Oliver is out, but having trouble adjusting. Dinah clashes with the mayor over working with vigilantes and in the future, the team meet Blackstarr.

This is one of those episodes that reminds you just how good Amell is at what he does. There’s a moment early on where Team Arrow are at the reception where he says nothing and doesn’t move. However, he’s so viscerally uncomfortable, so uncertain of himself that you can’t take your eyes off him. Amell is always at his best when he’s exploring Oliver the barely functional PTSD survivor and this is no exception. In fact, Amell’s great throughout this episode. I especially liked the closing fight and the way he communicates both being incredibly happy to be back in the suit and profoundly weirded out that he’s in it without a mask.

There’s a ton of other fun stuff this week too and the new status quo is both logical and surprising. Oliver as a CCPD consultant/officer makes such perfect sense that you’re honestly surprised they haven’t done it before. It also leads to some nice detection work for Dinah and Rene as well as Oliver and a reminder that this really is a team effort and the show is always better when it remembers that.

Meanwhile, in the future, Adult William gets a call to adventure moment with older Dinah that’s a season highlight. Juliana Harkavy is one of those cast members that never gets enough credit and she’s great here. Older Dinah is far more relaxed, and brassier, than present day Dinah and she anchors the most important scene of the episode beautifully.

The only minor bum note is the collision between Felicity and Oliver. Not because it isn’t earned, it is, but because the show has always been on thin ice when Felicity has started whining before now. Thankfully, like I say, this is earned and ties cleverly into Felicity coming into her own by default.

Oh! And we get the new Green Arrow revealed! Which again, really works. Emiko is one of the most interesting elements of the comics and her inevitable collision with her brother is going to be all kinds of fun.

For now though, this is another strong entry in a show that has bounced all the way back from a plodding sixth season.

Verdict: Confident, pacey, ambitious fun. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart