Arrow 7x1 : Inmate 4587 review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it

Arrow returns for it's 7th season on a new night and new time slot. While season 6 was solid throughout it didn't quite offer the same sense of overall greatness that season 5 offered but with this episode season 7 is off to a really impressive start. It begins in prison as Oliver is awoke by a security officer before we're shown Oliver's daily routine inside the prison. He gets up, works out, has some god awful looking feud and goes back to his cell where he looks at a picture of Felicity and William. It all looks pretty miserable but it's all made worse for Oliver given that all the villains and foes he's helped lock up the past 6-7 years are sharing the same prison with him. So he meets Brick again, and Sampson and Turner who we last saw in season's 1,2,3 and 5 respectively. They intimidate Oliver throughout which leads to a scuffle between them leading to Turner (Bronze Tiger) being taken away due to branding a weapon which Oliver planted on him. This leaves Brick and Sampson without a partner and they offer Oliver the position be he declines. He even refuses to help a fellow inmate from a beat down by the duo. That same inmate who got beat up later calls Oliver a coward and that the Green Arrow would always stand up for the people and deliver justice. This lights a fire under Oliver and he goes on a bit of a rampage throughout the prison yard and beats up Brick, Sampson and others leading to him being put further into custody, he became the hero again and stood up to his foes. It was all really good and at times compelling the watch. 

Now that's only what is going on inside there's a whole lot more going on outside as a Green Arrow impersonator shows up in Star City taking out various criminals throughout the city and the glades. Rene who we see is now a coach of some sorts at a gym where he trains his daughter and others fully embraces this new Green Arrow and begs Dinah to not arrest him as he gives hope to the people of the glades. Both Rene and Dinah clash throughout the episode as they both share strong opinions for and against this new Green Arrow. Rene feels this way because he is saved later in the episode as a member of his gym goes to buy a guy it all turns sour and they're both rescued by this impersonator. Dinah however fails to share Rene's enthusiasm and fails to see just why she should trust someone who they don't even know. As the SCPD gear up to try and capture him during another deal Rene intervenes in his Wild Dog outfit and this leaves the Arrow impersonator to escape. Dinah approaches Rene towards the end of the episode and warns him to stay out of her way or she'll be forced to do something that she doesn't want to do. It's all good stuff and very interesting to watch. We learn of what Felicity's been doing during the past couple of months and she's got herself a job working as a barista in a coffee shop. Her and William have been under house arrest of some sorts since Diaz went missing and it is him who ultimately turns up on their doorstep leading to a really cool exchange where Felicity and Diaz scuffle and Oliver takes on various prisoners in the prison showers. Mr and Mrs Queen were at full strength throughout these scenes and overcome their ordeals. The whole Diaz scenario prompts Felicity to have William transferred to a boarding school as she stays in Star City. Oliver whom speaks with Felicity when she goes to see him agrees even if he doesn't think it's a good decision ultimately he and Felicity are left with no choice but to send William away. This was a really impressive episode and one of the better premiere episodes over the years. 

But it's the ending of the episode that will leave you asking a lot more questions. As throughout the episode there is scenes of a young man being taken to Lian Yu. The same island Oliver was stranded on for 5 years. At the end he arrives and is seen looking around before he is approached by someone in a hood. Turns out the young man is William and the person who approached him is Roy Harper. So this obviously is a flash forward rather than a flashback which is entirely interesting. So many questions to be answered and it's only episode 1. With everything being said Arrow season 7 has kicked off in a big way and one that has me totally interested to see just where it all goes going going forward. 

★★★★