Warning: Full spoilers for Arrow Season 7, Episode 2, “The Longbow Hunters,” follow.
It’s clear already that the new season of Arrow is unfolding along three parallel trajectories. On one hand, Oliver Queen is dealing with his new reality as Inmate #4587 and the challenges of trying to protect his family from behind bars. On another, Felicity and the rest of the former Team Arrow are doing their best to bring Ricardo Diaz to justice before he strikes again. And then there’s the big twist introduced last week – a new flash-forward storyline that sees an older William Queen join forces with Roy Harper.
In general, Season 7 is shaping up nicely, with little of the sluggish pacing and wasted potential that bogged down the early portion of Season 6 last year. Unfortunately, after two weeks it’s clear that one of these three story threads doesn’t quite measure up to the others.