I had to hit the pause button on my review of the Season 4 finale of Arrow . I was in the middle of my review when the internet seemed to blow up within minutes after the finale faded to black. Did Season 4 take a step back? For some, the answer is clearly a yes. I would not say that it did but I would say that it didn’t advance the show for a next season. I feel like S4 had some excellent highs led by Neal McDonough as the seasons lead villain, Damien Darhk. In a lot of ways he was even better than previous villain Ra’s al Ghul (Nate Nable) but not quite as good as Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett). There were also some emotional lows with the death of Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) at the very top of that list. As a whole, Season 4 was not Arrow’s best. It was good but not necessarily memorable other than losing one of their own. Warning, spoilers ahead…



The buildup to the finale titled “Schism”, centered on the threat of nuclear destruction of Star City and Damien Darhk taking over with his own New World Order. With this real threat looming, you would think there would be a greater sense of urgency by Team Arrow. It’s not that they stood pat because they didn’t but there was something clearly missing. Yes there was a lot of action but not as much as you would think given the circumstances. The show suffers from too many flashbacks and not enough present day solutions.



