Recap / Arrow S 4 E 1 Green Arrow

Back in the saddle

Season 4, Episode 1:

Green Arrow

Oliver and Felicity are enjoying their domestic bliss, but Star City (rechristened since the disappearance of Ray Palmer) is in worse shape than ever as the citizens flee in droves and a gang of well-trained mercenaries known as "Ghosts" run amok. What's left of Team Arrow can't cope with it alone and Oliver is forced to get back in the game as someone else — but is he enough?

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Tropes:

• 10-Minute Retirement: Oliver managed to stay away from vigilantism for six months — and what's more, he was committed to retirement and really enjoyed it — before his friends ask for his help to deal with the Ghosts. He becomes Green Arrow when he realizes how big a threat Damien Darhk presents to the city. Felicity's retirement lasted much shorter, since she got bored very quickly and has been secretly helping out the team behind Oliver's back for months.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse:
  • Waller gets to Oliver again, for a mission back on Lian Yu. He is drugged, put on a plane and then told that if he does not parachute down to the island, he will be shot in the head.
  • When Captain Lance complains that mass murder is Not What I Signed Up For, Darhk makes it clear he doesn't have any choice in the matter.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Kord Industries are one of the largest arms manufacturers in the world, plus they make an awesome cell phone.
• Badass Boast: When Oliver realizes Felicity had been secretly providing computer support to the team behind his back while they were traveling the world, he's confused because in one location she supposedly didn't even have internet access.
  Felicity: I knoooooow, but we both know I'm just that good.
• Bad Boss: Just to establish that Darhk is pretty dark, he kills a man with his Touch of Death for failing to kill Team Arrow.
• Bait-and-Switch: As usual for the start of a new season Oliver is introduced running through the trees, but instead of Lian Yu it turns out he's jogging through a park near his suburban home while wearing a green hoodie.
• Beta Outfit:
  • Hoping to wrap the crisis up quickly, Oliver refuses to put on the Arrow costume again, and just wears a balaclava. Captain Lance seems to recognise him regardless.
  • Flashback-Oliver is just wearing jeans and a green vest with Yao Fei's hood for his vigilante activities.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Diggle does a Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind just before Oliver is about to be killed by Damien Darhk.
  • Laurel in her Black Canary guise hits a Ghost as he's (supposedly) about to shoot her father, while Captain Lance in turn tackles a Ghost as he's about to shoot his daughter.
• Bond One-Liner: Oliver in his new costume delivers one to Damien Darhk after (non-fatally) pulling a thug out of the train:
  Green Arrow: Sorry! He had to get off at an earlier stop!
• Blood Knight: Thea is loving being Speedy, though she prefers to be called Red Arrow.
• Blood Magic: Just to make it clear Darhk that isn't a metahuman, we have him cutting open his arm while making an incantation.
• Brick Joke: In Season One when "Green Arrow" was first raised as a moniker (by Malcolm Merlyn, no less) Oliver dismissed it as lame.
• Brother–Sister Team: Oliver and Thea have become this as Green Arrow and Speedy respectively.
• Buffy Speak: Oliver has mopey face after Captain Lance chews him out.
• Bullet Sparks: Laurel and Thea are introduced weaving between them on the back of a motorbike.
  Thea: This is so cool!
  Laurel: I think we're going to have to work on your definition of cool.
• Call-Back:
  • Oliver mentions that he's seen people with mystical powers before. Though it also serves as foreshadowing for the flashback plot for this season.
  • Diggle recalls how Deadshot told him the group who contracted Andy Diggle's death went by the alias H.I.V.E. when Oliver says that Damien Darhk's agenda involves his "hive" of agents.
• The Cape: After three years of being The Cowl, the Terror Hero and the Pragmatic Anti-Hero, Oliver now desires to be this type of hero, dubbing himself the Green Arrow.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Felicity has been playing Mission Control for Team Arrow the whole time she and Oliver were retired in suburbia.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: After three years, Oliver Queen finally adopts the Code Name of Green Arrow.
• Concealment Equals Cover: The bullets from that GPMG should have cut straight through the container Team Arrow were hiding behind.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Thea has moved out of her overly large loft after Ra's attacked her there (she's now living with Laurel). Felicity gladly takes it over along with Ollie.
  • "Flash Day" is mentioned.
  • As Ray Palmer pointed out in the Season Three premiere, Star City's population continues to dwindle as people are in a rush to leave the city due to rampant crime rates.
• Costume Evolution
  • The Hood outfit Oliver wears in Central City is a noticeable contrast to the high-tech Cisco-designed costumes he wears now.
