10 Things We Really Want from Arrow Season 5

Arrow comes back on October 5th, and wow, that’s only a little over a month away. Where did summer go?

But that’s fine – we like summer, but we quite enjoy Fall TV as well.

And, with our favorite shows poised to return, it’s time to talk about our wishes, desires, and expectations for the new season. Time to cross our fingers, light a candle, and pray they come true. Or something like that.

So, here are ten things we want from Arrow Season 5:

1. A show more grounded in reality

Magic is all fine and well …for The Flash. Time-travel is Legends of Tomorrow’s thing. Arrow was always meant to be a show grounded in reality. That’s why I tuned in.

That’s why it worked.

By necessity, the show has evolved. Bringing in new characters and anchoring other shows has made the introduction of some of these elements necessary. However, this year, Arrow has no such responsibilities.

It’s free to go back to being Arrow – the gritty, action-oriented, and funny show it used to be. And we’re looking forward to that.

2. For Katie Cassidy’s scenes to not contradict who her character was

Let’s not reinvent Laurel Lance. If she’s going to stay dead, and it seems like she is, then let’s not use the fact that Katie Cassidy is still going to be around to suddenly make her into something she never was. That’s no way to honor Laurel.

The Black Canary is gone. Team Arrow will move on, but how effectively it moves on will depend on their handling of the Laurel Lance flashbacks.

Use her presence for good, Arrow. Don’t distort the whole message you spent a season trying to send. Otherwise, what was even the point?

3. An epic 100th episode that focuses on Arrow

Yes, the 100th episode is supposed to be the crossover, and yes, that necessarily means we’ll get other characters, but the core of Arrow’s 100th episode should still be Team Arrow. It should still be about Oliver Queen’s journey, and about his family, and the people who have become family along the way.

Most fans who watch Arrow are …well, fans of Arrow. Let’s not lose sight of that.

4. Fun Supergirl/The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow interactions and/cameos that don’t interrupt the flow of the storyline

Sara can pop up from time to time. Winn and Felicity can compare hacking notes. Barry and Oliver can ask each other for advice. There can be a thousand fun little interactions between these shows without the need to make everything about one show.

Let Arrow be Arrow. Let The Flash be The Flash. And so on.

Use the shared universe to complement, not to dictate.

5. A happy Thea

She’s lived the “tortured” life; she’s had to deal with secrets, with Malcolm Merlyn, with almost dying, with the bloodlust, with her love life imploding. Hasn’t Thea dealt with enough?

This is a TV show, you’ll say. Happy doesn’t sell! And you’d be right.

But, can she get like, a small respite? Just a tiny one?

6. More Lyla

Lyla’s awesome and bad-ass and essentially what we all want to be when we grow up. So why is she only around like three or four episodes a season? There’s so much potential there!

Let her “join” team Arrow while Digg is gone. Let her bond with Felicity bond. Let Lyla, Felicity, and Thea go out clubbing together.

Show us female friendships, Arrow. We really need that.

7. More OTA scenes

This started with the three of them – and though the team has grown and things have changed, fans always appreciate the tiny nods to the bond that exists between Diggle, Felicity, and Oliver.

They were there first, after all. They get each other. They’re family.

And though the rest of Team Arrow might end up being family as well, OTA was where it all started. You never forget your beginnings.

8. For Oliver to realize that he doesn’t need external validation to be a hero

Yes, we all need people. We appreciate them. But we want Oliver to be a hero because he can channel his own light.

We want him to be the role model for others. We want him to be the inspiration. The show is, after all, named after him.

The Team will always be there for him. Being able to do it on your own doesn’t mean you have to. And that’s the lesson Oliver still needs to learn.

9. For Felicity Smoak to continue to show us that strong female characters come in many forms

Felicity Smoak is a role model. She might not be the stereotypical heroine in leather, but that doesn’t mean she can’t save the day. That doesn’t mean she’s not badass.

And we don’t want her to change. We want her to continue sticking up for herself. We even want her to make mistakes.

Because that’s what makes her real.  We’re here for the journey.

And we want more of it.

10. An Olicity reunion that makes sense.

Yes, we want Olicity together, but we want their reunion to make more sense than their breakup did. Which, to be honest, shouldn’t even be that hard. The breakup was some badly-planned stuff.

They don’t have to compromise their identities to be together. They don’t have to change. They just have to find a way to truly be partners in this journey.

That’s what we want.

Arrow returns to The CW on Wednesday, October 5th at 8/7c.

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