Cast: Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Emily Bett Rickards, Echo Kellum, Josh Segarra, Paul Blackthorne
Writers: Marc Guggenheim, Wendy Mericle, Speed Weed, Beth Schwartz, Ben Sokolowski, Emilio Ortega Aldrich, Brian Ford Sullivan, Oscar Balderrama, Sarah Tarkoff, Barbara Bloom, Jenny Lynn, Rebecca Bellotto, Elizabeth Kim
Directors: James Bamford, Gregory Smith, Dermott Downs, Laura Belsey, John Behring, Gordon Verheul, Antonio Negret, Mark Bunting, Ben Bray, Kristin Windell, Mary Lambert, Michael Schultz, Ken Shane, Kevin Tancharoen, JJ Makaro, Joel Novoa, Wendey Stanzler, Mairzee Almas, Jesse Warn
For the past two seasons, Arrow has pretty much been the definition of “downward trajectory”. After two and a half great seasons, the quality of the show dived off a cliff (subtle reference). Many felt this was due to shifts in the writers room, with preferences to certain elements of the show based on more vocal segments of the fanbase. Regardless, the last season of Arrow was, quite frankly, horrible. The show seemed to entirely forget what it was supposed to be – a gritty, realistic part of the Arrowverse in comparison to spin-offs like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Therefore, the show was in need of some much-needed course correction.
Consider this course corrected. Arrow has not only improved, but may have actually surpassed even its earliest seasons in some respects. It’s incredibly shocking that television of this quality came from the same writers room as the season before. The essential story of the season goes like this: after being sworn in as mayor, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) must balance politics with vigilante life, recruiting a new Team Arrow to help him out as a serial killer stalks the streets with a peculiar interest in Oliver. The twists and turns of this season have been wonderful to watch, especially compared to the terrible plot advances of season 4. The main storyline flows naturally through over 20 episodes of television, and the flashback storyline, that unfortunately became very flimsy in the previous season, is back on form as Oliver finally goes to Russia before the flashbacks end for good.
The cast, of course, has always been Arrow‘s strength, and this season is no different. Stephen Amell brings some of his best work to the role yet, while series stalwarts Willa Holland and Paul Blackthorne continue to impress. However, it’s new addition Josh Segarra as new district attorney Adrian Chase who really impresses. Segarra makes some incredibly powerful acting choices that really makes you believe in his character. Team Arrow also gets many new recruits, but the cream of the crop is Rick Gonzalez as Rene Ramirez, a.k.a. Wild Dog. Gonzalez already does a great job as a jerk with a heart of gold, but is given a lot of meaty emotion material, which he excels at beautifully.
This season of the show takes a lot of thematic risks also. In the first episode, Oliver allows killing to be an option again when absolutely necessary, so once again Arrow analyses whether killing should be an option. What makes this theme worth returning to is the much more personal approach the show takes to it, and the way it’s used to look at Oliver’s character as a whole. It’s to the show’s credit that this expands into exploring the argument of individualism versus teamwork, without coming off as cliched or childish. It helps that for the first time in quite a while, these characters actually feel like real people, who make realistic decisions, instead of keeping secrets for no reasons or punishing people for flimsy reasons. Like they did in, you guessed it, season 4.
Unfortunately, the show couldn’t fully abandon the romantic subplot between Oliver and Felicity, and while there’s far less focus on it, it still irritates when it comes up. This leads to some filler episodes in the back half of the season that slow down the pace of the story arc. It’s also interesting to note that, excluding the annual crossover and a couple of recurring characters, Arrow chooses to mainly ignore developments and elements from its sister shows in the Arrowverse. While this would normally lead to criticism, in this case it works to Arrow‘s benefit, as the more fantastical elements of those shows felt slightly off when they showed up in the previous season. Even when the show does indulge in these elements, it does it only when necessary, and it’s done in a way that fits Arrow‘s aesthetic.
The fight choreography has improved massively this season – Oliver actually feels like someone who’s been doing heroics for ten years, who’s fought off superpowered soldiers and highly trained ninjas and mercenaries and so on… there’s more weight to Oliver’s punches than there’s been in a while, as there should be. The direction has been beautiful as well – Antonio Negret’s escalator scene that takes place over two time periods in “What We Leave Behind” is a particular highlight, as well as Kevin Tancharoen’s work in “Kapiushon”, which captures the feeling of claustrophobia in many different ways.
Season 5 of Arrow brings the whole show full circle, both story-wise and quality-wise. It marks a massive improvement on the previous season, and has been a tantalising watch from start to finish. The show has taken some really interesting risks this season, which have paid off massively, while also drilling down into what made Arrow so good in the first place. The cast and crew are on point throughout, and it’ll be impressive if they can keep this up for the next season.
Rating: 5/5 Bratva captains
Stephen Garvey 