(WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SEASON 7 EPISODE 16 OF ARROW!)
I have to say that I have really been enjoying the flash forward scenes on Arrow this year. I don't know if it's because of the different team dynamic or how great Katherine McNamara is as Mia. Up until now it has been a bit of a slow burn, and sort of waiting for a connection to what's been happening in the present. We get that and so much more this week, as we spend almost an entire episode in Star City 2040!
As we saw the last time we flashed forward, William and Mia have to go into the Glades to find out what the coordinates are that were left by Felicity. Right away you see how well William and Mia compliment each other. Oddly, it's almost how Oliver and Felicity compliment each other, just with the roles reversed. Once they get over the wall, they find out what they were searching for is a company called Galaxy One. They can't be sure what they will find once they are inside, but William has a plan to pose as a CEO to get them a meeting with the Galaxy One CEO to find out what might be going on. As it turns out, getting in isn't as easy as they expected. When Mia's scan doesn't go through, it looks like the fight might be starting a little early. Luckily, they get a little help at the best possible time.
Photo: Katie Yu/The CW -- © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Connor Hawke shows up, with a badge, and is able to take the suspicion away. Problem is, Mia had no idea that Connor was an agent of anything. She doesn't exactly take this news well, since he has been lying to her about this all along. Just in case you needed any more confirmation, it appears that these two are either romantically involved now or have been in the past. That's the vibe I got from this anyway. Mia feels like she's been lied to her whole life, and this doesn't help. Back to the task at hand, Connor knows the building pretty well and knows that there is a sub-level that they will need to gain access to. Now they just need to get a DNA sample from this CEO to clone it, simple right?
They go into the meeting, and it doesn't seem like they are going to get any real useful information. William is able to provide enough of a distraction for Mia to get a DNA sample from a coffee cup and away they go. The only problem with the rest of the plan is, they have no idea what they're walking into and the rest of the team isn't there to back them up. Yep, it was Mia's idea to leave without backup and do this on their own. Conner does stick around, the DNA cloning works and down they go.
While all of this is going on, Dinah, Roy and Zoe are off to try and find some information of their own about the bombs that are being placed around Star City. Zoe finally finds out that not only did her dad know about it, he thinks it's a good idea. He also thinks that Galaxy One will evacuate Star City first, so clearly, he's being played. Did anyone else get strong Season 1 vibes from this whole thing? Remember the earthquake machine and Oliver's mother knowing all about what was happening? Well now it's bombs and Zoe's dad, but it's very similar. Things are really reaching a boiling point, as we also see Roy get pretty rough with one of the Star City cops when they try to get information from him. We don't get a whole lot of info on where all this rage is coming from with Roy, but it was pretty intense. Long story short, they end up reaching the same conclusion that William and Mia did, so they're off to The Glades as well.
Before we get to what happens next, I did want to talk about the flashback that we do get within this story. We get to see Mia growing up with Felicity. She is also being trained by Nyssa, which was AWESOME! Any chance we can get to have Katrina Law back on Arrow, I'll take it. We also get to see Mia around the age that she is now and living with Felicity. Interesting to note that we do not see Oliver at any point in her growing up. We do get to see him present for the birth, but that's it. Does this backtrack from what Mia said about growing up with them in a previous episode? It certainly seeems to, and adds fuel to the theory of Oliver dying in the 8th and final season. After Mia catches Felicity doing vigilante work, she loses it and it leads to her going off on her own. So now we know why she is so upset with her mother in 2040 and how she adopted all of these poor opinions of vigilantes being alone in the city.
Back in 2040, this is when things really get interesting. They do end up finding Felicity being held captive in this sub-basement. They do meet some resistance, but it's nothing that they can't handle. Once Felicity gets free, there is a nice reunion between her and William. She apologizes to him for everything, but we don't really get any detail on what exactly that was. The feels are not exactly there for Mia, especially after Felicity says that they need to stop the bombs. Mia wants her to just be a mom, but Felicity is going to be a hero. William actually agrees, and off they go without Mia. Connor and Mia then have their own tense conversation about how this is Mia's time to choose for herself what she wants to be from here on out. Mia's perspective is understandable given the circumstances, and we do get to see her make that choice.
After William and Felicity find where the bombs are supposed to be, Mia rejoins them and the rest of the team shows up as well. There isn't much time for a tear filled reunion, as they discover that the bombs are gone and already distributed throughout Star City. Rene shows up to tell them this, and try to show his daughter that the good man that she knew is still in there. The only way they can save the city now is to go to a party.
Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW -- © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
They do their best to blend in, but so is everyone else, and they need to find the CEO from earlier who has the trigger. Mia tried to take it from him herself, but that didn't work out very well. We did get to see an amazing sequence of her taking out a bunch of armed bad guys on her own though, which was pretty incredible. That wouldn't be the last incredible thing that she does, believe me. Their only choice now isn't a great one, but it gives them a chance. Rene yells that there are vigilantes present and that sends the party into a panic. As the fight ensues, the CEO is exposed, and so is the trigger device. This is when Mia shows why she is her father's daughter. With just one arrow, she strikes the tiny cube in his hand and shuts down all of the bombs. It's her first big hero moment, and it's a big one.
So it looks like the band is back together, but with a couple of new members. Mia still isn't quite comfortable with this little reunion and walks out. Felicity follows, and it's time for mom to try to set things right. She talks about the decisions that she had to make, and does her best to convince Mia that everything she heard about vigilantes isn't true. Finally we see that there is an even bigger motivation for Felicity to continue her mission. Back to the present day, we find out that it was Felicity who created the Archer system. This is a great way to tie the two storylines together, and creates a lot more intrigue with them running concurrently.
These flash forward scenes are really working for me, and now this tie to the present really makes them matter even more. I also love that Felicity is very different in the future. She might be more paranoid, but she is more battle tested and seems a lot stronger. I also love the scenes with Mia and William together. The brother/sister dynamic is really building, and they compliment each other's styles so well as I said before. It's all starting to come together at just the right time. Granted our present day is quite a distance from 2040, but there is plenty to sort out until then. What did you think of this trip to the future?