One of the more frustrating aspects of ‘Arrow’ has been the narrative structure regarding the flashbacks, which during the first few seasons had been a real asset in building up the character and establishing his heroic credentials, but only served to drag down the narrative in the 3rd and 4th seasons. Fortunately for us all the show seems to have figured out a lot of things in Season 5, including what makes for interesting flashbacks. but the question now is how much longer will there be flashbacks in the show, as they were chronicling the 5 years Oliver spent “in hell” and are now coming to a close since we have seen most of those 5 years. And now, as we approach the back half of season 5 and Oliver is still with the Bratva in Russia, the big question becomes when does he return to the island, grow his beard and hair again, and get to the “shipwrecked” state he was in when he was rescued from Lian Yu in the pilot?
According to star Stephen Amell during a recent chat with SyFy Wire on whether the Season 5 flashbacks will go beyond Russia, and how he will get back to the island:
“Regarding other flashbacks…yeah. On the island…maybe a few other places, but I can’t tell you where or when. They may or may not be four years ago. They might be a bit more recent than that…We’re definitely…We’re having so much fun in Russia. It’s been one of my favorite seasons of flashbacks, being in the Bratva. It’s something we’ve long wanted to tell and I think it’s very compelling and different. We’re not on the island. That said, we know we’re going to sync up with the pilot at some point so I can definitely tell you we’ll be back on the island. Can’t say for how long but we will definitely be back there at some point.”
Personally, I think the show has done plenty of episodes sans a flashback and those episodes have not suffered for it, and while the Season 5 flashbacks have been great, I think going forward they do not need to worry too much about keeping the aging narrative device going. Flashbacks (IMO) should be used to tell essential parts of the story that cannot be featured in the present, but they do not have to be a constant part of every episode, especially when Oliver’s adventures in the past are oftentimes just not as interesting as what is going on the present. But again, that’s my opinion. Feel free to share yours in the comments section below!
Source: Cinema Blend
Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter
