CW’s Arrow Season 4 (2015) - Light spoilers ahead

Some fans seem to dislike this season but I see the season as a reasonable stepping forward point for the development of Felicity. Almost everything dealing with Felicity in this season will pay off in later seasons. Another great character that was set up initially in season 3 then developed this season is Damien Darhk. People seem to hate him but I thought he was a great villain no matter how OP he was. A great development that happened in this season was when CW introduced the Legends before giving them their TV show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and introducing another villain: Vandal Savage: The Immortal. A concept that I thought was interesting was the introduction of magic to the Arrowverse however, some fans thought it didn’t fit the grounded world Arrow set since season 1. This was broken when CW introduced the Flash and the concept of superpowers.

I hope that one day CW will introduce magic-infused stories again and improve them. In addition to Felicity, she was great in the first two seasons of Arrow, however, when it became apparent that Oliver fell in love with her this meant season 4 didn’t just become about defeating the bad guys but also the relationship: the good, the bad and the ugly between Felicity and Oliver. And they started to fight about secrecy. I think what CW was trying to do was build Oliver’s world and relationships, so maybe people and fans wouldn’t get bored of every story being Oliver centric.

CW introduced John Constantine who was previously in his own show Constantine that was canceled. Constantine was a great addition to the Arrowverse. I hope that one day CW could continue what NBC couldn’t do with Constantine. Maybe they could involve Constantine going to Hell and back and hopefully, we are not just told this but shown. 

Casual viewers and fans alike not only disliked Felicity and the inclusion of magic this season, but they also disliked the Flashbacks. I thought they were not that bad developing Oliver into the man he is now and having its story mirror the present-day storyline.

An interesting plot that played out throughout the entire season was John Diggle’s family. John had to deal with the consequences that came from family, and because this plot was hinted at and developed since season 1, I was invested in his story. 

And lastly, Oliver's new suit for season 4 which I thought was cool and comic book accurate. In conclusion, although people have had their negative comments and thoughts about this season. I think the season structure and story was necessary for the overall development of later seasons.

Season 5 of Arrow has been called a return to form by many fans and the creators. I must agree as Arrow returns by developing a gritty and realistic story compared to the mystical and magic themes from the 4th season. In my opinion, season 5 is slightly overrated only because the main villain is like the Dark Archer from season 1. However, besides that, the season is very good. I hope for later main villains Arrow adopts more interesting villains like Damian Darhk from season 4.

What was cool about this season is that Oliver goes back to killing the bad guys, because as mentioned in the first episode of the season if he was more willing to kill people when Damian Darhk was the threat, Laurel might have still been alive.

Another interesting thing about this season is the motives of the main villain Prometheus. He doesn’t want to kill Oliver for killing his Dad, he wants to make Oliver suffer; by hurting or killing the people he knows and loves. Additionally, the storytelling of the flashbacks has increased in quality. This time Oliver is in Russia keeping a promise that he made to a friend on the Lian Yu in season 4. In my opinion, the reason why the story of this year’s flashbacks has been good is that you see more of Oliver training as the Green Arrow and the writers have given the flashbacks more time to develop compared to season 4.

What also made the flashbacks great to watch is the villain of the flashbacks Kovar: played by Dolph Lundgren of Rocky and Expendables fame. Kovar was just as interesting as Dr. Ivo from season 2 flashbacks. 

Another great thing this season is the character of Talia Al Ghul; a member of the League of Assassins, her presence was great this season and we even get more of her as the series develops. She was the one who completed Oliver's training becoming the Hood. I speculated that he had training from a member of the  League of Assassins and I was right.

Fans have said that Arrow does its best when the Olicity complications aren’t apparent. So Oliver and Felicity aren’t a couple in this season. I must say it doesn’t matter if they are a couple or not, I say their chemistry is still great if they are not fighting or arguing. And, this happens in season 5 compared to season 4. Another complaint that fans have had was the action and fight scenes of season 4, which have improved in season 5. In season 4 the bad guys seemed to fail to shoot the good guys with their machine guns or drop unconscious after one or two punches.

Overall season 5 is a step up from season 4 with a great villain, story, and action.

Season 6 of Arrow is great in my opinion because for the first time in Arrow’s history Team Arrow came up against a group of villains. This helped the season’s episodes stop being stale or repetitive except for one main driving plot of the season where Oliver is accused of being the Green Arrow. Another great thing about this season is the development of the plot where Oliver isn’t a Vigilante. This plot was lightly touched upon in season 1 and explored in season 3. This plot was great because you get to see certain characters develop in ways that would not be possible if Oliver Queen was still the Green Arrow. In addition season 6 gave the fans the two best episodes of the entire series so far they are: Fundamentals and Docket No. 11-19-41-73. I will review these episodes at a later date. 

More about the villains. Season 6 gave me two of some of the best villains that Arrow has made. Cayden James and Ricardo Diaz: The Dragon. The reason why Cayden James is one of the best villains; is that Oliver couldn’t just punch his way out on his own to win. Oliver needed the help of his team to  triumph over Cayden and a team of villains he brought together, as Team Arrow separated into two teams: Original Team Arrow: Felicity, Oliver and Diggle and New Team Arrow: Curtis, Dinah and Rene. Ricardo Diaz is another great villain. Because even when visiting a recycled plot from season 3 where Ra's Al Ghul exposes Oliver as the Arrow; in the case of season 6, Diaz exposes Oliver as the Green Arrow, this development was needed and exciting giving the episode Docket No. 11-19-41-73 to fans. Another reason why Diaz was a great villain, is that Diaz had the entire infrastructure of Star City in his pocket. He owned the Police and most members of the Star City Council. This made it very difficult for Team Arrow to operate. The storyline where Oliver gave up being the Green Arrow to spend more time with his family was an interesting one. Because of this fans could get to see more of Oliver’s life not only as a family man, but as the Mayor of Star City. This gave episodes that focused more on character development and less action; a certain amount of intelligence. And episodes that did show Oliver as Green Arrow almost all had one big action sequence which was amazing to watch. In conclusion season 6’s plot was unique to other seasons of Arrow, giving great character development and great action sequences.