it in the way in which SA and EBR approached those scenes. These two know their characters so well, even better than the showrunners sometimes. It's as though even they didn't know why their characters were behaving that way and it showed in their performance. 

Also, now the newbies are back and they suck. 

[BkWurm1]

2 minutes ago, AudienceofOne said:

Also, now the newbies are back and they suck. 

Indeed they do.

[arjumand]

7 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

So people liked this, huh? It annoyed me for all the same reasons this show has annoyed me all season except now Oliver and Felicity are fighting for stupid, sexist reasons that are stupid and sexist. Felicity shouldn't go into the field because she's a parent now? Is he f*ing kidding me? He's the parent and he even swore to give up Arrow completely but he's still in the field!  This season has been all about creating conflict over nothing  and now it's even extended to their marriage.

 

6 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

You're right, I just felt the conflict itself was contrived. I also felt it in the way in which SA and EBR approached those scenes. These two know their characters so well, even better than the showrunners sometimes. It's as though even they didn't know why their characters were behaving that way and it showed in their performance. 

Also, now the newbies are back and they suck. 

 

Yeah, I don't know about this episode. I really had nothing to say, maybe because (at least the one I watched) they forgot to pay the sound guy again, and so I have to rewatch with headphones.

I don't care about the newbies at all, and they were all over this episode. And not only was the conflict between Oliver and Felicity contrived, but also the temporary solution to their problem - Curtis rigged the place to blow? Suuuuuuure he did. And how did Oliver know that one of the explosions was so perfectly placed as to send Diaz flying but not injure them? Whatever.

Having said that, that final scene, when Felicity gave him the detonator, was the only bit I really liked, and that's because it reminded me of an iconic scene in one of my favourite movies of all time:

 

And then we had to see Oliver grovel at the feet of the smuggest tv FBI agent of all time. Having just rewatched some episodes of Brooklyn Nine Nine (which contains, IMO, the best romantic relationship on tv right now), I kept expecting her to say, "2000 push-ups!"

I just feel tired - this season has tired me out. I can't even enjoy loving Olicity goodness, because I'm always waiting for the cockbIocking which MG seems to believe is essential for every tv relationship.

I can't believe I used to complain about Prometheus and his whole schtick of "my meta power is that I can mine an entire island in an hour!" I'm sorry, Prometheus! Come baaaack!

[Lantern7]

Once again, New York’s affiliate had a Yankees’ game to air on Thursday. I’m okay with the notion in April and September, but now? While we’re coming to the finish line? I’m not saying what we got is the best. Like Marge Simpson once grumbled, “It’s an ending.”

Seriously hoping Diaz bites it on Thursday. Hey, maybe he’ll die in the most humiliating manner some fans could think of: accidentally by Rene and/or Curtis. Why get an arrow to the neck? Diaz could trip on a T-Sphere and get in the way of a Wild Dog bullet. I’m okay with Acevedo, but Diaz is so one-note. He’s got two volumes: really soft and really loud. His power is basically stabbing people, which doesn’t inspire me with fear. And he’s killed at least two Quadrant heads. So if this was G.I. Joe, he would have been running Cobra inside five episodes? Oyyyyyyyyy.

Next week will be brutal. Either the nanny will get killed, or she’ll reveal herself working for Diaz. Maybe she’s his mom. Quentin was a no-show this week; I’m betting the team will find a note when police HQ gets cleaned up. “Hey, Guys. Fuck this noise, I’m gonna travel through time with my daughter, where it’s so much safer. That’s Sara, the daughter I just remembered is still alive.”

Aside from the sound wave bounce trick, has either Dinah or Laurel-2 done anything with the “canary cry” beyond blasting? At least Laurel-X had echolocation.

ETA: Apparently, my iPad can learn names, because there’s a “Fuchs” on Archer this season. “Fuchs this noise”?? ?

Edited May 13, 2018 by Lantern7

[SmallScreenDiva]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Aside from the sound wave bounce trick, has either Dinah or Laurel-2 done anything with the “canary cry” beyond blasting?

Dinah stopped a train at some point. I think it was supposed to be this epic Canary moment but I've hardly seen GIFs or mention of it. 

[AudienceofOne]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

That’s Sara, the daughter I just remembered is still alive.”

Don't get me started on that. You have a daughter, Quentin! You just forget she exists for some reason.

Watching Dinah's canary posing made me miss Sarah so much. She was the Original and The Best. 

[cambridgeguy]

7 hours ago, arjumand said:

And then we had to see Oliver grovel at the feet of the smuggest tv FBI agent of all time. Having just rewatched some episodes of Brooklyn Nine Nine (which contains, IMO, the best romantic relationship on tv right now), I kept expecting her to say, "2000 push-ups!"

Yup, that made absolutely no sense.  I can see Oliver not wanting to beg for help but if he's at that point then there are many, many people who can lend a hand without the strings.  You know, like the Flash, or the Legends.  The Legends who are led by someone with a personal connection to various characters on this show.

They really, really should have kept Michael Emerson as the Big Bad.  At least he could sell the whole criminal mastermind thing whereas Diaz is just a pale imitation of past baddies.

