What do you want to see in season 5?
Luciana: I have been hearing so much about how ARROW will get back to its roots in season 5, and honestly, that is all I want. Let’s please end the never ending platform for new DC shows and focus on the original characters. Give us Oliver, Felicity and Diggle back as a team and as friends and partners. Give us back those gritty storylines we loved so much in the earlier seasons.
That said, I would love to see more Lyla. She has been such a great addition to the show and she is Dig’s rock. After everything that happened with Laurel, and with John drowning in guilt, she is going to be of utmost importance in his life. So bring her back and let her stay. We love us some Lyla and Sarah.
And last, but most definitely not least, just please let Oliver and Felicity be happy. They are clearly perfect for each other and love each other fiercely. While I agree that they need to work out some of their issues, please don’t drag this out for too long. After everything that went down this season, these two deserve some happiness.
Lizzie: I want to see the ARROW that I fell in love with, with less magic, less supernatural abilities and just more street-fighting. I also want OTA to be the core of Team Arrow once again. Sure, Curtis can sometimes help, and some other team members can come and go, but Oliver, Diggle and Felicity can and have done this alone before, and the show should get back to that dynamic, even when there’s other people around.
Regarding Oliver and Felicity, I want them back together, but I don’t want it to be rushed. I don’t want the mess that was the Season 4 breakup to just be swept under the rug. I want them both to talk about their issues, to pinpoint the reasons why things didn’t work out before and to work together to make sure they avoid the same issues. I think, after the stupid drama they fed us, that’s the least the writers can do.
Finally, I want ARROW to utilize Lyla Michaels more. There’s so much they could do with Argus, and also so much they could do in the domestic, little moments, if they had her around for more than four or five episodes a season.
Shana: I’m going to be really shallow here and say that my greatest wish for ARROW season 5 is a return to Oliver Queen’s shirtless training. I miss it, ok?
In all honesty, though, the days of shirtless training were also the days when ARROW didn’t take itself too seriously. Those were the good ol’ days. When the series started trying to be something else, it fell into the trap of trying too hard and just failed spectacularly at maintaining the sort of fun, campy feeling that made me enjoy watching it in the first place.
With that being said, I don’t want ARROW to get too out there or ridiculous in the future, and I’d like for it to fix some of this past season’s cheese once and for all. Provide some real development for Oliver — the main character and hero — and don’t backtrack on it. Let him learn from his mistakes for once, for the love of God.
Also, Olicity should make up and live happily ever after…but even this must be earned. I may love my ‘ships, but that doesn’t mean that I want them to come virtually out of nowhere (weird Laurel/Oliver shippy stuff surrounding Laurel’s death, I’m looking at you).
Meredith: I really don’t like to say that I was disappointed with a show I love so much, but the truth is I was. While there were some awesome episodes in the latter half of season 4, by and large I felt that 4b was scattered and meandering, and things were dropped or dragged out that didn’t need to be.
So in season 5 I’d like some story resolution. I’d like some more insight into Felicity’s psyche, regarding everything. The breakup, her father, how the deaths at the end of season 4 are weighing on her, losing her job. So much happened and we saw none of her reaction to it. I need that.
Olicity needs to make their way back together. It can be subtle, and in the background, but it needs to happen and it needs to make sense. As much as anyone, I want the back and forth and will they/won’t they drama for the sake of drama to end. They are stronger and better together, and I think the show overall is better when they are together, too.
Less magic and fewer metahumans. Oliver is a human being with exceptional skills as a fighter and as an archer. Let’s get back to that, please.
Keep Team Arrow small. Visiting helpers every so often are fine, but TA works best as a small, well-oiled machine. It makes fight scenes and stunts better and stronger and more powerful, too.
Finally, please stop recycling storylines. How many boyfriends is Thea going to have that turn out to be working for the bad guy? How many times are the police going to turn against Green Arrow and his team? Fresh, new ideas and stories rather than retreading things that have been done, combined with the gritty realism and badass fights and stunts of the early seasons would be great. Add in a little pinch of strong relationships and character dynamics, and a lean Team Arrow, and we’ve got a winning recipe.
Melissa: For me, the strength of this show is the techs. Best sound on television. Best choreography on television. Direction that is a mini-feature every week. So subtle and so perfect that the audience lets a few storyline lapses go by, just for the pure entertainment of what it is watching and seeing.
Curtis must get used to the new role of “helming” and quickly. A little slapstick goes a long way on an action show. His character is supposed to be brilliant. He has had enough time to be a nervous Nelly. It is time for him to reveal his tougher edge.
Do not let the romance get soapy. Romance on an action show should be the cherry on the sundae, not the ice cream. THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS does not have fabulous stunts or incredible sound. I do not watch Y&R for the tech. I watch ARROW.
I agree with Lizzie. Lyla balances John and has no “shy flower” airs about her. Expand her role and throw some more independent womanism into the show.
Should I mention “bring back Black Canary”…again? Yes, I should.
ARROW will return for an all new season on Wednesday, October 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW (U.S.) and CTV (Canada).