Now that the fourth season of Arrow has come to a rather anti-climactic, yet hopeful, end, it’s time to look ahead to what we’re hoping to see in the upcoming fifth season of the show. Fan reaction over the last couple of seasons has been mixed, to say the least, but we’ve come up with some ideas that would go a long way to righting the ship and getting the show back on course.
Keep in mind that this post will contain spoilers, so if you’re not caught up on Arrow through the season finale, you might want to bookmark this page and come back once you are.
Here’s Screen Rant’s 12 Things We’d Like To See In Season 5 Of Arrow:
12. A More Classic Look For The Character
It’s not a stretch to say that comic book characters each have a distinctive look about them. Whether it’s their costume or their physical attributes, most famous characters can be easily identified by a quick glance.
Comic fans were disappointed that the showrunners didn’t embrace that, and changed the look of the character for the show. Three years later, we’ve finally gotten the suit, but there’s one thing still missing: the goatee. Given that Stephen Amell has been adamant that he will never don the goatee, it seemed that all hope was lost. Until now. It seems that Amell has finally given in, as he recently posted a photo on his Facebook page hinting at the goatee idea. Looks like the transformation into the Green Arrow is almost complete, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to see it next year.
11. A Crossover With Supergirl
Now that we know that the two shows not only exist in the same universe, but that they are now going to be on the same network, it’s only a matter of time before either Oliver Queen makes his way to National City, or Kara Danvers has a stop-over in Star City.
Although star Stephen Amell has come out and said that he thinks the show works best without superpowers, unfortunately, that is not really an option anymore. Once those meta-human/magical powers doors were opened, there was no way to close them, and no going back. The addition of a super-powered alien isn’t going to do anything to alter that. It is, however, going to make for some very interesting reactions. Diggle thought that the Flash was something; wait until he gets a load of the girl from Krypton.
10. A More Personal Villain
One of the things that made both Slade Wilson and Malcolm Merlyn so formidable was the fact that their issues with Oliver and the gang were personal. While Neal McDonough’s Damien Darhk and Matt Nable’s Ra’s Al Ghul were interesting in a moustache twirling kind of way, their desire to bring the entire world to its knees felt a bit ‘been there, done that.’
Pretty much every big bad villain in history has world domination on his or her mind, but when the stakes are personal, that’s when the audience becomes invested and actually cares what happens. We know that the world isn’t going to end. What we want to see is how decisions and outside forces are going to personally affect the characters we’ve come to know and love. If star Stephen Amell is to be believed, it seems that the show runners are already working on bringing in someone who doesn’t have any superpowers. It’s a step in the right direction.
9. A Meta-Human Member Of The Team
When the series started, it had a grounded feel to it. Well, as grounded as a television series based on a comic book could be. Problem is, adding in the Flash to this universe makes is seem kind of generic in comparison. Now that Supergirl and her otherworldly companions will be joining the fray… well, they really need to up the ante.
Aside from Thea’s little dip in the Lazarus Pits, everyone on Team Arrow is just regular old folks. No super-powers, no special abilities, no hidden aliens hiding among us. That’s not a bad thing, but given that all of the other shows in this universe seem to have them in various forms, it doesn’t make sense for Arrow to remain ‘grounded.’ There’s also no way that some of those meta-humans from Central City haven’t moved around a bit, and possibly relocated in Star City. And, they can’t have all turned into villains. There has to be some heroes out there that are looking for a team to join.
8. A Resolution To Olicity
A good portion of the audience spent the first two season shipping Oliver and Felicity so hard, that the showrunners decided to give in and make the two a couple in season 3. It’s no surprise, given the chemistry between the two actors. We even got a taste of their happily ever after, when they rode off into the sunset together and made themselves a lovely little life outside of the vigilante scene. These things never last, however, and they were soon dragged back into the action. Although they managed to get engaged, Felicity broke things off when she realized Oliver was keeping a rather big secret from her, and she saw that as a reason not to trust him.
It’s obvious that the characters still love each other, and although they’re not at a place where they can admit it, the ‘will they or won’t they’ thing gets old pretty fast. Either let them work through their problems and get them back together or just make them friends and move on. Don’t drag it out endlessly.
7. No More Flashbacks
During the first two seasons of the show, the flashback episodes were spectacular, the story arc often running parallel to the dilemma facing our hero in the present. The parallels were poignant and timely and helped the audience get a sense of who Oliver had become. Once they moved off of Lian Yu in Season 3 and Amanda Waller and ARGUS got involved, they became trite and contrived and basically unnecessary.
It was interesting to see Oliver’s transition from spoiled playboy, to hardened cynic, ready to become Starling City’s masked vigilante. But the transition is pretty much over now, and has been for a while, as the Ollie that we got in the flashbacks this season is basically the same version of the character in the present day. If his transformation is complete, then what’s the point? Apparently, it’s a trip to Russia to tell the family of a woman he knew for five seconds that she died a hero. Not sure of the point there. It’s time to just give up on the idea and move on.
