Arrow: 10 Things We Learned From The Season 4 Premiere

Season 3 of Arrow was disappointing in a lot of respects. Mercifully, it did tie off most of its plot threads, leaving the new season with a lot of options in constructing the story. So while the premiere offered the promise of new beginnings, it was still met with a deal of cautious optimism. Thankfully, if Green Arrow is any indication, it looks like the series has very much righted itself.

The story picks up five months later, with Oliver and Felicity living the happy domestic life until Thea and Laurel come crashing through to pull him back in. He's immediately met with new villains and a much different landscape than the one he left behind.

The changes go behind the plot as well. After complaints regarding the unforgiving darkness of last year, the show has definitely taken a lighter approach. The tone and the heavy focus on magic and mysticism offers an unpredictable new energy to the show that it's been sorely lacking.

Thanks to interviews and previews, we've known little bits of information before the episode aired, but now that it has, we have a much better idea of where everyone stands. Green Arrow very effectively hit the reset button on the show, complete with new dynamics, themes and flashbacks. From easter eggs to character details, we dissect the biggest reveals from Arrow's premiere episode.

After so many years fighting to uphold justice, it's understandable that Oliver Queen wants a break. And while the episode teases us with the image of him running through the trees back on Lian Yu, he instead emerges into suburbia.

The Oliver we meet is calm and relaxed for a change, not ignoring the past, but instead embracing the future. “Felicity Smoak, you have failed this omelette," he quips, showing a much lighter side to Oliver than we've seen before. He's even gotten rid of the Shado tattoo on his shoulder as a visible sign that he's moved on.

Obviously the show couldn't actually leave Oliver in suburbia for long, but it presents a potential season-long conflict within the character. We're now faced with a hero who will do what he needs to do, but one whose heart would ultimately rather be living in peace, happily married to Felicity. It should be fun to see how he reconciles those two sides of himself or if one will win out.