Arrow Season 7: 2 Ups & 3 Downs From 'Crossing Lines'

1. Strong Character Arcs

The one thing that stopped 'Crossing Lines' from coming across like any old random Arrow caper was the strong arcs revolving around two of the show's most significant characters.

While Felicity was busy hatching a revenge plot on Diaz, Oliver was doing whatever it took to track down some vital information to keep his family safe. In doing so, he dodged an ambush by Bronze Tiger and turned the tide, threatening the criminal with a knife. He then made his way to Brick's "party", broke Derek Sampson's arm and violently assaulted the prison's guards - all so he would be put in Level 2 alongside the all-knowing Demon. It really highlighted that there was no line he wouldn't cross to protect his family.

Similarly, Lyla Diggle found herself at the wrong end of an accusation from her husband, John, when she copied top-secret A.R.G.U.S. information and handed it over to a criminal. However, she revealed that she caught wind of some shady money transfers that nobody official would take seriously. Thus, much like Oliver, she was doing whatever it took to get to the bottom of it and, for lack of a better term, make the world a better place.

Both of these characters journeys reminded us that, even after seven years, there are still new ways to tell old stories. We always knew that they had good intentions but, in a series like this, we needed to be reminded that justice isn't always pretty.