Out of all of the recruits, Rory already seems like he’s been part of the team for a long time. His initial decision to quit the team after learning about Felicity’s involvement in his hometown being destroyed was respectable, but it was great that he found a way to forgive her and continue fighting the crime in Star City.

Rene AKA WildDog. There’s being unlikeable and then there’s Rene. He has the worst attitude on television and his condescending tone almost made me quit the show altogether. Thankfully, he’s been far less annoying in recent weeks, but still, he’s annoying.

I know I may be getting a little ahead of myself here, but I refuse to believe Laurel’s return is a figment of Oliver’s imagination. She looked EXACTLY the way she did in the fake reality the Dominators created. Somehow, something went wrong and she’s managed to escape back into the land of the living. I don’t see how Flashpoint could have affected anything because it seemed like the characters were still very much in the know about her being dead. Can it be January yet?!

Oliver killing Malone by accident seemed a little too farfetched to take seriously. I can’t be the only one who predicted it was going to happen as soon as Oliver showed up looking for Prometheus? It was lazy writing for sure, but it did pave the way for Stephen Amell’s alter-ego to become a likeable character again. Hey, we never thought it was possible, either.

The midseason finale was the best episode of Arrow in years. If you thought the 100th episode was lacking on the action side of things, this episode made up for it. There was action from start to finish, and it genuinely seemed like we could be losing Curtis, but instead, Curtis was losing his man. Also, LAUREL RETURNED, but hopefully not as Black Siren.

Diggle was dealt a rough hand with a lot of changes in his life. He started the season with a target on his back, before having to go into hiding. He then had his daughter replaced with a son thanks to the immense power of messing with time. Now, things are about to get a lot worse for him since he’s totally heading for prison. We can probably thank Evelyn and Prometheus for that one.

Oliver trusting Susan. There have been so many little things that have links to Russia that it makes it obvious Susan either has some sort of obsession with the place, or she’s trying to get a reaction out of Oliver because she knows he was in Russia when he was apparently on the island. The chick is probably going all Gail Weathers and penning a tell-all book to propel her to stardom.

Felicity and Malone had absolutely ZERO chemistry. It seems like Felicity realized that herself when she was crying in one scene in the midseason finale, before having dry eyes a split second later. You call it an editing fail; I call it her realizing he was not the guy for her. It seemed like the powers that be didn’t want to shove the relationship down our throats. That would piss a lot of fans off who are tired of the show focusing on the relationships. Let’s hope Malone’s death does not have Felicity running to Oliver to get back with him. The show has done a good job putting Olicity on the backburner.

Oliver’s initiation to Bratva was thrilling. After two seasons of pointless flashbacks, we’re finally getting ones that are helping us understand the character of Oliver and the decisions he makes much better. Also, with the flashbacks coming to an end after Arrow Season 5, it’s great they are probably going to be leaving us wanting more.

B+. I never in a million years thought I would be saying Arrow is returning to the Arrow I loved back in Season 3. Even with some of the recruits being meh, the overall arc of the season with Prometheus and the other villains has been intriguing. Having Olicity working together without any relationship drama has been a godsend. With the return of Laurel and Prometheus upping the ante, it’s clear things are only going to get better from here. Heck, even the flashbacks have been integral to the storyline!