Ahh Arrow, how we have missed you!  In the premiere of Arrow this past week there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on Arrow, a.k.a Oliver Queen’s love life, family and inner conflict but there was also quite a bit of action and suspense build up for future episodes.  Felicity struggled to overcome some insecurity issues about being replaced as the female of the group now that Sarah has joined the Arrow team and can not only kick, butt but is smart and Oliver’s current love interest as well.  The villain of this episode wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked and lacked a little of the sinister quality I was hoping for in a premiere, but it also introduced one of the first technological villains Arrow has faced as opposed to pure brawn and physical prowess.  The villain was afflicted with a terminal disease and was basically only stealing money for his sick sister–despite his extreme methods, it was not really a horrible motive.

With Felicity’s help, the team was able to take down the dying madmen fairly quickly and Felicity even saved Sarah in the process, but jumping in front of a bullet for her and again, solidifying her place with the team.  Oliver was his usual stoic and brooding self, and continues to have animosity towards his mother, which I must admit I don’t entirely understand.  Everyone now knows about the affair she had with Malcom Merlin so why is it so important that Thea not know she is his daughter?  And why is Oliver so mad?  Seems a little uncalled for in my opinion.  Laurel continues to be a hot mess and angry at her sister and Dinkle didnt have much input in this episode either.

There were some cool fight scenes and moves, particularly as Oliver slid down the staircase already shooting his bow and the training scene in the beginning between Dinkle, Sarah and Oliver, which was fast and furious.  However, the best moment in the show occurred at the very end when under the deception of an urgent text message from his sister Oliver rushes home, only to find, his mother there alone having a business meeting.  She then introduces him to Slade Wilson and for the first time, Oliver knows for sure that Slade is alive.  I think most of the audience was expecting Slade to surprise Oliver in battle or some other stealthy move, so we were caught offguard by this formal introduction and blatant intrusion in his home.  It will be interesting to see what develops now and what scenes from the island are brought forth to shed more knowledge on Slade’s extreme hatred of Oliver.  Stay tuned!