Arrow 4x10 Recap: "Blood Debts"

Blood Debts.
So, what exactly has happened to Felicity Smoak since she was shot on her and Oliver's drive back after their proposal? Tonight's the night we find out. And now, Oliver's out for revenge and he's search for Damien Darhk to do so. Warning: Spoilers Ahead.

The episode begins with that same flash forward we saw earlier in the season with Oliver standing at the grave talking to Barry, 4 months from now, but then things switch back to the present day. We see Oliver waiting in the hospital while Felicity is being operated on cut with scenes of Oliver going rampant looking for Darhk.

Diggle trying to help his friend and he's done waiting around for his brother to start giving him information on Darhk, so now he's going to force it out of him, even if that means beating it out. Later in the episode, he follows Lyla's advice regarding violence not being the answer and Andy finally gives Diggle a lead. Later in the episode, they're even playing cards. Progress.

Laurel walks in on Lance and Donna in the hospital, but she brushes off the awkwardness, making it known that she's happy that he's happy. And we see Lance worried again about Laurel going on any dangerous missions, especially ones that involve Darhk after she thanks him for the information he provided.

Lonnie Machin (that guy Thea lit up in flames some episodes back) is back in town and he was expecting to talk to Darhk's people, but Team Arrow got to him first after they got a tip. When word gets in that something's not right after Felicity's surgery, Oliver leaves and Speedy takes over. Machin taunts her, saying that she baptized him by fire and although she makes threats, she holds back. She presses an arrow to his neck, but runs off before the cops arrive.

Oliver feels bad that he wasn't there for Felicity and instead, out chasing Darhk, but he goes to her and speaks to Donna, who informs him that they weren't able to fix the damage, she'll never be able to walk again. The doctor that determined this was the best doctor, all the way from Central City, and things can't change. She's wheel chair bound.

After learning of the news, Oliver's back at finding Darhk. He releases Machin from prison and although he wouldn't give information there, he tells him to make sure he's dead. Once this is out, Laurel is extremely mad at him for doing so, but he's also mad that she was the one to give him up.

Everyone knows that Oliver has to be with Felicity. He's been so hung up on finding Darhk that he needs her, just as much as she needs him. She's aware he's looking for Darhk, but she's also worried that he's gone off the rails. Oliver's worried that Darhk's been winning because Oliver isn't going far enough. He doesn't know why he's the Green Arrow if he can't protect the people closest to him, but she counters that with what's the point of doing it if he loses himself. Felicity also lets him know that she was wondering if the reason he hasn't been there is because of her condition, but he gives her her ring back that the nurse took off in the ER and follows it with a "for better or for worse." He's with her, always.

Machin does indeed go after Darhk, and this time, the people Darhk loves are being threatened. Machin takes his wife and daughter and holds them hostage, but Team Arrow goes to capture him, again. Thea's successful in pinning him to the tree, but he gets away. While Thea's busy with that, Oliver comes face to face with Darhk.  Oliver rescued Damien's family, so now Darhk says he'll give him a few more weeks with his, but no further conflict occurs between the two. How kind.

Oliver's still apologizing for not being there enough for Felicity, but the two still manage to bring a smile to each other's face even in their rough times. Meanwhile, Damien and his family are heading out of town, so now Felicity and Oliver are going to work on figuring out how to stop him as soon as she's better.

End of the episode holds a big reveal for the "four months later" flash forward we've been seeing and that's that the character death is not Felicity. I was fairly positive it wouldn't be her, but this confirms it. She's just as upset about the death and everyone's been saying the same thing, Oliver has to kill him, and the him is probably safe to assume to be Damien Darhk. So there you have it. Next week, Felicity's back in action, but things are all back to normal. According to Stephen Amell, all of the episodes up to 4x15 are a great series of episodes, so I'm looking forward to what happens next.

Other things worth mentioning:
↠Lyla gives Diggle some advice on how to treat his brother. He needs to start trying to reach him as his brother, not as a Ghost, which actually does help.
↠Thea opens up to Laurel about how Damien's magic cured her bloodlust and blames herself for him now having a bloodlust of his own.
↠Thea ends things with Alex for now because she can't control her anger and she wants to solve her own issues before being with him, but then they talk again later in the episode and she realizes that she is stronger than she thinks she is, just like he told her before.