Season 3 (Arrow)

Season 3
Information
Number of episodes	[[List of Arrow episodes#Season |23]]
Chronology
Followed by	Season 1

[[Category:Season {{{number}}} (Arrow)| ]]

The third season of Arrow premiered on October 8, 2014 on The CW, the day after The Flash. The season will consist of 23 episodes.

Official synopsis

In the aftermath of his victory, Season Three opens with The Arrow now a hero to the citizens of Starling. Crime is down, people feel safer, and Captain Lance even calls off the Anti-Vigilante Task Force. Basking in his success, Oliver believes he can finally have a private life and asks Felicity out on a date. But the second Oliver takes his eye off the ball, a deadly villain reappears in Starling, forcing Oliver to realize that he can never be Oliver Queen – not as long as the city needs The Arrow.

Cast

Main cast

• Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/The Arrow
• Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance
• David Ramsey as John Diggle
• Willa Holland as Thea Queen
• Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak
• Colton Haynes as Roy Harper/Arsenal
• John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer
• Paul Blackthorne as Captain Quentin Lance

Recurring cast

• Karl Yune as Maseo Yamashiro
• Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer
• Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Amanda Waller
• J.R. Ramirez as Ted Grant
• Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels
• Katrina Law as Nyssa al Ghul
• Matt Nable as Ra's al Ghul
• Rila Fukushima as Tatsu Yamashiro
• Austin Butler as Chase
• Peter Stormare as Werner Zytle/Vertigo
• David Nykl as Anatoly Knyazev
• Marc Singer as General Matthew Shrieve
• Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/The Canary
• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash

