‘Arrow’ Season 5 Could Be Final Season

The superhero crime drama Arrow got off to a rocky start in its first season as the show struggled to find it’s legs until it’s fourteenth episode titled “The Odyssey” when (spoilers) Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) was finally brought into the fold after Oliver sought her help at Queen Consolidated after he was shot by his own Mother.

Felicity Smoak was only supposed to appear in one or two episodes originally, but the quirky tech genius struck a chord with the producers and fans alike. Considering the next few episodes were written, it wouldn’t be until the back half of the season when she would become part of what is now Team Arrow.

Originally Oliver embarked on his crusade against the criminal underworld of Star City on his own but quickly realized he wasn’t capable of cleansing the crime-ridden city on his own. After saving the life of his ex-military limo driver, John Diggle (David Ramsey), who was shot with a poison-laced bullet, Oliver had no choice but to reveal himself as the Star City vigilante. Together with Felicity and Diggle, Arrow found its core and elevated itself past what the producers had initially envisioned.

Another major component of the show are the mysterious flashbacks chronicling a shipwrecked Oliver as he was marooned off the coast of China on the island of Lian Yu for five years prior to hitting the streets of Star(ling) City has a crime fighting hero. During his first year on Lian Yu, Oliver discovered an ARGUS backed military operation to shoot down a commercial airliner with the intention of assassinating a member of the Chinese Triad. Together with his new friend Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), a former member of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service who was betrayed by his partner Billy Wintergreen after joining ARGUS, the two managed to foil ARGUS’ plot and forged a friendship.

Arrow hit its peak in the second season when the newly formed Team Arrow had to take on a vengeful Slade Wilson in the present day as we saw the friendship between Oliver and Slade fall apart in the past after Oliver betrayed Slade to save the life of his friend Sara Lance, opting to sacrifice the life of Slade’s unrequited love Shado (Celina Jade). Since the end of the second season storyline, the show has struggled to launch a plot as compelling as that mostly due to the focus of the show shifting to serve as a breeding ground for other superhero shows such as The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

In an attempt to keep up with the superpowered heroics of the other shows, Arrow dove head first into mysticism in the fourth season and essentially abandoned the dark and mysterious criminal element from the show that made it good in the first place. Fans lashed back hard against what was easily the worst season yet. So far, the fifth season has attempted to get back to its roots, but once again struggles to find it’s footing with a mostly new cast along with the underwhelming big bad Prometheus, who’s identity we still aren’t sure of, preventing us from being able to invest in the storyline.

While promoting the upcoming 4-night mega-crossover event between Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow, Stephen Amell spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the future or possible conclusion of the series based on the turnout of the fifth season:

I do really believe that this season is sort of a throw-down-the-gauntlet year for us, where we’re either going to do what we do and do it well or it’s the last year. If we find that magic formula — which is not magic, it’s just hard work and playing to your strengths — then the show could go on for a really long time.

While I respect the hard work that producing a television series demands, it, unfortunately, doesn’t matter if the final product is as horrible as the last two seasons. The show’s ratings are too high to warrant cancellation, so if it does happen it will be the writers choice to wrap up the series rather continue down what has been an atrocious path. I yearn for the days of the heavily stylized early seasons featuring the badass Arrow as he traversed rooftops and ran down the sides of buildings searching for his former friend turned foe Slade Wilson.

So far I don’t have much hope for the series left after what has so far been a rollercoaster of a season turning in both good and bad episodes one week after the other.The show is still far from being back on track but the end wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of Green Arrow, though, as Arrow has spawned plenty of spin-offs for him to appear on.

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

‘Arrow’: “The Recruits” Review

In the second episode of season five, Oliver begins to train the new recruits for Team Arrow 2.0. The episode is a mixed bag but ultimately a step backward for the series.

Things kick off with Rene Ramirez A.K.A. Wild Dog chasing down a clumsy goober of a criminal. Unfortunately, Rene proves himself to be just as clumsy as he trips over a ledge — falling off of a building himself and nearly dying. Lucky for him, Green Arrow was there to catch his fall. Maybe he should give his leg some more time to heal before he’s out traversing rooftops in Star City again.

He does deserve some credit though. He doesn’t give up and that’s exactly what gets him an invitation to train with the Green Arrow.

We get to see Oliver in action as the Mayor again. It’s good to see Oliver isn’t skipping out on important meetings like he did with Queen Consolidated, ultimately costing him the company. He still doesn’t like doing press but who can blame him? What matters here is that the writers aren’t breezing over this aspect of the show. The scene in which Oliver acquires the funding for his free medical event was thin but it still felt complete. Even if it did move at the break neck pace this show is notorious for.

The first training scene proved just how much Curtis, Rene, and Evelyn have to learn. None of them were taking it seriously. Oliver had to explain to them crime fighting isn’t a game and used Laurel as an example. It was a bit ironic as he expressed the same sentiment when Laurel hit the streets as the Black Canary in an attempt to honor the life of her sister, Sara.

