As ‘Arrow’ continues it fairly successful Season 5 run, a lot of fans (including yours truly) have been wondering whether this season is meant to be the farewell season of the show. They have brought back a lot of storylines from the first season, brought back the original tone, are harkening back to Oliver’s original sins and how he was when he first returned to Star City, the flashbacks are coming to a close, all the dots are being connected, who wouldn’t think this would be the perfect year to end the show, especially if they finally manage to get back some semblance of the greatness they once had. Why not end on a high note?
Apparently that is the question that was brought before executive producer Mark Guggenheim and Stephen Amell recently, and they both had a lot to say on the topic of whether the show will go on after Season 5, whether Oliver will ever pay for all of the killing he has done and what to expect from the rest of season 5.
First of all, Season 5 has been a chance to really reflect on Oliver’s choices over the entire series so far according to Guggenheim:
“A phrase we use a lot when writing season 5 is ‘We’re looking backwards to move forwards. One of the things we embrace on the show is he’s a hypocrite, he’s kind of a lousy leader, he makes terrible decisions. It gives us fodder for a lot of stories. [But] in season 5, we’re probably telling more stories about the conflicting moralities of what Oliver’s been doing over the life of the series. Everything we’ve been trying to do in season 5 has been building off of our history, our long history, because that’s something that the other shows just can’t do.”
Amell seemed exited by the idea of Season 5 being the season where the sins of past seasons come back to haunt Oliver:
“We brought in a villain this year that we’re going to learn is a villain of Oliver’s making. He’s someone that exists because of the things that Oliver has done. It allows us to go back and revisit some stories that we haven’t seen on Arrow in quite awhile.”
As to whether Oliver will ever truly pay for the deaths he has caused as a vigilante, Guggenheim apparently has some thoughts in mind for the show’s endgame:
“It’s a great question. There’s an element of this show that’s very Sons of Anarchy to me, which had a similar question: Was there any redemption to be had for Jackson?“I will say that I have a very specific notion as to how I would like to see the series end.”
When asked whether the end of the Flashbacks heralds the end of the series, Guggenheim replied with:
“No. I think we tend to look at season 5 as the end of a particular chapter… The show just turned out to be more successful than we anticipated.”
Amell makes it seem like there is definitely hope for the future, as long as they get things right this year:
“I do really believe that this season is sort of a throw-down-the-gauntlet year for us, where we’re either going to do what we do and do it well or it’s the last year. If we find that magic formula — which is not magic, it’s just hard work and playing to your strengths — then the show could go on for a really long time.”
What do you think? Should ‘Arrow’ keep going after season 5? Or should it try to end on that high note? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: EW
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.