[KirkB]

10 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

They really, really should have kept Michael Emerson as the Big Bad.  At least he could sell the whole criminal mastermind thing whereas Diaz is just a pale imitation of past baddies.

I have never watched Person of Interest and have no personal stake in Micheal Emerson, but I absolutely agree with this. Diaz is just a thug. He's the kind of bad guy you spend an episode or two worrying about before the real  big bad shows up, snaps his neck, and gets on with the business of chewing scenery. Cayden James was a master planner, like Prometheus and to a lesser extent Malcolm, who didn't get directly involved and was never going to get in a one on one fight with Oliver. He had people following him for various reasons and could use all the same resources Oliver and company did. He was hardly unique but at least he was far more interesting.

[way2interested]

I'm thinking it was mostly due to not being able to lock down ME for the whole year, which is both their fault and not their fault (sure if they couldn't lock him down full season maybe pick a different actor, but on the flip side would that mean the character wouldn't be as good with a different actor? At some point you have to take the risk). In theory though, I think it would have been more interesting if the twist in villains was in the other direction.

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, way2interested said:

I'm thinking it was mostly due to not being able to lock down ME for the whole year, which is both their fault and not their fault (sure if they couldn't lock him down full season maybe pick a different actor, but on the flip side would that mean the character wouldn't be as good with a different actor? At some point you have to take the risk). In theory though, I think it would have been more interesting if the twist in villains was in the other direction.

That would have been great. Have 3D carry on like a banshee, strutting around loudly while Cayden James quietly did his bidding and then CJ takes over and becomes the menace.

[TwistedandBored]

I liked the episode. I like how it has become some sort of tradition for the show to make sure OTA work together around the last 3 episode of each season. 

Diggle and Layla were awesome together.

I love Olicity scenes. You know, I liked that Oliver admitted that he was changing the rules. At least he was self aware of about that.  I also liked how Felicity let him know about her position in a calmly way. Honestly, I am glad their little marital fight wasn't made out of be something bigger than it is really. All couples disagree on things and they work on it. 

NTA was in the background where they deserve to be. However, I did not like how Oliver was asking for their trust and other BS stuff but I figured after this we could at least move on from this since the show is never gonna acknowledged all the wrongs NTA did. It is okay though cause I will remember and I am never gonna like or forgive their stupid asses.  

 

The less I say about Diaz and The Quadrant the better. By trying the make him happen, they have destroyed a whole city system, ARGUS,  Cayden James, and most of the crime families thriving businesses. And, he is still useless. 

 

They had Michael Emerson as Cayden and Helix as his organization and they destroyed both for this idiot! This is like one the biggest sins the show has commit thus far. 

 

I don't remember anything BS did in this episode. I am literally drawing blank. 

[KenyaJ]

20 minutes ago, TwistedandBored said:

NTA was in the background where they deserve to be. However, I did not like how Oliver was asking for their trust and other BS stuff but I figured after this we could at least move on from this since the show is never gonna acknowledged all the wrongs NTA did. It is okay though cause I will remember and I am never gonna like or forgive their stupid asses.  

Word. And perfect gif. 

[BunsenBurner]

When watching with CC on I noticed that they captioned in the scene with FS and Lyla talking about how in the battlefield L&D enjoyed each other that FS made a comment saying “that’s so sweet,” when she was just pressing her lips together. 

After Diaz threw his glass against a wall the CC shows later that he is crunching glass but all I could hear were distinct footsteps.

Noy important but these kind of things bug me. 

[JamieLynn832002]

58 minutes ago, TwistedandBored said:

I don't remember anything BS did in this episode. I am literally drawing blank. 

If you're talking about Black Siren, I don't think she was in the episode. Felicity mentions that Laurel's in the wind when discussing Quentin after the initial attacks but I think that's it.

[AudienceofOne]

15 minutes ago, JamieLynn832002 said:

If you're talking about Black Siren, I don't think she was in the episode. Felicity mentions that Laurel's in the wind when discussing Quentin after the initial attacks but I think that's it.

She was captured by Diaz at the end of the last episode I think. I was hoping he'd killed her but I hold out no hope.

[statsgirl]

2 hours ago, BunsenBurner said:

When watching with CC on I noticed that they captioned in the scene with FS and Lyla talking about how in the battlefield L&D enjoyed each other that FS made a comment saying “that’s so sweet,” when she was just pressing her lips together.

I've been putting the CC on for this show this season and I've noticed a surprising number of times the CC doesn't match the dialogue. I guess they get the CC from the script rather than the episode.

[BunsenBurner]

That’s what I think as well. When it’s O & F it’s usually better than the script. 

[TwistedandBored]

Lmao! That must why I was drawing blank on what Black Siren did in the episode. She wasn't in it. 

[GustavMahler]

I know that I am in the minority here but I cannot stand every single Olicity scene that occurs because they are so damn repetitive following tropes that were discussed endlessly in seasons past. The same can be said for the scenes with William, just regurgitating the same issues ad neuseum. Remove those boorishly cloying predictable conversations and you have a decent show.

[KenyaJ]

2 hours ago, TwistedandBored said:

Lmao! That must why I was drawing blank on what Black Siren did in the episode. She wasn't in it. 