Episodes

#	Episode name	Directed by	Story by	Teleplay by	Original airdate
1	"The Calm"	Glen Winter	Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg	Marc Guggenheim & Jake Coburn	October 8, 2014
With crime in Starling City at an all-time low thanks to The Arrow and his team, Oliver thinks he can finally balance being both the Arrow and Oliver Queen and asks Felicity out on a date. However, when a new villain emerges, who has claimed the name Vertigo from the recently deceased Count, Oliver is caught off-guard and someone close to him is hurt. Oliver and a newly suited up Roy take on the Count. Meanwhile, Diggle becomes a father, Quentin is promoted to Captain, Laurel joins Team Arrow and Felicity gets a part-time job at a tech store to make ends meet. Also, Oliver fights to regain his company, Queen Consolidated, but comes up against a very worthy opponent - the charming Ray Palmer.
2	"Sara"	Wendey Stanzler	Jake Coburn & Keto Shimizu		October 15, 2014
Quentin calls The Arrow when another archer appears in town and starts skewering businessmen. Diggle uses A.R.G.U.S. to find the archer’s identity; he is a man named Simon Lacroix, who goes by the codename Komodo. However, the team hits a rough patch with the mission and gets help from a surprising source - Laurel. Meanwhile, Oliver begins to worry that he hasn’t heard from Thea, which forces Roy to tell him the truth about why she left town. Ray Palmer pursues Felicity. In the flashback, Maseo tells Oliver that Amanda Waller has ordered his first kill. As Oliver looks down the scope of the rifle, he sees the target is his best friend, Tommy. Despite her promise to her sister, Laurel debates sharing a secret about Sara with Quentin.
3	"Corto Maltese"	Stephen Surjik	Erik Oleson & Beth Schwartz		October 22, 2014
Oliver decides it’s time for Thea to come back to Starling City, so he packs for Corto Maltese, where Felicity has traced Thea’s whereabouts. Lyla asks Diggle to go with Oliver because one of her field operatives, Mark Shaw, has gone dark in Corto Maltese and she’d like him to look into it. Feeling responsible for Thea's departure, Roy joins Oliver and Diggle on their journey. Shaw double-crosses Diggle, putting numerous A.R.G.U.S. agents, including Lyla, at risk. Meanwhile, Laurel meets Ted Grant, and Felicity adjusts to her new job.
4	"The Magician"	John Behring	Wendy Mericle & Marc Guggenheim		October 29, 2014
A furious Nyssa confronts Oliver about Sara. When Oliver learns Malcolm Merlyn is alive, he suspects Merlyn killed Sara. Oliver and Nyssa join forces and go after the Dark Archer, intent on bringing Sara's killer to justice. Laurel keeps her distance from Nyssa, as she blames her sister's death on her involvement with the League of Assassins. Meanwhile, Oliver and Roy work on repairing their respective relationships with Thea, who has returned home. Nyssa discusses Oliver with her father, Ra's al Ghul.
5	"The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak"	Michael Schultz	Ben Sokolowski & Brian Ford Sullivan		November 5, 2014
When a cyber attack brings Starling City to its knees, Oliver and Felicity are pushed to their limits to contain the destruction. Life gets even more complicated for Felicity when her mother, Donna, stops by for a surprise visit. Meanwhile, Ted Grant questions Laurel’s motives, and Thea buys an apartment with Malcolm’s "estate" money, which infuriates Oliver.
6	"Guilty"	Peter Leto	Erik Oleson & Keto Shimizu		November 12, 2014
After a body is found strung up in the Wildcat gym, Ted Grant becomes the main suspect. Oliver and Laurel argue over Ted's innocence. Meanwhile, in flashbacks, when Maseo needs Oliver to remember where an informant for China White stashed key information, he asks Tatsu to help jog Oliver's memory. Roy shares a secret with Felicity.
7	"Draw Back Your Bow"	Rob Hardy	Wendy Mericle & Beth Schwartz		November 19, 2014
Oliver must stop an Arrow-obsessed serial killer, Carrie Cutter, who is convinced that The Arrow is her one true love and will stop at nothing to get his attention. Unfortunately, her way of getting his attention is to kill people. Meanwhile, Ray asks Felicity to be his date for a work dinner with important clients. Thea auditions new DJs for Verdant and meets Chase, a brash DJ with whom she immediately clashes.
8	"The Brave and the Bold"	Jesse Warn	Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg	Marc Guggenheim & Grainne Godfree	December 3, 2014
Oliver, Arsenal and Diggle track down the location of a boomerang-wielding killer named Digger Harkness but are surprised when they come face to face with an A.R.G.U.S. team. Diggle asks Lyla why A.R.G.U.S. is involved but she defers until Harkness attacks the building, killing several agents and targeting Lyla. The Arrow joins the fight and gets help from an old friend – The Flash. Harkness manages to get away and Oliver teams up with Barry again to find him before he can get to Lyla. When Harkness plants five bombs in the city that are timed to explode at the same time, both teams must come together to save the city.
9	"The Climb"	Thor Freudenthal	Jake Coburn & Keto Shimizu		December 10, 2014
Nyssa returns to Starling City and tells Oliver that her father, Ra's al Ghul has given Oliver 48 hours to find Sara's killer or the League of Assassins will start killing the citizens of Starling City. Laurel is stunned when her father delivers a very special Christmas gift – her mother, Dinah. Meanwhile, Ray tries to make amends with Felicity and Oliver sets a meeting with Ra's al Ghul.
10	"Left Behind"	Glen Winter	Marc Guggenheim & Erik Oleson		January 21, 2015
In the aftermath of Oliver’s fight with Ra's Al Ghul, Diggle and Roy Harper continue to protect the city in The Arrow's absence. However, after 3 days without hearing from Oliver, they begin to fear the worst may have happened to their friend. Felicity refuses to believe that Oliver could be dead until Malcolm pays the team a surprise visit. Thea suspects there is something more behind Oliver’s disappearance and asks Malcolm for a favor. Meanwhile, Ray tests a part of his new suit and Laurel takes up the mantle of the Black Canary.
11	"Midnight City"	Nick Copus	Wendy Mericle & Ben Sokolowski		January 28, 2015
Arsenal and Diggle confront Laurel about trying to step into her sister's shoes and warn her to stop before she gets herself killed. However, when Brick kidnaps the city's Aldermen and threatens to kill them all unless the police evacuate The Glades, it's all suits on deck. Meanwhile, Ray steps in to help Lance and the police force fight Brick, showing Felicity a new side of her boss. Malcolm tells Thea that Ra's al Ghul is after him and his family and they must leave town immediately.
12	"Uprising"	Jesse Warn	Beth Schwartz & Brian Ford Sullivan		February 4, 2015
Still operating without Oliver and determined to stop Brick, Team Arrow is forced to weigh Malcolm’s offer to help shut Brick down as Malcolm has a personal vendetta to settle with the thug. Roy and Laurel point out that the team could use some help to save the innocents of The Glades, but Felicity is adamantly against it. They look to Diggle to make the final decision. Meanwhile, the flashbacks chronicle Malcolm’s descent from kind-hearted father and husband to cold-blooded killer after the murder of his wife
13	"Canaries"	Michael Schultz	Jake Coburn & Emilio Aldrich		February 11, 2015
Oliver is thrown by the changes within Team Arrow. He's used to calling the shots but sees that the team has evolved in his absence and tensions quickly escalate in the lair. Oliver is furious that Laurel has been going out as the Black Canary and tells her to stop risking her life, but when Vertigo hits the streets again, Laurel goes against Oliver's wishes and tracks down Vertigo who hits her with a full dose of the drug. Laurel's biggest fears revolve around her sister Sara so the Vertigo causes her to hallucinate an epic fight between Canary and Black Canary. Meanwhile, Chase surprises Thea, and Roy warns Thea to stay away from Malcolm.
14	"The Return"	Dermott Downs	Marc Guggenheim & Erik Oleson		February 18, 2015
Malcolm puts Oliver and Thea in a dangerous situation that lands them on Lian Yu with Oliver’s former enemy, Deathstroke. A flashback reveals when Oliver and Maseo returned to Starling City to retrieve the Omega bio weapon, and despite being under strict orders from Amanda Waller not to reveal himself to anyone, Oliver looks in on his family, Laurel and Tommy.
15	"Nanda Parbat"	Gregory Smith	Wendy Mericle & Ben Sokolowski	Erik Oleson & Ben Sokolowski	March 4, 2015
TBA
16	"The Offer"	Dermott Downs	Erik Oleson & Brian Ford Sullivan		TBA
17	"Suicidal Tendancies"				TBA
18	"TBA"				TBA
19	"TBA"				TBA
20	"TBA"				TBA
21	"TBA"				TBA
22	"TBA"				May 6, 2015
23	"TBA"				May 13, 2015

