Why ‘Arrow’ season 5 is a critical year, per Stephen Amell
So far, we would say that “Arrow” season 5 is the best season of the show in a rather-long time. We’ve got a scary, intimidating Big Bad in Prometheus, just as we also have a focus that is back on some of what this show originally revolved around: Being a Vigilante, what that meant, and also what you had to give up in order to take on that title. It’s been emotional at times, and rather trying for many of the characters.
Yet, everything that they’ve been through has brought them to a place where they now are stronger, smarter, and better prepared for what comes next. This is also true from a writing perspective, since the show’s experimented with what works and what doesn’t. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, start Stephen Amell admits to having some frustrations with the latter part of season 4, and that led to a need to really focus in this time around and deliver on what we felt were all of the right points of what the show was. That’s why, at least in his mind, he felt like this was such an incredibly important year for figuring out more of what the future of the show will be:
“I do really believe that this season is sort of a throw-down-the-gauntlet year for us, where we’re either going to do what we do and do it well or it’s the last year … If we find that magic formula — which is not magic, it’s just hard work and playing to your strengths — then the show could go on for a really long time.”
If nothing else, at the very least Amell is acutely aware of the fact that this season marks an end of an era as the long-polarizing flashback stories are going to come to a close. We’re not sure what will be done to replace them, but something’s going to happen.
We do think that there are still at least a couple of good seasons left to go with the show, especially given that some other chapters of the CW – DC universe are still in their early phases, and also because the ratings are still there. It may not be the #1 show on the schedule, but it performs well and has a very loyal audience.
Now that we’ve said all of this, let’s close by going back to Prometheus. If you head over here, you can check out our latest speculation on who it could be. (We don’t actually think that it is Quentin Lance under that famous hood.) (Photo: The CW.)