Arrow Season 5: 10 Things You Need To Know
2. The Fight Scene
One of the reasons Arrow became so popular was the action scenes, which were fast-paced, gritty, and could be rather intense. It's struggled on that front over the past couple of years - although Thea's elevator fight was a standout from last season - but things are looking up for Season 5, with Stephen Amell saying:
"Episode 501 of Arrow has an opportunity for us to quite literally have the most vicious, violent one-shot, which is when there is no cut, in the history of network television. I insisted that it is going to be me, no stunt double... If episode 501 is any indication, Arrow is going to be f**cking mean this year, and that’s really exciting."
Exciting indeed. One-shot fight scenes have been used to great effect in superhero TV shows over the last year-and-a-half. There was the incredible corridor scene in Daredevil's fight scene, which it topped with the staircase scene and the Frank Castle prison scene in Season 2, while in network terms Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recently had one with Daisy.
James Bamford, who is directing the episode, has shown he can go action, and it'll be great to see Arrow really raise the stakes and go for something particularly brutal, and hopefully set the tone for the rest of the season.