Arrow Recap With Spoilers: Welcome to the New Star City 2040 in “Green Arrow and The Canaries”

Arrow returns tonight, taking viewers not to Star City immediately following the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” but instead into the future, 2040 to be exact. The episode, which serves as a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series Green Arrow and the Canaries, gives fans their first look at the future Oliver Queen sacrificed himself for. But what does that future look like for not only Star City but Oliver’s daughter, Mia? Read on to find out.

Warning: full spoilers for tonight’s penultimate episode of Arrow, “Green Arrow and the Canaries”, below.

A motorcycle races through the streets of Star City while elsewhere, there’s a party going on at a club. The person on the bike is Laurel and she approaches a young woman named Bianca Bertinelli, telling her that her life is in danger and she has to come with her. Bianca refuses and she’s soon kidnapped by large goons. It’s Star City 2040.

Mia wakes up at the Queen Mansion in bed next to JJ. She’s set to graduate from college that day and JJ proposes to her as his gift. She says yes. Elsewhere Laurel tracks down Dinah at a restaurant/club where she’s the owner and. They go to Dinah’s place to talk with Dinah revealing woke up in the future the day after Oliver’s funeral somewhere in the future with no trace of ever having existed at all. Dinah saw it as an opportunity to start over and Laurel informs her that Bianca – who is Helena Bertinelli’s daughter – has been kidnapped. She also shows Dinah what happens to Star City in a year as a result and the pair decide to go find Mia.

William shows up to congratulate his sister as does Zoe who is alive and well. Conner shows up to talk to JJ but Mia has issues with him. Laurel and Dinah show up and briefly grill Bianca’s ex-boyfriend, then talk to Mia who doesn’t know them. Laurel then uses a device to restore all of Mia’s memories of the previous timeline. Mia passes out.

When she comes to she struggles to reconcile her current life with the reality she knew before and she then goes to speak with Dinah and Laurel. Dinah and Laurel update her about Bianca and ask for her help, but Mia tries to claim she can’t do it. Laurel proves her wrong. Mia agrees to help this one time. Mia goes to pay the Bertinelli’s a visit, expressing her concerns as a distraction so Dinah and Laurel can bug the place.

Dinah thinks that she isn’t supposed to be a hero because this new world is a better place without her in it. Laurel tries to give her a pep talk. Mia shows up and while Bianca’s friends didn’t know anything about the situation, but the bugs at the Bertinelli’s pick up something suspicious. Laurel gives Mia her Green Arrow suit, but Mia doens’t want to wear it. The head out anyway, stopping the Bertinelli car while Mia goes to save Bianca. Mia ends up fighting one of the goons but what they’re moving isn’t Bianca. It’s a chemical or a drug – and Deathstroke is also there, defeating the women.

Laurel thinks that JJ might be the Deathstroke. Dinah agrees it is possible. Mia resists that idea and Laurel tells her to prove JJ isn’t Deathstroke. They head to an art opening at JJ’s gallery. Laurel tries to get into the office area, but Mia goes instead where she uses a device to get the data on JJ’s computer. JJ finds her and Mia confronts him over Bianca. She tells him if he has nothing to hide, show her the files and he does. Turns out he was planning a surprise honeymoon – and Bianca is apparently posting on social media.

As the trio debriefs, Mia and Laurel argue with Mia deciding that she’s done with them. She goes home, but things aren’t okay with JJ. He calls her out on her weird behavior and breaks up with her. At Dinah’s, they break the encryption on the video of Bianca and she is, in fact, not safe on vacation. Laurel goes to visit Mia at home. They end up having a heart to heart and Mia reveals her struggle in living up to the ideal of her father. Dinah tells her she wanted Mia to have the choice to be a hero. Mia chooses to join Dinah and Laurel.

They figure out where Bianca is being held and Mia suits up as the Green Arrow. They break in and discover that her ex-boyfriend Trevor has her and he is Deathstroke. He calls in his men and a fight ensues. There are too many of the men so the heroes move to escape with Bianca. They face off with Deathstroke again, who says that they can’t stop what’s coming because “she” won’t let them. Deathstroke Trevor blows up the building, but the ladies escape.

In the wrap up, Dinah decides to start protecting the city again and Mia reveals that she recognizes Trevor’s tattoo so she’s going to serve the city as the Green Arrow. Later, Mia goes to talk to JJ and they get back together. Laurel decides to stick around in 2040 and she and Dinah talk, revealing that there’s more to be worried about. It turns out that when Star City falls in the future, Mia is at the center of it. They hope they’ve changed that future.

Mia and William visit the statue honoring their father and chat. He also has the rock that Felicity gave him in the previous timeline. Mia looks at it and recognizes the marks on it as being on Trevor’s tattoo. The pair are then ambushed and William taken. Elsewhere, someone attacks JJ and restores his memories.

Arrow‘s finale episode, “Fadeout”, airs Tuesday, January 28 at 8/7c on The CW.