User blog comment:Gold Chief 117/New characters for Season 3/@comment-25066120-20140615144915

I have a few theories on what the flashbacks in season 3 will reveal:

1. Clearly Oliver is going to be trained to work for ARGUS. This is how he picks all of those skills (languages, some computer training, urban warfare, piloting, etc.) he could have never learrned on the Island. He'll start off completely unwilling to do this, but will be treated no differently than the members of the Suicide Squad and actually be a prisoner.

2. During season 3 or 4, he will discover that Amanda was the benefactor for Fryers. This will be the reason why he hates her later and I think that this will be why she sends him back to the Island. It will kind of be an exile, because he's outlived his usefulness temporarily, but Amanda never gets rid of something away she can use later.

3. I think he does get back to Starling in the past. He will get away from his handlers at some point or be sent nearby for a mission, but for whatever reason he will be unable to go back as Oliver Queen. My specific theory is that this is when he finds the additional message from his father that gives him direction on what the list means. He will realize that he is meant to take down the people on the list but isn't ready to do so yet, then he will willingly return to ARGUS to get more training.

4. Before he goes back to the Island, he will lay the groundwork for everything that happened in the first season following his return. He will send the supplies for the future Arrow Cave ahead of him. How else is he supposed to have gotten all the computers, toys, and even the workout equipment to the foundry within days of coming back without raising suspiscions? I think the idea of him having a second site validates this theory. He was hyper-prepared for the life ahead of him as a vigilante. Plus I think he might have an active alias, under which he has made separate business transactions. This will play heavily into how he can continue at least somewhat effectively without the Queen family fortune.