Hey everyone, it’s time for our weekly Arrow review! I’m trying out a new format this week, let me know what you think!

Episode Summary: Oliver and Roy head to Corto Maltese to track down Thea and beg her to come back to Starling City. Diggle goes with them; however, he is on an errand for his ex-wife/baby momma Lyla (an agent of ARGUS, Amanda Waller’s organization) to track down an agent who has missed some check-ins. They find that this agent has turned and is selling intel about ARGUS agents and their family members. With the safety of Diggle’s family at stake, can the Arrow crew stop the deal from going down?

We learn a little about the training Thea has undergone with Malcolm Merlyn over the past six months, but there are still many questions about their relationship in the past, present, and future. Laurel struggles to find a conduit for her anger and frustration over Sara’s death, and finds a mentor in an unexpected place. Felicity has some challenges at her new job with Ray Palmer. Thea decides to come home after some unexpected honesty from Oliver, and the League of Assassins is about to have a bombshell dropped on them about Sara.

Overall Review: This episode was actually pretty great. There was some fun character development and no shortage of plot advancement. It was also a pleasant change of pace to not have the episode revolve around Oliver and his island flashbacks or Hong Kong flashbacks but instead replace them with Thea’s flashbacks about her time with Malcolm Merlyn.

I was apprehensive about bringing Thea back in. I really, really disliked her character for the last two seasons. She just whined a lot and got in the way, and always had this attitude that the world was against her, even though everyone around her was just trying to protect her and really was doing their best. However, I love her new attitude (and as several characters also commented, her new haircut is great!) The whole plot about the ARGUS data being sold was not that interesting to me, but there was enough other stuff going on in the episode that I’m okay with that not being interesting. Instead I can talk about how much I adore Ray Palmer/Felicity scenes and how much I’m enjoying Laurel trying to stand up on her own and help, even if Oliver won’t stand behind her because he wants to protect her.

Significant New Characters:

Ted Grant

Ted Grant, head of Wildcat gym here in the Arrow world, is actually a character from the DC universe (better known as “Wildcat”) and so far his identity doesn’t stray too far from the comics. Wildcat is a boxer who gets tangled up in criminal activities by accident and turns to vigilantism to make things right. He is also known to be a mentor to Black Canary (at this point, the “hints” that Laurel is taking up the Black Canary mantle are pretty heavy-handed), so I assume we will see more of him in the future.

Nyssa Raatko/Nyssa al Ghul

We met Nyssa a couple of times last season, but her appearances are infrequent enough I thought we could use a recap. Nyssa is the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul (and the half-sister of Talia al Ghul in the DC Universe.) She had a “special relationship” with Sara in the past, is prone to jealousy, and angers easily. She also uses a bow similar to Malcolm Merlyn’s. She claims to be the “heir to the demon” and of course works with the League of Assassins. She is probably NOT going to be happy about Sara’s death and may exacerbate the guilt and anger issues that Oliver and Laurel are already facing.

Favorite things in this episode:   

• Thea’s new haircut and attitude. She’s left behind the bitchy drama queen/little sister vibe she had in the last couple of seasons and seems much cooler and more mature.
• Laurel trying- and failing- to be a badass. Learning to walk requires falling down a few times. I look forward to watching her difficult journey ahead.
• The fun moments between Felicity and Ray Palmer. I love the chemistry between these two! And it’s so fun that he got her an assistant and gave her Oliver’s old office.
• Speaking of Laurel and Felicity, the phone call between them, with Felicity not sure about the idea of them being “friends” and Laurel demanding Felicity find the perp “by googling his phone or something.” Priceless!
• Oliver Queen, king of DIY projects, crafting bows and arrows out of random things found in his hotel room! Don’t try this at home, kids!

Worst written line of the episode:

Oliver (to Thea), trying to convince her to come home: “…if we’re not together then we’re not really even alive.” What??? What does that even mean???

Overall episode score: solid B.

Things to look forward to next week:

• Thea readjusting to life in Starling City after her mother’s death. What will happen now that she’s working with Malcolm Merlyn?
• Drama with Nyssa and the League over Sara’s death. Oh boy. But maybe they’ll find some new clues about who is behind it?
• A potential cross-over with The Flash if Felicity goes to visit Barry? (Fingers crossed!)
• More Hong Kong flashbacks and characters with terrible wigs! Except Amanda Waller who always looks amazing.
• Laurel training with guys with glistening abs. Is it bad if I’m looking forward to this a little?

Agree? Disagree? Let me know!