With Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) convinced to leave their blissful (if boring) lives in the suburbs and reestablishing themselves in the renamed Star City, and Ollie giving his alter ego a new name by calling the city’s new archer the Green Arrow, Arrow‘s Fourth Season moves forward with foreshadowing that this is the year we will be introduced to more of the mystical side of the DCU. What began with the introduction of the Lazarus Pit last season, which is still having a lasting side-effect on Thea (Willa Holland), continues with the introduction of the season’s new big bad in Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) who has contradictory plans for the rebranding and rebuilding of what once was called Starling City.
While the season priemere deals primarily with Oliver being convinced to return and rejoin the fight, donning a new version of his costume, and accepting a new moniker, the show’s second episode “The Candidate” continues the fight as Team Arrow sets out to save an old friend (Jeri Ryan) of the Queens who has decided to run for mayor to stop the city from sliding any further into darkness. A kidnapped daughter (Tiera Skovbye) later, Danforth decides to remove her name from contention (even after Green Arrow and company are able to save the young woman from Darhk’s ghosts). The end of the second episode opens up a new storyline for Oliver Queen who, realizing the city needs more than just another vigilante, decides to run for mayor (adopting a storyline from the character’s long comic run).
The first two episodes of the new season reset the stage with the character and city finally adopting thier true comic book monikers. We also begin to see a bit of the new season of flashbacks returning Oliver to Lian Yu and a new ongoing B-story involving Felicity’s struggles to run Palmer Technologies after the disappearance (and assumed death) of Ray (Brandon Routh). While Felicity’s storyline feels a bit like the show treading water until Palmer miraculously returns (from what I’m assuming will be the show’s introduction of the Microverse), the main storyline gives us a fully-functioning Team Arrow which, other than Thea’s murderous rages, appears to be stronger than ever. And, thankfully, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) has decided to dump the Black Canary’s awful wig. Of course her other decision concerning the (not so final) fate of her sister will likely have large consequences for all involved.
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