7 Things We Want To See In Arrow Season 4

Flashback, October 2012: Arrow premieres on The CW to generally positive reviews. Those who don't read comics or missed out on Smallville have no idea who Green Arrow actually is though. Flashback, May 2013: After an uneven start, the Arrow scriptwriters find their feet and successfully tie the majority of loose threads together into an epic season one finale. Also, some boring people die. Flashback, March 2013: Laurel Lance does something irritating in season two. Standard. Flashback, May 2014: Season two ends on a high. Superhero shows don't get any better than this. Flashback, October 2014: Some batshit crazy stuff happens in the opening episode of season three, but a willingness to take risks is what keeps shows like this fresh. This could be the best season yet... Flashback, December 2014: WTF mid season finale!? Flashback, May 2015: Season three ends. Meh. Daredevil may be grabbing all the plaudits at the moment, and rightly so, but Arrow is the show that redefined the way we look at superheroes on the small screen. Despite the flaws of season three, doubters should still give the series another chance, so join us as we brainstorm seven things that could put Arrow back on track in season four. Now, I'm not an expert by any means, but if all else fails, more unnecessary shots of Stephen Amell working out certainly couldn't hurt the viewing figures, right? 7) Olicity No More Let's get this one out of the way. The Olicity relationship needs to end and it needs to end now. Just because the fans demanded it does not mean that these two central characters should have ever got it on. If the fans asked the Arrow writers to jump off a cliff, should they do it? If the fans want Diggle to become Green Lantern, would that make sense? And if the fans demand Oliver's new costume should only cover the bare essentials, should the producers make that happen? Hmmmm, actually, don't answer that. Oliver's previous relationships all made sense to a degree, but there was something about the masked loner and the quirky science geek locking tongues that just felt forced, pandering to internet shipping. Both characters are strong on their own, and it made sense that Felicity would fancy Oliver from afar, but putting the couple together made little sense from a storytelling viewpoint. The Olicity saga ended on a particularly cringeworthy note in the season three finale as the pair drove off together into the sunset, happy at last. Hopefully, that sunset contained a new love interest for both Oliver and Felicity, as the overwhelming 'joy' of their relationship certainly doesn't fit the overall darker tone of the show. I miss quirky Felicity. I miss broody Oliver. I also miss tamagotchis, but that's my own issue and I'm just going to have to deal with it. 6) Thea Kicking Ass After Thea whined her way through seasons one and two, which to be fair was mostly justified, Oliver's sister came into her own at the end of season three when she donned Arsenal's threads and joined Team Arrow. While we've only briefly glimpsed her fighting so far, Speedy (or Red Arrow) is likely to have her own central story arc to work through as she adjusts to a life of crimefighting in the aftermath of her return from the dead. At the end of season three, Thea's father Malcolm took over the League of Assassins, and while it's unlikely he will be the central antagonist once more, his presence will certainly be felt at some point within season four, hopefully in a confrontation between him and his now costumed daughter. Combine this with Thea's potential for some more crazy following her dip in the Lazarus Pit and it looks like Oliver's sister could become the breakout star of season four. Pray that the writers don't kill Thea off just as she becomes more interesting, 'Beth style'... You know exactly what I'm talking about. 5) More Crossovers The crew working on Arrow and The Flash have already confirmed further crossovers will occur between the two shows, but it's worth mentioning here again, because it doesn't get any more awesome than seeing your favourite heroes working together in the same city. Oh wait, it does! Now that CW's DC universe is growing even further with the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow, the writers will be able to link up even further and create the best three-way you could possibly imagine... keep it clean guys. In the comics, annual crossover events such as these generally pitched heroes against one another in contrived, but undeniably entertaining ways. The producers behind Arrow and The Flash did a great job of paying homage to this in their first crossover, forcing the two heroes to duel in a believable way, but it will be interesting to see how the pair's relationship will develop further in future meetings. Fingers crossed for another unlikely, yet epic battle between the two heroes once again. If Olicity can become a thing, then surely a fight between Arrow and The Flash is at least vaguely plausible, right? 