Arrow 4x14 Recap: "Code of Silence"

Code of Silence.
HIVE's attack and plan to take out Team Arrow is imminent. Knowing this, Lance reconsiders how safe Donna is with him in her life. And with a wedding fast approaching, Oliver feels guilty for not telling Felicity about his son. Is this the episode she comes to find out about him?

Oliver Queen meets Ruvé Adams for the first time before their debate, but he knows that she's not actually who she says she is. Instead, she's Damien Darhk's wife, as we've already seen. The Team follows her that night when she ambushes them with some of Darhk's men, but it's nothing they can't handle. Problem is, she gets away. They know Darhk didn't try to destroy Star City so his wife could be mayor, so it's clear they're missing something.

Damien's having a meeting with the rest of his organization and Malcolm Merlyn. Malcolm didn't end with just giving Damien the little gift of knowledge about Oliver's son, but also that Lance has been aiding the team. In order to get to Lance, a fake call calls him to a mysterious break-in when the building begins to collapse with him inside. Luckily, Laurel's there with him and they're able to get out despite the explosives placed everywhere. Darhk set a trap, but he wasn't successful thanks to Laurel being there to help.

Donna's busy putting things together in the apartment for the engagement party and she's got some big ideas. While she's telling them what she's planning, Thea shows up and says Alex has found something that may possibly be used against him. Back in 2013, their mom filed a tax audit and she wrote a million dollar check to Samantha Clayton (Oliver's son's mother). He brushes it off as if it's not a big thing and there's no way he could see it being used against him. Later on, Thea does a little bit of digging on her own and discovers that William is Samantha's son and that he must also be Oliver's son. He's not doing okay with it because this lie is existing between them, but it's also a promise he's keeping. He's not the person he was when it happened anymore. Thea tells him that keeping it from Felicity is the right thing to do for William, to keep him away from harm.

Donna and Lance are set to have a date, but after the accident, Lance tells her that they can't see each other for a while. He claims it's because he owes a guy money, but she's a Vegas girl, so she can take them. He still insists on a few weeks, but Donna knows something is going on that he's not telling her. He doesn't tell her the truth and he lets her go. Felicity sees her mom upset and asks Lance what happened and he tells her that he wouldn't be able to stand if anything happened to Donna because of him, so he's trying to distance himself.

The team takes on another mission to go after the demolition team working for HIVE and is successful in defeating them. Speedy sticks behind to grab the laptop and luckily makes it out in time as the building is collapsing, similar to the way the building Lance and Laurel were in was earlier.

Donna's very upset about her breakup with lance and she admits that she's been living vicariously through Felicity and Oliver. She says that they don't lie to each other ever and that he's going to be the best dad in the whole world. Their beautiful relationship reminds her that she's never going to find a love like that, but Felicity says she has that in Lance. She also tells her mom that maybe he's hiding something to protect her and she has to give him a little bit of trust in return. Now, secrets... we know there's a a decently sized one between Felicity and Oliver right now.

Lance and Oliver also have a conversation about lies and he gives Lance the same advice Thea gave him: sometimes lies are to protect the people you love.

With Curtis' help, the blueprints from the laptop are able to be recovered right before Oliver's debate is about to begin. HIVE has had a plan all along and now they've discovered what it is. The building HIVE has been planning to take down is the one they're currently standing in. Luckily, Felicity's able to see where points are and they set off the fire alarms to evacuate the building. Thea and Oliver are still inside, both changed of course, and now with Black Canary and Spartan. They've still got to face the demolition team. Dig, Laurel, and Speedy take out their guys, as does Oliver, and they stop the explosives. Lance arrests the demolition team. Mission completed.

So, everyone's back in the building and it's time to have a debate. Now, we don't actually see it. According to the news, Oliver won the debate. Instead, we're moving on to the engagement party. While Oliver and Felicity are off taking pictures, Lance apologizes to Donna and then tells her that he's actually in a bad place with HIVE and she understands that he was protecting Laurel, just like he's protecting her. So, all's good with this couple.

Back to Felicity and Oliver. Curtis and Paul, his husband, show up and he gives her her early wedding gift. It's an implantable bio-stimulant. He can't promise anything, but after it's implanted in her spine, it'll help her to walk again. It makes Felicity so happy and Oliver so happy. Happiness!

Before the episode ended, Damien Darhk got a little playdate for his daughter and that playdate is William. Next week, Vixen's making an appearance and Felcity's finding out about William. So it'll be interesting to see how that reaction goes and what goes down, especially since William's kidnapped by Darhk. Should be a good one.

Other things worth mentioning:
↠Oliver and Felicity's wedding invitations that Donna helped get made shoot glitter and confetti when they're opened.
↠Felicity was wearing a STAR Labs sweatshirt in a scene.
↠Curtis is working on an early wedding gift for Felicity when she walks into the lair to ask him to help her with something.