User blog:Eobard95/Arrow Season 5 finale - The Good and the Bad

So the 5th season has reached its conclusion and I just have to say: WOW! This season ended on such a high note compared to last and I rate it a solid 7.5/10. Season 3 I rated a 6.5/10 and Season 4 a 4/10 so this season has really brought the show back. This episode particularly was epic as hell and had several noteworthy moments that have really given the show numerous opportunities for the following seasons. That said there are still a few little things that bugged me but compared to last season it is fairly minimal.

Slade Wilson just stole the show in my opinion and I’m very interested in where his character goes from here assuming he didn’t just die of course. He seems to have genuinely moved on from his Shado vendetta and regained his respect for Oliver. While I would love for him to be an ally of Team Arrow again he is still Deathstroke so I would like it if he remained an antagonist but also played anti-hero too. I think he should be a recurring villain in not just Arrow but the other Arrowverse shows who works for other antagonists for his own pursuits and does sometimes clash with Oliver, but because he’s opposing him not because he’s trying to avenge Shado. So because of his ambiguous loyalties I could see him playing anti-hero occasionally with Team Arrow if their interests align, or another villain he’s working with screws him over and he seeks out Oliver for help as he knows he always wins. I would also love to see him in Legends somehow since he also has history with Sara and is the reason Ray became The Atom. He did also encounter Cisco and Caitlin in their debut episode in Arrow so it’d be funny seeing him fighting against them with superpowers in The Flash. I do hope he does also somehow find a way to regain his Mirakuru strength without the crazy side-effects. Either way it was great to Manu Bennett back after almost 2 years.

Adrian Chase has been an excellent villain and the scenes between him and Oliver this episode alone were great, how far he was trying to push him into killing him was just gold. Somebody give Stephen and Josh an emmys each. However there are still some things about Prometheus that were honestly kind of a letdown for me. For one we never learned just how he knows everything he does. How did he know Earth-2 Laurel even existed? Also how does he know about the Waverider? To his perspective it won’t be created for at least another 140 years! While this does kinda annoy me I did like Adrian and I am going to miss him. He proved to be not only a physical threat but also a psychological one and really forced Oliver to look deep within himself as a person and a hero, and went out with a bang (literally). I also think his character has really shaped Oliver into a better character and has finally built a bridge over one of the biggest issues of his past, and really did prove to himself that he isn’t a monster like Adrian believed or at least proved he isn’t anymore that he has changed and for the better.

I’m actually quite sad to see Malcolm Merlyn go as he’s been one of my favourite characters throughout these shows but I’m glad he at least kinda got a little moment of redemption by taking his daughter’s place and at least got to take Captain Boomerang with him. It’s also kinda poetic as he is the reason Oliver became Green Arrow by marooning him on Lian Yu in the first place, so it’s fitting that Malcolm dies there. While I am like 98% convinced he’s dead because John Barrowman isn’t coming back next year, I do have to note that we didn’t actually see him die we just saw the explosion. Maybe this is a deliberate thing in case Barrowman changes his mind later but if this doesn’t happen it looks as though Malcolm really is dead and I’m gonna miss him. He was a bastard there’s no doubt about it but he had values and I think Thea will be quite affected by the loss of another family member next season. Maybe this will motivate her into becoming Speedy again by honoring her father’s sacrifice for her, the same way Oliver did after Robert sacrificed himself for him.

The flashbacks tied up nicely with the fight between Oliver and Kovar and how it ended with him being rescued by the fishing boat in 1x01. I liked that they tied up the hair problem too because I was wondering “How the hell is he gonna grow past shoulder length hair in one day?”, so glad that didn’t get forgotten about. I also liked the Moira cameo. She was a good character and I do miss her so it was nice that they were able to slip her back into it for tonight’s episode and it just tied things up better. I did like the little Nyssa and Talia showdown but I think Talia was generally underused this season. That said we didn’t see her die either so maybe she could return as a villain next season too. I’m sad that Boomerang died, well it looks like he basically did die, because I was hoping there’d be some Suicide Squad return in the Arrowverse (considering the movie was utter crap) and that he’d be a part of it, but I did like his comic-relief scenes like toying with Nyssa and mocking Oliver for trusting his mother’s killer.