LMAO that you couldn't tell the difference.

[EmilyBettFan]

13 hours ago, GustavMahler said:

I know that I am in the minority here but I cannot stand every single Olicity scene that occurs because they are so damn repetitive following tropes that were discussed endlessly in seasons past. The same can be said for the scenes with William, just regurgitating the same issues ad neuseum. Remove those boorishly cloying predictable conversations and you have a decent show.

That goes for everyone on that show and every plot. Here I'll show you:

1) Diggle has repetitive tropes with talking sense into Oliver (Note: I love Diggle and he is yoda.)

2) Dinah and BS all they do is scream. 

3) Quentin has everyone should be my daughter syndrome.

4) Curtis is an annoying brat. All the time

5) Rene is insufferable. 

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, EmilyBettFan said:

2) Dinah and BS all they do is scream. 

Don't forget the inability to act by either actresses! One stands in weird poses and over emotes constantly while the other wears the same smug b@tchy/ stunned mullet expression in EVERY FREAKING SCENE.

[lemotomato]

16 hours ago, GustavMahler said:

Remove those boorishly cloying predictable conversations and you have a decent show.

I’m curious; If those scenes were removed, what would you replace them with? 

[GustavMahler]

4 hours ago, lemotomato said:

I’m curious; If those scenes were removed, what would you replace them with? 

Excellent question and it helps demonstrate the repetitive nature of it all...how about these supposedly intelligent characters have the epiphany already and treat each other with respect and trust so it does not need to be hammered home with a "now you know" lesson every damn week.

[BkWurm1]

2 hours ago, GustavMahler said:

Excellent question and it helps demonstrate the repetitive nature of it all...how about these supposedly intelligent characters have the epiphany already and treat each other with respect and trust so it does not need to be hammered home with a "now you know" lesson every damn week.

I disagree that Oliver has had to relearn this lesson every week or even that repeatedly.  He was having issues because as he said, he was rewriting the rules because their lives and relationship was different and because he was freaking out after the NTA left and then John blamed it all on Oliver living a full life.

So Oliver started second guessing everything he did and I don't think it was much of a coincidence that benching Felicity was also about him not having to be afraid of losing her or worrying that she would be safe or that William would have a parent.   But it was an overreaction.  One that at first Felicity was letting him try to work through and then now when it was impacting the mission, she set him straight on what she would and would not be acceptable when it came to "her place" during the mission.  That conversation and Diggle undoing some of the harm he'd done when HE overreacted and blamed all the problems of the past year on Oliver having a lot on his plate., Oliver found a way to once again be at ease with how he and Felicity worked as a team.    

I think it's realistic for characters to revisit important issues and acknowledge that some things will come up again and again because life and circumstances DO change.  Which in turn does make the issue coming up different as well.  Oliver wasn't wrong when he said it was different now with them together and with William.  But his fears and uncertainty led him to try to go it alone, which yes, is something that has come up before but not because of these circumstances.  

This isn't like Rene showing up half the season to remind everyone that "This doesn't change anything Hoss."  That was repetitive and really didn't change anything nor did it ever come from a new set of circumstances (or even make much sense, ever.)   

This thing between Oliver and Felicity was a short, planned out, character arc that started in the recent Vertigo episode (with a lot of influence from what Diggle said in the episode before) and ended in this week's episode.  Oliver WAS making a poor choice by letting his fear push Felicity away on the professional front (really something he had not done before)  but for once the show did the work to explain where he was coming from and why his head was messed up.  And they let them work it out without shouting or drama.  They let them talk to others to get perspective and then fix this issue.  So I don't think it was in any way boorishly cloying or something they've been coming back to again and again.  It was something important to their current relationship and to who they are now as individuals and as a couple.   And it allowed us to understand why Oliver had been making some of his recent choices, all very relevant stuff to the ongoing show.  

[AudienceofOne]

52 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

So I don't think it was in any way boorishly cloying or something they've been coming back to again and again.  It was something important to their current relationship and to who they are now as individuals and as a couple.   And it allowed us to understand why Oliver had been making some of his recent choices, all very relevant stuff to the ongoing show.  

Which is to say, that because John's arc makes little sense (to me), Oliver's reaction to it also makes little sense (to me).

For me, the repetition does not come from any of the Olicity beats. It comes from the writers using other characters to jerk him around each season and him then coming to some sort of peace with it by the end of the season - but each time in exactly the same way. He wants to be the Green Arrow but he also wants a family and a normal life. He needs a team, not because he isn't an awesome vigilante, but because compromise makes him a better person and frees him up to pursue other interests.

But that's the conclusion he came to in at least the last three or even four seasons. So having him go through exactly this same Felicity argument again annoyed me. Things gets bad, he tries to bench Felicity, Felicity gets annoyed because they're supposed to be a partnership, he apologises.

I think there is some improvement in the fact this happened over only one episode rather than an entire season. But that micro-plotting just made it seem so much more formulaic.

But I certainly wouldn't want the show to remove Olicity and replace it with something else. Felicity and Olicity is why I'm still here. I've already dropped Flash and LoT.

[BkWurm1]

2 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

Which is to say, that because John's arc makes little sense (to me), Oliver's reaction to it also makes little sense (to me).

