Arrow season 7, episode 1 recap: Who is the new Green Arrow?

The seventh season opener of Arrow introduced a number of major changes to the show, and one tantalizing new mystery.

Following the apocalyptic events of the show’s sixth season finale, Arrow’s status quo was left radically altered. Oliver (Stephen Amell), his secret identity exposed, was sent to prison for his actions as the Green Arrow. And to keep the government from prosecuting them, the rest of Team Arrow was forced into early retirement. And most devastatingly, the sixth season’s Big Bad, psychotic gangster Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo), was free and eager to brutalism his enemy’s loved ones. And much the show’s credit, many of those changes look to be permanent.

By the end of the season premiere, Team Arrow was left in much the same place they were last season. There obviously won’t be any contrived shortcuts back to the old status quo. Moreover, a few new wrinkles have been introduced that suggests a break with the show’s traditional mode of storytelling. Instead of trying to figure out who the new villain is, this season’s arc looks to revolve around the identity of its new titular hero. For a series this late in its run, making so many changes is a bold choice. But judging by the quality of this episode, it was a good one.

“You have failed this city”

“Inmate 4587” began with an introduction to Oliver’s nightmarish new reality. By day, he’s stuck in a brutal maximum security prison with several supervillains he’s put behind bars. By night, he dreams of Diaz murdering his family. Diggle (David Ramsey) made an exposition rich prison visit and revealed that in the five months Oliver had been in prison, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and William (Jack Moore) went into witness protection and Diaz fled the city. In Star City, an unknown individual wearing a Green Arrow costume captured a man named Jason Stent and left him at SCPD HQ.

More from CW

• The CW’s culture of pulling shows continues as Everyone Else Burns and Run the Burbs are removed from the schedule
• All American: Homecoming season 3 release updates, strike delay, and more
• The CW is out of the superhero business with Superman and Lois canceled
• The Spencer Sisters filming locations: Where is the CW drama filmed?
• The Librarians: The Next Chapter release updates and everything we know so far

Dinah (Juliana Harkavy), now a Captain in the SCPD, was forced to release Stent due to a lack of evidence. While trying to save a young student from some gunrunners, Rene, now a self-defense instructor, was saved by the new Green Arrow. Back in Slabside Prison, Samson (Cody Runnels) and Brick (Vinnie Jones) demanded Oliver joined their gang after he unintentionally got their friend Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White) put in solitary. Felicity, now working as a barista named Erin, was unsettled after seeing a news report about the new Arrow. Meanwhile, a mysterious man made his way to a post-bombing Lian Yu.

Because he’s been in the role for so long, it’s easy to forget how good Stephen Amell can be. While it would be easy for him to play Oliver the same way regardless of setting, he keeps striving to bring new dimensions to the character. In tonight’s episode, Amell showed off of the character was like at his most desperate and powerless. Even without the masculine suffering beard, Amell’s performance made it clear this was Oliver at his lowest, trying to maintain a sense of self in a place designed to erase that quality. While this version of the character probably won’t be around for the entire season, I’m intrigued to see what he does next.

 “Oliver asked us to carry on”

With intel provided by new ARGUS R&D director Curtis (Echo Kellum), Dinah launched a sting operation to catch the new vigilante with Stent as bait. However, she wasn’t able to make the collar because Rene, back in his Wild Dog digs, helped “Green Arrow” escape. Diaz launched a two-prong assault on Oliver; he sent a gang of inmates to kill Oliver in the showers while attacking Felicity and William at home. Miraculously, everyone survived. Felicity visited Oliver and told him that ARGUS warded off Diaz and that she was returning to Star City to finally bring in the notorious gangster.

In Lian Yu, the mysterious man found a disheveled Roy (Colton Haynes). In Star City, Dinah told Rene that if he returned to being Wild Dog, she would arrest him. Felicity sent William to a boarding school in Massachusetts to protect him. The new Green Arrow revealed he had a hit list just like Oliver did in season one. In the Slab, Oliver defiantly attacked his tormentors. Back in Lian Yu, The mysterious man revealed he was a grown-up William and that all the Lian Yu scenes in the episode were taking place in the future.

While the acting and action sequences in this episode were really strong, it’s plotting was a bit shakier. Though an explanation was provided, it’s weird that Dinah has taken a hard anti-vigilante stance. She took up the hero game specifically to solve problems law enforcement couldn’t. Having her completely shifting philosophies in between seasons felt a little forced. Similarly, Felicity’s decision to ditch William and come home to “fight back” felt off. Sending William away as opposed to keeping him secure in a fortified bunker seems contrived. Especially since the tactic prove ineffective the last time a maniac went hunting for Oliver’s family.

“You should have killed me”

On the other hand, Arrow’s season premiere did introduce two very intriguing new mysteries. The first is the true identity of the new Green Arrow. When I first saw the trailers for the season, I assumed it was Roy under the hood. But this episode complicated matters. For one thing, I can’t see Roy taking up the mantle without telling Diggle or Oliver. The other likely suspect is Diggle, but that seems unlikely given his position with ARGUS and his feelings about the role given what happened last season. That said, the new Arrow’s familiar armaments, tactics and signature phrase suggest they know Oliver and company quite well.

To that point, there’s a good chance the faux-Green Arrow is actually the adult William. Although Arrow is the most grounded of the four Arrowverse shows, time travel exists in universe. It could be that, sometime in the future, things get really bad in Star City. Like multiple fatalities in Team Arrow bad. And that William, eager to set things right, tracked down Roy to train him and subsequently traveled back in time to change the past. My feeling is that’s probably what’s going on because otherwise Arrow’s timeline won’t align with the rest of the Arrowverse and that seems like a needless complication.

Whatever ends up happening, “Inmate 4587” succeeded in getting me back into Arrow. After the mixed bag that was season six, I wasn’t sure if the show was worth keeping up with. But I’m very interested in seeing how this season resolves the questions raised in this episode. Not only what’s going on with the new Green Arrow and the flash-forward timeline but with Team Arrow. I’m interested to see what lengths Felicity will go to take down Diaz. And how Dinah, Curtis and Diggle will react to Rene’s tentative return to vigilantism.  This season premiere needed to justify the aging superhero dramas existence, and it did that and more.

Who do you think is under the new Green Arrow’s hood?

Arrow airs on The CW Mondays at 8 pm.