Recap: ARROW S7 E2 - The Longbow Hunters

This week’s episode of Arrow pretty much continues the storyline on last week’s. We have Ollie in prison struggling to keep his ideals, Felicity wanting to take down Diaz, and Diggle leading a mission with A.R.G.U.S., oh and of course we can’t forget about our flash-forwards with Will and Roy.

We do a bit more character work with our cast, with Oliver gone they have to find what their goals are, and how to operate as individuals. This mostly deals with Felicity. She is being consumed by her hatred of Diaz. She’s becoming desperate and it shows. We have Felicity at A.R.G.U.S. with Dig and Curtis. They essentially need to go after a stolen battery. It packs enough juice that, if in the wrong hands, can level an entire city. The battery was taken by the Longbow Hunters, who are working with Ricardo Diaz. Felicity wants to help because Diaz pretty much destroyed her family. The goal is to get the weapon back, but Felicity wants Diaz and is willing to sacrifice a friend if needed. Diggle is trapped on a train with Diaz and 2/3 of the Longbow Hunters. Diggle needs Felicity to separate the cars (they have the battery at this point), but Felicity refuses. She can’t let Diaz escape again. Even though Dig is going to die – all she sees is red. He would’ve been a goner if Curtis didn’t take over. Not only this but earlier in the episode she ruined another mission by butting in. Felicity is hurt and it’s blinding her. It makes sense but it also brings out a major flaw. She always seemed selfish and inconsiderate so when it actually makes sense; it can still be a turn off for some viewers.

The same can be said for Black Siren. Laurel and Dinah have no reason to be friends, but they are making progress. Laurel has let her past shape her as a person. She is a loner and doesn’t communicate well with others. So when Dinah wants to give Laurel protection, she refuses. Over the course of last season, we saw Quinton try and help Laurel open up. Well, it looks like Hoss’ hard work was not in vain. Laurel and Dinah’s relationship is one of the weirdest on the show. They wanted to kill each other just a few months ago, now they seem to be working things out. It’s an odd character shift but it still works.

So aside of these character plots, what did we actually learn? Well, we are introduced to the Longbow Hunters and contrary to their name, do not use longbows (color me disappointed). They’re a team of nameless specialist that aided Diaz. They had some cool moves when up against Team Arrow, but they weren’t very memorable.

On top of that, we also followed up with Will and Roy. Apparently Felicity wanted Will to find a crate with Oliver’s old gear, it included a note but Roy tore it up. Was it important? Probably. Do I feel like speculating? No. It’s bait and I’m not biting.

Oliver was also in this episode but it was really just more of the same. The status quo has changed and it doesn’t look like we’re hitting the reset button anytime soon. For next week’s review, you’ll have a substitute teacher so behave. For all things on our favorite archer, stay tuned.