There's only one word to describe the first five seasons of Arrow flashbacks: torturous, in the best way possible. Arrow Season 7 episode 2, "Longbow Hunters" sets viewers on a similiarly torturous path. This review contains spoilers!
Arrow Season 7 episode 2, "Longbow Hunters," takes all the larger storylines introduced in the premiere and breaks them down with precision and focus. Oliver gets to know his new prison friend, Stanley. Dinah Drake and Laurel Lance talk out their beef Black Canary to Black Canary (err Siren). Curtis and Wild Dog crack some jokes while Dig and Felicity come to terms with the fact they disagree about how to continue Green Arrow's legacy. Team banter is on point, by the way, without Oliver's ruminating Batman vibes.
"Already sneaking out of ARGUS behind Papa Dig's back? So proud," Rene to Curtis.
Episode 2 also introduces who appear to be three of Diaz' Longbow Hunters group--Kodiak (played by Michael Jonsson), Red Dart (played by Holly Elissa), and The Silencer (played by Miranda Edwards). Kodiak has a sharp-edged shield he throws around, The Silencer can subdue all sound in a room, and Red Dart throws darts that paralyze whatever they hit.
Oliver's already a changed man in prison, if that Season 7 premiere scene where he beat a man to near-death with a dumbbell wasn't convincing enough. He hacks a computer to learn more about about one of the guards. It's all part of a larger effort to get on his fellow inmates' good side in order to find Diaz's allies in prison. Oliver promised the inmate he would kill a prison guard to prove his loyalty, but Oliver fakes it to look like the guard stabbed him instead (apparently he's at least somewhat sticking to his Green Arrow principles?). Out in Star City, ARGUS successfully stops the Longbow Hunters from stealing some fancy, dangerous tech.
"I saw what the hood did to you and your family and I couldn't do it to mine," Dig to Felicity
The dynamic between two Canaries feels organic for both characters individually and as a pair—they are both bonding over Quentin's death. Dinah needed another dimension to her day job as police detective and Black Siren becoming District Attorney is a great start her redemption arc. Felicity also finally has real purpose with high stakes. By the end of the episode, she's basically the new Green Arrow in spirit (or is she actually the new Green Arrow?). It's nice to see the women of Arrow shining.
And back on Lian Yu, 20 years in the future, old man Roy and grown up William discover their Season 7 mission. (Everything we know about the flash-forwards). The most important takeaway from the new flashback sequences is that they are moving off the island. We're going to see Roy and William return to Star City 20 years in the future! "Longbow Hunters" just did a twist within a twist. This is not a drill, Arrow Season 7 is really going places.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Autumn Noel Kelly started as a staff writer for Newsweek in 2015. She covers anything in the comic book world—TV ... Read more
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