Arrow What do you want to see in the flashbacks?

[Kar]

So it's been 3 years since Ollie was stranded on the island and we've seen him learn to fight, shoot arrows, kill and work for the government. But this also means he's got 2 years left before getting rescued and I'm just not seeing how in the time he has left he's going to become Season 1 The Hood. Obviously we have to see how he learned to fly a plane, how he got his Bratva tattoo and learned other languages. He's got a lot to do before he gets there and I'm wondering when that's going to happen.

What do you want to see from the flashbacks? Any theories on where it's going? What would you have Ollie do?

 

[ThePreface]

The poppy field workers sounded like they had an Eastern European accent. That could be yet another tie to the Bratva besides KGBeast from seasons 1 and 2.

 

[Man of Steel]

Hal Jordan and the plane incident

 

[Rorschach2012]

I've had about enough of the flashbacks, even though they are a staple of the series

Anything involving actually important characters from the comics would interest me though. Hate to say it but, they're really scraping the barrel character-wise this season

 

[Nathan]

I need to see him learn what it takes to eventually be the Arrow. So far, after 3 years, he hasn't even reached the half way point of what he's supposed to be capable of.

 

[kguillou]

I want to how Ollie learned Russian but more importantly, I want to see Ollie meet a character, preferably a well known DC character, who trains him and forges him into the Arrow that we see in the pilot episode.

 

[Nathan]

Pretty sure Yao Fei was supposed to be that character. But he's of course long dead. Now I'm wondering who's teaching Ollie the choke out move, that makes it appear like the person is dead. No one can tell me that Ollie learned that from watching Yao Fei perform it one time.

 

[Kar]

This is why I think Ollie might be with Waller for the remaining two years, training under her and going out on new missions before getting dumped back on the island.

 

[Nathan]

If he trains for the remaining 2 years under Waller, how is he growing his long hair and epic beard?

 

[DoomGuy91]

I think we need to see more about how he becomes the Hood, and it would be great seeing him longer with a full beard. Yes he has two years left timeline wise, however if the writers want, they could expand that beyond season 4 and 5 (if there is one). There should not be any big time jumps or a season in flashbacks taking up one year. The season 5 flashbacks could start not long after the previous season flashbacks.

Maybe instead of moving forward with the flashbacks.....we could see some further flashbacks in time. Such as seeing his training with Slade and Shado in the few months break they had between season 1-2 (great chance to see shado and good slade again) flashbacks. Showing a few flashbacks to his time being an early version of the "Hood" in coast city before being taken by Waller (briefly shown in season 4) is another idea, and a way to introduce pre-suit Hal Jordan. Maybe they did meet during his time their.

Ending the show with the last flashbacks being the start of season 1 would be great, but I think Arrow should last longer then 5 seasons, and above are a few ways to make that the case.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Having started watching season 1 again recently, they have a long way to go to get to the guy that was found on The island in the pilot. That guy was messed up, attacking family in his sleep and having no problem killing people left and right. He even struggled in social situations indicating he was alone for a long time. Noyt to mention he knows lots of tricks like the fake chokeout we haven't seen him learn yet.

I remember thinking in season 1 that the flashbacks were going to fast, now I think the opposite and they need to get to this stuff quickly for me.

 

[Boy Scout]

On the bright side, I've noticed a change in the way Amell plays Oliver in the flashbacks. There was a coldness to his eyes and voice in episode three that reminded me very much of the way Oliver behaved in season one.

 

[haephestus]

What do you want to see from the flashbacks?

Honestly, nothing. I'm over the flashbacks. The flashbacks last season were truly painful and had almost no bearing on the present day plot. And from what little we've seen to date, the flashbacks this season are just as dull.

I'd be happy for them to ditch the inclusion of a flashback in each episode (or almost every episode) and just have one flashback episode per season IF and ONLY IF it is directly relevant to the present day plot and whatever the flashback is about can't be handled with some exposition by Oliver. At this stage, I find it ridiculous that Oliver simply hasn't sat down Diggle, Felicity, Thea and Laurel and told them all what he got up to during those missing five years. The fact that he only reveals his "secret history" bit by bit (and by chance, also chronologically) is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Mike Murdock]

I'd like to keep them together as long as they keep moving in plot (too much of season 3 was him in an apartment). I'd like to see him go to Russia just because I think there's quite enough for him to be fluent in Russian and connected to the mob.

 

[DoomGuy91]

I remember thinking in season 1 that the flashbacks were going to fast, now I think the opposite and they need to get to this stuff quickly for me.

No I think they need to slow down with the flashbacks...not in the sense of showing only a little, but not giving us time jumps in the past, like they normally have.

Past Oliver only has two years left, and there is till plenty more to see how he becomes the Hood in season 1. It is also a chance to see his flashbacks go past a season 5.

Say the season 4 flashbacks take up only 1 month. Instead of jumping a bunch of months into the future for the start of season 5 flashbacks.....let us have the s5 flashbacks start not long after the previous season. It is also chance to see the beard/long hair that Oliver has in the beginning of season 1 grow over time.

More flashback flashbacks would be welcoming. In the earlier seasons, we would sometimes see a flashback to pre-Island starring Oliver. Instead of seeing pre-Island flashbacks, we could get more Coast City ones, pre-Return trip to the Island. There is more that should be shown of proto Hood at the beginning of the season 4 flashbacks, and maybe Oliver in Coast City met Hal Jordan.

And Russia has to fit somewhere in the flashbacks.

 

[Herolee10]

Yeah, Oliver still has to somehow fluently learn how to speak both Russian and Chinese, along with figuring out on how to pilot a plane, and become involved with the Russian Mafia while being on the Island long enough to grow the length of hair and beard that he had at the start of the Pilot.

 

[Nathan]

Only way all of that is possible, is if he also was involved in time travel during his time away, or was trapped in another dimension.

 

[Boy Scout]

The writers are probably just going to take shortcuts. I don't recall seeing Oliver learn that choke = fake death truck, but it looks like he was taught it off screen.

 

[Mike Murdock]

He had it used on him, though, in the first season. Yao Fei could have shown him how he was done it pretty easily. I can even somewhat buy mandarin because he had some time with Shado to learn (it just doesn't feel like enough time), but I still can't buy Russian. There just hasn't been the time and opportunity.

 

[Nathan]

He had Yao Fei use it on him once. But after that, were they ever together again? Season 1 is a bit foggy. But I don't think they were ever long enough together after that moment, for Ollie to have learned it.

 

[Boy Scout]

He had it used on him, though, in the first season.

I know. Doesn't mean he learned it.

Yao Fei could have shown him how he was done it pretty easily.

I think they would've made a point of showing how he learned it, just like they did with archery.

 

[Nathan]

I don't even find his archery skill all that impressive. He only has 2 years left, to reach this skill level.

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[Kar]

I don't even find his archery skill all that impressive. He only has 2 years left, to reach this skill level.

[YT]bu2NBEWTXaY[/YT]

Exactly. They gotta show him locked in a room with just a bow and arrow for the next two years. It's been 3 years and at this point Roy is a better fighter and archer than him.