Oliver wakes up to a life in which his parents are still alive and he is about to marry Laurel; Felicity faces a new threat with the help of The Flash and Supergirl.

Arrow celebrates its 100th episode as part of the 4 night crossover “Invasion” event. The result is a bit mixed overall, but it’s entertaining. For those that missed last night’s The Flash, there’s aliens who are up to… something, and at the end of the episode they abducted some of the heroes.

This episode is interesting in that it uses the bigger picture story, but doesn’t get to caught up in it. Instead it celebrates the history of the series taking us through the years in its own version of “Flashpoint.”

In this shared dream world Oliver and crew live different lives where Ollie is marrying Laurel, Diggle is the Arrow, and everything is kind of… normal. The different take on folks is kind of cool and it’s a nice “what if” riff on everything about the series. Seeing each character awaken is entertaining as well, especially what triggers them.

But, what’s really special is all of the guests that show up in the episode. Villains from the past as well as friends and family are all on board in a celebration of the last five seasons. They kept it all under wraps which is even more impressive and for folks who have watched the series, they should be happy with the touch of nostalgia.

There’s some things that don’t quite work as everyone wakes up and the story takes a hard sci-fi spin. I don’t want to ruin it, but the special fx work against the episode at this point and it just doesn’t feel like Arrow. But, the point is to bridge to the next chapter which is on the next day.

This episode works some and fails in some ways, and it’s not as strong as The Flash‘s entry, but better than Supergirl’s. With one more to go in this event, it feels like there’s a lot still to wrap up, but so far, it’s been a fun ride.

Overall rating: 7.85

Oliver learns about a new vigilante in Star City after the bodies of two criminals show up at SCPD; Diggle feels annoyed about his new situation; Lance confesses a shocking secret to Thea; in flashbacks, Oliver speak with Konstantin Kovar.

Arrow has a new hero in Star City as the Vigilante shows up in an episode that’s full of action, but holy crap is it boring. The episode adds something new with the Vigilante, as if the season didn’t need yet another person in a mask running around. The character is interesting in that he can take on Oliver and his team and his methods are pretty rough. It’s a nice dichotomy, but it just feels like it’s too much added to the season.

The character design is pretty cool though, and it looks great on the screen.

There’s the plot with Lance passing out which is interesting. I’m sure this will get explained in some simple way, but it’s being teased out well and does throw a wrench into everything that’s going on. There’s a bit of a vibe to the first season with it. It may seem a bit silly, but it’s working so far.

But, the episode for me was really about Diggle who is on the run and thus can’t spend the day with his son who is having his second birthday. It’s touching and how that’s wrapped up is really good. It gives an episode full of action some feels and Diggle is more than a soldier. The second thing that’s solid is the twist at the end. This one I’m not giving up and folks should be intrigued to see what happens.

The episode is decent, but I was rather bored through it all. There’s lots of action, but it all feels like been there, done that. The episode isn’t bad, it just doesn’t stand out for me at all.

Overall rating: 7.45

Felicity and Curtis learn that Prometheus’ victims have a mysterious link to Oliver’s past that could upend his new team.

Arrow goes back to the beginning in some ways as the clues are put together as to why Prometheus is killing individuals and it goes back to something from the first season that the series has gotten away from. That’s a good thing as the series has definitely slipped a bit in its focus and what this episode does is get back to basics in some ways.

But, what I think is really solid about this episode is the reaction of Team Arrow’s new recruits when they learn what the possible truth is. There’s a mix of horror and some real solid debate as to the truth of it all.

Lets face it, Oliver is a killer, and though the kills were righteous, he also has never really stood up for those acts, just by Diggle, Felicity, and Speedy. Here we get an outside jury in a way now stands up to him and puts him on trial. It’s a solid twist it detail that adds a lot to the episode which feels like it’s the real beginning of the season. That restart within a restart is good as the season has been rather iffy so far.

There’s some decent action as members of Team Arrow come into contact with Prometheus. There’s some odd choices since I don’t remember their saying the train was clear. It might be a detail I missed, but it felt like they possibly let a bunch of people die.

The episode is a focus on Oliver and how he has changed over the seasons. He’s grown as a character and person and gone further than just being a vigilante killer. He feels closer to the actual comic character he’s based off of due to that.

Overall, a much better episode for the season and heading in a good direction. How things come together and what the big reveal to come is will hopefully pay off. That teaser at the end though…. that’s where things get really interesting and I want to know where it’s all going.

Overall rating: 7.85

Oliver must turn to an old friend when Tobias Church captures one of his new recruits; Felicity’s worlds collide when Detective Malone joins the anti-crime unit.

Arrow improves with this latest episode that has Oliver having to fake his own death to take on Church. It’s a plot twist that we’ve seen numerous times before and there’s nothing new when it comes to that.

To pull off that twist Oliver brings in the Human Target, another DC Comic character who actually had his own show at one point. There’s actually a good twist when it comes to that part that’s not revealed until the end of the episode.