 

I agree that John's reaction made little sense to me.  But I found Oliver's reaction to Diggle putting all the blame on Oliver more understandable. 

I don't buy into anything that Diggle said, but it seems perfectly in keeping with who Oliver is and how much respect he has for Diggle that he would buy into at least some of what John was saying and make changes.  Even if the changes he made IMO were nonsense. 

But part of the problem was that Oliver didn't have places he could make changes.  He had a family and he was Mayor and he was the GA.  He'd just recommitted to being the GA and there was no way he was walking away from his family. 

Personally I think if he was serious about taking things off his plate, the Mayorship was the place, especially given how under fire he had been at the time but for whatever reason, right after the Vertigo episode, he chose to preserve his family (naturally) and keep his commitment to Star City as both Mayor and GA. 

What was left to remove from his burden?  How about the thing that probably had most recent freaked him out; Felicity risking her life to save his ass as the GA at police headquarters.  

The only thing he could cut from a life he wasn't going to back away from was the worry he normally probably carried with him by having Felicity in the same vigilante mission.  He probably reasoned that if Felicity was no longer part of the mission, then that burden of fear was gone.  Of course also with it went all the incredibly good things that her presence offered that lightened his load and made his job easier and kept both of them safer.  Things that had he been thinking rationally rather than emotionally, he would have recognized.    But I think he was deeply traumatized by Diggle basically breaking up with him and telling him he sucked at being a leader.  At that point the only one left he was leading was Felicity and if he believes John, then he's going to screw up anyway and either push her away or get her killed.  So yeah, I can understand his messed up thinking.   

Now, of course, almost right away, the Mayorship was taken off his plate and honestly, that should have been enough if he really was buying into the absurd "you being a better person has made you a worse leader."  He should have at that point decided that ok, now I can focus more on being a leader so put Felicity back on the team.  Which is why I tend to think a desperate attempt to follow John's absurd pronouncement morphed more into him being afraid of what could happen to Felicity.  He's back to doing it alone and Dig leaving shook his confidence in a manner that the Newbs couldn't touch.  I don't think he trusted his ability to keep her safe and sold his decision to himself by reverting to that season three crap about splitting his focus.  Only back then it was not thinking he could be Oliver Queen and the GA and this time he decided he could be both but only if he kept all his loved ones away from him being the GA.     

It was logic that anyone with any sense could see as deeply flawed but I know that it came from a place of love.  Like he said, he could handle just about anything but losing her and William.  So he tried to keep that from happening in a very flawed way. But rational in Oliver's current state of irrationality.  

I think in Diggle basically endorsing Felicity staying on the team, he was expressing his confidence in Oliver's ability to keep her safe, something he'd ripped away from Oliver before when he left and blamed all the problems of the season on Oliver.  So THIS episode made sense to me even if Diggle's walk out and rationale behind it still don't work for me.    

[AudienceofOne]

32 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I don't buy into anything that Diggle said, but it seems perfectly in keeping with who Oliver is and how much respect he has for Diggle that he would buy into at least some of what John was saying and make changes. 

One thing that has really struck me about Oliver versus everyone else this season is that Oliver really really listens to what everybody is telling him and tries to deal with it. Even when what they're saying is basically nonsense. It's why the idea that he is in the wrong and the newbies (and Dig) are in the right really annoys me. You don't see them trying to listen to him and change their behaviour like he does for them. He has really grown as a character and I find it frustrating that the writers have decided to give everybody around him this reaction to that. Like, their biggest complaint was Oliver being an autocrat but then they get the most upset when he listens and becomes less autocratic? 

These people suck and the writers suck for not realising they suck.

[KenyaJ]

7 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

He has really grown as a character and I find it frustrating that the writers have decided to give everybody around him this reaction to that.

This has been driving me crazy for this entire half of the season. The writers want it both ways; they want to show that Oliver has grown, but they also needed to isolate him "for reasons." They actually did a really great job of showing his growth and this season is the most I've ever liked and rooted for Oliver. So it's fine if they needed to remove everyone from his orbit, but they should have shown that the problem was with everyone else, not Oliver. They acknowledged it in passing when Quentin said as much in 618, but a passing mention is insufficient compared to 10+ episodes of members of the team ragging on Oliver and telling him how much he sucks. It could have made for some good character growth for the newbies and Digg if the writers had instead focused on the issues that were causing each of them to question their roles on the team. By blaming it all on Oliver while he was at his most rational, they made everyone else look totally irrational, and of course now they're sweeping it all under the rug like we didn't spend the past 13 episodes watching them be assholes. 

Anyway, I'm hoping that Beth Schwartz is more enlightened than Guggenheim and doesn't think it's necessary to isolate Oliver every season. And I especially hope she doesn't think that the best way to do that is to make everyone else act crazy and act like their craziness is Oliver's fault.

[BkWurm1]

I swear I remember them promoting this season as the season where it's Oliver's turn to be the grown up and everyone around him would be having their melt downs and freak outs and that was true but how the hell did Oliver still end up getting all the blame?

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I swear I remember them promoting this season as the season where it's Oliver's turn to be the grown up and everyone around him would be having their melt downs and freak outs and that was true but how the hell did Oliver still end up getting all the blame?

