And so it begins – the major story arc of Arrow Season 5 that is. Prometheus has revealed himself and is aiming to make life a living hell for both Oliver and the Green Arrow. Though despite being his first sustained appearance, it seems like Prometheus has had plans for both Oliver/ Green Arrow long before Church revealed his identity last week.

Who is Prometheus? Can we believe that ending? Or is it just another misdirection from possibly the craftiest most obsessed villain yet? Let’s take a Closer Look at Arrow “So It Begins”.

Trust Issues & Season 1 Start To Come Full Circle:

I’ve said in previous Closer Looks how with this being the 5^th Season, we’re getting a look at Oliver’s final year “in Hell” as far as the flashbacks are concerned. After this the show will have come full circle to the start of Season 1. So it’s only fitting that this season have tremendous Season 1 references. From episode 1, we could tell there was a return to Season 1 and 2 style; but this episode just took that connection from purely stylistic to content driven as the infamous kill list returned.

With this season starting off with Oliver killing again – something he hasn’t done since Season 1 – its amazingly fitting that the writers are actually going full circle with this and are bringing the list back into the fold as a key piece of evidence for Prometheus’s identity, which I’ll get to in the next section. One has to wonder how else they’ll bring Season 1 back into the fold – or other seasons for that matter. For all we know, Talia al Ghul will revive Tommy as Prometheus to get revenge on Oliver for killing her father while she was away…. But actually, that’s a possibility. But again, more on that in the next section.

The other great thing about this episode in terms of bringing up the past was Evelyn Sharp’s trust issues to Oliver. The team has been getting closer and working better, but there is still some divide. Though to be fair, it seems Oliver keeping Prometheus from them was less about not trusting them and more about worrying they couldn’t handle someone this fanatical. Regardless, these trust issues resurfacing reminded us of something important: Evelyn originally blamed Green Arrow/ Oliver for her family’s death at the hands of Darhk. Sound familiar? It’s a strange coincidence, but that’s exactly the formula between Felicity and Rory/ Ragman. Thankfully Felicity and Rory already worked out their guilt, and by episode’s end Oliver and Evelyn work out theirs. Additionally, Sharp proved herself capable of holding her own against Prometheus – even if she wasn’t his target. But just what is his aim?

“So It Begins” – Prometheus’s Message & Potential Identity:

It’s not just Prometheus’s plan that begins, but also our mission to try to figure out WHO he/she is. We learned some key details this episode and we do have some theories – some better than others. So let’s start with what we do know:

1. Prometheus knows about Oliver’s/ The Hood’s kill list and thus already knew that Oliver was the Hood/ Arrow/ Green Arrow for as the recruits showed this episode, regular people see these as 3 different vigilantes.
2. Prometheus has been planning this for a while and has been gathering up used arrows from crime scenes for a while,
3. Prometheus has access to crime scenes/ forensic lock up

Now the episode ended with Quentin Lance waking up with a throwing star near him and a cut on his arm where Prometheus was injured tonight. So case closed right? WRONG! We’ve seen fake out’s before – remember Roy’s fake memories of killing Sara in the Season 3 episode “Guilty”? – plus it’s way too early to be revealing a bombshell like that for it to be true. So let’s get some theories preliminarily drawn out.

Possible Suspects For Prometheus:

• Quentin Lance – It IS Quentin Lance and somehow he is having blackouts. Whereas this would explain his extended absence and feeling ‘off’ this season; but this is also the least likely scenario as his hand-to-hand combats are nothing like Prometheus’s. So unless his blackouts come with hidden ninja skills, not likely. Though the hatred he’s harbored for Oliver over several seasons and seeing him as ruining his life….. it’s a good misdirect.
• Bratva – when Oliver first joined Bratva, someone there looked at his kill book and thus knows of it. Additionally, with all the focus on Bratva being about brotherhood, this could be an extended revenge by a member against Oliver for ‘breaking his oath’.
• Detective Malone – he would have access to the evidence lock up and his role this season paints him as either the perfect guy (who’s going to get killed) or the villain. For all we know, he could be former Bratva. Then again, he might not be Prometheus himself; but working for him.
• Susan Williams – I brought up this idea last week and it basically plays out the same way my Malone theory does. Though the new details about Prometheus knowing about ‘the list’ does make things difficult.
• Tommy Merlyn – with so much focus on Season 1 and Oliver breaking his vow to not kill, this could be an interesting twist. But how is Tommy alive and why would he attack Oliver? Well last season on Legends of Tomorrow we met Thalia al Ghul and there’s rumors she’s been cast this season on Arrow. Perhaps Tommy was revived by her in order to get revenge on Oliver for killing her father, The pit’s bloodlust could have caused Tommy’s jealousy to get ridiculously out of hand and he’d know all the facts and have league training. As for the Pit’s magic being destroyed by Nyssa, perhaps Ras favorite daughter has another pit – or some water saved like Darhk did.

It could be someone we’ve yet to meet entirely; but given their knowledge of the list, it’s almost certain that we’ve met this person before or at least know their strong connection to Season 1.

Rapid Fire – Easter Eggs, Quotes & Other Notables:

• Favorite Quotes:
  • “She could literally ruin your career” – Thea
  • “I hate that he just said yet” – Thea
  • “I generally don’t kid about something that could get me 10 years in Iron Heights…” – Felicity
  • “I never get tired of this part” – So do we Curtis, so do we! And nice entrance!
  • “It’s like Zodiac and I’m Jake Gyllenhal… DON’T take this from me” – Curtis to Felicity
  • “Well we were afraid you’d kill us if we didn’t… too soon?” – Curtis
• Wow, they were VERY lucky there was only the driver on that subway train. I could try to explain it by saying it was on its last stop and thus was empty/ returning to the dispatch…. But I’m just grasping at straws, I mean arrows with this one.
• With the DA taking more of an interest directly in cases, it’s not long until we see him suit up. Who knows, perhaps he’s the ski goggle vigilante we heard of in the premier.
• In the present, Prometheus reveals himself to the Green Arrow and in the flashback Kovar reveals himself to Oliver.

Next week, Oliver faces off with a new vigilante – the infamous ski goggle guy we heard of in the premier. Who is this new vigilante? What will happen with the evolving Thea and Quentin storyline? What’s Prometheus’s next move? Stay tuned to The CW and here to find out!