This writer will be the first to say that season three of Arrow was a mixed bag of twist, turns, ups, downs, and an inordinate amount of Felicity’s tears. That said, the producers have gone on record that this upcoming season will be more of a back to the basics approach. Based on some of the details that have been announced, it is hard not to be somewhat skeptical about season four.
Why should we care about Damian Darhk?
That wasn’t a rhetorical question. Even the most extreme comic book fans scratched their heads as Darhk was being positioned as this season’s “big bad”. Darhk’s run in the comic universe was extremely uneventful. He was ballyhooed as being a criminal genius, but the only thing of consequence he managed to accomplish is getting shot and killed by Vandal Savage. We haven’t laid eyes on Darhk at all during the third season, but he is in full view in the above trailer.
It is evident in the trailer that Darhk has an unknown number of powers not exhibited by his comic counterpart. This is an interesting choice seeing as how many of the villains on Arrow lack any special powers… Well unless you count anyone who has come in contact with Mirakuru. Since we are on the subject let’s hope they don’t try to explain away Darhk’s powers with some convoluted Mirakuru/Lazarus pit silliness. That would just be lazy storytelling.
All that said we have no real way of knowing why Darhk is a threat or what he wants in the newly dubbed Star City. Ra’s al Ghul seemingly viewed Darhk as a threat so one would suppose if someone like Ra’s cared enough to want to take him out, he should not be taken lightly.
What in the blue hell is on Diggle’s head?
Okay, it is bad enough that he was saddled with the awful last name, but now he has to wear that thing on his head? Fans of the show have been clamoring for some time for Dig to get a superhero identity. We were all holding out hope that it would be revealed that Dig’s real last name is Stewart and he would end up being Green Lantern John (Diggle) Stewart. That clearly isn’t happening, so I guess we are stuck with John “Guardian” Diggle. Obviously referring to him as Guardian is a huge assumption on everyone’s part, but it has to be the case right? Let’s just hold out hope Diggle gets some cool gadgets to go along with his Magneto cosplay helmet.
So… what about Olicity?
There is a huge bit of confusion about how season four is going to come together. At the end of season three, Oliver and Felicity (Olicity, duh!) left Starling city behind for a new life together. Clearly, something happens to pull Oliver back to Star(ling) city, but if that’s the case how will Olicity continue to be a thing? How does this not end with Felicity ending up dead? Yes, that was a bit of a jump but we have to be realistic here: all signs point to Felicity eventually being killed off. Ok, that was pure speculation on my part, but considering how TV works, it has to happen at some point. Felicity is the perfect martyr.
The fans love her (for the most part). She is the only calming force in Oliver’s life. It took three seasons for her to finally get with Oliver… Hell, if this show was written by George R.R. Martin, she wouldn’t make it through the first episode of season four.
What’s the deal with Thea?
You can see in the trailer that at some point Oliver and Thea come to blows. Anyone who knows anything about the Lazarus pit knows that when you come out of it you are not the same. They teased “crazy” Thea for an episode after she was resurrected, but they quickly abandoned that goldmine of a storyline. Could you imagine what Oliver would do if the main antagonist for this season were his own flesh and blood? It may be a bit late but it looks like Thea’s Lazarus bath is going to be a factor this season. It will be interesting to see what direction they take it.