F*** Felicity really? Belittling Oliver for working with Slade when they literally have nobody else to work with? Then talking about the whole “I didn’t’ get consulted about William being moved away even though he isn’t my son” crap to Samantha. Honestly I was about 2 seconds away from fast forwarding through that part of the episode before it ended. Olicity these last few weeks alone has done nothing but piss me off and the season could have been a solid 9/10 without it. Fuck sake I’m really hoping she went in smoke, no pun intended lol, with one of those bombs. I am also praying for the love of God that it wasn’t Samantha that was killed so they can set up some stupid step-mother story between Felicity and William, that would f***ing ruin it for me. Also I guess I was wrong about my earlier post and I am going to have to tune in 6 months from now but I swear if Felicity isn’t dead, that will be it for me.

I’m not that keen on Dinah officially getting the Black Canary name because I don't find her character that ineresting, both because her entire existence is basically damage control from Laurel’s death and she hasn’t really been developed enough for me to invest in. At the same time I still have reserved judgements over the Earth-2 Laurel redemption idea. I still think it’d be the best thing Arrow ever did to be honest but I’ve learned to manage my expectations with this show. Then again this show has surprised me numerous times this season so I guess we’ll see. I mean Deathstroke seems to be on the right track. Not meaning any disrespect to the girl who plays Dinah because I do think she is a very likable character, I’ve said this since day one, but I think she’d be better suited in Legends of Tomorrow so she can grow as a character outside of the “You’re can’t replace Laurel” issues. I’m not the only one who thinks this as I’ve read numerous posts between various websites and I rarely ever find any pro-Dinah comments. I am however pleased we got a decent fight between her and Laurel-2 and it also shows that Black Siren does know how to fight beyond just using her cry.

Also finally I f***ing called it! I knew the season would end on a Walking Dead 6x16 styled cliff-hanger and that at least one person died in the blast and yes I mean a main character and we won’t know who until the premiere. People keep telling me that everybody has been confirmed for next season but that could be to cover for who is dying and I’m hoping its Felicity. The way I see it 6x01 will open with a Flash 2x01 styled opening where Oliver is fighting criminals as Green Arrow and it gradually shows who survived until a few minutes into it when Oliver has a flashback, and it shows who got killed (let’s hope it’s Felicity) and that person will still be credited as a main character for that episode but their name will simply be removed in the following episodes.

Anybody remember Hawkman? He was credited as main cast for Legends but died in 1x02 for surprise factor so who says they can’t do the same thing twice? As for who well let’s review. Dinah and Rene aren’t main characters yet and despite my reservations about Dinah I’m level headed enough to know that killing her off now would be a waste, Rene too. Thea never should die because then Oliver really will just die inside. Quentin shouldn’t die because Earth-2 Laurel is sticking around next season and that is just too good to pass up on. Curtis, as annoying as he’s gotten, still has potential and I’m hoping this explosive ending shifts his character development into a darker area. I don’t think it should be Diggle because he is a good confidant for Oliver and was the first person Oliver reached out to, so he should be the one OTA member that doesn’t get killed at least until the final season of the show itself. Basically that leaves Felicity by default as her character really doesn't serve any porpuse anymore and the times they try to make her useful just comes across annoying so I think the producers just need to know when to let go. That said her computer skills have always been a high value to the team so I say kill her off then bring in some other tech woman. For those who read comics I say bring in Naomi Singh from the New 52 series of Green Arrow comcis who could easily be written in to be Captain Singh's niece or something, potentially giving us a mini-Arrow/Flash crossover like 5x11.

So yea overall great finale and much better than the previous two finales and the season as a whole has been much better so I hope it stays on this path.