Laurel goes public and Oliver discovers that the case against him swings on one witness:

Roy.

As Team Arrow struggle to rescue their guy, Diaz makes it clear just how much of the city he controls and Dinah and Quentin find themselves, to their surprise, on the same side…

After the hilarious catastrophe fest that was last week’s episode there was really only one for Arrow to go: up. Thankfully it not only improves, it improves massively.

No one is stupid this week, which makes a change given recent episodes. The central conundrum – how to rescue Roy without getting anyone else killed or arrested – is a fun, character driven action problem that leads to two really well handled sequences and a major purpose upgrade for Thea. Willa Holland has been functionally benched for much of this season but here she’s given a bunch to do and nails all of it. The moment Thea and Roy are reunited as the SWAT team arrive is thrilling precisely because, for the first time in weeks, a character is genuinely in danger. Likewise the closing sequence which sees Thea, Olly and Digg go through Diaz’s men to get to Roy. There’s a vastly cathartic air to the whole thing, whether it’s Olly handing Anatoly the asskicking he’s needed all season or Thea and Olly facing off with Diaz with the cops seconds away. All of it, from the increased focus on Thea and Diaz, to the fights, to the characters, works. And in doing so reminds you how little has worked for a while now.

Best of all, this is the first time since the crossover that Olly has been truly likeable. Amell always turns in good work but he’s rarely been supported by the scripts this half season. This week, at last, Olly stops being a hypocritical blowhard and starts being the fascinating character this show should be about: a man defined by his wounds and all too aware of his faults struggling to do good on two seemingly impossible fronts.

He’s compassionate and smart, self aware, empathetic and gentle. It’s a massive relief and I desperately hope it’s indicative of a step change in the show.

The episode isn’t perfect because nothing ever is. Felicity is still on occasion being written as heartlessly snarky instead of chatty and benching Team Newbie saves the episode at the expense of three of the show’s best characters. But it’s such a massive improvement that you let it slide. The added screen time for Willa Holland and the always excellent Kirk Acevedo, the all new all likeable Olly and the return of Roy all combine to make this a stand out.

Verdict: Here’s hoping this is the show turning the corner at last. 8/10
Alasdair Stuart