What Does The Arrow Season 5 Finale Cliffhanger Mean For Future Of The Show?

OLICITY

That kiss, and Oliver's response, didn't mean nothing.

Oliver finally seeming to come to a mature version of a realtionship recently -- and saying things like "let's talk about this more later" instead of allowing everything to become an all-consuming crisis, is a good sign for the show's flagship relationship.

After a full-court press of non-stop Olicity -- either the relationship or drama adjacent to it -- in season 4, Arrow dialed it way back in season 5, reaching the point wher emost viewers were begging for some closure on what happened between the two between seasons.

The organic development and mature dynamic between the two in the last handful of episodes has really shown that when the relationship picks back up in the fall, it has potential to grow and develop in a different way than the toxic, self-sabotaging way it played out in seasons 3 and 4.

TEAM ARROW

With bombs going off and Team Arrow (plus Samantha Clayton) trapped on Lian Yu, what's the deal with the survivors?

We don't know, and won't be likely to for a while, but it's likely safe to assume that Felicity and Diggle surrived. More likely than not, Slade will make it out alive. And with Katie Cassidy, Juliana Harkavy and Rick Gonzalez tapped as season regulars next year, it's pretty obvious that Black Siren, Black Canary, and Wild Dog will make it.

How will these events impact them? And will they be mourning the loss of some of the people with them? It's hard to know...

...and of course there's the question of whether Oliver might end up having to take on William's custody if something happens to Samantha.

DEATHSTROKE

We've already discussed this at length, but it seems likely that this episode set the stage for Slade Wilson to take on a different role as Deathstroke, and possibly appear on the series more often.

In order to entice his former foe to join his battle with Prometheus, Oliver told Wilson that he had assembled a dossier of information on Wilson's son, Joe, a character previously believed to be dead. Instead, Oliver offered Wilson Joe's "current whereabouts."

As if that wasn't a big enough sea change for the season 2 big bad, Wilson himself revealed that Oliver likely didn't need to have bribery material ready. The Mirakuru serum that had kept Slade artificially enhanced (at the cost of his mental state) had long since worn off, and he was now "in full possession of my marbles," but remembered everything that had happened.

He remembered murdering his former friend's mother, and the fact that Oliver hadn't killed him was a testament to Oliver's character. He would later go on to provide some wise advice for Oliver.

So, assuming he survives the explosive cliffhanger at the end of the episode, what's next for Slade Wilson on Arrow?

The obvious thing is that he and Oliver will end up looking for Joseph Wilson (Jericho, if you're a comics reader) next season -- and now that Slade himself isn't 100% evil, that's a course of action that makes a lot more sense.

Right now, Deathstroke by Christopher Priest is arguably DC's best ongoing superhero comic -- and it's brought the character back to his roots as a mercenary antihero who proves deadly to just about everyone he meets.

It seems like that's the most likely course of action for a guy with such a clear head, so much guilt, and now something to live for.

THEA

Of course, we've already seen a bit of how Thea will react to things. She's been taking herself off the action-hero board for a while, and as soon as she offered to put herself back on it, Oliver instead chose to team up with dangerous lunatics because he didn't want to put her in danger.

How will that impact her going forward? We half-expect her to take his rejection as an opportunity to stop being Speedy and follow her bliss somewhere else.

Could that be City Hall? Following Roy? Something else entirely?

None of those would surprise us...but seeing her back in the suit regularly kind of would.

MORE ARROW

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the North China Sea. He returned home to Star City, bent on righting the wrongs done by his family and fighting injustice. As the Green Arrow, he protects his city with the help of former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), computer-science expert Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), his vigilante-trained sister Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Deputy Mayor Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), brilliant inventor Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), and his new recruits, street-savvy Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez) and meta-human Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy).

Oliver has finally solidified and strengthened his crime-fighting team only to have it threatened when unexpected enemies from his past return to Star City, forcing Oliver to rethink his relationship with each member of his "family".

Based on the characters from DC, ARROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti ("The Flash," "Supergirl"), Marc Guggenheim ("DC's Legends of Tomorrow," "Eli Stone"), Wendy Mericle ("Desperate Housewives," "Eli Stone"), Andrew Kreisberg ("The Flash," "Eli Stone," "Warehouse 13") and Sarah Schechter ("The Flash," "DC's Legends of Tomorrow").

More Arrow news:

The Internet Reacts To Arrow's Insane Season 5 Finale

Arrow: Did [SPOILER] Really Die?

The Arrow Easter Egg That Sealed One Character's Fate

Arrow: Who Is Deathstroke's [SPOILER]?

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