https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFk7uixvN9s

Arrow shines as The CW presses forward on its third season.

The CW’s Arrow has been a glimmering hit for the network since its very beginning. With ratings averaging around 3.5 million per episode, Arrow has proven itself as a major contender in The CW’s lineup of dramatic programming. The third season of the show has proved to its audiences that not only can it continue with a stellar record, but can also dramatically grow in its viewership and content quality.

This season, a lot has changed for Team Arrow. Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) has built up a dedicated team of vigilantes to handle the always changing criminal climate of Starling City. Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), who goes by the code name of Arsenal, John Diggle (David Ramsey), Oliver’s number two, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), known as the Black Canary, and the always faithful Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), have turned the Arrow’s once-known side project into a full-fledged enterprise.

Things, however, are never calm in Starling City. Team Arrow has had its fair share of criminal masterminds to deal with this season: The League of Assasins, cyber-terrorists, anti-vigilantes, Danny Brickwell, and several outliers. The season has been tough, emotional, and sometimes too much to handle. The real test of the season, it seems, is Oliver’s will to stay true to himself. In many episodes, his loyalty, will power, and inner demons are all put to the test.

In the end, it is Oliver’s ever-growing team that keeps him grounded. Numerous times in the series, Oliver seemed to want to leave his vigilante life. Amid multiple returns to Lian Yu, the island he was stranded on, Oliver has always had his dedicated team there to pull him back and remind him of why he started being the Arrow.

With the third season counting down to the final five episodes, we can expect a dramatic turn of events for Team Arrow. Sacrifices will be made, love will be lost, relationships tested, and Team Arrow as we know it might not make it to the cold and bitter end.

Arrow returns on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 8:00 EST on The CW.