Season 5 of “Arrow” left us all in shock, as in the final moments Adrian Chase–the villain who had been determined to destroy Oliver all season–killed himself and thus set of an entire island full of explosives. An island that contained all of Oliver’s friends and loved ones, except his son….
Obviously we knew that not all of the cast would actually die, otherwise there would be no Season 6! But we still weren’t sure what the premiere would reveal. Fast forward about 5 months and here is Oliver and the team–well most of the team–back fighting in the streets and seemingly doing well. Everyone seems to have survived, except (as is revealed in bits and pieces) William’s (Oliver’s son) mother. Thea survived but has been in a coma ever since with no signs of improvement. Oliver now has sole custody of his son, as was William’s mother’s last request. Being a super hero, the Mayor and a new father is definitely not an easy juggling act. We have seen Oliver wear many different hats and take on a lot of different roles over the years, but the role of a parent? This is definitely outside the realm of most super heroes, simply because the job description is so daunting!
William and Oliver have had a hard time bonding–which is no surprise considering the boy just lost his mother, and Oliver is basically a stranger and has now idea how to be a father. But on top of that Black Siren is back. Black Siren, a.k.a. Laurel from another dimension, is back and determined to destroy Oliver and his team. We discover in the premiere that Detective Lance had to shoot Laurel in order to save Dinah (the new Black Canary), while they were on the island. Poor Detective Lance is always such a troubled soul. His character has had more trouble with his daughters–being killed, brought back to life, killed again, time traveling around the universe, coming back from a different dimension. I mean parenting is tough, but his experience has been pure torment!
We don’t yet know Black Siren’s end game, but assume it will continue throughout the season. It has also been interesting to see Wilson Slade back on the show as a friend of Oliver again. I am not sure I could be that forgiving of someone who killed my mother. But as Oliver and Slade speak in Thea’s hospital room about the struggles of fatherhood, Slade advises him that one day he will have to choose between being the hero the people need, and the father his son needs. It truly is an impossible task. Watching a super hero navigate parenthood will be a new story plot that we have not yet seen. Plus to top it all off, we still are left unsure about Oliver and Felicity’s relationship–which is irksome to me, but hopefully questions will be answered this season! The premiere ended with a news reel showing Oliver in the Arrow costume and outing him to the world as to his secret identity. Not sure how he is going to get out of this one! But it will definitely be interesting to see him try!
