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Welcome back to Arrow Squad! On the heels of Season 4 Episode 2 “The Candidate”, The Shadow, Podcast Overlord and I (Miss Ice), tear into the episode. An episode that, by all appearances, had the symptoms of Second Episoditis, but we think we exposed a few nuggets that make this episode pivotal in setting up much for the upcoming season.

On Island
arrow-402-the-island-field Oliver is back on the island and what is the first thing he does? He kills a man. Granted, it might have well been either him or the soldier, but still. In the premiere we saw Oliver drowning his sorrows at the bottom of a glass of whiskey, or something similar, and lamenting the curse laid on him that is preventing him from returning home. But if nothing else, these flashbacks are certainly shaping the man whom Oliver will become by the time we meet him in the series premiere.

Many people had similar reactions to the little we got of the flashbacks in this episode, and I was glad I was tracking with them! Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle was released in 2013 and retells the journey Oliver makes from playboy to vigilante through his experiences on the island after being shipwrecked.

In book three, Oliver is chased by gun fire from a helicopter up the side of a mountain where he’s never been before. What does he find?
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Interesting! Year One was a great read, highly recommend it if you haven’t read it already. I’m by no means expecting the whole season to follow the entirety of the book, but I really enjoyed the premise and am curious as to how they’ll incorporate it into the flashbacks within the scope of Oliver’s time away from Star City.

Mayor?
Oliver wants to run for mayor. It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise, right? The only real qualm I have with this is simply the proximity of Oliver’s decision to run to Danforth taking herself out of the running. I can’t help but feel bad for the woman, knowing what we know about Oliver and his nightly excursions.
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It’s been made very clear that Oliver wants to be different this time around. He wants to bring hope and publicly declared himself to fight for the city. He once told Barry, I believe in the pilot episode of The Flash, that Barry has the chance to do something he, Oliver, never had: to be an inspiration. He wants that and now he finally sees a way to get it. Now he’s talking up the Green Arrow, pushing his card, so to speak, but it’s not enough.

As long as Oliver truly wants to inspire people, and he’s not doing this as some sort of box to check on his way to redemption, I have no problem with him running. But I do think he needs to talk it over with his lady! And his team. Diggle might still be upset with him, but Oliver is part of the team again. His decisions affect them all.

Question of the Week
Not so much a question as it is a homework assignment! We want your ideas for Felicity and Diggle codenames!

Next Week
Season 5 Episode 3 “Restoration”

Feedback
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