Arrow Season 7: 4 Ups & 2 Downs From ‘Star City 2040’

3. Adding Some Context

While we already knew quite a lot about Mia Smoak, there were still some gaps that needed filled in. We knew the "whos" and the "whats" of her outlook on life without every really knowing the "whys". This week, however, we finally got to see the answers to all of those questions.

The episode opened with a rather touching scene between Oliver and Felicity as the would-be vigilante parents prepared for the arrival of Mia into their lives. From there, we discovered that the archer-soon-to-be-known-as-Blackstar ended up living with her mother out in a quiet house in the woods and actually received extensive training from Nyssa Al Ghul. Her discovery of Felicity's secret Arrow-cave within her own house kick-started her hatred towards vigilantism and sent her to Star City.

You could argue that hearing about this information would have sufficed, but it wouldn't have had nearly as much effect. Opening with the flashback (can we call it a flashback if it's ahead of the present-day narrative?) added some context to the episode's story and set the stage nicely for the eventual family reunion that followed.