Cayden James makes his play and, slowly but surely, electrical systems across Star City go crazy. An elevator short circuit kills an old friend and colleague of Quentin, Oliver’s son is trapped in the last road tunnel out of the city and Vigilante makes a play all of his own…

This is a weird episode, because when it works it’s great. Juliana Harkavy, who has waited patiently on the sidelines for about half a season with nothing to do, is excellent as the new-found heart of Team Newbie and Amell continues to impress as Oliver. Interestingly, he continues to impress most as the Mayor and the episode is at its best when it contrasts Oliver the politician with the behind the scenes, street level rescue operations the others are carrying out. Plus Team Newbie get a ton to do this week and it’s all adorable. Curtis, Rene and Dinah are some of the strongest additions to the show’s cast in years and its great to see them actually being given something to do. Plus the subway crash sequence is really well put together. You get their desperation, how close they come to disaster and the most percussive, impactful use of Dinah’s powers in a good long while. Plus their very different attitude towards team communication (they believe in it) and to Vince (they believe in him) makes for a welcome change in dynamic.

It’s a shame then that the other elements don’t work. Bringing back Pike just to kill him in a pre-credit sequence would be a bad look for any character. For a person of colour, in genre, it’s close to unforgivable. Likewise Team Arrow continue their weird flirtation with colossal insensitivity. Felicity greets the news a plane has crashed on the highway with “Yeah, I know” and that’s pretty much the end of it. Worst of all, the apocalyptic events in the city are for the most part invisible. The idea of Oliver setting up ‘safe zones’ with no electrical power nearby is really smart. Having the climactic fight be in an empty one makes it look like either the world’s most violent, least attended wedding reception or a punch up in a car park.

Verdict: There’s still a lot to enjoy here. The long overdue uncomfortable family conversation that closes the episode in particular is a welcome development for William and puts him in an interesting spot. But for every moment like that there’s one where the episode just misses the shot. It’s early days on this plotline for sure but here’s hoping it gets the sense of scale, and jeopardy, it needs in future instalments. 5/10

Alasdair Stuart