As great of an addition the flash-forwards proved to be in the early chapters of season seven, they've lost a good deal of momentum and meaningfulness gradually. The bloated cast, cheesy melodrama and mundane plots bogged down this new storyline. "Star City 2040" brings out the best in the flash-forwards, though it still had notable flaws holding it back. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Mia (Katherine McNamara) undoubtedly stole the episode with their chemistry and heartfelt moments both in the beginning and the end of the episode. Ben Lewis's William has also been the main driving force of the plot thread and that persisted here too. The episode focused a little too much on minor characters, like the poorly written Connor Hawke (Joseph David-Jones) or the lazy acting of Andrea Sixtos as Zoe Ramirez. Roy (Colton Haynes) and Dinah (Juliana Harkavy) are getting less and less interesting, yet they could bring so much to the table. It is clear moving forward that the flash-forwards are at their best focusing on two-three characters at the same time and should probably divert attention from the more poorly received ones. Or at the very least, improve the writing. Thankfully, even with multiple occasions of cheesy dialogue and a campy villain, director James Bamford managed to assemble this episode with his keen eye for compelling shots and lighting, not to mention a handful of his signature fight scenes. "Star City 2040" wasn't at all perfect, it still proved that the flash-forwards suffer from a character too many and some lazy melodrama, yet it managed to keep me engaged with the characters I like and serve up a satisfying story with some great action.
Review of Star City 2040