Confirmed plot points

• Ra's al Ghul will be the season's main antagonist.
• This season was initially intended not to revisit super powers and abilities and be much more grounded. However, after the major success of the two-episode crossover with The Flash, executive producer Marc Guggenheim stated "he had a change of heart".
• Malcolm Merlyn will have a considerably major role from episode 10, "Left Behind", and onwards.
  • There will be a Malcolm-centric episode, flashing back to the very beginnings of his road to becoming the Dark Archer.
• There will be 1 or 2 Suicide Squad-themed episodes.
• Episode 13, "Canaries", will flash back to around the time of Sara Lance's death in "The Calm". It will include both Sara and Werner Zytle, and many things that have happened since the beginning of the season will come full circle. By the end, it was stated that "there will be a big payoff".

Gallery

Title card

Variant title card in "Draw Back Your Bow"

Variant title card in "The Brave and the Bold"

Promotional images

Oliver Queen as The Arrow.

Roy Harper dons a full costume as Arsenal.

"A city's saviors"

"Saving a city takes a toll"

First look at Laurel Lance as Black Canary

First look at Laurel Lance as Black Canary

Fan screening of the 2-part crossover with The Flash

Videos

Arrow - Season 3 First-Look

Arrow - Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Marc Guggenheim Season 3 Interview - Comic Con 2014

Arrow Panel Reaction Will We See Oracle? - Comic Con 2014

ARROW Season 3 Preview — with Ra’s al Ghul

Arrow Season 3 Promo "Some Things Never Die" HD

Arrow Season 3 Trailer - High Speed Chase HD

Arrow Season 3 Midseason Return Trailer