Arrow focused it’s mid season premiere putting Oliver Queen through emotional turmoil with an episode dealing with the ramifications of the winter finale.

The last scenes of the mid season finale of Arrow left viewers gasping as Felicity lay unconscious and bleeding after being shot by Darhk’s men.  What added to the heartbreaking moment was that Oliver had finally proposed moments before.  Additionally, the intercuts between the scenes involving the shooting and Darhk’s family man Christmas tree decorating, accompanied by The Little Drummer Boy playing in the background made it especially haunting.

What follows in “Blood Debts” is the aftermath of events, with Oliver facing his greatest fear: putting those he loves in danger because he is Green Arrow.  We got to see Oliver’s guilt, pain and fear in some powerfully acted scenes by Stephen Amell.  I feel that Amell never gets the praise he deserves.  He’s a talented actor but because he’s also an attractive man, I think fans often focus more on his physical attributes instead of his dramatic talents.

In the beginning of Season 4, viewers saw Oliver and Felicity living a life away from the pressures of being a city-saving superhero. They were just a young couple in love, and Oliver was planning a future with the woman he loved. In “Blood Debts”, we got the Oliver Queen of seasons past- the revenge driven, vigilante.

The episode was more character driven than action driven.  It was an ode to Oliver’s love for Felicity.  But I do feel that Oliver’s pain caused him to stress more on his revenge than Felicity.  Also, for anyone familiar with the comic book version of Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow, Stephen Amell plays the character darker and more tortured, which is great and give Amell a chance to show his acting range.

Did you like the mid season of Arrow? Sound off in the comments. Or tweet @thenerdygirlexp and @stacyamiller85 .