Well, for anyone hoping for a quick resolution to the ‘Arrow’ Season 5 cliffhanger… you clearly have not been paying attention over the years. If ever there was a show that liked to milk their mysteries, it is ‘Arrow.’ From “who killed Sarah Lance?”, to “Who’s in the grave?” the show has long had a tradition of keeping audiences in the dark for most of a season as a way to keep up drama and suspense. Little do they realize how much it pisses off and alienates their fans – especially when most of the main characters were involved in a major explosion at the end of the season. Now we apparently will not find out who died for some time.
According to Marc Guggenheim on how we will learn who survived:
“It’s a slow reveal. We’re going to intercut between the present, which is five months after the finale, and flashbacks that take us to the minutes right before and right after the finale.”
Which oddly is a very different story from what Wendy Mericle told Comicbook.com at SDCC a few months ago:
“We will get answers. You’ll know by the end of the premiere who made it and who didn’t, and you’ll see Oliver mourning. You’ll definitely see him going through a grieving process.”
So maybe even the producers aren’t on the same page? I don’t know. With the show dropping the ‘Oliver on the island’ flashbacks, I had hoped for some fresher storytelling techniques from ‘Arrow,’ but them falling back into this kind of trope does not bode well for Season 6, especially when there are more exciting and interesting stories going on like the return of Manu Bennett as Deathstroke and Oliver having to step up as a father which they should be focusing on, instead of playing “who’s dead?” again.
What are your thoughts on having to sit through a number of episodes waiting to hear about the fate of the characters of the show (especially when some of them are, arguably, the better characters on the show, even ahead of Oliver himself)? Share your opinions in the comments below!
