3.5 out of 5 stars

*Warning: Spoilers Included

With Ollie and Felicity having been away for several months, Ray Palmer gone and a new villain in town, much has changed in the world of “Arrow” since last season ended. Even the name of the city has changed from Starling to Star City, and the titular protagonist is finally using the guise of Green Arrow, the DC superhero on whom the series is based. 

Season four of the popular CW series kicked off to a strong start with a lighter tone established and the introduction of the sinister crime lord Damien Darhk (played to perfection by Neal McDonough). It’s certainly refreshing after last season, which was no doubt overstuffed with unnecessary subplots and tried too hard to mimic the darker tone of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. As a fan of Oliver Queen’s character from the comics and the Justice League cartoon, I much prefer his stories to have a more adventurous and lighthearted tone to them, which this season is certainly recognizing so far.

Set several months after the conclusion of season three, the season four premiere opened with Team Arrow, comprised of Diggle, Laurel and Thea, up against an organization called the Ghosts as they wreak havoc upon Star City. As their name suggests, they hide in the shadows, can strike at any time and are unnaturally skilled in the art of disappearing.

Soon after, their leader Darhk effortlessly strolls into a meeting at the police station in which Captain Lance is present. As he nonchalantly declares his plans to take over the city, which should come as no surprise to fans of the show, his mannerisms and charisma reminded me of John Barrowman’s character Malcolm Merlyn, the central villain of season one.

Realizing that the threat which Darhk poses is too great for Team Arrow to handle on their own, they call upon Ollie, who’s been living a peaceful life with Felicity for several months now. Thus the season premiere focused mostly on getting Ollie out of retirement and embracing a new identity as Green Arrow. The only one not keen on his return, however, is Diggle, as Ollie had previously put him and his family in danger in order to stop Ra’s al Ghul at the tail end of last season.

Like many fans of this series, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with it. In its first season it started off as too much of a soap opera for my tastes, but eventually evolved into a solid superhero action series. Then it dwindled again last season with a gloomier tone and lacking a central focus, story wise. Now after a few months between seasons and with time to look at the show’s stellar sister series “The Flash,” the showrunners appear to have fixed some major problems and are now moving it in the right direction.

One thing “Arrow” has consistently maintained is an impressive rogues gallery. Despite its amazing storytelling qualities, the majority of the villains in “The Flash” have been one-note villain of the week antagonists. Each season of “Arrow” has delivered a captivating boss villain to oppose Ollie, with season two’s Deathstroke being the best and most intimidating.

Though not without its aforementioned soap opera subplots, the overall story is now more grounded in its comic book origins, with the season premiere even introducing Darhk’s supernatural elements. With Marvel’s Netflix shows like “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones” providing viewers with a dose of grittier superhero stories, it’s nice to see a more lighthearted, escapist tone on the DC end of the spectrum.

Whether or not you’ve watched “Arrow” before, now is a good time to catch up as the series has evolved significantly from its more mediocre beginnings.