Season three of Arrow was a mixed bag. While there were some cool ideas — such as introducing Ra’s al Ghul and having the League of Assassins — too many cooks in the kitchen resulted in a sloppy, overly dark narrative. With The Flash succeeding with a more upbeat attitude, watching the show seemed like a major bummer at times.
The season four premiere “Green Arrow,” was an attempt to right the ship.
We learn following their departure from Starling City that Oliver and Felicity are living a normal life in the suburbs. They cook omelettes, throw brunches and live an anti-Arrow life. Oliver is on the verge of proposing to Felicity when Thea and Laurel show up at his door, asking them to help because Starling City is in trouble. Oliver learns Felicity was helping the team the entire time they were gone and realizes she missed working with them.
Felicity Smoak, you have failed this Omelette #ArrowSeason4 pic.twitter.com/m4aggZ34mW
— Charlie Schneider (@AwesomEmergency) October 8, 2015
Team Arrow has become Team Diggle. Diggle, Laurel, and Thea have tried to become what the original Arrow team was, but are overwhelmed in their attempts. They’re doing their best, but they need Oliver’s help. The city is dealing with a group of baddies referred to as Ghosts, led by season four villain Damien Darhk. Dahrk (Neal McDonough) was name-dropped quite a bit in season three, and he’s every bit as menacing as expected. He wants the city to die, so it can reblossom under his reign.
Diggle isn’t happy with Arrow returning. The relationship isn’t going to be repaired right away, but he’s willing to put those differences aside and do whatever it takes to save his city. The group overhears Darhk talking to the Ghosts and watch him kill a henchman for a slight screw-up on a mission by simply touching him. Oliver says he’s not a metahuman, but that he’s mystical. The Arrow crew intervenes, but Thea can’t control herself, being super-aggressive in dealing with bad guys. She’s clearly dealing with side-effects from being revived in the Lazarus pit — and that’s something we’ll deal with throughout season four.
The Arrow team finds out Darhk’s got an unstoppable train filled with cluster bombs heading for the city. With his new suit on, made by STAR Labs’ finest, Cisco Ramon, the group plans to intercept.
In a one-on-one encounter on the train with Darhk, Arrow does his best, but Darhk uses his seemingly magical abilities to snatch Oliver’s arrows out of mid-air, almost killing him before Diggle shoots him. Darhk gets away, and the crew manages to blow up the train before it hits Starling City.
Darhk’s operatives are revealed to be working with H.I.V.E, the supervillain organization from the Teen Titans comics. (In season three, Deadshot told Diggle the group hired him to kill his brother.)
Arrow sends a dramatic message to the city, announcing he’s a beacon of hope and renaming himself the Green Arrow, the original name that the character is based from in DC Comics. This is hopefully the transition into a more fun character.
From there, the episode get a little bonkers. We’re shown Dahrk sacrificing his blood to an Egyptian-like totem, which is seemingly how he gets his magical powers. He’s interrupted by Quentin Lance, who’s revealed to work for Dahrk against his will. With Lance on his side and science-bending powers, Dahrk is set up to be quite the villain for the Arrow team.
The final scene is six months in the future with Barry Allen and Oliver at an unknown grave. Zoom is mentioned. Oliver vows to kill the man who did it. The show wants us to believe he’s mourning Felicity, considering the scene comes right after one featuring her, but I’m more inclined to believe it’s probably Detective Lance. Obviously, we’ll find out as the season progresses.
I should mention this episode also had its signature flashbacks, with Amanda Waller capturing Oliver and releasing him back to the island from season one. Arrow’s biggest weakness remains being these unnecessary, distracting flashbacks. Just be done with them.
“Green Arrow” was an excellent first episode of what’s hopefully a bounce-back season for Arrow. The premiere dealt with a focused narrative, and introduced a promising new villain while teasing some intriguing future plotlines. What’s the totem giving Dahrk his powers? Why is Lance working with him? Can Oliver and Diggle’s relationship be repaired?
Let’s hope these are all evenly answered, and season four doesn’t quickly turn into the clusterfuck season three morphed into.