They did. That's why most of this season made no sense.

[Featherhat]

15 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

I swear I remember them promoting this season as the season where it's Oliver's turn to be the grown up and everyone around him would be having their melt downs and freak outs and that was true but how the hell did Oliver still end up getting all the blame?

Yeah and in other seasons where he did deserve some blame/pushback from his team a lot of them were falling over themselves to say nothing was his fault - looking at you BMD, various parts of S5. 

This season he's explained his actions, apologised if when it wasn't warranted and generally been the most mature he's ever been and we're still supposed to empathise with boobs who are the actual reverse of all those things? Rene, aka the one who actually sold Oliver out is the only one who shows a shred of remorse (only occasionally). Curtis just gives off the impression that if he'd been sounded out by OTA (aka the Cool Kids) he would have been perfectly fine with spying on Rene and Dinah. And Dinah is just a hypocrite as well. 

I didn't love Olicity's storyline in this episode but again, Oliver managed to articulate his feelings and they resolved their conflict in a reasonable way, he didn't just shut her out of the descision for a season like other times he tried a unilateral "this is what is going to happen". 

Edited May 17, 2018 by Featherhat

[tv echo]

622 (The Ties That Bind) – No Oliver Queen voiceover intro.

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver is relaxing at home with wife Felicity and son William:
William: "Uh, Dad, there's a shell in this one."
Oliver: "Uh, yes, there is." (Picks eggshell out of pan on stove)
William: "Oh, isn't the pan hot?"
Oliver: "Ow. It's immensely hot. But, when we are doing breakfast for dinner at Chez Queen, we do it right. Salt me, please, Felicity."
Felicity: "What?"
Oliver: "Could you pass the salt, please, quickly when you get a chance? I cannot put salt on this if it's gonna put that expression on your face."
Felicity: "It's not about the salt, Oliver."
Oliver: "Okay."
William: "Call me when dinner's ready." (Leaves room)
Oliver: "Okay, well, you have officially scared him away, so, ahem, you want to tell me what's going on with you?"
Felicity: "Oliver, it's just you're in here pretending like you weren't almost put in prison for the rest of your life. Okay, we almost lost you. And the man who tried to put you there is still out there controlling the city, and you're just in here scrambling eggs, Oliver."
Oliver: "Yup. Okay, first, I'm gonna stop him. Second, I am in here scrambling eggs because I just wanted a night - one night - to remind myself what I'm fighting for."
Felicity: "Okay, I guess I can compartmentalize that."
Oliver: "I can help you with that." (Wraps his arms around her and kisses her)

