‘Arrow’ Season 5: What We Know So Far

Stephen Amell Arrow

Between new heroes, a new tone for the show (again?), and a new villain, we have a lot to look forward to going into the new season of The CW’s Arrow.

Arrow’s 5th season is right around the corner, and like every season before, there has already been a ton of news already revealed somewhere out there on the internet. Whether it’s from a promo, a news story, or an actor’s social media feed, DC TV shows are not shy about keeping fans informed. The end of the 4th season saw the death of Black Canary, and the defeat of Damien Darhk, followed by Team Arrow dissolving to just Oliver and Felicity. Because of Green Arrow’s heroic acts at the end of season 4, a new generation of heroes are going to come forward as Oliver takes them under his wing.

#10 – Arrow Will Be Part Of A 4-Series Crossover

Much like The Flash‘s list, we are dedicating the fact Arrow will be in a multi-series crossover to spot number ten. The crossover will include Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and CW newcomer Supergirl, and has already began production (at least the Arrow portion) in Vancouver, Canada. The threat of the crossover will be from an external force and will most likely be from outside the scope of the individual series’ big-bads. It has been said that the event will originate on Supergirl and crossover through all the rest of the series, one by one. The crossover will technically begin on The Flash when Kara travels to his universe. This will also be the first time Supergirl will apparently be a part of the larger DC TV Universe, even though it has yet to be explained how that will happen. Although The Flash was in Kara’s universe during her first season, her first jump to their world will be in season 5.

#9 – Curtis Holt Goes Full-On Mr. Terrific

One of the better additions to Arrow‘s fourth season was that of Curtis Holt, better known as superhero Mr. Terrific in the comics. Although Curtis only subtly displayed aspects of his heroic comic counterpart in the 4th season, we know that his character will take the full superhero plunge going into season 5 thanks to confirmation from the character’s actor, Echo Kellum himself. So far, we’ve seen his infamous T-Spheres – artificially intelligent miniature spherical devices that can fly, create holographic images, project beams of light, release electrical charges, tie into computers and GPS satellites, and constantly cloaks Holt against technological detection – which at the time looked like a project he was doing research on in season 4. As of right now, we have yet to see any sign of a costume. Luckily however, according to Holt, we won’t have to wait very long. Mr. Terrific is also a large component of another entry on this list, but for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I’ll let you get to that on your own.

#8 – Felicity Will Have A New Boyfriend

We already know you probably don’t care. But like it or not, Felicity is still going to be a large part of the show going into Arrow‘s 5th season. It’s been said that although she will be a main focus of the show, she will officially no longer be one half of the “Olicity” equation. Oliver and Felicity will have a professional relationship, as she is the one reportedly responsible for convincing Oliver to train a new team of vigilantes, but that is where the show will draw the line. According to a recent report, Felicity will in fact have a new love interest in the 5th season, which she must juggle alongside side her guilt about the explosion in Havenrock from the show’s 4th season. I’m on the fence as to how this is going to help the show, or if it even will, but at least the producers are acknowledging that “Olicity” is truly a problem and are taking steps in the necessary direction to rectify it. Let’s hope season 5 is the start of a new “Olicity”-less era for Arrow.

#7 – Flashbacks Will Include The Bratva

One of the lingering mysteries from the very beginning of the series has always been the Bratva symbol tattooed to Oliver and the story about how he received such a distinctive mark. The Bratva is the name of the Russian Mafia, and Oliver is currently a high ranking Captain. He once saved the Bratva’s leader, Anatoly Knyazev (KGBeast from the comics) from Professor Ivo while on Lian Yu, so he was given a high rank in return. For the time on the island (and off the island) during the flashbacks, we never got an idea of where his tattoo came from or where he learned to speak Russian, which was revealed during season 2. Now, it has been confirmed by producers and in promos that we will finally see the story of Oliver’s time with the Bratva during the show’s 5th season, and exactly where that tattoo came from. It’s about time!

#6 – New Team Includes Mr. Terrific, Artemis, Wild Dog, & Vigilante

Above, I mention that Curtis Holt aka Mr. Terrific is also a large component of another item on this list – and this is it. Curtis, along with heroes Artemis, Wild Dog, and Vigilante will be joining Oliver and Felicity on their quest to save Star City. At the end of the 4th season, Oliver and Felicity are left on their own as the rest of the team disperses. It looks as if the pair will hit the ground running when it comes to rebuilding the team, as heroes begin to pop up in response to Green Arrow’s defeat of Damien Darhk during the season 4 finale. Green Arrow was the inspiration for these new heroes, and he will be the one to whip them into crime fighting shape. It’s also been rumored that Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance was the one who told Oliver to make a new team of heroes while on her death bed, but we will have to wait for the premier to find that one out for sure.

