‘Arrow’: Will Oliver Queen’s Identity As Green Arrow Be Revealed During Trial?
The fifth season of Arrow seems to be building to some major changes for the show. With the sixth season now confirmed by The CW, just where is Arrow going to go now? After all, the flashbacks to the island and elsewhere around the globe are now – apparently – coming to an end. Is it time to introduce some new concepts to the show to keep it fresh, and will one of these be the public reveal of the Green Arrow’s identity this season?
The upcoming impeachment trial of Mayor Oliver Queen might seem like just a lot of handwaving that has nothing to do with the underlying plot of dealing with Prometheus this season, but it actually might serve a much more important purpose for the long-term future of the show. It might just provide the means for rejuvenating Arrow.
Will the Green #Arrow be unmasked? Find out NOW! pic.twitter.com/EvfoemGkJw
— Arrow (@CW_Arrow) February 23, 2017
With Oliver Queen now aware that his recent girlfriend has actually been spying on him, it may be that he’s beginning to wonder just how secure his secret identity as the Green Arrow actually is. Certainly, viewers should be. After all, it’s not just Susan that knows his secret now. The guy who brought her the photos knows as well.
Given all of this, is it likely that an investigation of the cover-up of the death of Billy at the Green Arrow’s hands won’t ultimately lead the investigators to Ollie? Especially with so much evidence just lying around waiting to be picked up.
Instead, it seems like it’s far more likely that the producers and writers are planning to use this as a vehicle for returning the show to its original, darker roots in the first season. After all, the Arrow character of the first season was essentially a fugitive from the law. He was killing people without mercy and was hunted by the police.
'Arrow' Ratings Hit New Series Low https://t.co/0Yykw7ykst pic.twitter.com/zUxdzDODbs
— Heroic Hollywood (@heroichollywood) February 24, 2017
In part, this was what made the first season of Arrow so compelling. The character’s later acceptance by the police and City Hall – and the community in general – seem to take something away from the show. Putting the Green Arrow in a position where every hand is against him and he can’t rely on the police anymore to look the other way would add drama to the series that’s been missing for some time.
This would also seem to mean that all of the hand wringing and Hamlet-like introspection Ollie has been going through in recent seasons will become a thing of the past. He would finally embrace who he is and just start killing the bad guys again.
Along with eliminating the now annoying flashbacks – which usually detract from the show more than contribute to it – returning Arrow to its grittier first season roots by making Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow both fugitives might be the best way to pop the Arrow ratings back up to levels we haven’t seen in years.
Currently, the ratings for Arrow are well below those of the other CW superhero shows. Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash are all outperforming the show that started the superhero trend on this network. In fact, many people were seriously doubting whether Arrow would even get renewed for a sixth season.
As noted by Collider, even the show’s star himself, Stephen Amell, has suggested that it might be time for a major change in the direction Arrow is taking. This could be the ideal way to do it. In fact, an even better twist would be to have some members of the current Arrow team actively trying to track him down and bring him in to face justice.
[Featured Image by The CW]
