Arrow‘s third season is only days away, and we have the refresher to get you ready just in time for Oliver Queen to suit up once again.
Arrow season 2 was filled with twists and turns both in present day Starling City and Lian Yu in the flashbacks. From deaths and resurrections to new heroes and old enemies, the stakes were pushed to the max. So where did we leave off?
Related: Top 10 moments from Arrow season 2
The Lance family
Season 2 saw an upheaval in the Lance family, as it was revealed that Sara Lance, who supposedly died on The Queen’s Gambit, was not only alive but also a vigilante called Canary. She and Oliver briefly rekindled their relationship before breaking up for good. At the end of season 2, Sara left Starling with Nyssa al Ghul to return to the League of Assassins.
Laurel, meanwhile, descended into the depths of addiction in her guilt and grief over Tommy’s death. She even lost her job. However, she eventually pulled herself up out of the darkness and learned Oliver’s secret. She also regained her job and repaired her relationship with Sara.
As the season 2 finale closed, Laurel and Detective Lance bade farewell to Sara before Detective Lance collapsed — apparently from internal injuries suffered in the battle against Slade’s army.
Slade Wilson
Season 2 saw Slade Wilson return from the dead in Starling as the Big Bad. He sought to create an army of super soldiers and destroy Oliver’s life. In defeating his old friend without killing him and imprisoning him in an A.R.G.U.S. facility on Lian Yu, Oliver finally became a true hero.
The Queen family
The Queen family also had its share of upheaval. Moira was arrested for her part in the Undertaking at the end of season 1, so the first half of season 2 dealt with her trial — and eventual acquittal, thanks to the influence of Malcolm Merlyn.
That’s right, Malcolm is still alive. He returned to Starling to reveal that he is Thea’s biological father, and with Tommy’s death he wanted to be a part of Thea’s life. At the end of season 2, Thea, feeling betrayed by all her loved ones, left Starling to train with Malcolm.
Meanwhile, the Queen siblings had to suffer the loss of another parent as Moira sacrificed herself to Slade’s quest for vengeance against Oliver in order to save her children.
Team Arrow
Team Arrow had its own bumps with a changing guard over the course of the season. After being released from her vows to the League of Assassins, Sara briefly joined the team before leaving in the season finale. Roy was also injected with Mirakuru and Oliver decided to train him. Though Roy was eventually cured because he went on a Mirakuru-enhanced rampage and killed two cops, he is set to suit up in season 3 as Arsenal.
As for the core members of the team, Diggle ran a mission with the Suicide Squad — and came to a new understanding of his mortal enemy, Deadshot — and learned that he was going to be a father, as his ex-wife, Lyla, is pregnant.
Meanwhile, Oliver lost his share in Queen Consolidated, after signing the company over to Isabel Rochev in a time of family crisis. This left him broke at the end of season 2. He also declared his love for Felicity; though both Oliver and Felicity played it off as a ruse to defeat Slade, Oliver will be asking Felicity out on a date in season 3, indicating there was some truth to that after all.
Watch the trailer for Arrow season 3 below:
Arrow season 3 premieres Wednesday, October 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.