Oliver is back in Star City a free man, but has to contend with a mysterious assassin trying to frame the New Green Arrow. Meanwhile Diggle and Lyla discover a dark secret about the Longbow Hunters.
- Aesop Amnesia: Diggle and Lyla forget Keeping Secrets Sucks by going behind Team Arrow's backs to recruit Diaz to help them take down the Longbow Hunters. Not to mention, Oliver's attempts at working with Malcolm Merlyn in the past should've clued Diggle into the fact that it is only going to result in the villains screwing the heroes over at every opportunity.
- Age Lift: Oliver is revealed to have a half-Asian sister like in the comics. While Emiko Queen was in her pre-teens and later aged up to her teens, the woman introduced here seems to be closer to Oliver's age. At the very least, she's in her 20s.
- Arc Welding: The mysterious codename "Dante" Lyla and John have been hunting has been transferring large amounts of money to none other than the Longbow Hunters.
- Arrow Catch: Oliver catches one of Mirror's arrows during the assassination of Clayton Ford.
- Artistic License – Law Enforcement: A police captain does not have the legal authority to deputize anyone. Only the county sheriff or the city mayor does.
- Boxed Crook: Diggle and Lyla come to Diaz for help.
- The Bus Came Back: Maxwell Fuller returns after not being seen for six seasons.
- Call-Back: Oliver's instinctive reaction to Felicity creeping up on him in the shower, as he struggles to adjust to post-prison life, is somewhat reminiscent of his instinctively tackling his mother to the ground in the pilot, as he struggled to adjust to life after the island.
- Oliver's first mission as an SCPD operative echoes his first mission as a vigilante in the pilot - his presence at a night-club, and having to take down a number of armed mercenaries protecting his target, who is, in both cases, a corrupt businessman involved in criminal activity.
- Canon Character All Along: The new Green Arrow is revealed to be the Arrowverse's version of Emiko Queen.
- Cryptic Background Reference: In the flashforward, Blackstar says that "the story goes" that Star City's collapse into anarchy was the fault of vigilantes like Dinah.
- Double-Meaning Title: The episode title could either refer to Oliver assuming his Green Arrow mantle minus the hood and Domino Mask (see Loophole Abuse below) or The Reveal of the new Green Arrow's identity.
- Foreshadowing:
- When discussing that they miss William, Oliver tells Felicity that Christmas vacation feels like 20 years away. Little does he know he won't be seeing his son again for the next 20 years...
- Dinah tells Oliver that people were ready to believe in the new Green Arrow because they were hoping it was Oliver. By the end of the episode, Oliver has taken this to heart and acts openly as the Green Arrow. What's more, the new Green Arrow may not have been Oliver, but it was still a Queen.
- Fight Clubbing: In the future, this is where the heroes find Blackstar.
- Frame-Up: The New Green Arrow is being framed for murder by the Mirror, a hired gun of Fuller's.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Team Arrow are still more than a little reluctant to call Black Siren a friend. Dinah settles on "frenemy". Despite this discomfort, Oliver is grateful for her help in getting him released (although he later refers to her as one of the most immoral people he knows).
- Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Felicity and Oliver engage in some.
- Hallway Fight: Oliver has one with Fuller's goons in his club.
- He's Back!: Oliver puts the Green Arrow suit back on, but not the mask.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Felicity makes no apologies for her radical change.
- Idiot Ball: Diggle and Lyla are asking Diaz for help and don't expect this to go badly for them despite everything he has done to the city and their loved ones in the past.
- It gets even worse when you remember that the previous attempts by the team to work with villains, Oliver working with Malcolm, Diggle trusting his brother, Felicity working with Helix, all resulted in things going wrong for the team and the villains screwing them over. You'd really expect them to learn at some point.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: William responds to the frustrating lack of progress in the search for Felicity by grabbing a bottle of nearby liquor.
- Internal Reveal: Oliver gets to know the new Felicity and is naturally not happpy.
- Irony: Mayor Pollard rails against "men in masks" to the press after the new Green Arrow appears to have murdered someone. She was presenting one such man— Star City's original masked vigilante, no less— as the guest of honor at the gala just before the attack.
- Little Black Dress: Earth-2 Laurel and Felicity wear different variations of this during the party; the former's is regal and sparkly while latter's is simple but still elegant with red accents.
- Loophole Abuse:
- Dinah gets around the anti-vigilante law by deputising Oliver as an agent of the SCPD, allowing him to operate legally as the Green Arrow.
- Ollie is also working openly, sans mask. Therefore, he is not a "masked vigilante."
- Mythology Gag: Oliver working for the SCPD is very reminiscent of the old live-action Batman (1966), where Batman was not a vigilante but as full-deputized agent of the law.
- We eventually see that Emiko Queen is adapted here from the DC Universe comics and she is Oliver Queen's half-sister just like in the comics.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Mayor Pollard is trying to put as many obstacles in the way of Dinah and Oliver as possible.
- Offhand Backhand: Oliver shoots one of Fuller's goons without even looking.
- Police Are Useless: In the flashforwards, they're apparently worse than useless; Zoe scoffs at the notion that the SCPD would do anything to stop Star City from being destroyed, saying that they'd love to watch it all go up in flames.
- Refuge in Audacity: Oliver puts his old green back on ... not as vigilante but an employee of the SCPD. Mayor Pollard is not happy!
- Samus Is a Girl:
- Up to this point, everyone in-universe assumed the new Green Arrow to be a man, but she's revealed in this episode to be a woman.
- Also, in the future the mysterious "Blackstar", the person Felicity last spoke with, is also a girl.
- Sarcastic Clapping: Still sour for badmouthing her, Earth-2 Laurel gave one to Oliver during the party to honor him.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Everyone dressed to the nines to honor Oliver in a party.
- The Stinger: The Earth-90 stinger, with John Wesley Shipp as The Flash, is repeated from Supergirl (2015).
- Stock Footage: The same stinger from Supergirl (2015) is repeated this episode.
- Title Drop: Courtesy Of Felicity.
- That Man Is Dead: Felicity insists this of her old self, deeming her weak.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Diggle, looking like he'd rather be doing anything else, all but chokes on his words as he asks Diaz for help.
- Ungrateful Bastard: After Oliver has solved the murders Fuller was responsible for and helped bring him to justice, Pollard's first response is to insist that Dinah arrest him. What's more, she promises that she'll find a way to subvert the loophole Dinah exploits to keep Oliver out of prison.
- Wham Episode: Turns out that Robert Queen's infidelities resulted in an illegitimate daughter (Emiko Queen, if the name from the comics is kept)— who he kept in contact with and now she's taking up her half-brother's mantle.
- Wham Shot: The new Green Arrow kneels before a grave, promising her father that she won't give up her crusade. The name on the gravestone is then revealed to be Robert Queen. Driving the reveal home, the scene is taking place just outside the burnt remains of the Queen family mansion.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Both Felicity and Oliver call each other out. Felicity is being called out on her new ruthless nature, while she confronts Oliver again on making the deal with Watson behind her and William's backs.
- You Remind Me of X: In the future, Dinah sees much of Oliver in William, which makes her proud.
