Arrow 6x01 "Fallout" - Island of Secrets, Island of Scars

There's almost a certain familiarity in the structure Arrow has crafted in its first five seasons by blending the present with the past in an interesting fashion. The sixth season returns and although for all intents and purposes the structure has been obliterated in many ways (narratively, logistically, etc.), there seems to be some learned response in its creators to continue that structure. As the premiere opens five months after the destruction in "Lian Yu", Arrow spends little time in trying to hold back the fate of many of its principal cast, opting instead to open with a fierce action sequence to showcase the return of nearly every member of Team Arrow by the end of the teaser.

It will be interesting if Adrian Chase's destruction of Lian Yu will be the crux of many of the principal cast's new story arcs or if the flashbacks five months prior (instead of five years) in "Fallout" will remain within that episode (I doubt it). Apart from the shadowy reveal of the villain who saved Black Siren, one other unsolved mystery on that fateful finale on Lian Yu is Diggle's loss of his fine motor skills (or if you rather, the 'yips') in a way that seems to drastically affect his performance in the field. There's a bit of a positive feedback loop in that he can't act properly on his ability, so it causes his comrades to become injured (Wild Dog in this instance), causing him to doubt himself even further. It seems the show might be signaling that this might be Diggle's course through much of the season, though it remains fairly vague about what actually is the source of it. Was it because of the explosion that caused his scar, or is it some other psychological damage that the show has yet to reveal?

The other question remains is if the actual five month gap actually means anything at the moment other than moving the characters forward into new positions for the premiere. Or is it assumed that everything is simply business as usual until the events of "Fallout" occur? (i.e. Black Siren's attack on SCPD and the Arrow bunker). Part of me wonders if the show cannot help itself and continue to use the flashback sequence as a storytelling device, even if the original framework no longer exists, and that this new five month interim will now service similarly what previous was Oliver's five year journey, but will instead follow the team's journey from picking themselves back up on Lian Yu to the start of season six?

As the survivors of Lian Yu pick up where they left off, the show signals that everyone seems to have picked up some new baggage as they left the island. Some, such as Diggle, remain a mystery, whereas some such as Dinah and Lance's Black Siren secret come undone immediately. There's almost an air of distrust amongst the team following the return of Black Siren. Much of it is driven strongly by great character work from Lance and Dinah, especially with how Earth-2 Laurel plays a role in Lance's continual dead-daughter guilt, but also between Dinah and Diggle and her doubts about his sudden lack of combat acumen. Surprisingly (or not), the immediate fates of many of Team Arrow were never actually explored, though they are surprisingly alive as season six begins. So it bears wondering if these trips to Lian Yu will continue as the season continues to explore this unknown interim. Though we know how Felicity, Rene, Curtis, Nyssa, and to some extent Diggle survived, it would feel a waste if the fallout of "Lian Yu" was a simple "and then they were okay because the airplane kept them safe."

There is also a significant amount of movement on Oliver-as-father/Oliver-as-Green Arrow dichotomy. Of course, the show doesn't seem to want to steer in the direction as the comics (and it does not have to). The dichotomy is similarly reinforced ominously by Slade, who is also on the hunt for his son, which will hopefully lead to some promising back and forth between him and Oliver.

• A very strong premiere, likely because it was backed by well directed and choreographed action sequences by James Bamford. There was no shortage of long, uncut action sequences throughout the episode. And even the uncut graduation ceremony sequence is a good set of direction.
• Not too much to say about the episode as a whole as it was fairly straightforward to be honest; some secrets develop from the events of "Lian Yu" and the show as fairly obvious, but vague about the villain and his possible motives.
• A shame to see Willa Holland relegated to hospital bed duty. Hopefully she wakes up soon and does something.
• Wild Dog's new costume is cool, but it lacks of style of his t-shirt and hockey mask in some ways.
• Kind of 'bleh' for Samantha to simply struggle to stay alive simply to ask Oliver to take care of William, and then immediately die. Which is weird to see contrasted to the amount of effort Oliver puts into trying to win William over the course of the episode.