It’s almost CW Superhero Season again, which means you need to move one item to the top of your to-do list: a refresher on the previous seasons of Arrow before diving back into Oliver Queen's world. Arrow is heading into its fifth season, which means it is almost at the celebrated 100-episode mark. This also means that you have lots of backstory to remember (and some you should probably try hard to forget). We’re here to sort out which details fall into the former category.

Since I've had a chance to view the Season 5 premiere, here are some of the essentials of what you need to remember to be caught up for everything happening in Star City (and with less enthusiasm, everything happening in the flashbacks):

In Star City

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Image via The CW
  • Following Ruve Adam’s death, Oliver (Stephen Amell) was made mayor of Star City. No, that’s wasn’t a fever dream. It actually happened.
  • Remember how Laurel (Katie Cassidy) made Oliver promise something whilst on her deathbed? That will become very important in Season 5.
  • John (David Ramsey) has rejoined the military and left town to serve in some undisclosed, vaguely Middle Eastern nation.
  • Thea (Willa Holland) hung up her bow and arrow at the end of Season 4, following Laurel’s death. She is working to regain some sense of normalcy in her life by Oliver's side -- but only in the political arena. No vigilante work. We wish her the best of luck ... in this surely ill-fated pursuit.
  • The State of Olicity: Oliver and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) broke up last season after Oliver lied to Felicity one too many times, keeping his secret son a, well, secret from her. They were on amicable terms when Season 4 ended, committed to working together as friends and the only remaining members of Team Arrow.
  • Last season, we met Evelyn Sharp (Madison McLaughlin), a young woman who was pretending to be the Black Canary in order to get revenge on H.I.V.E. for the death of her parents. It’s all very Bruce Wayne, isn't it? With Laurel dead, Evelyn will come into play in Season 5 as a potential new Black Canary and/or Batman. (But probably Black Canary).
  • Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), Felicity’s nerdy friend and colleague, found out fully about Team Arrow last season, and has been periodically helping the vigilantes. Will this cause tension with his husband? Secrets never help relationships. Just ask Olicity.
  • Felicity nuked an entire village called Havenrock last season, killing thousands of people. (It was either that or nuke an entire bigger village, OK?) This doesn’t come up in the Season 5 premiere, but has been teased by EP Wendy Mericle as a particular character struggle for Felicity in Season 5.

In the (Dreaded) Flashbacks

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Image via The CW
  • When last we saw Oliver, he was boarding a ship to Russia, having promised Taiana to tell her parents about the deaths of their children on Lian Yu. This is a particularly awkward ask considering it was Oliver who killed both Taiana and Vlad himself. (Hey, there were extenuating circumstances.)
  • It has previously been established that, during his five years away from Star City, Oliver became a captain in the Russian mafia, a.k.a. the Bratva. He also learned how to speak Russian, which he demonstrated to Queen family house staff member Raisa. Raisa hasn’t been seen since Season 1, and I suspect foul play. This isn’t relevant to Season 5, as far as I can tell, but it should be. #TeamRaisa
  • Anatoly Knyazev (David Nykl) was one of Oliver’s fellow prisoners aboard Ivo’s Amazo. Oliver and Sara helped Anatoly escape, and the two became friends. Anatoly is a member of the Bratva and helped Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity rescue Lyla from a Russian prison in season two. Hopefully, he can bring some of his Season 2 magic with him into Season 5.

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