Oliver Queen Just Faced The Ultimate Betrayal On 'Arrow'

This post contains spoilers for Arrow Season 5.

Five years ago, #OliverQueen was finishing up his journey in Russia. He'd made peace with his darkness...or, at the very least, had given it a different identity. With the help of a teacher, he'd learned how to live with the trauma of his years of torture, and harness his strength to help what was then called Starling City. That teacher shaped him and essentially created the #GreenArrow.

Over the next five years, Oliver came face to face with betrayal, even at the hands of his mother. But nothing in his past prepared him for the blow he took in tonight's episode. The teacher who'd saved him — #TaliaalGhul — handed him over to his worst enemy, #Prometheus.

All season long, Prometheus, now known as #AdrianChase, has been on a mission to destroy Oliver, not in body, but in spirit. He's been one step ahead of Oliver and the team since the start of the season, and tonight's reveal was the ultimate betrayal.

Oliver had trusted Talia, believed she wanted to help him, but in Season 3 of #Arrow, he'd been in the battle of his life with her father, #RasalGhul. Oliver's win put a bulls-eye on his back. And Talia has had him in her sights ever since, even though she knows nothing of the reason behind the kill or her father's atrocities.

Actress Lexa Doig, when interviewed by Collider, made it clear, though, that she believes that family is still family. So it's doubtful Talia would care about Ras al Ghul's reckless regard for human life:

"With Talia, the ends justify the means, however she has to get there. She’ll find a way to justify it within her moral code. But I do think that family, to her, is still family. Family, or the people you love the most, is who you fight the hardest with. In terms of anyone harming her family, I don’t think she’d take too kindly to that."

The episode ended with Oliver in chains, at the mercy of Talia and Adrian Chase, and even though we know Oliver will survive, what will be the price? Every time Oliver puts on the suit, will he be reminded of Talia and what she cost him?

The damage Prometheus inflicts now will ultimately be due to Talia. Oliver trusted her at a time when he was most vulnerable, and it makes one wonder if this will affect how Oliver trusts in the future.