Arrow (Season 5) (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

The fifth season of the emerald archer's saga will premiere Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 8/7c on the CW.

Season 1 thread
Season 2 thread
Season 3 thread
Season 4 thread

The final arc of the fourth season saw the brutal death of Dinah Laurel Lance at the hands of Damian Darhk as the result of a devastating betrayal by Diggle's younger brother. This in turn led to Diggle murdering said brother. The team put their grief and their guilt on hold to prevent Damian Darhk from unleashing nuclear armageddon upon the world. In the aftermath, Oliver Queen is appointed interim mayor.

But the accomplishment is bittersweet, because most of his team is gone: Disturbed by own ruthlessness at threatening the life of an innocent child, Thea Queen has decided to hang up her Speedy tights and do some soul searching lest she become too much like her father. Diggle, seeking clarity and atonement, has reenlisted in the military. By the end of the finale, Oliver and Felicity are the only ones left.

The masked hero void will be filled by three new characters:
Josh Segarra ("Chicago P.D.") has joined the cast as a new series regular. Filling the Black Canary's slot, he will play Adrian Chase, Star City’s new district attorney and an ally of Mayor Oliver Queen. During the day, he aims to clean up the streets through the legal system. At night, he takes more direction action on the streets as Vigilante.

Rick Gonzalez ("Reaper", "Mr. Robot") will appear in multiple episodes starting with the season premiere. Filling Spartan's slot, he will play ex-Marine Jack Wheeler, whose reckless antics as the cocksure new hero Wild Dog prompt Green Arrow to take him under his wing.

Madison McLaughlin, reprising her season four character, will recur over multiple episodes. Filling Speedy's slot, Evelyn -- last seen borrowing the Black Canary persona to mete out some counterproductive punishment on those who wronged her -- will forge her own identity as the masked archer known as Artemis.

After three seasons with increasingly fanciful Big Bads -- Deathstroke (a chemically-enhanced supersoldier), Ra's al Ghul (the fearsome immortal leader of a vast, ancient and shadowy league of assassins) and Damian Darhk (a powerful sorcerer who can bend the laws of physics to his will) -- the show is returning to the more grounded elements of its earlier days with the fifth season Big Bad.

Chad L. Coleman ("The Wire", "The Walking Dead") will recur as Tobias Church, "an imposing gangster looking to unite the various criminal enterprises in Star City under his own singular command." His goal is to fill the void left by H.I.V.E. following the death of Damian Darhk at the hands of the Green Arrow. The original casting notice described the character as an “apex predator” who “cuts his way through the shadows” by taking down “the biggest threat first.” Per Stephen Amell he does not have superpowers.

The flashbacks this season, potentially covering the final year of his exile and leading up to the first scene from the pilot, will tell the story of his entanglements with the Russian mafia and how he got the Bratva tattoo.

 

[NeilO]

What I am really tired of is the full season Big Bad arcs. The show really has been unable to sustain them. It would do much better with shorter arcs.

 

[Sam Favate]

The show would do well to retain the lighter tone they started season 4 with, and which they inexplicably abandoned. They'd also be better with shows grounded in reality, but without the heavy doses of sadism and violence.

None of the choices in the above poll fit for me, so I didn't vote.

 

[ponset]

Carly Pope is cast as "Susan WIlliams".
In the comics Susan is a reporter and the Sister-in-law of Hal Jordan

http://screenrant.com/arrow-season-5-cast-carly-pope/

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

John Barrowman has signed a new deal that transitions him from being an "Arrow" series regular to the special status Wentworth Miller negotiated after departing "Legends of Tomorrow". Essentially, he'll no longer by credited on every episode of "Arrow", but will instead be credited as a series regular for the episodes of any of the CW DC superheroes shows in which he appears. This frees him up to appear on "The Flash", "Legends of Tomorrow" and "Supergirl" without running up a tab while Malcolm Merlyn is offscreen on "Arrow".

Also, the CW has picked up the rights to all of the episodes of NBC's "Constantine" for its CW Seed streaming service, reviving speculation that the CW will bring back Matt Ryan as John Constantine in some form.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

They need to somehow get Sarah back as a regular. (I know she's currently on "Legends of Tomorrow", but that series has a rotating cast .) The show has not been great since she left. And with Laurel gone it makes sense for her to be home with her father.

 

[Bob_S.]

Haven't seen the 4th season yet but will binge it as soon as Netflix gets it. I just finished season 3 and must say I've enjoyed all 3 seasons immensely. Would love to see Sarah come back and it really sucks to see Laurel killed off because I really liked the development of her character. I just hope I like the new characters as much as I liked the old. Will we ever see Huntress again? I liked her too. My comic book geek fantasy would like to see Cassandra Cain as Black Bat. I know she was part of the Bat Family (pre new 52) but I love that character so much (she got me back into reading comics when she was Batgirl) I wish she would show up in something. DC has totally dissed her.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Comic-Con First Look at Season 5:

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Oliver was missing and believed dead for five years, which means that Season 5 is the last year of flashbacks for "Arrow. The final flashback arc will focus on Oliver's induction into the Bratva.

