Review 661: Arrow (Season 5)

  

This season, we see Oliver fighting a war on two fronts, as the Mayor of Star City and as a vigilante. 

 

Oliver is heartbroken by the death of Laurel, litterally he's devestated and gutted and very very damaged because this then pushes him into his season long arc where he decides to abandon his "no kill" rule and go back to killing a la his Season 1 days as The Hood which is a massive shift in character. I don't know if he could've gone through what he does throughout this season had Laurel not been killed by Damien Darhk; At this point, it's clear that there's something dead, something damaged, something ruthless inside of him that's pushed him into these actions. In real life, people do have relapses

He's fed up, he's fed up of watching those he loves pay the price for his choices as the Green Arrow and why should he, flaws and all, these are all good, decent people why should they die?

A major subplot this Season is Oliver putting together a new team consisting of   These recruits are Curtis Holt/Mister Terrific whom we met last season (Echo Kellum), Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez), Rory Regan/Ragman (Joe Dinicol) and eventually Dinah Drake, a new Black Canary (Juliana Harkavy). None of these proved to be particularly strong or stand out additions to the team dynamic 

In a way, Anatoli serves as Oliver's consience throughout the Russia flashbacks. 

Ep. 17: Kapiushon was either the best episode of the season or the worst episode depending on how you look at it. A harrowing