I don't think they even had that. It's been made pretty clear that, at least maybe until season five, they didn't often plan too far ahead.
The Russian connection was established in the pilot when Oliver speaks to his family maid in her mother tongue; the Bratva connection was made in episode three, when Oliver uses…

And Yao Fei and Shado. One thing the end of the flashbacks provides us is a handle on the exact amount of training Oliver's had, and it kind of pts the kibosh on all those complaints that Laurel or Thea are now field-ready vigilantes with a few months of fighting training. The Green Arrow himself has had a hodge-podge…

I just really like the idea that 'Chase' did it all on his own. Over months, and months, and months… even years.

The main problem with children in the main cast of shows is that they're rarely written well. The biggest cases in point I can think of are Connor in Angel, Dana Brody in Homeland, and (of course) Wesley Crusher in Star Trek:TNG, all of which qualify for different reasons.
Connor is the child character as spoiler,…

Yeah, I don't think he'd have involved Talia or her students in that part of the plan. For a start, telling his allies that he intended to blow the island up with them on it would have been a bit of a brainfart even for a lunatic.

"But Mr Queen! You've been missing, presumed dead for five years and stranded on a Pacific island! The police have questions - about your father, Miss Lance, the crew - about the boat and what happened! Your mother wants to see you - your sister!"

Hah! :D Yeah, that was shitbox, wasn't it?

Yeah? So all those cliffhangers over the years where the hero is in mortal peril were a waste of time too, huh?
We know the majority of them will be fine. The trick is wondering what happens, how they survive and what happens as a consequence.

Could be as simple as the fact that Nyssa is the better swordmaster. Maybe Talia's better with a bow.

It does kind of leave you with an amusing thought about what happened when he got back to Starling City again and cleaned up. "No, it's okay! I can… cut my own hair…"

See, the more I think about it, the more I'm like BUT OF COURSE HE DID.
Monomaniacs plan everything, prepare for every eventuality. He knew months in advance he'd be coming back to Lian Yu, just like he'd planned all along for the boat and the bullet to the head. If Oliver killed him in cold blood, he'd have proven him…

Yup.

No, I was just being silly.

It should be a montage. Set to this:

Sure! He's all about the method acting, is Oliver. They totally had all the flashbacks planned out five years in advance. Even the shitbox ones.

*nods* I haven't done the washing up for two days. I've just run out of forks.

Shit action. Shaction.

*waves* Hey, everyone! Chow would prefer the show end twenty minutes early! Is that cool with you guys? That we have a twenty-two minute season finale? I know we usually like them to be a little longer, but Chow said no.

He had a trout pole. It's sexier.

I dunno. I think Flash season three was as bad, possibly worse than Arrow season four, and Arrow season three isn't nearly as bad as people remember (except for Hong Kong. Hong Kong was worse than people remember).