Oh, shoot. You were sitting peacefully in your midtown nightclub with a cup of lax designer coffee, and all of a sudden your city is threatened by hundreds of bombs, picky assassins, very well groomed drug dealers, and earthquake machines. This either means you need a hero with a bow, or one just came into town.
Welcome to Starling City. Where it only takes 5-9 months to become a master of crime fighting, and where criminals have the ability to destroy half a city, but always fail because of theatrical panning. Oliver Queen can save us. He spent 5 years stranded on a deserted island that actually wasn't deserted, and where he didn't actually spend 5 years on. But it turned out he was a master archer the first year he was there, so the other 4 years are just filler. Now he's back at home with his disgustingly thin family, and ready to kick some bad guys right in their arrow holes.
In reality, the city didn't really have a crime problem until Oliver got into town. Oh well. He gets back from his desert island, and suddenly, a guy in a Peter Pan cosplay one'sie appears and starts fighting crime. And no one suspects Oliver is the Arrow. Well... sure. We'll ignore that plot hole. So he moves along this thing we call life, brooding about the girl that died in the boat accident with him. But she didn't really die. But she did. And Oliver's sister gets forced to do years of community service with Oliver's ex-girlfriend, but she just sort of stops doing it mid-season. And she's a crime fighter now too. Oh, and Oliver's ex girlfriend. She fights crime now too. And that girl that died on the boat? She's back too, and she also fights crime now because she undied. Oh, and Oliver's sister's boyfriend. He also fights crime now too. In fact, the only main characters that aren't super heroes in this show is the highly decorated cop and the Afghanistan war veteran.
A show where people refuse to die, and when someone actually gets killed, we have to reflect on it for several episodes. This series is like being held hostage by the Geneva Convention, but they keep forgetting the moral dilemmas they have already covered in the past 3 years. It's like car explosion porn. Military jargon audio books. My Little Pony, except with grown men and women from the University of Southern Florida. The show likes finding good ideas and turning them into pep talks and Mexican soap operas.
On a final note, The Flash is made by the exact same people and the two shows often join forces to avoid catching criminals until the last minute together. Actually, I would like to prove to you that Arrow and The Flash are exactly the same show.
ARROW FLASH
Oliver loses a dad and turns into super hero after a tragic 5 year event Barry loses a mom and turns into a super hero after a tragic 1 year coma
Oliver is helped by a nerdy white woman and a black token Barry is helped by a nerdy white woman and a Mexican token
Oliver is in love with a cop's daughter, and works with her in secret Barry is in love with a cop's daughter and works with her in secret
Oliver spends the entire first season finding the man who killed his father Barry spends the entire first season finding the man who killed his mother
Oliver kills the man who killed his dad, but the guy actually didn't die Barry gets rid of the guy who killed his mother, but he's not actually gone
Oliver's sister is actually related to the guy that killed their dad Barry's sister's boyfriend is actually related to the guy that killed Barry's mom