"You Have Failed This City" Arrow Recaps: "Starling City"

Arrow

"Arrow" was the first of the CW's superhero shows and it is almost right that it will be the first of them to shuffle off into the television graveyard. "Arrow" will be remembered as long as a DC superhero show airs on the CW since the shared universe was dubbed the Arrowverse. "Arrow" has had some ups and downs in the past few years. The last season was mainly a down. It ended with Emily Bett Rickards', Felicity, leaving the show and Ollie leaving Star City to fulfill the bargain he made with the Monitor.  "Arrow"s final season will consist of 10 episodes less than half of what a usual season consists of. We know that one episode will be "Arrow's" contribution to the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover and one will be a backdoor pilot for a spin-off called "Canaries" that will focus on Ollie and Felicity's grown daughter, Mia along with Black Canaries, Dinah Drake and Laurel Lance. I think ten episodes is just what "Arrow" needs to deliver a tight and compelling final season. Let's take a look at the premiere and see if I'm right.

Episode 1: "Starling City"

Ollie: [grumbling as he watches Adrian Chase salmon ladder] "Showoff." 

After being missing for 12 years, billionaire playboy, Oliver Queen, is discovered on Lian Yu and brought back to his home in Starling City. This all feels very familiar but this is Earth 2. Once home, Ollie is confronted with some similar situations and some startling revelations. His mother, Moira, is alive and married to his arch nemesis, Malcolm Merlyn. Adrian Chase is The Hood and is working with Black Siren, who is now Earth 2's Black Canary. There is a Dark Archer wreaking havoc who isn't Malcolm. Ollie instinctively wants to stop him, but that's not why he's there. The Monitor has a mission for Ollie: to steal Dwarfstar particles from Queen/Merlyn. Can Ollie adhere to this directive or will he continue to but in? In 2040, the new ragtag Team Arrow is confronted by a gang of Deathstrokes led by John Diggle, Jr.

The face of redemption.

"Arrow's" final season premieres much like it's debut season premiered with Ollie being "rescued" from Lian Yu. There are some great parallels and switcheroos from the start beginning with Batman's mask being prominently displayed except for Deathstroke's. Once Ollie is home, he is continually confronted with things that are close to what he remembers but different. Seeing Moira again is an emotional gut punch not only for Ollie but for viewers as well. Moira's death was the emotional center of season two, arguably the show's very best and seeing Susanna Thompson back again warms the cockles of my heart. The show doesn't allow you to bask very long in the Moira's warmth, though. Thea's absence hangs heavy in the air until it's explained that she died of a Vertigo overdose in the Glades.

Every one is bringing their A game in this premiere. "Arrow" hasn't been this confident in its storytelling in a while and that is awesome. The direction is fantastic. The performances are wonderful. This cast is a well oiled machine anchored by Stephen Amell. The best thing about mirroring the show's pilot is it shows how far Ollie has come since season one. He's no longer the gruff, taciturn loner he was (a point hammered home by his interactions with Adrian Chase, The Hood of Earth 2). Even when he tries, he's got John Diggle there to remind him that he does better with a team. Amell is able to deliver some really great Ollie moments from his final speech to Tommy stopping his friend's Undertaking to his approval of the job Laurel is doing as Earth 2's Black Canary. 

This episode is really fast paced and does a nice job of detailing what Ollie has been up to with The Monitor since leaving Felicity behind at the end of last season. The pacing is helped by some great action set pieces. "Arrow" has always had the best action scenes of any Arrowverse shows. Even when it was drowning in ridiculousness, you could always count on some big, well choreographed action to somewhat save things and I'm glad the show didn't lose that going into this final season. If anything, it upped its game. 

The episode ends on a great cliffhanger with Earth 2 seemingly being destroyed and Ollie, Laurel and John barely escaping. 

If there is one downside, it's the flash forwards. There's nothing wrong with checking in with the next generation, but it sort of slows the episode down a little. Every time we visited Mia, William and company, I was wondering what the grown ups were doing.

"Arrow" kicked off its final season in style and if it can keep this up then we are in for one heck of a ride.

Next week, its back to Hong Kong with Team Arrow. Did you all love this premiere as much as I did? Are you said "Arrow" is coming to an end? What is your favorite moment/memory of the show? Let me know in the comments.