Introduction
The final season of Arrow has begun over on The CW, and it started with a bang. Marc Guggenheim promised us that this 10 episode finale to the series will be a love letter to all the seasons before it, and he did not lie about that promise as this first episode pays homage to the very first episode, along with other memorable moments in the show’s first season, but this time around, straight off the bat, things seem very different, and we soon find out why.
Plot
Oliver Queen is alive, and has returned home to Starling City (not Star City as we now know it) only to be welcomed by his dear mother Moira. When Oliver is brought back to Queen Mansion he discovers some new truths about this version of his story, some of which are for the better, others that are not so great.
Settling in to this alternate life for now at least, Oliver begins his mission, given to him by The Monitor, to put on the hood and recover something from this earth, but soon realises that instead of five years on the island of Lian Yu, he has been gone twelve years, and there is plenty of change over those years, including someone else taking on the mantle of ‘The Hood’. This new vigilante is certainly not someone we would have expected to be taking up the mantle but then again a lot of the characters in this episode are introduced much earlier than the original timeline of the series, as the alternate earth that Oliver finds himself on, seems to be merging his time in season one with the other seasons of the show, meaning that characters such as Dinah Drake and Rene Ramirez are already established characters working in the police department and as security for an old enemy of Oliver’s known only as The Dark Archer.
Later on Oliver is joined by his best friend and brother in arms, John Diggle, who despite Oliver’s first impression, turns out to be his own earth’s Diggle, who has travelled to find him (thanks to a little device created by Cisco) in order to help him on his mission. His own introduction into the show is a brilliant yet misleading throwback to their first meeting, which involves the infamous car ride scene in which Oliver originally escaped (and we get to see how he managed it this time) but despite his effort, the car door was locked, which leads Diggle to respond with – “Sorry Oliver, fool me once…” – which made me laugh out loud with excitement as you realise he’s the primary earth Diggle that we’ve watched throughout the series, and we’re not the only ones who are excited by this realisation, as it brings a huge smile to Oliver’s face when he realises it himself.
Of course, when we last saw Oliver Queen, he was discussing his future with the character known as The Monitor, who claimed he had seen Oliver’s death in the future, and required his assistance in preventing an imminent crisis. Well The Monitor has returned, in order to keep Oliver on track of his mission, making sure that he completes the task at hand, and doesn’t become too involved with this new earth.
Meanwhile, we also get a continued plot for our future timeline in Starling City 2040. With Felicity gone, the team of young heroes comprised of William, Mia, Connor and Zoe, are left to form the Arrow Team 2.0, and the protection of Starling City falls to them, as they go head to head with the Deathstroke Gang.
Mia seems to be a loose cannon of the group as she struggles to compromise and work with others as a team, instead leading to constant mishaps and mistakes that put them all in danger. William tries desperately to keep the team together as he becomes the ‘tech guy’ of the group, that acts as the neutral confidant to the group, helping them all realise that they are stronger together.
Who’s in this episode?
Many of the characters have been brought back into this first episode, which can only mean that it gets better from here on out. In this episode, the alternate earth version of Oliver’s story sees the return of many familiar faces, both ally and foe to Oliver in the past, but not in the same roles as they were on his own earth.
Let’s start with his family, as Oliver, portrayed by Stephen Amell of course, is waiting at the hospital after being rescued from the island, only to be greeted as he was back in 2012 by his mother Moira Queen portrayed by Susanna Thompson, who I am delighted to see back in the show because despite her characters deceptive nature, as a mother, she was a strong character that helped build up the first two seasons before coming to a tearful ending, as she sacrificed herself to Slade Wilson in order to save her children, Thea and Oliver. Oliver and Moira return home, when Oliver discovers that instead of Walter, Moira has married none other that Malcolm Merlyn himself, portrayed by the fantastic John Barrowman, who was originally Oliver’s first enemy, as season one brought us the ‘Dark Archer’ and his plot to carry out an undertaking on the Glades for his wife’s death there.
One of the best returning characters, is that of Tommy Merlyn, portrayed by Colin Donnel, who was originally killed off in the first season and has since only ever been seen as either a hallucination, or an alternate earth villain in the Crisis on Earth-X crossover, which saw a version of earth where the Nazi’s won the war and took over. This new Tommy Merlyn seems very different to the original, which results in a heartbreaking portrayal that leads us towards some memorable moments of the first season.
Other returning characters in the present timeline, include John Diggle as mentioned previously, being the Diggle we know from the primary earth, portrayed by David Ramsey, as well as the return of Rene Ramirez and Dinah Drake return, portrayed by Rick Gonzalez and Juliana Harkavy, but this time they appear to be little less heroic than what we’re used to. On the flip side, it turns out Adrian Chase is back, as Josh Segarra brings a new performance to the character, that apparently has met the famous Bruce Wayne, but sadly that character is mentioned in name only, for now. LaMonica Garrett returns as The Monitor, who has a very overbearing presence in the plot, as he is the one who has sent Oliver to this earth to find something in particular.
Laurel Lance, portrayed by Katie Cassidy, is back but this time, this character is not as we know them. This earth’s Laurel has evolved and become the Black Canary, that we hoped she would become in the original portrayal, but sadly that never came to be, but fear not, as this earths Laurel has taken on the mantle and got herself an awesome new suit to go with it! When I say that this character is not how we know them, what I actually mean, is that this was the Laurel that we knew as Black Siren, but now she’s changed her style and moral compass for the better, becoming a hero to honour the memory of our original Laurel Lance.
Regarding the future timeline, as previously mentioned, Katherine McNamara, Ben Lewis, Joseph David-Jones, and Andrea Sixtos have all returned to reprise their roles of Mia, William, Connor, and Zoe as our new team Arrow in the future, which is set in the year 2040. This cast work brilliantly together and bring a sense of youthful ignorance to the story that somewhat mirrors the first few years of Oliver’s journey as a vigilante.
Highlights
The highlights of this episode include any of the action sequences, that are brilliantly choreographed and executed by the cast members who all seem completely determined to blow our minds with the intense action and dramatic combat that leaves you wanting more.
Another highlight was the inclusion of Bruce Wayne, in name only, who apparently likes to quote Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the Sherlock Holmes novels, as Oliver is told, by the alternate earths hooded vigilante after he realises he’s not from the same earth, that Bruce Wayne once told him “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”. This is a great quote for this series as there have been a lot of instances throughout the show where Oliver and the other characters have been deceived by those closest to them, and no matter how hard they tried to deny it, the truth always comes out.
The primary highlight of this episode, however, is the fact that whilst it plays out like the entire of season one crammed into a single episode, it is done with such brilliant writing that it flows smoothly and feels fresh, as the story we know is twisted and turned, giving us an alternate reality that brings out new portrayals of familiar characters.
Conclusion
Overall this is a cracking start to the final season of the series. I cannot wait to get deeper into this story with the eventual and inevitable end, surely leaving us broken and wishing we had more. The first episode gave us a fantastically twisted homage to the first season, and for those of us who have stuck with this show throughout, it’s an emotional rollercoaster of laughs, pure joy, jaw dropping alternate storytelling and even tears. The writers of this series have truly outdone themselves, with this being one of, if not simply, the best season premieres of the series to date.
