Oliver uses his secret persona to right societal wrongs and transform the city to its former glory. He must also contend with outside forces attempting to take over, but he feels its time he left Starling City with the hopes of beginning a new life.
Whatever missteps may lie in the past (or are still ahead), the boldness and energy of the Arrow season 4 premiere suggests the series is willing to learn from its mistakes and to change its aim, without changing what the show is at its core.
It wasn't bad, by any stretch - the moments of brilliance were surrounded by good padding - but compared to the earlier seasons, it fell a little flat.
The show is at last ready to embrace all aspects of its source material, and the reason it took so long is that it wasn't ready before. Now, we can only hope, it's ready to live up to the entire Green Arrow legacy, and that's something I'm excited to see.
Arrow slowly but surely begins to fully embrace its superhero comic book roots. It's a welcome shift in tone for the series, and if "Green Arrow" is any indication, season four of Arrow should be a lot of fun.
Between an exciting new villain and a whole new batch of mysteries, the season already looks to be on a positive trajectory. Here's hoping, unlike Oliver's arrows, it doesn't get stuck and fall midway through.