‘Arrow’ Lifespan: Will season 5 close the book, or open up new volume?
The fifth season of “Arrow” is coming, and we’re starting to think that this may be one of the most pivotal years for the show to date.
Let’s just the story out of it for a moment, since we know that for viewers, this could be critical to determining the series’ long-term viability on The CW. While without it the rest of the network’s DC Universe would not exist, seasons 3 and 4 were extremely polarizing with fans, and there is a clear creative challenge for the show at this point. Ultimately, there are three different reasons people watch this show: Heroic action sequences, character drama, and romance. There are times when these interests don’t always align. We feel like seasons 3 and 4 catered a little too much to the romance side of things, while maybe most of season 2 did not play into that enough.
With that, for season 5 to be successful, the show really has to work on a proper mix so that people who aren’t fans of some of the rampant ‘shipping with the show can still be entertaining, while fans of Olicity and any other pairing can still get some of what they want.
The other challenge for season 5 is coming up with flashback sequences that are truly compelling, since ever since Slade Wilson they have felt somewhat flat. Given that this is year five, and as a result of that the last year there could be flashbacks to Oliver’s time on the island and beyond, you could argue that this is a convenient way to even wrap up the series.
Do we think that we’re really entering the last season? Far from it. As we referenced in the title, think of this as the end of a volume to a lengthy book, and with that begins the next volume. Maybe the show will pull a “Lost” and give us flash-forwards, or maybe they’ll drop all narrative devices entirely. We do think they can work, but you need to have a story that merits it. Giving us a proper structure here, and then also delivering a captivating villain and finding the right balance between action, romance, and drama, are keys to “Arrow” staying on-target for many years to come. We don’t think the show can last forever, but we do envision it having several more seasons still in the tank.
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