  • Diggle has finally got a superhero costume, using a helmet rather than a hood to conceal his face. He also has a pistol that deploys from a sleeve that can fire bullets or tranq rounds.
  • Cisco left an upgraded costume for Oliver in case he returned. The change in outfit comes in handy when Oliver claims to be a new vigilante taking up the Arrow's mantle.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Oliver is on the receiving end of one when he fights Damien Darhk.
• Cuteness Proximity: Diggle playing with Baby Sara.
  Diggle: Who is the cutest? Who is the cutest, ever, ever?
  Lyla: Playing with her like that, I'm pretty sure it's you.
• Cyanide Pill: The Ghosts have the poison tooth version, to prevent them being taken alive for interrogation.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: When Oliver figures out what is going on in Star City (to some degree), he immediately gives orders to Felicity, Laurel, Diggle, and Thea on what to do. Only after does he remember that he already gave command to Diggle implicitly after he left. He apologizes for this, but they do what he suggested anyway.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Dig tranqs Damien Darhk. Downplayed in that it doesn't stop him for long.
• Diving Save: Subverted; a man gets a Laser Sight on his chest but Thea tackles him to the ground...only to find the bullet has already killed him.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: A heroic version when Felicity hacks into the emergency broadcast system so the Green Arrow can announce his debut.
• Easily Forgiven:
  • While Diggle is still mad at Oliver for kidnapping his wife, Lyla has forgiven him and understands why he did it, well aware that it was Nothing Personal in a war situation against Ra's. Diggle himself is slowly coming around by the episode's end, but he hasn't quite forgiven Oliver yet.
  • Averted with Captain Lance, who is still clinging to resurfaced years-old grudges and is not happy Oliver is back in town.
  • However Quentin's interactions with Laurel show that they have reconciled their split from last year. This makes sense when it's revealed in the next episode that Darhk is threatening Laurel to keep Quentin in line, so it's in her father's interest to keep her as close as possible.
• Epic Fail: A flashback shows one of Oliver's first attempts at being a vigilante, going after a low level drug dealer. He messes up badly and ends up entangled in cables hanging upside down from a building, where an amused Amanda Waller finds him.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Captain Lance stops the DA from confronting Damien Darhk when normally he'd be the first to charge in recklessly. This shows he knows exactly how dangerous Darhk is.
  • Oliver knowing about magic refers to this season's flashback story arc.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Flashback!Oliver's two scenes in Coast City have references to the Green Lantern oath and Hal Jordan.
• From Bad to Worse: Star City is in the worst shape it's ever been in, to the point they can't even find a Mayor anymore.
• Gilligan Cut: Oliver says that at least his life now doesn't involve people shooting at him. Smash Cut to a truckload of Ghosts shooting at Team Arrow.
• Got Volunteered
  A.R.G.U.S. agent: Director Waller has asked me to thank you for agreeing to take on this mission.
  Oliver: I didn't agree to take on any—
  A.R.G.U.S. agent: (drawing pistol)' Sorry. We're in a bit of a clock here. Now, you're getting off this plane. You can do that with a chute on your back or a bullet in your head. Your call.
• Green and Mean: Inverted, with Oliver becoming the Green Arrow in an effort to put aside his Anti-Hero image.
• Hero of Another Story: In the time skip, Barry mentions his struggle with Zoom (The Flash Season Two's Big Bad) kept him from attending the funeral of the unnamed fallen comrade.
• High Turnover Rate: The city is now run by a committee of four senior officials and they lampshade the fact that no-one wants to be Mayor of Star City due to the fact that all the recent holders of the office were brutally murdered. Then three of the four committee members are murdered.
• Hollywood Skydiving: Oliver is literally kicked off the A.R.G.U.S. plane for what is probably his first ever HALO jump.
• Hypocrite:
  • Diggle is still giving Oliver crap for kidnapping Lyla and not filling Team Arrow in on his plan to take down the League. That doesn't stop him from not filling Team Arrow in when he connects Damien Darhk's H.I.V.E. to the one Deadshot mentioned.
  • All of Quentin Lance's cruel lashing out at Oliver, accusing him of being a monster who messed up the city, falls especially flat when we discover he's working with Damien Darhk (admittedly under duress).
• It's Always Spring: Lampshaded by Damien Darhk:
  Dahrk: You know, I love this town in the fall. I mean, yes, it's pretty much the same as it is in the other three seasons, but I admire consistency.