#5 – Season 5 Will Include Arrow‘s 100th Episode; To Be Directed By James Bamford

It’s been a long road for Arrow, with a lot of ups and downs, but at the end of the day the 100th episode of any series is a big deal. It’s hard to keep a show around for 100 episodes, and to watch what Arrow has grown into in terms of its own show’s evolution as well as its expansive universe is awe-inspiring.  After defeating Malcolm Merlyn, Deathstroke, Ra’s al-Ghul, and Damien Darhk, Green Arrow is still going strong. During the 4 series crossover, Arrow will be celebrating its 100th episode, and from all the tidbits we’ve heard so far about it, it sounds like it’s going to be legendary. Not to mention, Arrow stunt-coordinator James Bamford will be directing the episode. Bamford should be a big deal to Arrow fans, as he has been with the show since appearing briefly as “Gunman #2” in the pilot episode, all the way to directing the 7th episode of the 4th season, Brotherhood. Now, looking ahead to season 5, Bamford isn’t just directing the 100th episode of the series, but also the first two episodes of the season as well. One thing is for sure – if you want to ensure an episode has a lot of action, you give the stunt coordinator the director’s seat!

#4 – Laurel Lance Will Be In The Premier & The 100th Episode

Like the saying goes, nobody permanently dies in the world of Arrow or The Flash. Just ask Thea, Sara, Oliver, and Sara again. If Sara can come back twice, Laurel has at least one in her, right? Well, maybe. It’s been confirmed that Laurel Lance will be appearing in the first episode of the season. We don’t know the capacity of her role, or if it will be flashback or present, but she will definitely be in the episode. In addition, Laurel will also be making an appearance in the show’s 100th episode. Again, we do not yet know the capacity of her role, but she won’t be the only one making a return during the 100th episode. And yes, that was “list foreshadowing”. On top of appearing in Arrow, Cassidy has also been promoted to a series regular on both The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Now that’s one busy dead person.

#3 – The Show Will Be Going “Back To Its Roots”

So, I tried avoiding this fact during this list, but I can’t get around it. Arrow just isn’t as good as it used to be. It’s not just my opinion, but just go to any comment section of anything pertaining to the show’s present state. It’s always a madhouse. The show has seen its glory days of season 2, and has been desperately trying to live up the standards it set for itself back then with little to no success. The show bounces around between dark and gritty and light and funny, and it doesn’t seem to have a clear identity for itself anymore. Well, once again, the show’s actors and producers seem to be attempting to address the show’s problems, by making promises that it will be dark and gritty (again) and will be “going back to its roots“, in a sense. It’s no secret that fans like the older seasons better, and have been very vocal relaying that message to the show’s decision makers. Hopefully they’ve heard and make the right choices for the show’s future, but bringing it back to its roots is certainly one way to start the mending process.

#2 – A New Version Of Prometheus Will Be The Season 5 Big-Bad

Arrow is taking a 180 degree shift away from the magic of Damien Darhk and the show’s 4th season, and their season 5 big bad Prometheus is a perfect way to do just that. In the comics, Prometheus is a fighter who has a story similar to Batman. His parents were killed in front of him by cops, and he grew up using his parents’ money to develop technology and train himself in combat so he could defeat the forces of justice. He was pretty much the anti-Batman. However, the Arrow version of Prometheus has been confirmed by producer Marc Guggenheim as an original character for the series. This means the villain will share the same name from the source character, but that will be pretty much it. It is also revealed that Oliver played a role in creating Prometheus, and fans will be shocked when we find out who is under the mask. Now for the real question – is Roy’s arm safe?

#1 – Both Deathstroke & Robert Queen Will Return For The 100th Episode

Not just one bomb has been dropped about the 100th episode – but two! In a tweet straight from Marc Guggenheim, an image from the table read for the show’s 100th episode included none other than actor Jeremy Sheridan; better known as Oliver’s deceased father, Robert Queen! In addition, Stephen Amell has just recently tweeted an image hinting at a mystery guest on Arrow‘s 100th episode and an image of Amell and Deathstroke sitting together on a park bench, all casual like. Manu Bennett, the man behind the mercenary mask, even took the time to respond to Amell’s image with a meme of his own, which looks to be a cryptic message that Deathstroke is returning to, well, take off Oliver’s head. It has not been mentioned how either of these characters will be returning to the show, but Guggenheim did hint along with the table reading image that Robert Queen is not coming back due to either Flashpoint or flashbacks. Slade Wilson has already been on the show once before since season 2 ended, so the fact he is coming back is equal parts awesome and believable. Hopefully the addition of Deathstroke and Robert Queen will help the show get back to its roots. To be frank, it doesn’t get more “back to its roots” than Deathstroke or Robert Queen.

Josh Behr

Josh Behr

Jack of some trades, master of some others. That saying never really made a lot of sense to me.