Arrow 7x13 : Star City Slayer review

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

Another week and once again another really good episode of Arrow. It begins as we see a man from the back who is looking at a board. On this board is all vigilantes in Star City. So Dinah, Laurel, Dig, Rene even Curtis. All receive notes of various intended threats and begin fearing for the worst. Back at Oliver's apartment which now includes a voice whenever someone enters through the door William who after last week we learned got expelled from boarding school is still not right and clashes with Felicity and Oliver throughout. This all comes to a head as William's grand parents show up and say that they want to get full legal guardianship of their grandson. Oliver is against this of course and tries to explain the situation. Things don't however look good for him as he has been in prison, he has been touted as the Green Arrow and within days of getting him back William was kidnapped. At SSPD we see Dinah and the others discussing the meaning of these notes and what connection to them that there could be. Dinah looks over the files and notices a similar pattern to an old case she had done in Central City. So she calls up Captain Singh and he gives her a location which leads to a house raid. Inside is next to nothing as team members split up. Dinah who is upstairs at this point finds the same board we saw a man looking at earlier and also a folder with various notes. Oliver is the next target on the list and as Dinah turns around her throat gets slit by none other than Stanley. (I knew he'd be back) gutted and looking down and out Dinah is obviously saved by Dig and Curtis who has been experimenting with a new tech that freezes over and seals wounds. It works and Dinah is sent to hospital where she will recover. 

More on Oliver know and as it's learned that he is the next target we're once again brought to his apartment once again. As him Felicity and William are all eating dinner they are rendered unable to move as gas is pumped into the room. In walks Stanley complete with gas mask and says he needed to render them all useless just so Oliver would listen to him. We learn more of Stanley's backstory as he says his father abused him but he took the punishment anyway knowing that his father thought he was doing right. He also says how his older brother tried to help but that only made the situation worse. It all ends as he says he killed his own mother and father and once his brother questioned him he killed him too. Pretty dark and twisted story to say the least. As he says all of this Oliver nods to William to try and push a glass bottle on the counter towards him and after Felicity calls Stanley the Star City Slayer Oliver hits him in the head with the bottle knocking him out. This entire scene was spot on and showcased Stanley in a grim and dark way. The performance by the actor was also pretty impressive as he jumped from wanting to be Oliver's friend to crazy lunatic in an instant. Back at the hospital while visiting Dinah Dig mentions how Stanley is being transferred back to Slabside prison. 

The scenes from the future make a return again after last week's ending which saw Black Star & Connor Hawk inside the future run down bunker. Well Dinah, William. Roy and Zoey too go to the bunker and are knocked out by darts to the neck. Upon awaking they are greeted by Black Star who has them all tied up. She is looking for the codes to Archer which William and everyone else has. She says she wants this because Felicity isn't dead she is alive and needs to find her. Why?? because the episode ends with her saying that she is Felicity's daughter and William's brother Mia Smoak. Major bombshell that just blew these future scenes wide open. All in all though this episode was really really enjoyable. Stanley stole the show and that revelation of Felicity having a daughter in the future is quite intriguing to say the least. 

★★★★