Surprisingly, the flashbacks were actually decent this episode. Even though they didn’t cover much, they didn’t feel half baked like they normally do. Maybe it was because the point of them was actually relevant to the training taking place in the present day storyline. In the next step of his initiation into the Bratva, Oliver had to learn to work together with the rest of the Bratva’s tryouts in order to get past some baddies and ring a bell. Oliver used this same exercise with Curtis, Rene, and Evelyn in order to teach them the only way to win is through teamwork.

It was a good lesson to teach but Oliver didn’t go about it the right way. But the bigger issue was Felicity as she undermined his authority in front of the recruits rendering his leadership completely ineffective. Oliver needed her feedback but the way she approached the issue was inappropriate. Maybe Oliver should pull her aside and give her some feedback as well.

The episode begins to lose itself once it gets to the free medical event. First Oliver enters dressed in a suit and tie and then moments later appears in full Green Arrow gear just as a Ragman crashes the event and goes WWE on the CEO of Amertek.

After Rene gets a piece of the cloth from Ragman’s costume, Felicity goes to the Star City police department where we discover her new boyfriend is actually working as a detective. Okay… no one cares. Moving on.

Ragman wants revenge for the nuclear missile that destroyed his city, killing his family on Genesis Day. While his motives were there, the problem was the exposition got muddled by the show’s breakneck pace along with the awful voice modulation used for Ragman. Oliver has a conversation with him about the choices he’s made. The writers tried to make it something meaningful as Oliver convinces Ragman to honor the legacy of his dead father just like Oliver wants to do for himself. He even extends his hand to Ragman, offering him a place on the new team. But god no, please no. I just couldn’t understand a damn thing he was saying and by the time it was over I didn’t care. For me, Ragman is nothing more than a throwaway villain I want to forget about by tomorrow.

Diggle’s storyline this week is a bit unremarkable. He is off on assignment to secure a nuclear weapon but instead he’s taken captive by his unit after he discovers they are corrupt when they try to steal the weapon for themselves. It’s understandable people would be afraid of metahumans or evil men with mystical powers but ultimately the storyline doesn’t deliver and is extraneous the to rest of the episode’s plot. Maybe next week Diggle will reach out to Oliver for help or the weapon they have will become part of the main plot.

Overall, the episode was not satisfying. The villain was weak and his motives were unclear until it was too late and now we are supposed to accept him as a new member of Team Arrow? Last week things seemed like they were getting back on track but this episode indicates otherwise. If the writers want to make Arrow a hit show again they need to focus back on what made the show great to begin with. Long gone are the days of Arrow traversing the rooftops of Star City with his brother Diggle taking down drug dealers and crime bosses — and thwarting terrorist attacks. The show has unfortunately become a victim of its own success after it lost focus when it became a breeding ground for other superheroes. At this point I have little hope the Arrow we all came to know and love will ever return.

6.3 – OKAY

‘Arrow’ is Back in New Season 5 Clip

Ahead of tonights premiere of season five of Arrow, The CW has released a clip from the episode which has the Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) kicking the shit out of Anarchy (Alexander Calvert) and stopping him from detonating four bombs in Star City.

We also get to see his first encounter with Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez), who is seen attempting to disarm the bombs that Anarchy has rigged together.

What stands out about this clip is that the flavor of season one and two seems to be back. Arrow has been widely criticized for the lighter tone it took on in season four when it introduced mystical elements into the shows plot with the underwhelming villain Damien Darhk (Neal Mcdonough). The show lost focus as it began to shift Oliver from a main to a supporting character, bringing Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) to the forefront. Felicity would have been a more appropriate title for the back half of season four. But with the violence and brutality seen in this clip, complemented by the fantastic swelling synth by Blake Neely—maybe, just maybe—Arrow is back. I wouldn’t get your hopes up though as the show is set to introduce Wild Dog and Artemis (Madison McLaughlin) to Team Arrow. As if the Arrow cave wasn’t already crowded enough.

Arrow season five premieres tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

NEW BEGINNINGS — After Laurel’s (Katie Cassidy) death and the departures of both Diggle (David Ramsey) and Thea (Willa Holland) from Team Arrow, Oliver (Stephen Amell) takes to the streets solo to protect Star City’s citizens as the Green Arrow. With Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) guiding him from the bunker, Oliver is forced to deal with a city that has become overrun with both criminals and a slew of new (and painfully inexperienced) vigilantes. Watching Oliver try to balance his jobs as both the mayor and also the protector of Star City, Felicity suggests he form a new team, but Oliver resists. However, when a deadly new criminal, Tobias Church (guest star Chad L. Coleman), enters the picture, Oliver realizes the best thing for the city might be a new team of superheroes. Meanwhile, the flashbacks take us to Russia where Oliver faces off against the Bratva.

James Bamford directed the episode with story by Greg Berlanti and teleplay by Marc Guggenheim & Wendy Mericle.