Dolph Lundgren will play the "Russian Big Bad" in this flashback arc.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

"Arrow" Takes Aim at Wil Traval for Human Target

Traval, who played a version of Marvel supervillain Nuke on the first season of "Jessica Jones", will play Christopher Chance aka Human Target on the fifth season of "Arrow", when Chance takes Mayor Oliver Queen on as a client. Mark Valley previously starred in the role for two seasons on Fox's standalone "Human Target" series.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

New promo "Legacy":

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

"Justified" alum David Meunier cast as Ishmael Gregor, "the slick and intimidating Pakhan ('Godfather') of the Bratva, [who] takes a special interest in Oliver Queen.

A few photos from the new season:

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

New Extended Trailer ("Can't Be Stopped"):


So far this season looks a whole lot more focused than the last couple. I guess we'll find out two weeks from Wednesday.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Judging by this new poster, Oliver Queen's package is going to have a starring role in the upcoming season:

 

[Jason_V]

Just like when he was shirtless in every episode. It became a joke for me.

Again, not complaining...but, ya know...

 

[NeilO]

Definitely grittier in the first episode. Not sure I like it.

Also, who is that person with Felicity? And does he know where she goes?

 

[Sam Favate]

The season premiere wasn't bad, but it hardly seemed to come roaring back, as many season premieres often do. I didn't like the focusing on Laurel, because it's a reminder of the show's biggest mistake -- killing off its leading lady. Who is this Church? Just a bad guy who wandered into town, figuring he could take over? Is it a prerequisite of all Star City mayors that they be abducted at some point?

I liked the reveal of the other archer at the end.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I liked that Oliver felt like Oliver again. I also like that it appears that we have a human, non-enhanced villain again. The flashbacks were more engaging than they've been in a long time, because they're focused again on how Oliver became the Oliver of the pilot.

Making Thea Oliver's chief of staff, while preposterous in real world terms, is a good use of her character. I like that they conflict is about a core value, even as they continue to function well together in the other more public aspect of their lives.

The true test is when he starts putting his new team together. If that storyline works, the show will work. If it doesn't, the show won't.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets when the Green Arrow's new recruits bailed because literally the first challenge he placed in front of them was too tough, and his drill sergeant routine wasn't soft and cuddly enough. You want to go onto the meanest streets on the planet, fight hardened killers and the worst of the worst, and you drop out of training with the most accomplished combatant on the planet because he doesn't care enough about your feelings? Give me a break. Learning Oliver's true identity should have been something that was earned, not something that was handed to them because they threw a temper tantrum.

On the other hand, Ragman was awesome. They did a great job executing the cloak in live-action. Given that John Constantine exists in the Arrowverse, heaven and hell must also exist in the Arrowverse. So a Judeo-Christian religious artifact as a super suit is something I'm on board with.

It's interesting to see Felicity do the same things to her new boyfriend that she held against Oliver when he did them to her. Also, the scene where she got him to test the rag sample had to be one of the most awkwardly written plot-for-plot's-sake scenes in at least a few seasons.

It's also interesting that Felicity, who's always been removed from the action and free to judge those who actually get their hands dirty, dealing with the fallout (no pun intended) of the one wayward nuke taking out Havenrock. Now she's got terrible baggage that she has to carry around too.

Thea's role as chief of staff to the mayor is probably the best use of the character yet. She's actually good at it, handling all of the real work while Oliver serves as a figurehead and focuses his attention on his night job. I like the little moments when her past seeps through, like she darted across rooftops to get a better vantage point for the pow wow between the AmeriTech CEO and Tobias Church.

 

[NeilO]

On the other hand, Ragman was awesome. They did a great job executing the cloak in live-action. Given that John Constantine exists in the Arrowverse, heaven and hell must also exist in the Arrowverse. So a Judeo-Christian religious artifact as a super suit is something I'm on board with.

It's interesting to see Felicity do the same things to her new boyfriend that she held against Oliver when he did them to her. Also, the scene where she got him to test the rag sample had to be one of the most awkwardly written plot-for-plot's-sake scenes in at least a few seasons.

I had completely forgotten about Ragman for a while until they gave him that name. Then I remembered that he was supposed to be one of the good guys. It was interesting that he started off doing a "you failed this city" time of routine.

The scene with Felicity and her detective was really painful.

Diggle's scenes had me confused. The way they were lit I thought for a while that they might have been a flashback, but then they were talking about present day things. It looks like he is on his way back to rejoining the Arrow team as I don't think he is not going to be in the military much longer.