We’re back, Arrowheads! Armed and ready for another episode of Arrow! Last week was a bit intense as the team took a short break from pursuing Darhk to mourn the loss of Laurel Lance and stop a teenage copy-cat from tarnishing the Black Canary’s memory. And if that wasn’t enough, the episode ended with Oliver vowing to kill Damien Darhk, by any means necessary. Something tells me this isn’t going to go smoothly. Let’s find out, shall we?

We open at HIVE, as the agents stress about a meeting with Darhk, following his escape. Right on cue, Darhk shows up, stating that his focus remains on Genesis. He tells them that they’re no longer needed and kills two agents before declaring that the time to enact Genesis has arrived.

Down in the bunker, the team investigates the death of the HIVE agents. Oliver wants to wait until they know how to combat Darhk’s magic to act, but Diggle thinks they should act before Darhk hurts anyone else. Oliver says that Constantine may know of a way to fight off Darhk’s magic, but the training process is difficult and dangerous. Oliver prepares for a trip to Hub City while Thea decides to go away with Alex for the weekend. Oliver tells the team to lay low while he’s gone.

Diggle visits Lyla at her mobile safehouse to update her on the situation. He tells her that Oliver wants to wait to strike at Darhk until he knows how to counteract the magic and he’s clearly not happy about it. Lyla tells him to be happy he’s not being held prisoner in a glorified semi-truck. Dig tells her that this is the safest place for her and Sara while Andy is still in the wind. Lyla tells him that Oliver has a point and to be careful. He promises to come back later.

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Meanwhile, Felicity visits Oliver to ask him about the “magic tutor” Constantine recommended to him. After some mildly adorable Olicity banter, she asks him why he seems worried. He tells her that he’s seen Darhk’s idol turn people to the dark side before and he’s worried that the same might happen to him. He says that he won’t stop until he avenges Laurel and stops Darhk, by any means necessary. Felicity decides to go with him to Hub City and won’t take no for an answer.

On his way back to see Lyla, Dig gets a ping on Andy’s location and goes to investigate. He finds a burning trashcan full of playing cards before Andy rounds a corner and shoots at him. The fire fight persists until Andy flees on foot. Dig is pursuing him when Lyla calls; Dig tells her that he can’t wait and tells her to send backup.

In Hub City, Oliver and Felicity visit a casino to meet his tutor. While they wait, Felicity decides to play a hand or two. While playing they meet Oliver’s tutor, a woman who Constantine apparently owes money. At the same time, Thea enjoys her weekend with Alex.

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Meanwhile, Andy leads Dig into a trap and knocks him out. Once he comes to, Andy tells him that Darhk is on his way. Dig tells Andy that Darhk is just a liar but Andy is beyond reason, not even the mention of his wife and son can get through to him. Andy says that HIVE is his family now and stabs Dig in the gut.

Back at the casino, Felicity and Oliver learn that his new tutor is an immortal shaman. She takes them to an underground Nexus Chamber and informs them that Star City is home to one as well, which explains why Darhk chose their city. She shows them an idol, much like Darhk’s, and tells them that Darhk’s idol only channel’s his power; death is what gives him his magic. Naturally, Felicity is strongly against Oliver killing people to gain power. But the shaman tells them that if Oliver can channel the light, the counterpart to Darhk’s…well… darkness, he can fight Darhk’s magic. However, if the darkness in Oliver outweighs the light, he will fuel Darhk’s magic instead of repelling it.

At the same time, though Thea is having a good time with Alex, she begins feeling that the neighborhood is too perfect, that everything is fabricated. Alex reassures her that she just doesn’t get out much and tells her that she should just enjoy the vacation.

Elsewhere, as Andy prepares to move him, Dig manages to break free. Dig gets the upper hand and holds Andy at gunpoint, but can’t bring himself to shoot his brother. Andy says that Laurel would me disappointed but Dig says that the only reason Andy is still breathing is because Dig is still human.

