The Arrow season 5 finale will tie directly into the show’s pilot, bringing the series full circle. The season finale of Arrow is fast approaching, and there’s a lot for the show to wrap up in the remaining five episodes. Team Arrow now knows who Prometheus is, but they are struggling to catch him and bring him to justice. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) is becoming more and more willing to do what her new hacker friends ask in return for their help - no matter what that might be. Oliver (Stephen Amell) is struggling to deal with the idea that he might actually enjoy being a killer, and the team is struggling to cope with everything going on.
At the same time that all of this is going on in the present, the show is wrapping up their regular flashbacks - a staple of the series since season 1. From the beginning, these flashbacks have shown Oliver’s journey from a spoiled, stranded playboy to a brutal, merciless vigilante (and a member of the Bratva). Each season has followed one year of his five years ‘stranded’, which means that this year brings the show full circle to the very first episode, and the moment that Oliver was ‘rescued’.
Now, it looks like the show won’t just wrap up the flashbacks, but will be actively returning to those first moments from the pilot for the season finale. Series EP Wendy Mericle told EW:
The signal fire that she is referring to is from the opening scenes of the pilot, when Oliver is racing through the forest in order to light a signal fire on the beach of Lian Yu. This was to let his ‘rescuers’ know where he was, although we now know that Oliver actually spent some of the five years that he was presumed dead far from Lian Yu.
We’ve managed to hopefully stick the landing on it in a cool way that allows us to see both some of the moments right before we first met Oliver in the pilot, where he launched that flaming arrow and it lit up that signal fire, and also maybe a little bit after as well, some of the more emotional moments that we never got to see in the pilot.
For fans who have becoming increasingly frustrated with the flashbacks, seeing these come full circle is going to be a big relief. While the show is sure to include the occasional flashback going forward, this marks the end of their regular appearances, and the conclusion of the ‘five years’ story that has been told since season 1. This will allow the show to focus on the current situation, and will give each season more time to explore characters and plotlines.
In addition, this will be a wonderful way to wrap up the show’s fifth season, which has been all about coming full circle. Deathstroke, the season 2 ‘big bad’ for Oliver, is returning, and it sounds like the final few episodes of season 5 are going to wrap up this long-planned story arc. Hopefully, it will give Arrow a fresh start in season 6.
Next: Arrow, Riverdale, The Flash Season Finale Dates Revealed
Arrow returns Wednesday, April 26 with “Dangerous Liaisons,” at 8pm on The CW.
Source: EW
