Unchained (Arrow)

On Lian Yu, Reiter tortures Oliver to know about the maps while Taiana is forced to watch. Suddenly, everyone in the room is shot down by someone with a bow and arrow, revealed to be Shado. She frees him but they both acknowledge that they're in Oliver's hallucination for his injuries. She tells him that he needs to forgive himself for what he has done by freeing the darkness inside him and to tell Taiana about killing Vlad. When he regains consciousness, he confesses to Taiana that he did in fact killed his brother. This causes Taiana to suffer a breakdown.

Five years later, Nyssa escapes from her confinement in Nanda Parbat with the help from Mesi Natifah and escapes with some loyalists to her. In Starling City, the team goes after a burglar. However, when Thea catches to him, she falls unconscious and the burglar escapes. In the hideout, the team deduce that this is a side effect of her bloodlust for not having killed anyone on a long time.

Meanwhile, Felicity needs to make a presentation in Palmer Tech but fails to get the recognition from the board committee. Malcolm visits Thea and tells Oliver that Thea needs to kill her killer, but as Ra's is dead, Thea needs to kill someone else or she will die. The burglar appears again and this time, Oliver catches him but discovers to his shock that the burglar is Roy. With his surprise, Roy escapes, the team convinced he is somehow brainwashed. Meanwhile, Oliver is notified by Alex that Ruvé Adams is running for mayor, causing Oliver to confront her as the Green Arrow.

The team discovers Roy's next move is to steal a device from Palmer Tech. Roy shows up in Palmer Tech and attacks Curtis until Oliver knocks him out with an arrow. In the hideout, they find a camera len in his eye and remove it. Roy wakes up and states that in Hub City, he was being extorted by someone called "The Calculator" to commit crimes for him or he would reveal his identity to the world. In Kyushu, Nyssa goes to retrieve the lotus from Tatsu, who was assigned to protect it. They engage in a sword fight but as they're equally skilled, Tatsu gives up and gives her the lotus, stating there's something concerning Oliver.

Roy visits Thea but then, she begins to cough and Ra's wound begins to emerge from her chest. Malcolm manages to avoid the extension of the wound. Felicity attempts to decode the identity of Roy's extortionist but the Calculator is aware of their intention and using a voice cover, expels them from the system. However, Felicity and Oliver discover that he was hired to download a nuke throughout the network and kill people and is the main reason for coercing Roy to get the devices needed.

Finding the location of the placement of the bomb, Oliver, Roy, Diggle and Laurel infiltrate and take down the terrorists. However, the bomb needs to be activated so the damage is collateral, otherwise, it will affect the city. Roy decides to stay behind and activate the bomb while the rest escape. Using an arrow, Roy escapes in time just as the explosion takes place. Felicity also manages to send a virus to the Calculator's computer, erasing Roy's history.

Felicity manages to make the presentation in Palmer Tech, receiving an ovation from the public. One of the attendees is the Calculator, who speaks with Oliver, unaware of his identity. The Calculator later appears to Felicity, who calls him her father. Thea slips into a coma and Oliver is told by the doctor that Thea may never recover. He is then visited by Nyssa, who explains that she has the Lotus, an elixir that can reverse the side effects of the Pit and she offers to give it to him for Thea, on the condition that he kills Malcolm.

On November 20, 2015, Marc Guggenheim revealed that the 12th episode for the fourth season would be titled "Unchained" and was to be directed by Kevin Fair and written by Speed Weed and Beth Schwartz. Preparation ran from November 10 until November 19, 2015. Shooting ran from November 20 until December 3, 2015.^[1]