Arrow: Emerald Archer (7x12)

Yeah, that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed that.

Cons:

I have really tried my hardest to be on board with the flash-forwards. And maybe I'm being too contrary and picky, but I feel like no matter what they choose to do, it annoys me. They don't show any flash-forward stuff for a while, and I'm annoyed at the lack of progress. Then they show it here and it's just a little clip of Maya (is that her name?) and some dude name Connor, and I honestly can't remember what I'm supposed to know or think about these characters at this point. The whole thing is beyond irritating. I wish we could either pick up the pace, or cut it short and just give all of the answers already.

I had mentioned before how weird it was that we hadn't seen William since Oliver was released from prison. On the one hand, I'm glad that we're addressing that weirdness here, that William is unhappy at being kept away. On the other hand, this makes Oliver and Felicity seem pretty terrible. You're telling me they left William alone over Christmas, without a word of real explanation?! If it wasn't safe for him to come to Starling City, why didn't they go and join him where he was? Leaving a kid alone over the holidays like that is a seriously low blow.

Pros:

The documentary style that a lot of this episode employed was a lot of fun. It's easy to ignore the parts that don't make sense, in favor of squealing over all of the little cameos. Seeing Rory again was an unexpected treat, and I liked the mix of new material with older clips. We see Roy, we see Thea, even Barry makes an appearance. I'm surprised that original Laurel wasn't featured, just the new version, but still. It was fun to get this outside looking in approach. I also really liked that we weren't seeing the polished, finished documentary exactly, but little clips of it in various states of polish. It worked well to then see the clip in the future, to emphasize how much has changed (even if I wish more were being done with the flash-forwards).

The emphasis on Team Arrow just warmed my little heart. The show is at its best when there's a team of vigilantes - heroes - working together to save the city. The form of that has changed significantly, of course. As this episode ends, the Mayor has agreed to deputize all of Team Arrow, not just Oliver. The Anti-Vigilante Law is still in effect, and still threatens Emiko and anyone else who might take up the masked mantle. But Oliver, Diggle, Rene, Curtis, and Dinah are now safe from prosecution. That shakes up the framework but keeps the meat of the team in place.

I've been griping about the lack of good Diggle and Oliver content for weeks now, so this episode was a real treat for that specifically. I loved that Diggle stood by Oliver, was willing to risk prison, and affirmed to him that his time in prison wasn't an acceptable sacrifice to the people closest to him. Team Arrow starts with John Diggle, and it's important that the show doesn't forget that.

It was also a lot of fun to see Curtis back in the field, and to have Dinah, Rene, Curtis, Oliver, and John all work together to take down a bad guy. It felt very familiar, in a good way. I also think, in an odd way, it could work to strengthen the impact of the flash-forwards we've been seeing. I'm reserving judgment, but I think I might potentially like where this is going. We need to see our Team Arrow in a place of real strength for it to really hurt when it all falls apart. I'm excited to see that place of strength.

Honesty has always been a big part of this show - when should you be honest, when should you not? Who can you trust, and is keeping secrets ever the right thing to do, even with your loved ones? I like the way that Emiko has become something of a symbol for that theme. Oliver tells John. He tells Dinah. He explains that he needed time to process, but he voluntarily shared the information when he was ready to do so, and I think that's so important.

Despite being furious with Oliver and Felicity for abandoning poor William, I am actually fairly happy with the story we got with him this week. We learn he got expelled from school, and then he lied about it. We learn that he and Zoe (Rene's daughter) have been texting and are friends. We're seeing some of the cracks in the foundation that will lead to William's situation in the future, and I do like spending some time with him here and establishing who this kid is before we jump forward a couple of decades to see who he becomes.

Ultimately, the actual bad guy plot of this episode was very simplistic and not particularly creative, but I didn't mind that, because the focus was rightfully placed on our team members, and on re-establishing the rhythm and teamwork of earlier seasons. I can't wait to see more of that, before things go inevitably and horribly wrong!

9/10