6. Some Happiness For Quintin Lance
Doesn’t the guy deserve a break? Over the course of the last four seasons, the man has had to bury his two daughters a total of three times. It’s time that Captain Lance, or whatever his title is these days, deserved a bit of happiness. Especially considering everything he’s done for Star City over the years.
Yes, Paul Blackthorne is amazing and it’s always fantastic when he gets to really sink his teeth in to the role. Some of the best, most emotional scenes in the series have been when he gets a chance to really shine. But it’s time for a little good to come his way, and Donna Smoak is the perfect distraction. A wedding for the two of them may be just what the doctor ordered. And more Charlotte Ross is never a bad thing.
5. A Little Less Magic And Mysticism
Once DC decided to open the floodgates and spun The Flash off of the show, anything became possible in this universe. Overnight, the show went from grounded and sort of realistic, to a super-hero filled extravaganza. Well, the universe around it, anyway. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just changed the landscape.
The main problem for the last two seasons has been the overall story arc’s reliance on the magical and the mystical. From the inclusion of Ra’s Al Ghul and his Lazarus Pits to Damien Darhk and his soul-devouring idol, it’s gotten to be a little much. A few less mystical beings and maybe a little more meta-human run-off from Central City would strike a nice balance for this part of the universe. We wouldn’t want to leave Oliver with nothing to do.
4. The Return Of Arsenal
The finale kind of left Team Arrow in shambles, with both Thea and John deciding they needed to take a step back from the vigilante business and try and find themselves. Do a little reflection and try to come to terms with what they’ve done and who they’ve become since joining up with Ollie. It doesn’t mean they’re gone for good, although it seemed kind of permanent, at least on Diggle’s part, since he has re-enlisted. With Speedy seemingly in the wind, now would be the perfect time to bring The Green Arrow’s red leathered side-kick back into the fold.
Roy was the type of character that was either loved, or hated, depending upon who you asked, but there’s no denying that his sacrifice was a big turning point for the character. Problem is, everyone knows that the Green Arrow is not dead and was probably not Roy, so there’s no need for him to remain in hiding. It won’t be long before the team is reunited. All it will take is one good threat to either Oliver or the city and the gang will be back together. But what they really need to do is bring Arsenal back to the party.
3. No More Blood Lust Disguised As Character Development
There has been a running theme throughout the four seasons of the show that has gotten pretty old, and really needs to go away. These days it seem like everyone on the show has some sort of blood lust or anger issue. If it isn’t because they’ve been injected with Mirakuru, then it’s because they’ve been reanimated by the Lazarus Pits. Enough already. We’ve seen it, we’ve done it, we’ve got the t-shirt. It’s time to give the characters on this show different, and more interesting motivations. And while they’re at it, they can’t stop the pity party that Oliver always seems to throw himself every season. We get it, he did bad things in order to survive. He really needs to move on.
2. Permanent Consequences
One of the things that seems to come up a lot in this show is the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any real consequences to the decisions the characters make. There hasn’t really been any fall out or any serious issues arising from the choices that everyone has made over the course of the series. With the exception of Tommy, Moira and Laurel (we’ll have to see if she stays dead), everyone else who has been killed on the show has miraculously been brought back to life in some form or another. It’s easy to fall into that trap when your show is set in a universe where time travel and magical water reside, but it does have a tendency to cheapen the overall story arc when the audience knows it’s not going to be permanent.
Sticking to the story that’s been laid out and not brushing it aside and having problems fixed using magic as an explanation will go a long way to change those perceptions. The fact that Barry is altering the timeline over in Central City probably isn’t going to help matters, however, so we’ll have to wait and see what sort of changes and alterations happen in regards to that, as well as what remains permanent when all is said and done.
1. The Effects Of The Flash Finale
When two shows take place in the same universe, it’s difficult for one of the series to have a monumental, universe-altering event and not have the other be affected by it. Although Barry’s trip back in time to stop his mother from being killed will have a profound and series altering effect on The Flash, there is no way that it’s going to leave the other shows in this universe unscathed. There has to be a sort of ripple effect, or the universe as a whole doesn’t make any sense.
While the effects of the Flashpoint story line won’t impact Arrow directly, they should alter Star City and its inhabitants in some way, even if it’s only something subtle. There’s no way that everything is going to remain the same. But what changes are coming, what they mean and whether or not anyone is going to realize that the timeline’s been altered are all questions that need answers.
Conclusion:
The fourth season of Arrow was a bit of a roller coaster ride. There were some ups and some downs, and the show had a tendency to feel a little uneven at times. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be excited for. Did we get some of it right? What are you hoping to season when season five premieres in the fall? Let us know in the comments!
