The Subtle Cliffhangers of Arrow's Season 4 Finale

Season 4 of Arrow came to a close Wednesday night, May 25th, on the heels of The Flash’s monumental cliffhanger, leaving fans wondering where the big “oomph” was for our man in green. Arrow ended on not just one but several cliffhangers, subtle though they may be, and one for each major character.

THEA QUEEN

Thea came to a crossroads, determining she wasn’t so sure she should be Speedy after all. When she left Starling City at the end of Season Two, she went with her nefarious father, Malcolm Meryln and allowed herself to be molded into a weapon which she then used to become a member of Team Arrow. But was that really the person she wanted to be?

After almost dying at the hands of Ra’s Al Ghul, she fought her way back to sanity, almost died, and rejoined the team. Without a break, Thea didn’t have the time to think about her life choices. So Arrow ends this season with her wanting to decide her own fate. Will that mean Speedy is leaving permanently? And does this make room for Arsenal to return to fill in the gap?

I believe Thea will return to just being Thea for a while. We'll have one less mask protecting the city, but she will get to live her life without constant threat of loss. In my opinion, Thea needs to have some time to ground herself as a regular every day citizen.

JOHN DIGGLE

Diggle, torn over killing his brother, has been struggling these last few episodes. He couldn’t reconcile himself with the man he once was to the man he’d become. He needed to find that sense of order and honor, and the choice he made may have surprised many viewers. He returned to the service, one of his final scenes of the season showing him saying goodbye to his wife and daughter.

What does this mean for Season Five? How will a return to the military change Diggle? When he comes back, will he still be able to be partnered with a vigilante, or will he be the Diggle from Season One who can’t condone the necessary killing?

I don't doubt Diggle will eventually return to the team, but it's going to take some time to bring him back. When Season 5 starts, I've no doubt Diggle will still be in the military, finding his way. It will take something monumental to make him pick up the mantle of Spartan again.

FELICITY SMOAK

After leaving Oliver earlier in Season 4 because she felt she couldn’t trust him, Felicity returned to Team Arrow after the death of Laurel Lance. We originally thought she’d done so only to bring Damien Darhk to justice, but her ending scene showed her at Oliver’s side, telling him she wasn’t leaving. Does this mean she wants to begin her relationship with Oliver again, or is she going to return to her position on the team only? How does everything that has happened and will happen over the summer change her?

I can see Felicity slowing working her way back to Oliver, but this time, it'll be a no-holds-barred relationship. She still wants to be her own person and not have her entire life wrapped up in being Overwatch. With the tech knowledge she has, it would make sense for her to want to start her own company and possibly even challenge Palmer Tech's standing in the community. Or, if she chooses to remain on the team, coming to work for Star City as Oliver's assistant, bringing us back to the dynamic in Season 2.

When Season 5 resumes, I'd be very surprised if Felicity and Oliver were already together as I think it's going to take Felicity some more time to figure out where she goes from here. She's lost her job, found her father, discovered her wasn't such a bad guy after all, has spent the past four years almost dying, became paralyzed, and is able to walk only through the use of technology. She has a lot to come to terms with.

CAPTAIN LANCE

This, perhaps, was one of the most heartbreaking scenes of all. After learning that he's been officially fired, he thanks Oliver for taking down the man who’d killed his daughter and decides to leave town with Donna Smoak. He’d been so focused on making sure Damien Darhk was brought to justice that he hasn’t really had time to grieve. Grief can change a man, make him harder or make him give up. Even with Donna by his side, Lance could still return to the bottle. There was a subtle indication that he would never be the man he once was, that not much had meaning for him. The question remains how his broken heart will heal over the hiatus or if it will. Will we even recognize Captain Lance when he returns?

I think Lance and Donna will get married over the hiatus. It might be a spur of the moment thing or maybe just my hope that Charlotte Ross will become a series regular. At any rate, with his knowledge, he'd be the perfect private investigator, allowing him and Oliver to continue working together. And it would certainly change up the tone of the show.

OLIVER QUEEN

Oliver had the most challenging life change of all at the end of the season. He’s been sworn in as interim mayor which begs the question how will he oversee the police department and still keep the city in order at night? Can he keep the two sides of himself separate?

As we saw in the first two seasons, Oliver struggled to keep his secret from becoming known and didn’t succeed. With so many people surrounding him because of his position as mayor, how will he keep the city from discovering his true identity?

Oliver needs to get back to his roots, and I think we'll see that in Season 5. With a full-time job that requires a lot of his attention, he won't be able to take off to handle a situation like he did when he was CEO. This is going to present some challenges for Oliver so we'll possibly see more of the inane excuses for breaking away.

Oliver has grown the most as a person this season. He's used to being in charge as the Arrow, so being the mayor is going to give him another platform to take command. I believe Season 5 is going to offer a big challenge for him because he'll be working without his time. Possibly, by the time the season begins, he will have found a rhythm, but while he'll be upholding the law on one hand and taking it into his own hands on the other. So I think a state of conflict is to be expected.

Though the cliffhangers for Arrow’s Season Four finale didn’t leave us on the edge of our seats like The Flash, they followed the same path of Season Two and Three which ended on hopeful notes, but we all know there’s a dark path awaiting the team when Season Five resumes.