• It's Personal: In the flash-forward, we see that "he" (possibly Damien Darhk) has killed an unidentified comrade, which means Oliver is now out for his blood.
• It Is Beyond Saving: Darhk believes that Star City is beyond saving, and he's actually amused that people are still trying to save it.
  Darhk: You’re all fretting about this city dying. I’m here on behalf of an organization that wants you to let it die.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Waller takes Flashback-Ollie to a bar for a drink, making it look as if her experience with General Shrieve has caused her to unwind a bit. The drink is drugged and the bar is full of ARGUS agents who kidnap Oliver and dump him right back on the island hellhole Waller rescued him from.
• Legacy Character: Invoked Trope. The public believes that Roy Harper was the Arrow and he was apparently killed in prison. Oliver makes it look like he is a new vigilante assuming the Green Arrow persona.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Diggle doesn't tell anyone else that Darhk is the man who gave Deadshot the contract to kill Andy.
• Meaningful Rename: Two examples.
  • Starling City has been renamed Star City in honor of the wishes of the "late" Ray Palmer.
  • Oliver decides to distance himself from the darkness that the Arrow brought to Starling City by adopting the new persona of Green Arrow, a symbol of light and hope.
• Mind over Matter: Darhk stops the arrows from reaching him in midair and redirects them back at Green Arrow.
• Mole in Charge: Captain Lance is in charge of trying to catch the Ghosts but is later revealed to be working for their leader Damien Darhk.
• Moment Killer: Oliver is about to propose to Felicity when the door bell rings. It's Laurel and Thea asking for Oliver to come back to Star City. He tries to propose again later but decides to postpone the proposal until the current crisis is over.
• More Dakka: In the opening action scene, Team Arrow 2.0 seems to be getting the better of the Ghosts when suddenly the Ghosts' backup arrives and brings with it a tripod mounted machine gun that forces the heroes to take cover while the bad guys get away with the loot.
• Mythology Gag
  • When Flashback Oliver is in Coast City, traditional home of Green Lantern, he runs past a billboard with the slogan "In brightest day/In blackest night/Come to Coast City/When money's tight". And when he's later meeting with Waller in a bar, the camera passes by a man wearing a leather flight jacket with the name "Jordan" on it.
    • Fridge Horror: Does this mean Hal was one of the A.R.G.U.S. agents who helped ambush Oliver?
  • The place Oliver and Felicity was living at the beginning of the episode was Ivy Town the home of Ray Palmer in the comics.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When Oliver brings up that Thea is overly violent, Diggle notes that he used to be exactly the same way when he started out in Season One.
• Never Bring A Bow To A Gunfight: Flashback!Oliver shoots at a crack dealer with an arrow and misses, then has to make an undignified scramble for cover as the dealer empties his pistol at him. Fortunately the dealer is just as bad a shot as Oliver is.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Diggle is quick to make the connection between the H.I.V.E. that hired Deadshot to kill Andy and Darhk's "hive" of operatives, but he doesn't tell anyone else.
  • Oliver has this reaction when he realizes that the island Waller wants him to parachute down to is Lian Yu.
• Only a Flesh Wound: A Ghost gets off a shot at Captain Lance, but fortunately it only injures his arm. The Reveal shows this was deliberate.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Oliver notices Felicity being "uncharacteristically quiet" when Thea and Laurel ask for help. That's because she knew in advance they would turn up.
  • Oliver is disturbed to see Thea beating a Ghost after she's already taken him down, then drawing her sword to Finish Him! before he calls on her to stop.
• Outside-Genre Foe: Damien Darhk is the first outright magical villain to appear on the show. Except for Oliver, everyone initially assumes he's a metahuman.
• Real Men Can Cook: Oliver's cooking skills are much better than Felicity's, as demonstrated when he prepared brunch for their neighbors whereas Felicity can't even cook an omelette without burning it.
  Oliver: (after tasting Felicity's cooking) Felicity Smoak, you have failed this omelette.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Diggle's "apology" to Oliver amounts to this.
  Diggle: Oliver, after everything you did for me, man, I couldn't fathom why you didn't trust me. But then I realized you couldn't. It's not who you are. You don't trust. You don't love. You were able to fool Ra's and join the League because inside you were every bit as dark as they are.
  • Captain Lance might have to tolerate Oliver's return, but that doesn't mean he's taking it lying down.
  Quentin: This town started going to crap the moment you put on that hood. You brought madness into all of our lives, and the monster you were inspired monsters.
  Oliver: Maybe. But I'm not a monster anymore.
  Quentin: Then what are you?
