ARROW: Season Seven's Mid-Season Premiere Returns With A Solid Episode!
ARROW returns with a solid mid-season premiere that establishes just how complicated the Queen family really is even after seven seasons.
'Arrow' is finally back with another episode and this time around it's more Queen family drama with a side of an interesting relationship brewing between Rene and this week's main attraction - Emiko Queen. However, this week's episode of 'Arrow' isn't all fun and games as it does hit a few bumps along the road with a boring Diggle & Lyla side story and the most forgettable Arrowverse villain since Adam Hunt - Ricardo Diaz.
The mid-season premiere doesn't treat the audience like children when it comes to revealing the identity of the new Green Arrow and this is honestly part of the reason why I enjoyed this episode. Unlike some or most of the reveals when it comes to a new character in the Arrowverse, this one was handled with a more grounded approach. Instead of dragging it out and leaving it for the end of the episode as a cliffhanger, the episode starts with the identity of the new Green Arrow being revealed immediately. Even more so, the way that the episode gets Oliver to find out who the new GA is was pretty realistic. It wasn't through some over-the-top fight that ended with Oliver unmasking her, it was simply getting Felicity to match the blood DNA. This allowed the episode, as well as the rest of the season to move on and allow the overall story to develop without depending on a mysterious character to keep the audience interested.
Also, it appears that Stephen Amell's acting just seems to get better. The scene after which he finds out that Emiko is his half-sister, he and Felicity have a heartfelt conversation that allowed Stephen Amell to display his acting talent remarkably. It also shows just how much Oliver has grown over the past six and a half seasons. If this was season 1 or 2 Oliver, he would have lashed out and probably done something reckless. Instead, after finding out that his sister is the new GA, he opens up to Felicity and shows his more vulnerable side. I was so glad that Felicity and Oliver were in good terms because I really didn't want this episode to have any "Olicity" drama especially because episode 8 was kind of hinting at some tension between those two. This, combined with the way they handled the revelation of the identity of the new GA honestly made this episode feel mature, it wasn't focusing on unnecessary drama.
Getting into the introduction of Emiko Queen. She's an interesting character and her backstory in this episode is explained really well. However, I would've much preferred flashback sequences showing me what happened rather than hearing it from Emiko. This way I would've felt a deeper connection and would've felt even more sympathy towards her character. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy her backstory, just that I would've appreciated it more if it were shown in flashback sequences especially as this episode was centered around her character. Her partnership with Rene is an interesting one and I'm kind of liking the way their relationship is being developed. However, the actress - Shea Shimooka needs to step up her acting skills ASAP. Her stale acting made it hard for me to really care about her character especially when her voice is monotone and she had one expression throughout the entire episode.
Overall, this was a pretty good return though. Sure the episode hit some bumps but overall it was an enjoyable episode and it's definitely got my attention with all this Queen family drama. I'm really excited to see what's next for Oliver and his half sister. I ended up giving the episode a solid 8/10 so here's hoping that 'Arrow' continues strong throughout the rest of the season.