4) More Heroes One of the reasons why The Flash has worked so well is the way in which its title character was seamlessly introduced into the CW DC universe within episodes of Arrow. The producers have clearly learned from this and have since continued to search through the annals of DC comics in order to find heroes that are unlikely to hit the big screen any time soon. Katana, Atom and Firestorm are the most notable characters to have appeared so far independent of their own show, but the producers have confirmed that more are winging their way to season four of Arrow, including Hawkman and Mr. Terrific. The fact that Mr Terrific isn't well known outside of comic book fandom is actually a good thing, as it will allow the producers to tinker with the character without offending a large number of fans. All we know so far is that he'll work closely alongside Felicity and that his character will be gay, broadening the inclusive nature of the show even further. Mr. Terrific's primary skill is his intelligence, so it's likely that we will see his T-Spheres at some point, technological devices that possess a wide array of abilities to aid the hero while fighting crime. 3) More Classic Green Arrow Characters It seems like the people behind Arrow announce a new comic book villain almost every day for the upcoming season, and some of these unconventional choices have made fans pretty excited so far. Anarky is an underrated Batman antagonist, Double Down is a super-powered Flash foe whose skin is made of magic playing cards (hmmm), and the seasons new big bad is Damien Darhk, the seemingly dyslexic head of the evil H.I.V.E. organization. In the comics, Green Arrow doesn't have an iconic set of villains to face off against like Batman or the Flash, but Oliver has still cultivated his own rogues gallery that the show has begun to explore in the form of China White and Count Vertigo. Hopefully, season four of Arrow will continue to explore the archer's heritage further, potentially using villains such as the enigmatic Onomatopoeia and the assassin Jade. Earlier episodes also alluded to the existence of Oliver's son, who briefly replaced the archer in the comics, but little was heard of him on the small screen following this revelation in season two. While it's unlikely that Connor Hawke will be anywhere near ready to adopt Green Arrows's mantle in season four, another brief appearance or even a mention would satiate the curiosity of fans who waited patiently to hear more about Oliver's successor. Just don't give us a mini-Arrow wannabe. Colton Haynes was enough for one show, bless him. 2) Green Arrow In Action Since day one, diehard fans have longed for the moment when Oliver Queen would finally embrace his comic book origins and become the Green Arrow we know and love from the source material. For those unfamiliar with Amell's almost unbearably likeable social media accounts, it was recently confirmed that the Emerald Archer will don his official moniker along with a more faithful suit in season four. Unfortunately for fans of Oliver's traditional look, the new threads will not be accompanied by Green Arrow's signature goatee, simply because Stephen Amell would look dreadful with that particular choice of facial hair. Before the hate mail is sent in its droves, bear in mind that Amell himself is the one who made this decision, declaring on Twitter: During S2 hiatus I grew a beard & fashioned a goatee while shaving it. Looked like someone with a record trying to blend into a new city. It's ok, Stephen. Make it up to the fans by convincing the producers to finally incorporate the archer's trick arrows. The makeshift boxing glove arrow seen in season three hit all the right geek buttons, but we need more! Sure, the show is supposed to lean towards realism, but if Laurel Lance can become the Black Canary after two or three training montages, we're sure that the occasional net or acid net arrow won't destroy the audiences suspension of disbelief. 1) Team Arrow Reunited Trick arrows would be sweet, the greatest even, but there's one thing that season four needs more than anything else to get the show back on track, and that's Team Arrow fully reunited once more. As much as we love them, Thea and Roy can come and go, but what's integral to Arrow's success is the core trio of Oliver, Felicity and Diggle working side by side. While season three was enjoyable and still far better than the majority of other shows based on comic book properties, it's one key flaw was splitting up Team Arrow for as long as they did. Realistically, divisions were bound to occur, but these confrontations were dragged out for far too long, leaving the show without direction for more episodes than necessary. Talk of a lighter tone for the upcoming season suggests that the friction caused by the events of season three may soon be alleviated, although it's hard to imagine Oliver and Diggle becoming close again any time soon. It's also going to be somewhat awkward when the inevitable Olicity breakup transpires, but come on guys. You're all grown-ups. Get over it already, so we can relive the Team Arrow banter of yesteryear! Tell us, are you excited for Arrow season four? What changes would you like to see occur? And will the boxing glove arrow ever make a return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.