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver, Felicity and William are having dinner when they are attacked by Diaz' minions:
Felicity: "My mom and I used to eat breakfast for dinner all the time, except it wasn't ironic, because she worked nights, so - I mean, not like that! At least, I hope not like that."
(Oliver's cell phone chimes)
William: "Are you gonna get it, Dad?"
Oliver: "No. That's one of the perks of being impeached. No interruptions."
Felicity: "Oliver, get the phone. Get the phone."
Oliver: "Okay." (Goes over to look at phone)
Felicity: "Who was it?"
Oliver: "Anatoly." (Reads text message that says "GET OUT" and "RIGHT NOW")
(Bad guys rappel down outside the windows and start shooting at them.)
Oliver: "Get down! When I move, get William into the bedroom and shut the door, okay?"
(Oliver fights the minions, while Felicity and William run to the bedroom.)
Oliver: "Are you two okay?"
William: "Yeah. Are - are they dead?"
Oliver: "No, but they're down."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver sends William with Raisa into A.R.G.U.S. protective custody, but Felicity refuses to leave him:
Raisa: "Mr. Oliver? Oh, thank God, you are all right."
Oliver: "Thank you for coming so quickly."
Raisa: "I was close. Where are the men?"
Oliver: "I tied them up. They're unconscious."
Felicity: "Hey, I just spoke to Rene, Dinah, and John. They're okay."
Oliver: "Good. Wait. What about Curtis?"
Felicity: "He's okay. His boyfriend isn't. He has to go into surgery."
Oliver: "Starling General is not secure."
Felicity: "No, no. Lyla sent them to the A.R.G.U.S. med-bay. They're gonna be okay."
Oliver: "Quentin?"
Felicity: "Quentin said that Diaz isn't gonna attack the mayor. He's too much in the public eye. But Laurel's in the wind."
William: "What about us?"
Oliver: "That's why I called Raisa, okay? We're gonna put you into A.R.G.U.S. custody. They're gonna keep you safe."
William: "You're not coming, are you?"
Oliver: "No. I have to stay here. I have to finish this. You're gonna go with Raisa and Felicity."
Felicity: "Oh, actually, buddy, I'm not coming either."
Oliver: "I would like you far away from here and safe."
Felicity: "Oliver, this is my fight as much as it is yours. I'm not going anywhere."
Oliver (to William): "As the Green Arrow, I have gone up against some terrible people who have tried to do terrible things. Hey, look at me. And I'm still here."
William: "That doesn't mean you always will be."
Oliver: "You're right. William, I just started being your dad, okay? I love being your dad. And nothing is gonna take me away from you, especially not Ricardo Diaz."
William: "Kick his ass."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – In the NTA Bunker, OTA and NTA watch surveillance feed of Diaz's minions destroying the Arrow Bunker:
Oliver: "John and Lyla are on their way?"
Rene: "Yeah. But why are you having them come here?"
Oliver: "Because our bunker is not secure."
Dinah: "Yeah. Why would Diaz do all of this now? He could've moved on us months ago."
Oliver: "Diaz wanted me in prison to avoid making a martyr of the Green Arrow. With me out of the picture, he would've come after you. It didn't go that way."
Felicity: "Well, I'm not liking his Plan B. This is the feed from our surveillance cameras."
Dinah: "Son of a bitch.
Rene: "What are we doing just watching? Let's go there now."
Diggle (entering with Lyla): "There's no time, Rene. Diaz has numbers, which means he has tactical advantage."
Oliver: "John's right. Bunkers and equipment can be replaced. We need to look at the big picture. Are our families on the way to the safe house?"
Lyla: "Better. NORAD bunker in Colorado."
Felicity (watching monitor): "Oh, no, no. Not the -"
Diaz (on phone to his minions): "Should've done this months ago. Torch it."
Rene: "We leave now, we could snag a couple, send a message."
Dinah: "Don't worry. You'll get your chance. Just have patience, Rene."
Oliver: "Dinah's right. Diaz is making his move. We will make ours carefully and precisely. End this tonight."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver suggests seeking Anatoly's help:
Oliver: "How much support can we expect from A.R.G.U.S.?"
Lyla: "I had to stretch the rules to get what little resources John has now. As big a problem as Diaz is for Star City -"
Diggle: "For A.R.G.U.S., he's small potatoes."
Lyla: "What John means is, A.R.G.U.S. isn't chartered for law enforcement."
Curtis (entering): "It looks like it's just up to us, then."
Felicity (hugging him): "Curtis. Hey. How's Nick?"
Curtis: "He's resting, post-op. It was pretty bad, but he's gonna be okay. We got lucky."
Felicity: "Oh, I'm so sorry."
Curtis: "He took those bullets for me."
Rene: "Don't worry. We'll give him payback times 10."
Curtis: "Where do we start?"
Dinah: "Well, we've got to get a direct intel on Diaz's location."
Felicity: "I'm working on that."
Rene: "All right. And we need some major league ordnance."
Lyla: "That A.R.G.U.S. can help with."
Diggle: "Bennet and I, we're a force multiplier."
Oliver: "You know, if we keep going this way, we're going to die out there. It doesn't matter how much weaponry Lyla provides, how angry we are, how much adrenaline we have. If we just - if we just press ahead like this, we're all gonna die out there."
Felicity: "We haven't worked together in months. You know, Diaz is not expecting that at least."
Oliver: "He's planned for everything. Us getting back together. Working as a team. It's a start, but this guy's got an army. He has the city officials; He's got the police. He's got everything."
Curtis: "Please tell me there's a 'but' coming out the end of this pep talk."
Oliver: "Anatoly Knyazev."
Rene: "I thought he hated your guts."
Oliver: "I think we've come to an understanding. I also think that he might be the one move Diaz does not see coming."
