Arrow: 10 Major Predictions For Season 5

The flashbacks aren't the solo cause of Arrow's issues over the last couple of years - far from it - but they are one element of the show that has been particularly frustrating and poor.

Although they're supposedly chronicling Oliver's life before we met him at the start of the show, while also holding up a mirror to his present day actions, there just hasn't been enough story across Seasons 3 and 4 to justify their inclusion multiple times throughout each episodes, and the parallels have been completely on the nose.

There's no guarantee Season 5 can avoid these pitfalls, but there is cause for more optimism than usual. This year the flashbacks are headed to Russia, building on Oliver's promise to Taiana, but more excitingly going into how he got involved with the Bratva. It's something fans have been left wondering about since Season 2, and filling in the gaps of such a potentially interesting time should mean there is a story worth telling. It promises plenty of violence and intrigue, with the return of Anatoly Knyazev and the addition of Dolph Lundgren - how can that not work!?