Irrespective of what is thought of the fourth season of The CW’s Arrow, it is obvious that Team Arrow is falling apart from the seams, itself. Spoilers show news related to the finale of the Season 4, whereas, the cast of Season 5 are mainly speculations, up till now. In the end of the previous season, Team Arrow was seen building up from confidant to costumed crime fighter. Laurel became the Black Canary, Thea put on the cloak of Speedy, Diggle ultimately got some gear to go with the code name of Spartan, and Overwatch was taken over by Felicity which was a very fit alias for her position. But in the end, it all was blown away as Laurel was killed by Damien Darhk and this was taken poorly, as expected, by the rest of the team. Also, Diggle had to kill his own brother and Felicity dumped Oliver, separating herself from the team. All of this shows that the Green Arrow is now, on his own.
New comments from the executive producer of Arrow, Wendy Mericle, might be indications that are possibilities and as the reports of Guide, the internal conflicts of Thea at the end of this upcoming season are likely to eventually shape the events of the finale and therefore, set the skeleton for the next season of The CW’s Arrow:
“Thea had bloodlust earlier in the season and since then has been questioning her place on the team, and questioning whether or not she is Speedy, which goes back to her character’s struggle with whether she’s more of a Queen or a Merlyn. She’s going to answer that question in [the finale] and come up with, what we hope, is a pretty surprising answer.”
The scene titles for Arrow have a tendency to be fairly telling in hindsight, typically. Mericle herself calls the one for the finale, titled “Schism,” a “good clue”:
“We talked about Season 4 as a soft reboot and I think Season 5 will see some big changes on the show.”
The finale from May 25th is probably going to foreshadow an incompatible split in Team Arrow with the retreat of Speedy leading the way. Is it possible that Speedy sides with Merlyn, keeping in mind, all that he has done in the past? The episode to air next week is “Lost in the Flood” and it should be going a long way towards clarifying issues since it sees the team on an attempt to rescue Thea from Darhk’s dome. But will she let go of that relative safety and security for a return to the violent, deadly world of crime-fighting? In order to find out, we’ll just have to keep watching.
Concerning how the occasions of the Season 4 finale will affect Season 5, don’t hesitate to give your creative energy a chance to run wild. Maybe we’ll see Oliver Queen back all alone again with just incidental help from any likes of Curtis Holt (series regular Echo Kellum) and the leftovers of his previous group. One thing is without a doubt: Arrow is getting a new series regular. TV Line reports that the casting call for this part portray the character as follows:
“James,” an “irrepressibly charming” contemporary of Oliver’s who is described as “a man on a mission” — out as he is to avenge a tragic, violent loss from his own, years-ago past. The casting call seeks an actor of any ethnicity, in his late-20s to 30s and who comes across as a physical threat. The character is said to “just as easily shake your hand as your best friend or break your neck as your worst enemy — and you never know which one is coming. Either way, he’s more than capable of having a good time as he does it.”
TV Line reports that “James” will be Oliver’s foe; however the casting information appears to paint the character in a fairly conflicted light. Perhaps Green Arrow’s tricks have inspired a rush of vigilantism so that the Hood himself comes up against another crime fighter. On the other hand, maybe this new expansion is associated with Oliver’s past with the Bratva, which would attach pleasantly to the flashback groupings reputed to occur in Russia. In any case it works out, a shake-up for Arrow is certainly probable, and I’m of the supposition that it’s coming without a moment to spare.
Anxious to see how Arrow ends this season? Any ideas on how Season 5 will take shape? Let us know in the comments below!
