Five Reasons to Get Excited for Arrow Season 3 New Episodes

Season 3 of Arrow returns with new episodes on Wednesday, January 21, and the wait has been almost unbearable for fans of the series. But there are plenty of reasons to be excited for the return, and we've got five of them right here.

1) We'll find out Oliver Queen's fate.

The midseason finale, "The Climb," ended with a duel between Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Ra's Al Ghul (Matt Nable). It was a great scene simply because of how easily Ra's defeated our hero. Oliver was completely outclassed in every way. Even when he got one glimmer of hope at the end, Ra's simply grabbed the sword with his hand, turned the tables with two strokes, and stabbed Oliver through the chest. He kicked him over the cliff and, just like that, Oliver Queen was dead.

Except the show is called Arrow, so there's no way Oliver Queen is staying dead. The most obvious way to resurrect him would be the Lazarus Pit, the liquid bath that keeps Ra's Al Ghul relatively youthful and alive. But Arrow has thrown curveballs at us before, so the writers could easily do it again here.

2) Deathstroke is coming back!

Manu Bennett and the character of Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke was one of the best parts of the series in its first two season. His arc that took him from Oliver's friend on the island to his bitter enemy in Starling City permeated much of Season 1 and Season 2. And he's coming back!

We last saw Deathstroke in the Season 2 finale when Oliver finally brought him down with the Mirakuru cure and locked him away in the A.R.G.U.S. maximum-security prison on Lian Yu. Slade vowed to get out, but could he actually keep that promise?

There are several ways the show could go about this. A.R.G.U.S. could recruit him for the Suicide Squad. He could escape on his own (or with Captain Boomerang) somehow. Oliver could simply visit him in prison, Silence of the Lambs style, to find out how to defeat Ra's Al Ghul. Or maybe Slade could even help Oliver take down Ra's.

3) Secondary characters will step up in Oliver's absence.

With Oliver taking the long nap on a snowy mountain, Roy (Colton Haynes), Laurel (Katie Cassidy), and others will have to step up to protect Starling City. The producers have already stated that the episodes immediately after the show returns will function as a trilogy of sorts for Laurel as she tries to step into the mantle of Black Canary. Roy will likely also need to suit up as Arsenal more frequently to fill his mentor's shoes. This should provide some great opportunities for development for these characters.

4) Another Flash crossover is a possibility.

The crossover with The Flash was a high point of the first handful of episodes of Season 3, and fans and critics were quite satisfied with how it unfolded. There is no guarantee that another Flash crossover will happen this season, but it's certainly possible. Even if it's not a major event, we could still see some secondary characters travel between shows.

5) Ra's Al Ghul.

Ra's is a great foil for Oliver this season because of his complexity. His speech at the end of the last episode offered a peek into his motivations. He's a villain who doesn't think he's a villain. He's also clearly very old, as he told Oliver that no one had challenged him to a duel in 67 years. It'll be interesting to see how Arrow portrays this character.

What has you excited for Arrow's return? Let us know in the comments section.