In this episode we see Oliver trying to balance his new responsibilities as Mayor, with his continuing role as the vigilante “The Green Arrow.” As Oliver tries to deal with the death of Laurel, and the sudden departures of both Thea and Diggle, he quickly realizes that he, alone, can’t deal with the new threats out there causing issues.

Important Things to Know Going into this Season

1. Laurel, Diggle, and Thea are Gone:

Diggle and Thea both had moments in the last season that made them question themselves. In the finale of season 4, we saw both of them leave Team Arrow to figure out their lives. It’s unclear whether they will be gone permanently, but Oliver will have to deal with their absence at some point.

Laurel, unfortunately, passed away last season. We got to see the characters react to this, but Oliver and Captain Lance will definitely still be dealing with the loss.

2. Mayor Oliver

We saw Oliver taking his oath of office at the end of last season. He may be taking over as the full-time mayor, or this may be a temporary appointment. Either way, Oliver is going to have to balance being The Green Arrow with being the mayor of Star City. I’m, personally, excited to see where this takes him as the season progresses.

3. Year 5 Away From Civilization:

In each of the previous seasons, we’ve concurrently watched Oliver’s story in Star City and his story from the time he was presumed dead. He was away for five years, so this season we should see the last year that he was gone. These story lines have become increasingly interesting over the years. Additionally, year 5 is the year he gets rescued, so it will be very interesting to see the way they make this happen.

The Biggest Moments in this Week’s Episode (SPOILERS!)

1. Russia!

We’ve seen teasers about Oliver’s involvement with the Russian mob for a long time now. It will be awesome to see exactly how that relationship is built, and what he does in Russia that will be important to his present life. We already saw that he’s drawing on that Russian proverb about how a shark needs to move forward to survive. This will clearly be a theme of the season, but I’m sure the year in Russia will influence this year in Star City much more than that.

2. Corrupt Cops:

I knew Oliver would be bound to fight an army of enemies. The corrupt police is an interesting way to do that. It incorporates both his vigilante duties and his duties as the mayor. I’m not sure these cops can compete with the likes of The Mirakuru, The League of Assassins, or Damien Darhk’s ghosts. Unless something out of the ordinary happens, it should be easy for Oliver to beat this particular army.

3. Tobias Church

As far as the main villains go, this guy seems awesome. He doesn’t have super powers or League of Assassins training like previous main villains, but he seems to be pure evil. It will be awesome to see Oliver go to battle with somebody who wants to cause trouble just for the hell of it. I think the final confrontation will be more than I had hoped for when I initially saw corrupt police enter the screen.

4. New Teams

Oliver is going to be fighting crime on 2 fronts this season. As the mayor, he has put together an Anti-Crime Unit. this will allow him to monitor the pulse of the city’s criminal underground from a civil standpoint. As The Green Arrow, he finally concedes to Felicity that he should form a new Team Arrow. Curtis has decided to join as more than just technical support as well. This was common knowledge from the previews, but it’s still very interesting to actually see.

5. Honoring Laurel

This was one of the main themes of the episode. The city actually honors Laurel/Black Canary. As this event is happening, Lance decides that he can’t just sit around and waste his life away. Laurel wouldn’t want that. Later on, Oliver remembers his promise to Laurel that she won’t be the last “canary” This directly leads to him finally agreeing to organize a new team.

I don’t think Laurel’s impact is over. I expect it to be a main plot point for at least a third of the season, if not more.

Ryan’s Random Thought:

Killing? I wasn’t expecting that. I am torn between two of my favorite characters right now. On one hand, I really get what Thea is saying. Oliver’s willingness to kill is troubling, and, in many ways, sets him a few steps back. On the other hand, had he killed Damien Darhk earlier, Laurel might still be alive. Whether he should or not, Oliver is feeling guilty for Laurel’s death, and this is the only way he can think to deal with it. The interesting thing is that both Oliver and Thea are sharing their thoughts about the issue as a direct result of their feeling about Laurel’s death.

Arrow airs on The CW on Wednesdays. Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this episode.