Season 2 (Arrow)

The second season of Arrow premiered on October 9, 2013 on The CW and concluded on May 14, 2014. The season consisted of 23 episodes altogether.

Synopsis
One year ago, Oliver Queen was rescued after being stranded on an island for five years. In place of the playboy he was, Oliver returned as a man bent on righting the wrongs of his family and those who had corrupted his city, as a hooded vigilante.

After his failure to stop Malcolm Merlyn from destroying the Glades and the consequent death of his best friend Tommy Merlyn, Oliver abandons his hood out of guilt. However, Oliver is forced to return to save both his family's company and his family, as Starling City has fallen into further ruin since the Undertaking. With allies, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak, Oliver will fight to honor his best friend as the Arrow, all the while on the run from his former ally, Laurel Lance.

During the flashbacks, Oliver is forced to deal with Dr. Anthony Ivo in his quest to find the Mirakuru, a strength-enhancing serum created by the Japanese in World War II. This results in Shado's death, but Oliver is also being reunited with Sara Lance, whom he chose over Shado when Ivo forced him to save only one of them. The story also focuses on Slade Wilson who gets injected with the serum, and his transition into the villain named Deathstroke. Eventually Slade discovers Oliver's involvement in Shado's death and tries to kill him instead. Oliver manages to get back to Slade after being left on the island, but the boat is wrecked when Anatoly destroys it on Oliver's orders and Sara is "killed" again. Oliver manages to stab Slade in the eye and believes him to be dead since he is pulled under with the wrecked boat. However, Oliver wakes up in Hong Kong where he meets Amanda Waller.

In the present day Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity fight various criminals and gangs who are trying to take advantage of the chaos in the Glades after the Undertaking. Moira is put on trial for her involvement with Malcolm's Undertaking, while Roy Harper continues to look for the Arrow. Oliver also becomes closer friends with city alderman [Sebastian Blood], while being forced to co-run his company with Isabel Rochev. Meanwhile, Moira is acquitted of all charges, but discovers that Malcolm Merlyn is still alive, and he has discovered he is the true biological father of Thea.

Oliver also works with Sara, who is still alive in the present and is now also a vigilantie named "Canary", while he also encounters Brother Blood, unaware that he is Sebastian, who has been injecting people with Mirakuru. After believing him to be killed, as Sebastian deceived Oliver by using a double, Oliver discovers that Slade Wilson is still alive in the present and is the true mastermind behind the Mirakuru plot, which is all part of a complex vendetta Slade has against Oliver for events that occurred on the island, above all Shado's death.

As part of his plan, Slade has Isabel, revealed to be working for him, take control of Oliver's company which causes the latter to go broke, losing the house and the club. Slade kidnaps Thea and tells her about her true parentage, which causes her to become distant from her family, just before Slade murders Moira in front of Oliver and Thea, and allows Sebastian to become mayor of Starling. However, Blood believes that Slade will only destroy enough of the city to make it ready for his leadership, only to be double crossed by him and Slade proceeds to destroy the whole city. This causes Amanda Waller to unleash a drone strike on the city. Additionally, Roy's Mirakuru injection sends him out of control, forcing Oliver to induce a coma to keep him effectively sedated.

Eventually, Sebastian betrays Slade and gives Oliver the Mirakuru cure, manufactured by S.T.A.R. Labs on Felicity's orders and stolen back by Slade, for which act he is killed by Isabel. Slade makes his move and kidnaps Laurel and Felicity. Meanwhile, Oliver, Sara and Roy team up with Nyssa al Ghul and the League of Assassins against Slade's army whilst John, Lyla and Deadshot move against Waller to stop her destroying the city, which they succeed in. The battle results in Isabel's death and the Mirakuru-injected soldiers returning to normal before Oliver and Slade, the latter injected and "cured" by Felicity, face off against each other, but unlike the last time Oliver chooses not to kill him. At the same time, Malcolm returns to Starling to protect Thea and convince her to go with him, since everyone has been lying to her.

In the aftermath of the attack, Oliver, John and Felicity imprison Slade within an A.R.G.U.S. holding facility on Lian Yu itself, Quentin falls into a coma in front of Laurel, Sara leaves and rejoins the Assassins with Nyssa, John and Lyla are revealed to be expecting a baby, and Thea goes with Malcolm out of anger towards everyone lying to her and leaves Roy.

Main cast

 * Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/The Arrow
 * Katie Cassidy as Dinah Laurel Lance
 * David Ramsey as John Diggle
 * Willa Holland as Thea Queen
 * Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
 * Colton Haynes as Roy Harper
 * Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke
 * Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen
 * Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance

Recurring cast

 * Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/The Canary
 * Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood/Brother Blood
 * Dylan Neal as Anthony Ivo
 * Celina Jade as Shado
 * Dylan Bruce as Adam Donner
 * Bex Taylor-Klaus as Sin
 * Summer Glau as Isabel Rochev/Ravager
 * David Nykl as Anatoly Knyazev
 * Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller/Mockingbird
 * Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels/Harbinger
 * Jesse Hutch as Officer Daily/Brother Daily
 * Colin Salmon as Walter Steele
 * John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer
 * Michael Jai White as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger
 * Michael Rowe as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot
 * Sean Maher as Mark Scheffer/Shrapnel
 * Alex Kingston as Dinah Lance
 * Grant Gustin as Bartholomew "Barry" Allen
 * Artine Brown as Hendrick Von Arnim
 * Katrina Law as Nyssa Raatko/Nyssa al Ghul

Home media release
A boxset of the second season, titled Arrow: The Complete Second Season, was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 16, 2014. It contains additional features, deleted scenes, gag reel and the Arrow panel from the San Diego Comic-Con International 2013.

Tie In
An novel titled, Arrow - Vengeance was released on February 23, 2016. The events of the novel takes place before the events of Arrow and later Arrow Season Two. It tells the story from the perspectives from Slade, Isabel and Sebastian.