• Refuge in Audacity:
  • Damien Darhk just walks into the committee meeting and announces that he's the man behind the Ghosts, makes an Implied Death Threat and leaves without anyone daring to stop him.
  • The Ghosts attack the police station to kill Captain Lance (though that's later revealed to be to avert suspicion from their inside man, so it may have been meant to fail).
• Retired Badass: Gender-inverted from the usual in that Oliver is enjoying retirement while the mundane pleasures of slow food cooking are driving Felicity crazy.
• Revealing Skill: Oliver's neighbour is impressed when Felicity drops a wine bottle and Oliver catches it Offhand Backhand.
• Rule of Symbolism: Oliver does a lot of worrying about the "darkness" and the need to fight it with light, in an episode where the Big Bad is revealed to be a man called Darhk.
• Running Gag: Every flashback in this episode ends with Oliver getting hit or drugged to the point of, or past the point, of passing out.
• Secret Identity Vocal Shift: As well as a new costume, Oliver alters the pitch of his voice changer when making his broadcast, to further sell the idea that he's a different person from the last Arrow.
• A Scar to Remember: Oliver has had his Shado dragon tattoo removed, showing he's moved on from the issues of guilt and grief over her death.
• Self-Applied Nickname: Thea demands the others call her Red Arrow. No-one does, so she's stuck with "Speedy".
  Diggle: A "red arrow" just means that you can't make a left turn.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: The new Green Arrow costume has bare arms.
• Stuff Blowing Up: As the brakes are sabotaged, Oliver stops the Runaway Train by blowing up the bombs inside with an explosive arrow. The destruction can't have helped the Star City economy any.
• Superhero Paradox: Captain Lance blames Oliver for the Star City's current troubles noting the whole city's been in hell ever since he put on his mask (ignoring that the whole city was in shambles even before the Hood ever arrived on the scene).
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Diggle really doesn't want to team up with the man who held his wife hostage only a few months back, but the city's in so much danger that he doesn't have a choice.
• That Man Is Dead: Oliver states he doesn't want to be the kind of dark Anti-Hero the Arrow was, so Felicity inspires him to be something different.
• Thrill Seeker: While the rest of Team Arrow goes into combat completely deadpan and only talk when they need to, Thea goes in with an excited expression, swinging into the fight hanging from a truck door, and excitedly declaring how awesome it all is before and after, as well as seeing no problem arguing over her codename in the middle of a gunfight.
• Tonight, Someone Dies: The funeral scene at the end makes it clear that by the end of a season someone important will die.
• Touch of Death: Team Arrow watches in disbelief as Darhk kills one of his Ghosts just by placing a hand on him, causing Tainted Veins.
• Trapped in Villainy: Captain Lance is working with Damien Darhk, seemingly under duress like Moira did with Merlyn three years earlier.
• The Unreveal: We are not shown whose grave Oliver and Barry are overlooking in the final scene.
• Vice City: Crime and death is so rampant in Star City that even a new name and a high speed rail can't convince anyone to visit. What's worse is that after three mayors dying shortly after taking office, no-one is even willing to run for the office, so the city is run by a committee, where all but one die in this episode.
• Wham Line: The name of the man controlling the Ghosts is never mentioned until the Green Arrow confronts him. He's then revealed to be the man even the last Ra's regarded as an Arch-Enemy.
  "Oh, you don't know who I am, do you? I'm Damian Darhk."
• Wham Shot:
  • When the tail ramp of the aircraft Flashback-Ollie is on lowers to reveal the island of Lian Yu.
  • Darhk is shown speaking to a minion before the Reveal Shot that it's Quentin Lance.
  • Oliver and Barry mourning at an unidentified grave five months later.
• The Worf Effect: Oliver is the most experienced member of Team Arrow, and only a few months ago defeated supposedly the deadliest man in the world. Here, he is utterly thrashed by Damien Darhk. Justified by Oliver being retired for half a year and dealing with an unconventional opponent.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: One of Darhk's assassins poses as a sick man in a hospital gurney, who kills his target when he stops to see if he's alright.
• You Are in Command Now: Since no-one wants to be Mayor of Star City, the four senior city officials are forced to share the duties of the office: the City Comptroller, the Head of Emergency Services, the District Attorney and Captain Lance, who appears to be the senior policeman left. With the deaths of the other committee members, Lance seems to be in charge of running the city now.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Captain Lance when Laurel tells him the Ghosts have a cluster bomb.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Unspoken, but Oliver clearly is not happy with the pleased tone that Waller uses when talking about what he did to Shrieve.