Diggle: "Oliver, if that's our tactical advantage, we need to press it."
Oliver: "Let me set a meet with him, okay? Let us make a move off of his intel. But until we have it, I want you guys to stand down, and I'm asking you to trust me. I know that that trust does not come easy after everything that's happened. Let's put all of that aside and get this done."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver conveys Anatoly’s intel to the team:
Oliver: "Anatoly did it. Diaz will be on his way to the S.C.P.D. in an hour."
Lyla: "A.R.G.U.S. doesn't have authority to arrest Diaz. So once you have him in custody, what's the next step?"
Felicity: "Yeah, Lyla's right. We can't just hand him over to the police. And, no offense, but your Lian Yu Supermax is kind of blown up."
Oliver: "One problem at a time. Now we need to end this. And that means solving our first problem - getting Diaz."
Curtis: "Can I say it for old time's sake? Suit up."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Team Arrow comes up with a plan to clone Diaz's necklace gadget:
Diggle: "We almost got that son of a bitch."
Rene: "How's Curtis?"
Dinah: "He's resting with Nick. One inch either way, he would've bled out. He got lucky."
Oliver: "It wasn't just luck."
Diggle: "What do you mean?"
Oliver: "Diaz could've killed Curtis, but he went for some sort of necklace instead."
Rene: "That must be one damn important piece of jewelry."
Felicity: "More like a piece of tech. Look. It's a GRV-567, solid state drive, military grade, dynamic encryption. Whatever's on it, Diaz has gone to some major trouble to keep it secure and close, though."
Dinah: "This looks like something we should have our hands on."
Oliver: "Wait. How do we know? There could be nothing on it."
Felicity: "You just said so yourself. I mean, Diaz went after this instead of going after Curtis."
Oliver: "Your digital sniffer, can it read the drive?"
Felicity: "Yeah. If you get me close enough, for sure."
Rene: "But Diaz is headed to S.C.P.D. I'm sure he's gonna let us stroll right in."
Lyla: "They'll let me."
Diggle: "What do you mean? Diaz knows that A.R.G.U.S. is working against him."
Lyla: "The police still have to keep up appearances. Wouldn't look good if they decline a visit from the head of a federal agency. And if things go south, I've got you to back me up."
Oliver: "I think that this is a big gamble for an unknown payoff."
Diggle: "It probably is, Oliver, but it might be our only shot."
Dinah: "So we're all on board here?"
Oliver: "Yeah."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver has reservations about Felicity going into the field with Lyla:
Oliver: "How's it going with the sniffer?"
Felicity: "Oh, just snifferific. I am reprogramming it to specifically couple with the digital signature of Diaz's drive. I'll have to do some on-the-fly programming just to cut out the noise, but totally in my wheelhouse."
Oliver: "Does this absolutely have to be done on site?"
Felicity: "It absolutely does if you would absolutely like it to work. Why? Oliver, you do know I have been on the field before, right? Russia, twice. Nanda Parbat, Merlyn Global."
Oliver: "That all happened before you were a parent."
Felicity: "Well, if it will make you feel any better, I will not be the one infiltrating the precinct. That'll be Lyla - the same Lyla who's also a parent and whose husband didn't blink twice when she volunteered to go into Diaz's dragon den."
Oliver: "Lyla's a soldier."
Felicity: "Yeah, which is why she's the one infiltrating and I'm the one hacking remotely. I'm not gonna do anything stupid. Do we have a problem here?"
Oliver: "No. Ready when you are."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Felicity and Lyla go on their mission to infiltrate the Diaz-controlled S.C.P.D. precinct and plant the digital sniffer:
Lyla: "All I have to do is position that someplace central?"
Felicity: "Yes. If Diaz's drive is in that building, sniffer will find it. I can monitor the transfer from here, but I need this back for full pull."
Lyla: "How much time do you need for the transfer?"
Felicity: "A couple minutes, max."
Lyla: "Copy that. (Over comms) Everybody in position?"
Oliver (over comms): "In position."
Diggle (over comms): "First hint anything's wrong, signal us."
Lyla: "Copy. We move in 5. Everything okay?"
Felicity: "Yeah. It's just - it's so nice to see how you and John, you know, work when you're out in the field, because you're so in sync. How do you do it?"
Lyla: "You're asking for marital advice? Now?"
Felicity: "Sorry. Yeah, totally terrible timing. It's just that, like, Oliver doesn't even want me here. So I just thought maybe a tip or two would work."
Lyla: "We always knew our lives would be high risk. Eventually we got to a point where worrying about that seemed less important than enjoying the time we have together, even if that was on a battlefield. Also, getting divorced helps."
*  *  *
Lyla (over comms): "You're on, Felicity."
Felicity (over comms): "All right. Locked on. Give it a few minutes."
*  *  *
Felicity (over comms): "Guys, the encryption array, it's Corto Maltesian in origin."
Oliver (over comms): "What does that mean?"
Felicity (over comms): "I mean, I don't know, but if I was betting, financial records. What if these are all of Diaz's books, everyone he has on his payroll?"
Diggle (over comms): "We could liberate the city, take down his whole operation."
*  *  *
Felicity (over comms): "Lyla, we're done. Grab the sniffer."
*  *  *
Felicity: "Oh, frack it."
(Felicity leaves the van and goes into the S.C.P.D. precinct.)
Felicity (throwing something at Diaz’s hacker guy): “Sorry! I’m sorry!”
(She retrieves the planted sniffer device and is pursued by Diaz. He's about to shoot her when Oliver shoots an arrow to stop him. Oliver then grabs Felicity's hand and gets her out of the precinct.)

