While we’re just over a week removed from Arrow’s fourth season finale, the teases have already begun to trickle out as Arrow’s writers get to work on season five.
When we last left Arrow, Oliver and Felicity were the only members of Team Arrow to remain behind in Star City as Diggle, Thea, and Quentin each decided to take some time off following the events of this past season. There wasn’t really a clear hint as to where season five is headed other than the flashbacks, which will find Oliver in Russia.
But here we are just over a week after the conclusion of season four and we’ve already got some teases to speculate about. TVLine learned some new teases about the upcoming season, including another new and recurring face who happens to be a vigilante, as well as a tease about Oliver’s mayoral stint, and delving into Oliver’s Bratva past.
Let’s take a look at these new spoilers:
A New Vigilante
While Arrow is already casting for a new unpredictable and charming adversary for Oliver, it appears as if season five will also introduce the recurring role of “a cocksure/reckless ex-Marine turned vigilante.” It’s not sure whether or not he’ll be friend or foe to Team Arrow. If anything this new vigilante hints that not only might Oliver find himself quite busy with being mayor but perhaps Arrow is headed back to the grounded nature it established itself as before being forced to usher in new superheroes and shows and losing a piece of itself along the way.
Now of course there’s plenty to speculate about who these two new faces are, including whether they’re present in the flashbacks or present timeline. This new vigilante sounds as if he/she will be present in the current storyline, but once again we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
Oliver’s Mayoral Stint
Season four found Oliver striving to be a hero in the light of day, as well as the masked hero he was at night, which led to Oliver’s desire to become mayor of Star City. While the position is rightfully not sought after – the tally is now four deaths in a row – Damien Darhk deposited his wife into the role as a means to gain access to a secret chamber underneath City Hall.
Arrow executive producer Wendy Mericle told TVLine that just as with DC Comics’ Batman “City Hall, that institution, is crucial to our series.” Now, that doesn’t really give away too much in the grand scheme of things, other than the fact that it could hint at a long term mayoral position for Oliver next season. But it’s also encouraging that the importance of City Hall could indicate a return to the grounded reality of the criminal justice system that Arrow initially established itself as.
Oliver’s Bratva Past
As Arrow heads into its final season of Oliver’s “island” flashbacks, we know that Oliver is headed to Russia as a way to keep his promise to Flashback Girl (for whatever reason). Of course for those of us that pay incredible close attention to the details in this series, we’ve still yet to learn about how Oliver got that Bratva tattoo and learned to speak Russian.
“It’s a very good possibility that we’ll finally find out how he got that Bratva tattoo and how he learned to speak Russian,” Mericle said. “When Oliver says, ‘No one can know my secret’ and he kills that guy in the pilot, we’re going to get some insight into that.”
Seeing as these flashbacks are supposed to show us how Oliver became that man we met in the pilot — a dark killer haunted by darkness — this season’s flashbacks should show us Oliver’s descent into darkness, which could potentially make these flashbacks the best yet.
How are you feeling about these new teases for Arrow’s fifth season?
Arrow season five returns Wednesdays this fall on The CW.