But this episode is that false ending. They deal with Church but that only leads to something even bigger looming, which is a good thing because Church as a villain felt a bit too low level to sustain a season. The name Prometheus is mentioned which is a pretty big character in the DC Universe, so here’s hoping it’s a reference to that.

The bigger part of the episode is Diggle getting back into the groove of things but personal lives is a focus as Felicity’s relationship moves forward and Oliver has to deal with it. There’s a lot of will they, won’t they, but it’s cute and I’m not sure we’ve seen the last of them as a couple.

The end of the episode is where it’s at though. There’s an actual decent tie-in to Oliver’s five missing years and the mysterious archer that’s not the Green Arrow shows up with a pretty big act. We’ll see where it all goes as this is a big improvement from last week.

Overall rating: 7.65

Oliver joins Lyla on a secret mission for Diggle while Felicity opts to stay behind; Tobias Church launches a deadly assault against the city.

Arrow falls flat in this episode which sees Church making his move and Oliver and Lyla doing something about Diggle, which was hinted at in the last episode.

There’s just a lot of bad in this episode with Oliver not trusting his team and pushing them away. That’s after last episode which was all supposed to be about trusting his team and their working together. So, the lesson seems to be a short one and already out the other ear of Oliver.

There’s also the plan of breaking out Diggle. Hasn’t Lyla taken over for the deceased Waller? Can’t she use her power there to just get Diggle out of prison and conscript him? Instead there’s this convoluted plan to free him that seems like it just opens more doors than anything else.

There’s also the fact this story is likely going to connect with the Church plotline and by stopping Church they’ll wind up exonerating Diggle. Though, he has now broken out of jail, so there’s that charge lingering over him. Again, not a good plan!

Then there’s Church’s assault which just seems to come out of nowhere. We haven’t seen him much for a few episodes and then there’s this attack. It’s a bit out of place and it’s still not clear how this all fits into the bigger picture of the season. It’s another plot that we’ll find out down the road and due to that, I just don’t care. Plus Church is actually a bit too much of a lower rung villain right now compared to what Ollie has dealt with in the past.

It’s a weak episode for a season that’s trying to redefine itself from previous ones. Maybe as part of the bigger story it’ll be better, but right now it falls short.

Overall rating: 6.95

The Green Arrow is forced to face a powerful new drug dealer when Wild Dog goes off on his own.

Arrow as the title of the episode suggests is all about trust. The entire episode is about Oliver trusting other individuals whether it’s as Green Arrow or his job as the Mayor. Even the flashbacks that we get in the episode is about trust and Oliver learning that when it comes to his new crew.

The episode takes off when Wild Dog goes off on his own resulting in an individual being enhanced and also screwing up an investigation that police were going to do concerning the influx of drugs into the city. But, even though Wild Dog made a mistake if Oliver had listened to him there wouldn’t even have been an issue to start. So, trust goes two ways it shows.

But that episode theme is throughout the episode. Felicity has to decide if she’ll tell the truth about the death of his family and city to Rory and there’s also Thea basically running the city for Oliver and Thea learning about trusting the media. Lessons are learned and it’s pretty obvious what the point of the episode was. That’s not a bad thing and brings various aspects of the core of the season together.

There’s also Diggle dealing with the fallout of what we last saw and how Lyla reacts. The less said about that, the better as I have no idea where it’s going.

I think the coolest aspect of the show has to do with Curtis Holt who not only gives us our first Mr. Terrific moment but sports the iconic face paint.

The series is doing a good job of balancing the various aspects of Oliver’s roles and it’s entertaining to watch. The series has been improving this season in that way and here’s to seeing where it all goes.

Overall rating: 7.45

The Green Arrow’s training methods prove to be too much for some of the new recruits to handle; flashbacks reveal Oliver’s initiation into the Bratva.

Arrow really gets things going as far as what we can expect this season here as Oliver/Green Arrow must figure out how to properly onboard and train a new team to help him fight crime. The problem is, Ollie is feeling guilty over the death of Black Canary, and folks getting hurt, and generally everyone abandoning him. He’s got some trust issues and since he was trained in a brutal fashion, he thinks that’s the way to go too.

It’s interesting as it really dives into Oliver the person and that he’s not ok from everything that’s happened to him and around him.

What’s also solid is we’re starting to see some bigger issues surrounding the rise of meta humans and a nuclear explosion. People aren’t trusting and it’s escalation to arm themselves more to take on this new “threat.” While things are more “street level” this season, there’s a bigger picture going on, which is really nice.

The episode also introduces Ragman. It’ll be interesting to see what the series does with him as the character is one of the more high-profile Jewish characters in comics and the character is derived from the Golem of Prague of Jewish folklore. How much the show will use in that is a big question, but there’s a statement about how old the rags are that hint they may go pretty far. The fact Felicity is Jewish makes things more interesting.

The episode is an improvement over the series debut which seemed like it had issues with pacing and throwing too much in there to start. The episode takes a few steps back and slows things down while still covering a lot. It’s a bit more character focused instead of action and due to that, it’s improved. Hopefully we get more of this for the rest of the season.

Overall rating: 7.45