‘Arrow’ season 4, episode 12 review: Is the Calculator Felicity’s father?

For its twelfth episode of season 4, “Arrow” really decided to roll out the welcome wagon. Whether it was Nyssa, Roy Harper, or the shadow of Shado, many familiar characters turned up for what was definitely a character-mythology episode. It’s also one of those seemingly designed mostly to set up events that are coming up just as much as it is standing on its own two feet.

Let’s talk about Roy first, since we know that this is what everyone was talking about going in. Was it cool? Definitely, but it also probably wasn’t that necessary. His main purpose was showing up and reminding us that he is there, and also bringing us the Calculator for the first time in this world. He’s a ruthless hacker, someone who is very good at getting what he wants. Eventually, Felicity (who was very busy in this episode also preparing for a presentation at Palmer Technologies) did what she could to defeat him.

Well, there’s one thing coming that could complicate things: The Calculator is Felicity’s dad. The rumors are true!

Elsewhere, Thea was struggling. The bloodlust was something that she is still struggling to contain, and she needs to figure out how to do that without killing. Clearly, Damien Darhk is in part the key, but the team has to figure out how to find him first.

So what about Nyssa? She turned up in an effort to continue her latest plan against Malcolm, which apparently involved going to Oliver and telling him that the only way to save an ailing Thea (who was in a coma by the end of the hour) was a special potion that she had. The kicker? He has to kill Malcolm Merlyn first.

Finally, Shado was there in the past to encourage Oliver to be honest, and be himself. That is the only way he can ever succeed. It was nice to see her; at least it spiced this story up.

In the end, the Calculator surprise and Nyssa’s return help this episode to be above average, even if it did take us a lot of time to get there. Grade: B+.

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