Arrow: Season Five - TV review

Arrow: Season Five

Plot: After Laurel’s death and the departures of both Diggle and Thea from Team Arrow, Oliver takes to the streets solo to protect Star City’s citizens as the Green Arrow. With Felicity 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, enters the picture, Oliver realises 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.
Cast: Stephen Amell, David Ramsey, Willa Holland
Number Of Episodes: 23
Channel: Sky 1 (UK)/The CW (US)
Certificate: 15 (strong violence)
Air Date: Wednesday 8th October 2016 - Wednesday 24th May 2017

My name is Luke Stapley. After nineteen year in hell (otherwise known as Dartford), I'm still there with only one goal: not to save my city, but to just watch some films and talk about them now and again. But my old approach wasn't enough. I had to become someone else. I had to become something else. I had to become The Critic. I'm kidding. No one calls me that. I don't want them to call me that. I'll just stick with Luke. Arrow has reached that stage in its now five year saga where the term 'classic' could be thrown about. Whenever most people think of classic superhero TV shows, we think of Smallville, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman and who could forget the 1992 X-Men cartoon with that theme tune you can never get out of your head, however, Arrow deserves to be mentioned in that occasion too.

There's no denying that those arrows are insanely overpowered.

The word 'classic' is defined to be a thing judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind. Nowhere in that definition does it state that the quality needs to be consistent but just to have a quality of the highest calibre over a determined period of time. This, personally, does apply to Arrow. It's no word of a lie that seasons three and four were a major misstep by those behind Arrow. What made the opening two seasons of Arrow as stellar as they were, was the overall tone and the gritty and realistic stakes. The first season focused on an evil counterpart to Oliver's Arrow and the second revolved around Deathstroke turning on Oliver. As we drifted into the third and fourth seasons, the stakes went from grounded to mystical and magical elements, a theme that did not work well in this Arrowverse. Villains like Ra's al Ghul and Damien Darhk belong with characters like Batman and other DC characters, so long as it isn't Arrow. I won't lie here, Season Four of Arrow had its fair share of rough patches especially when the Olicity drama was becoming like a fungus and then there was this whole arc about Felicity diverting a nuclear bomb to a small faraway town. It all just became too much. So it is with a thankful and overjoyed heart that I can reveal that Arrow has gone back to basics delivering its best season since Season Two.

Oliver was never much of a hugger.

By taking the action back to street level and not dealing with end of the world circumstances, this fifth season of Arrow felt much more personal and, here I go using that word again, gritty. When we meet Oliver Queen at the start of Season Five, he's only working with Felicity and he's back to killing or seriously injuring those that get in his way. That's when I began to realise that this season may be going back to its roots. After constant nagging from Felicity, Oliver decides to recruit a new selection of vigilantes to join him on his crusade. The new additions are welcome and fit in almost seamlessly into this fairly convoluted universe. Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog is probably my favourite of the new bunch simply because how much I thought I would hate him as the season began but then, as time progressed, I became extremely more invested in the character of Rene. We also find a successor for the mantle of Black Canary after the loss of Laurel in the previous season. I found the team's replacement to be more than suitable and actually enjoyed the fact that she was a metahuman, explaining why she has the sonic scream powers. As for the other newer members of Team Arrow, we have Ragman (briefly) whose powers consist of an enchanted rag/cloak... I never said this season was perfect, Artemis who is given a lot more to do than initially meets the eye and Curtis gets a promotion too. Personally, whilst I am a fan of Curtis and his character, he really doesn't suit field action, even with his T-spheres. He's much more effective when working behind the scenes alongside Felicity. And for anyone panicking thinking that fan favourite characters like Diggle, Thea and Quentin Lance are nowhere to be found, fear not, they do feature as their regular characters as usual (Thea less so) and their performances by David Ramsey, Willa Holland and Paul Blackthorne are always as strong as ever.

FACT: It was revealed in The Flash 2016 Comic Con panel, that due to the Flash changing the timeline, Diggle will be affected in some way.

He always had to be the tallest in the room.

