3) Arrow doesn’t need a new arsenal – he needs the Arsenal we know and love.
It’s hard to deny that when Colton Haynes left the show at the end of season 3, taking his character of Roy “Arsenal” Harper with him, that it was when things really started to lag. Harper’s evolution from untrustworthy street hood, to drug-fueled super soldier, to self-sacrificing hero meant that he truly earned his retirement. But Team Arrow is undoubtedly stronger with him and it’s hard to believe that someone as untamed as Roy could stay out of action forever. With a massive crossover episode planned this year between all the Arrow-verse shows, it’s hard to imagine that Arsenal won’t get part of the action. If he does, hopefully he will stick around.
4) The flashbacks may need to put the past to rest.
As Arrow has ground on, the flashbacks to the mysterious island of Lian Yu have become less relevant. Once vital for establishing Oliver’s transition from weakling party boy to noble warrior, they began to feel like a chore. By season 4 it was painfully obvious that everyone was just going through the motions when it came time to revisit the island. Without Shadow, Slade Wilson, Sarah Lance, and mastermind Amanda Waller to hold the island stories together, it became more like looking at someone’s boring vacation photos than a private look into the birth of a hero. This season should show us the fifth and final year of Oliver’s life in exile on the island. If something serious doesn’t change in the wake of season 4’s ho-hum plot then at least it won’t be hard to see why he was so eager to hop the first boat out of there. Not even Lian Yu suddenly being some kind of magical nexus can redeem it. Speaking of…
