The second season of the American television series Arrow premiered on The CW on October 9, 2013, and concluded on May 14, 2014, with a total of 23 episodes. The series is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, a costumed crime-fighter created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, and is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with other Arrowverse television series. The showrunners for this season were Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen, with principal cast members Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen, and Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance returning from the previous season. They are joined by Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Colton Haynes as Roy Harper and Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson, who were promoted to series regulars from their recurring status in the previous season.
The series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on Lian Yu, a mysterious island in the North China Sea, before returning home to Starling City (later renamed "Star City") to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow. In the second season, Oliver has vowed to stop crime without killing criminals, using "The Arrow" as his new name to represent that, and is aided with by allies, John and Felicity. Oliver's vow is tested when he comes under attack from Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), a man from Oliver's time on Lian Yu who resurfaces with a vendetta against him. Oliver grows to accept aspiring vigilante Roy Harper as his protégé, and begins to receive assistance from Quentin. Oliver also gains another ally in Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) who survived her ordeal at sea six years prior. The season features flashbacks to Oliver's second year on Lian Yu where he faces a new threat from Dr. Anthony Ivo (Dylan Neal), whilst continuing to struggle to survive alongside allies Slade and Sara, and the archer Shado (Celina Jade). The origins of his feud with Slade is revealed.