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver and Felicity have a heart-to-heart talk about Felicity going into the field against Oliver's wishes:
Lyla: "That was an all-out fight with the S.C.P.D."
Rene: "Totally nuts, even by my standards."
Felicity: "Yeah, but it was the only option. I mean, this was too important not to get."
Dinah: "How would you even know? This is supposed to be encrypted."
Felicity: "Well, you can just call me an optimist because I'm thinking in two to three hours, all of us are gonna be extremely happy."
Diggle: "Can you gather information as it decrypts? It'd be nice to get a jump on things."
Felicity: "Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no. This is an all-or-nothing type deal, okay? We go in mid-decryption, and the whole drive wipes. Nothing."
Oliver: "Felicity, may I speak with you?"
Felicity: "Yes. (Diggle, Dinah and Rene leave) I'm gonna just take a wild guess and say that this isn't one of those conversations that starts with, like, 'I love you. You were brave. You go. That was awesome.'"
Oliver: "No. This is a conversation that happens because I love you."
Felicity: "Okay."
Oliver: "You promised me you would stay put."
Felicity: "Well, I didn't exactly promise."
Oliver: "Fine. You promised me you wouldn't do anything stupid. You charged into a firefight."
Felicity: "Which was a calculated risk."
Oliver: "Did you calculate how close Ricardo Diaz came to shooting you in the back of the head?"
Felicity: "We got what we wanted."
Oliver: "That's not -"
Felicity: "And if I'm right, what we wanted has the list of everyone in the city that Diaz controls. This could help us get our home back from Diaz, Oliver. We could actually save our city this time around. I think that's a little bit more important than 'what ifs.'"
Oliver: "This is why I started working alone again."
Felicity: "Yeah. You know what? I tried convincing myself that that was the right move, too. But it's not, because we're married and we're supposed to be each other's strength. So there is no alone for us anymore."
Oliver: "It's not that simple, and you know it."
Felicity: "God. I'm really gonna start needing you to see it that way."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Diggle talks to Oliver about Felicity: 
Oliver: "What else you guys talk about?"
Diggle: "I may have prodded her a bit. But, Oliver, I really didn't need to. Everyone could see the tension between the two of you."
Oliver: "Well, John, I asked her not to go into the field. And she did. And I'm sorry that she thinks I'm changing the rules for her, but I am changing the rules for her because things have changed."
Diggle: "William."
Oliver: "Well, Diaz's people attacked us in our home. Sitting down for a meal in our home. So don't ask me to sit here and pretend like things aren't different. And you - you told me that I had spread myself too thin, and I listened to what you said. And I took it to heart, and I made some changes. She went into the field tonight, she split my focus, and it could've gotten both of us killed."
Diggle: "But it didn't."
Oliver: "Well, it -"
Diggle: "Truth is, you were there for her tonight the same way she's been there for you as Overwatch. And, look, when I said that your focus was split, I didn't mean throwing away everything and everyone that gives you strength."
(Wall monitor starts beeping.)
Diggle: "Diaz is here with an army."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Diaz and his minions attack and destroy the NTA Bunker, but Felicity wants to stay until the decryption is finished:
Felicity: "Tricelic gas is filling the building."
Dinah: "This is Diaz."
Diggle: "His men breached the northeast entry. Between that and the gas, we don't have a lot of time."
Oliver: "Are there any other ways out of here?"
Felicity: "South corridor. There's a secret stairwell that leads to street level."
Rene (holding up detonation device): "If anything goes sideways, Curtis rigged the whole place to go boom."
Oliver: "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, all right? We got to go."
Felicity: "Not yet."
Oliver: "Felicity, we have to go now!"
Felicity: "The decryption is not done. I'm not leaving until it's done. Do not fight me on this."
Oliver: "Everyone else has to go. We will catch up."
Rene: "Just in case." (Hands detonation device to Oliver)
*  *  *
Oliver: "How much time do we have?"
Felicity: "Five minutes."
Oliver: "We don't have five minutes, Felicity."
Felicity: "You have to get out of here."
Oliver: "No chance."
Felicity: "Once this decryption's done, I'm gonna email it to you and basically the entire world." (Coughs)
Oliver: "Hey, you okay?"
Felicity: "This is our last chance, Oliver. This could be our only chance to stop him. Let me try. William needs you."
Oliver: "William needs us. I'm gonna find another way. (Holds out his hand to her, and she takes it) Come on."
*  *  *
(Oliver and Felicity climb up the stairs in the smoke-filled stairwell.)
Oliver: "How many flights are there?"
Felicity: "A lot."
*  *  *
Oliver: "We're almost there, Felicity. You can do this. (Felicity collapses and Oliver picks her up) Hey. I got you."
Diaz (wearing a gas mask): "I was just coming to kill you. Looks like you met me halfway. (Oliver puts Felicity down and goes up to Diaz, but Diaz kicks him down the stairs) What hurts more, do you think, killing her in front of you or you in front of her? You'll do anything to keep her safe, won't you? Love - that's the real king killer!"
(Oliver is lying on the stairs next to Felicity.)
Felicity: "Click it."
(Oliver clicks the detonation device. The building explodes. Diaz is knocked down the stairwell. Oliver and Felicity emerge onto the rooftop.)
Dinah: "Felicity, Oliver."
Diggle: "C'mon, let's get them out of here."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver and Felicity have another heart-to-heart talk:
Oliver (on phone): "I know, buddy. We miss you, too. Well, it's gonna be a few more days, but we're - we're safe, okay? We're both safe."
Felicity: "Hey, we love you, William."
Oliver (on phone): "Bye, kiddo."
Felicity: "Is he okay? How's he doing?"
Oliver: "He's okay. He's scared, but, you know, he's safe and he just wants all this to be over."
Felicity: "Yeah. Don't we all?"
Oliver: "Hey. Uh, I shouldn't have pushed you away. I should have trusted you to keep yourself safe, and I should have trusted my abilities to help keep you safe."
Felicity: "Thank you."
Oliver: "Yeah."
Felicity: "It's good to know after all these years that you can still learn something." (Kisses his shoulder)
Oliver: "Nah, I still have a ways to go."
Felicity: "That's true. So what now?"
Oliver (sighing): "I have an idea."

622 (The Ties That Bind) – Oliver asks FBI Agent Samanda Watson for help in stopping Diaz:
Watson: "And when you say you can't stop him, are you speaking as the former mayor or as someone else? You want my help? I'm gonna need two things from you. The first is I'm gonna need you to say the words."
Oliver: "I am the Green Arrow."
Watson: "And the truth shall set you free."
Oliver: "What's the second thing?"

Edited March 19, 2020 by tv echo