With the conclusion of the previous season, we had the syndicate and the members of the conspiracy actually being successful in their plans which was very unexpected! With a significant portion of the city in ruins, Oliver felt that he’d not lived up to the promise he’d made himself and his father and ended up fleeing back to the island.
While he now considers the island something of a sanctuary vs. a prison, when Felicity arrives to get him to return back to the city, he reluctantly agrees. Especially when she tells him that they don’t want him to come back as the Vigilante but rather as Oliver Queen as that’s who the city now needs.
As an aside, this does kind of make you wonder why no one else could find the island before when Felicity and Diggle seem to find it so easily, but let’s put that aside for now.
However, when Oliver does return to the city, he finds his company is now a takeover target and his family is literally considered to be the cause of the all the cities woes. Oliver decides that he is the only one that can save the company and save all of the employees from the “evil” Summer Glau (let’s be honest, her character name doesn’t really matter does it?!) and her plans to decimate Queen Industries.
Meanwhile – Thea’s boyfriend is fighting to protect the glades similar to what Oliver did as the hood, however, he simply doesn’t have the same level of skill and while he is able to rescue someone, he also ends up beaten up quite nicely.
Thea has managed to take over the running of the bar but she has not gone to see her mother in prison and while she seems more mature than the first season she still obviously has some serious problems and demons in her own house that she needs to deal with.
Another group of vigelantes however have echoed Oliver’s mantra also and determined that they need to take on his job now that the Hood is no longer there. They kill the mayor and capture the new district attorney who also happens to be Laurels new boss but she manages to fight them off and they depart empty-handed. We also find that in Oliver’s absence Detective Nance has now been demoted to a beat cop is no longer able to question Laurel or anybody about what has happened
When the new vigilantes attack Oliver during the course of his board meeting he cannot act in the way he would like to and orders Diggle to keep him safe. He does however jump out a window and swing down to another floor thereby saving Felicity’s life.
Oliver goes to prison to visit his mom in the effort to get some help and assistance and gaining the funds he needs to save the company from hostile takeover she manages to point him in the right direction.
When the vigilante’s attack the nightclub that Thea is managing, Roy (her boyfriend) manages to incapacitate several of them, but they are still able to capture Thea and escape. This is the catalyst that Oliver needs to resume his activities as the true vigilante and the true Hood.
Oliver manages to track down the vigilantes to the church but they are unwilling to listen to reason and he is almost forced to kill them even though he does not want. However he manages to stop them and himself and leaves them tied up so that officer Lance can find them.