Taking all of that into account, one rule that I live by when it comes to a season of Arrow is that a season is only as good as its villain. Malcolm Merlyn was a terrific introductory villain at the show's start and Deathstroke was undeniably perfect. As I've already covered, Ra's al Ghul and Damien Darhk weren't great villains but fortunately, Season Five gave us Prometheus. Tying significantly back into Arrow's very first season, Prometheus was cunning, formidable, and a physical match for Oliver. The season begins making you think that Tobias Church was the main antagonist of the season but Church never posed the same sort of threat that Prometheus could. He was vindictive, personal and had no fear or shame in anything he did so long as it would make Oliver Queen suffer. There comes a large midway point within the season where the mystery towards who Prometheus truly is became paramount and it had myself drawing up my own conspiracy maps too. Arrow did what Flash tried and failed to do when it came to their big bad of the season this year. I was unabashedly addicted to try and found out the identity of Prometheus yet with Savitar, I had it figured out from early on and couldn't care less about if I was right or wrong. Eventually, when his identity was revealed, that's when this season jumped from being a strong redemption from its previous two years, to one of Arrow's best. To avoid annoying those that may be behind or have yet to see this season of Arrow, I won't reveal who the exact character is but I will for the actor. Therefore, it's up to you to find out who he plays and then it's your own fault instead of mine if you want to complain about spoilers. Josh Segarra plays Prometheus and this dude is intense. From his wildly aggressive facial expressions to his incredibly sinister whispered tone throughout, Prometheus was a villain that was elevated to excellence by Segarra. Needless to say, whenever he shares the screen with Stephen Amell, fireworks are bursting in the sky. Also, it should come as no surprise that Stephen Amell owns this role now. He has become one of my favourite television actors working today and this was by far his best season yet. In some episodes, he reaches levels and heights that we had never seen before. In fact, he is given almost an entire episode dedicated to him repenting for his sins from the past and it is, dare I say, a masterclass by Amell and Segarra as well.

Prometheus has a much more violent version of a stamp collection.

On the topic of the past, the flashbacks in Arrow have always been a mixed bag for me. I understand why they're there and I enjoy them so long as they are tying back into the action happening in present day but, at times, they feel extremely pointless and unnecessary. Truth be told, I would have rather just left it as Oliver surviving on the island and no flashbacks entirely. Funnily enough, it turns out that my least favourite seasons of three and four were the seasons in which the flashbacks tied in most. With Season Five, we finally see Oliver interact with the Bratva, something that I and other fans have been deliciously waiting for. And they're good. It is entertaining to see Oliver be inducted into this underground crime ring and go toe to toe with Dolph Lundgren himself but there did come a point where I sat back thinking "These flashbacks are a considerable improvement than the seasons before but I'm still lacking a point for them to even exist". Another problem Arrow ran into, and this just fuels my argument to abolish twenty three episode seasons, filler episodes do pop up more than I would have liked. Some are not too bad and can easily fly by even though you'll forget it happened at all and some are not good at all. One episode in which a lone gunman attacks the mayor's office is an example of such. Was it nice seeing a show of Arrow's stature bring up a difficult subject matter? Yes, although I do always feel awkward when shows that feature powered beings and a character that possesses an enchanted blanket try and go for a big political message. Maybe it's just me. However, was it a good episode? No. It was put slap bang in the middle of a major episode arc where tensions were starting to heat up about Prometheus and then an episode about gun crime comes in out of nowhere. Thankfully, these fillers were soon forgotten about when we arrive at, what is sure to be known as, Arrow's greatest episode in its history; the Season Five finale. Holy Mother of God was this episode fantastic. From the inclusion of a character I never thought I'd see again, to the almighty cliffhanger than has now sent fans into a frenzy of crazed speculation, this is easily the most action packed season finale The CW shows have ever seen. Whilst the season had its flaws from time to time, every note of this season finale was pitch perfect. In all honesty, watching that finale was like watching a blockbuster movie. I would fight tooth and nail to re-watch that episode on the big screen.

Even Prometheus is frozen in surprise that he managed to do that. 

It is so good to say this; Arrow is back ladies and gentlemen. After two years of mediocre seasons, Greg Berlanti and his multitude of geniuses (seriously, they have four superhero shows on the go right now and will increase to five next year) have taken Arrow back to its very roots that made the show successful in the first place. With a phenomenal villain, brilliant action sequences and a finale that is unlike anything Arrow has produced, this season ranks second in the hierarchy of Arrow seasons so far. As for The CW superhero shows themselves, this would be my official ranking for their respective seasons this year (2016-2017). Note; whilst I have not reviewed Legends Of Tomorrow: Season Two or Supergirl: Season Two, I have watched the entirety of their seasons. Unfortunately, I just haven't had the time to review them. Anyway, ON WITH THE RANKING.

4. Supergirl: Season Two - A solid and fun season that has just a tad too much cheese for my liking.

3. The Flash: Season Three - Compared to its other seasons, it's the weakest but it still has a lot to be praised.

2. Legends Of Tomorrow: Season Two - The Avengers of the small screen. I love the team dynamic and the fun take on time travel.

1. Arrow: Season Five - A total, unequivocal and magnificent blast. Action, drama and maximum intensity make this the new King of The CW superhero shows.

My Verdict: 9/10

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