Entertainment

'Arrow' Premiere: Oliver Returns

by Kayleigh Roberts

Can't go home again? Tell that to Oliver Queen. Starling City's favorite millionaire playboy/secret vigilante returns home for a second time in the Season 2 premiere. After the (SPOILER ALERT) death of his best friend, Tommy, in the Season 1 finale, Oliver flees civilization in favor of the island where he was marooned for five years. Luckily, Diggle and Felicity convince him to head home again, after some world travel and a near-death on a land mine. But a lot has changed in the months Ollie's been gone. Where is everyone, you ask?

Laurel: Laurel is working, somewhat reluctantly, for the district attorney's office after her firm was destroyed in a pretty permanent way in last season's earthquake. Can she become Black Canary already?

Thea: Thea has gone all mature on us. Seriously, she's running Verdant and doing a pretty damn good job of it. At least the writers are giving her more to do this season.

Moira: The Queen matriarch is still in jail, so that's not super new. Thea boycotted her mother's very existence until a near-death experience with Roy at the club. Moira's biggest change is her newfound need for a Sephora trip.

Diggle and Felicity: Oliver's most-trusted allies have basically had to become full-on detectives, tracking the elusive Hood down in a global scavenger hunt to bring him back to Starling City for crime-fighting awesomeness.

Now that we're all caught up, it's time to discuss the new changes we're set up for in Season 2.

Isabel Rochev: Cult favorite Summer Glau plays Isabel, who is on a mission to own a controlling share of Queen Consolidated. In the comics, Rochev eventually took over the company. Summer basically does the usual Glau, so be ready for more of that as her character grows this season (whether that's a positive or a negative is up to you).

New Badass Lady in Town: During a scene of Roy just being Roy (trying to break up some nefarious activity, Hood-style), we meet a new character whom I am extra excited about. A blonde woman, dressed in black and skilled to the max in martial arts, comes out of nowhere to save Roy's would-be vigilante ass. Could this be Black Canary? Either way, I welcome a little more girl power in the Arrow world.

New Mission Statement: One of the biggest changes impacting year two is Tommy's death, which has changed Oliver's entire approach to what he does. While Season 1 was dictated by Daddy Queen's list and a sense of vengeance, Season 2 will be guided by a higher moral aspiration: Honoring Tommy. Oliver is done killing without a code and he no longer wants to be known as The Hood. But what name could he take...?

Are you excited about the new season of Arrow? What theories do you have for Season 2?

Image: The CW