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Back in Hub City, Esrin, the immortal shaman, begins her lessons with Oliver. Felicity is apprehensive about the lack of actual teaching but Esrin dismisses her. She tells Oliver to focus on his light side, then begins firing off dark magic for him to combat. As he fights off his inner darkness, Oliver gets flashes of every bad thing that’s ever happened to him. When he comes to, Esrin tells him that she can’t help him, that the darkness inside him is too much and there’s nothing she can do to change that.

Meanwhile, Thea is more convinced than ever that she an

d Alex are someplace that seems off. She points out that the sun hasn’t set and that the sounds are repeating themselves. Alex pulls out a bottle of “vitamins” that Thea recognizes as the manipulation pills used by Darhk. Alex says he got them from Ruve and Thea runs, realizing that the entire trip was a rouse.

In Star City, Lyla is angry with Dig for not waiting for backup. She tells him that he’s acting like the man she divorced all those years ago. He tells her that he’s torn between his brother and Laurel, who was like a sister, and that he just wanted to help bring his brother back. She tells him to do it the right way and he vows to do so.

Back at the casino, Felicity tells Oliver that they’ll find someone else to help him. Oliver tells her that the shaman only responded to her, that she’s always been the one to bring the light to their relationship. He says that Esrin just showed him who he really was, who he became on the island. Felicity tells him that everyone can change.

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Darhk releases Andy and reveals that the altercation was a setup and that Andy planted a tracker on Dig. Darhk’s men attack the mobile safehouse and Lyla contacts A.R.G.U.S. for backup. Unfortunately, A.R.G.U.S. is preoccupied and Team Arrow is unavailable, leaving them to fend for themselves. Darhk himself shows up and Lyla realizes that Darhk has been after her, all along. Dig takes Sara and rides away, with Andy right behind him. Lyla comes out, guns blazing, but Darhk uses his magic to subdue her. He goes to Sara’s crib but finds it empty.

Andy continues tailing Dig. He catches up but, before he can do any harm, Felicity, in all her awkward glory, hits him with the van. Dig gives Sara to Felicity and rides off to catch Andy. Once again, Dig holds Andy at gunpoint. Andy tells Dig that, no matter what, he and Darhk will always win, that Genesis is coming and no one is safe. He taunts him for his inability to protect his family and Dig snaps, shooting and killing him.

Oliver shows up just as Darhk is about to kill Lyla. It seems that Darhk has Oliver beat when Oliver manages to wield his light magic and Darhk flees. Later, he finds Dig kneeling over Andy’s body. Dig tells him that his family would never have been safe with Andy alive.

Down in the bunker, Felicity checks on Oliver. He tells her that he successful counteracted Darhk’s magic by listening to her voice and the voices of everyone he loves, telling him to keep fighting. Dig tells Lyla about killing Andy and she tells him that Andy wasn’t a brother to him anymore. When she asks him what happened, he lies and tells her that he didn’t have a choice.

Elsewhere, Thea realizes that she’s trapped in a military state, an underground dome, hidden below Star City. Lyla realizes that Darhk took Rubicon, an override chip designed to stop every country in the world from firing nuclear missiles, which was apparently being stored in Lyla’s arm. With it, Darhk will have control of the world’s nuclear systems and the ability to destroy the world, leaving Darhk and his minions to rebuild. Now, the team must discover how Darhk plans to survive his self-made apocalypse.

So this episode was kind of a freaking roller coaster! I really like Esrin a lot and I kind of hope she comes back at some point. All of the Olicity scenes were amazing! I enjoyed them sharing moments that felt very circa-Season One! For the first time in a very long time, Felicity felt like the awkward dork we all fell in love with and I’m hoping there’s more to come. On a sadder note, I felt horrible about what Dig had to do, although I’m not exactly sad to see Andy go. And I’m very worried about Thea! Can’t that girl catch a break? In any case, I’m excited to see how the team handles these new developments. Hopefully, Darhk’s reign of terror is coming to end!

But what did you think? Will Team Arrow manage to stop Genesis or will you be booking a spot on Darhk’s ark? Tell us in the comments!