What Does the Arrow Season 5 Finale Mean For Deathstroke?

Spoilers ahead for the season 5 finale of Arrow, “Lian Yu,” which aired tonight.

Tonight’s episode of Arrow represented a major change for Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), the mercenary known as Deathstroke, and his relationship with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell).

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.

First of all, how much fun would it be to see Bennett take on that aspect of Slade on a more regular basis, either on Arrow or even in his own series on the DC app or something?

Secondly, 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.

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”).

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