Oliver begins building a new team, but his brutal training methods threaten to break it up before they even hit the streets. Meanwhile a mysterious "Ragman" threatens to destroy a clinic vital to rebuilding the city.
- Actor Allusion: Likely coincidental as Wild Dog is from the comics, but one of Green Arrow's recruits was a vigilante in a hockey mask. Where did we see Oliver's actor over the summer?
- Ancient Artifact: "Ragman"'s powers come from his Biblical rags which have been handed down from previous "Ragmans". They're so powerful that he withstood a nuke that destroyed his town.
- Arc Words: Season 5's main theme, "legacies", is brought up again.
- Asshole Victim: By the time Ragman comes for her, it's revealed Janet Carroll has been accepting money from crime syndicates and covered up AmerTek being the builder of the nuke that landed on Havenrock. Clearly, Ragman couldn't have picked a nicer target.
- Battle Strip: In the flashback plot, one of the recruits at Anatoly's organization takes off his shirt for no stated reason when he, Oliver, and the other recruits make their final attempt at the bell test. It gets even more inexplicable when he puts it back on right afterwards.
- Though perhaps it was to him an advantage as it's easier to catch someone by snagging onto their shirt. It also would be hard to get a grip on a shirtless target if they were covered in sweat. So this might actually be a case of Combat Pragmatist.
- Call-Back:
- Felicity mentions the multiple times Oliver has put arrows into people who later teamed up with him.
- There's also a subtle one when Felicity informs him that Green Arrow isn't the leader others followed, Oliver is, a reminder of Barry Allen stating that Oliver was someone who could inspire people while the Arrow was kind of a douche.
- Continuity Nod: Oliver has converted the abandoned H.I.V.E. base into a training facility.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The head of AmerTek is willing to sell heavy grade weaponry to Church in order to keep her company from going bankrupt.
- Cruel to Be Kind: How Oliver justifies his behavior. He wants them to learn how to work together and get better.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Oliver effortlessly floors his 3 new recruits every time they try to ring the bell.
- Prometheus' "fight" with Church lasts only about 3 seconds.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Oliver goes from tough on his new team to being cruel to the point that they all walk out on him, even Curtis.
- Easily Forgiven: Evelyn Sharp's brief stint as "Black Canary" goes unmentioned by Team Arrow.
- Eviler than Thou: At the end of the episode, Prometheus beats Church to a pulp, letting him live only because he didn't kill Green Arrow.
- Frame-Up: Diggle is framed for treason by his superior officer in order for him to protect his own ass.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Why did Diggle's superior officer try to steal a nuke and sell it to a wealthy buyer? After Genesis Day and finding out that magic exists and knowing how so many metahumans are cropping up in Central City, the officer felt that any one of these threats could end the Earth tomorrow. So he's going to sell a nuke and live it up rich until something comes along to end the world.
- Hidden Purpose Test: Oliver puts his new team through an exercise where they have to get past him to ring a bell. The point is to teach them teamwork. The problem is he's so brutal and abrasive they don't realize that. That and it's an exercise used by the Russian Mob too ...
- Hypocrite: Oliver scolding Ragman for being a killer and arguing that this isn't what his father would have wanted falls somewhat flat, given his own bodycount. He actually admits that his own father wanted something different for him, and he has failed at that so far.
- I Always Wanted to Say That: After Oliver says his new recruits are "too green":Felicity: Some could say the same of you. (laughs) I've been waiting five years to make that joke.
- Ineffectual Loner: Oliver realizes that he has been a bad leader and tries to change that.
- Kick the Dog:
- Diggle's CO killing a fellow soldier and trying to put the blame on John.
- In the flashbacks, the Bratva murders 3 recruits who just passed the test along with Oliver.
- Misplaced Retribution: "Ragman" wants to kill the AmerTek CEO for making the nukes that destroyed Havenrock, even though Damian Darhk was the one who hijacked them, and Felicity was the one who blew up the town - however unwittingly.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She doesn't say it, but you can see this feeling on Felicity's face when Ragman reveals that he's the Sole Survivor of Havenrock.
- Named by Democracy: Rene Ramirez demands to have a codename other than "Wild Dog", which everyone has been calling him. Oliver cheerfully informs him it isn't happening.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Prometheus tells Church that only he's allowed to kill Green Arrow.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Curtis rips into Oliver for his brutal treatment of the recruits, including him.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Since Oliver wasn't forcing them to stay, the recruits decide to leave him once he goes too far with his attitude.
- Seen It All: With metahumans and magic now an accepted part of their life, Oliver and Felicity show no real surprise when they see Ragman's superhuman abilities but only curiosity about the source of his power.
- Sole Survivor: "Ragman" is the only one who lived through the nuclear assault on Havenrock.
- The Soulsaver: Green Arrow convinces "Ragman" to let go of vengeance because that's not why his dad sacrificed himself to save his son.
- The Unmasking: Felicity forces Oliver to realize and admit that the only way he can get his new recruits to trust him is to trust them with his identity (at least the two who didn't know already).
- What the Hell, Hero?: Both Felicity and Curtis give Oliver a serious condemnation for his outright abusive behavior.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Believing Ragman to be good, Oliver does this by purposely making it look like Church was going to kill him, even though he's curbstomped Church before. This forced Ragman to release the AmerTek CEO and attack Church.
