Actor Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen, a.k.a. the Green Arrow in the American superhero drama TV series “Arrow” on The CW recently revealed that the upcoming Season 5 of the show shall have more action as it returns to its roots.
Amell’s statement was a reaction to observations by some critics that while the first two seasons of “Arrow” was right on target, the TV series seems to have slowed down during its last two seasons comparing it to a ship that has run aground, reports Collider.
Executive producer Wendy Mericle said that the theme of “Arrow” Season 5 would be about legacy and it shall also focus on Oliver Queen torn between his responsibility as mayor of Star City and his life as the Green Arrow.
It could be recalled that Team Arrow has been greatly crippled with the death of one and the departure of others during Season 4 after the Green Arrow’s battle with Damien Dahrk.
Some confounding elements
The CW has released a new promo teaser for “Arrow” Season 5 and it featured some confounding elements including the erection of a statue for Laurel Lance, previously played by Katie Cassidy.
However, the actress has just signed a contract with the production company and will be returning to “Arrow” Season 5 as well as make her character’s appearances on “The Flash” Season 3 and “Legends of Tomorrow” Season 2.
Laurel Lance doubled as the Black Canary in “Arrow” and in the trailer, her memory lives on as Star City unveils a statue of the costumed crimefighter while Mayor Oliver Queen contemplatively looks on, reports TV Line.
There will be a lot of new characters in “Arrow” Season 5 including “Rocky IV” big bad Dolph Lundgren, who shall be playing The Russian; “Popular” alum Carly Pope who shall be playing as a Coast City reporter; “Chicago P.D.’s Josh Segarra, who shall be playing the series regular role of District Attorney Adrina Chase, also known as the Vigilante; “Reaper’s” Rick Gonzalez as the DC Comics character Wild Dog; “The McCarthy’s” Tyler Ritter as SCPD Detective Malone; “Blindspot’s” Joe Dinicol, to play the recurring role of Rory Regan, a.k.a. the vigilante Ragman; and former WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes in a guest role.
“Arrow” Season 5 shall premiere on The CW on October 5 and the showrunners have promised that the show will stay grounded this time and leave the magic stuff out of it, the way the TV series did during the first two seasons of the show.
Grappling with the deaths of thousands
The first nine episodes of Season 5 of “Arrow” shall focus on Felicity Smoak, played by Emily Bett Rickards, grappling with the deaths of thousands in the Havenrock blast due to a nuclear missile.
It could be recalled that during the chaotic end of the “Arrow” Season 4 finale, Felicity decided to save Monument Point from a nuclear fallout. However, she redirected the missile to the little town of Havenrock, which also caused the deaths of its citizens numbering to a couple of thousands.
According to showrunner Wendy Mericle, who made the explanation during the San Diego ComicCon, the catastrophe shall be sticking to Felicity for a while.
Mericle said that in the beginning of Season 5, she will deal with the fallout from what happened at Havenrock and it will be the huge focus for her in the first nine episodes.
It will cause Felicity to do some serious soul-searching which shall also come on the heels of her being ousted from her own company.
It is likely that she will draw strength from Oliver Queen, which could be the reason why fans and critics are saying that there could be a rekindling of romance for ‘Olicity’ in Season 5.