The Best Episodes of Arrow Season 5
Every episode of Arrow Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Arrow Season 5!
Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.
Season 5 Ratings Summary
The best episode of "Arrow" season 5 is "Legacy", rated 8.2/10 from 4129 user votes. It was directed by James Bamford and written by N/A. "Legacy" aired on 10/5/2016 and is rated 0.2 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "The Recruits".
8.2/10 4,129 votes#1 - Legacy
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 10/5/2016
A deadly new criminal, Tobias Church, threatens Star City, which forces Oliver to consider forming a new team of superheroes to help him do battle. In flashbacks, Oliver faces off against the Bratva in Russia.
Director: James Bamford
Writer: N/A
8.0/10 3,427 votes#2 - The Recruits
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 10/12/2016
Oliver recruits Curtis, Wild Dog and Evelyn Sharp for his team, but his training methods prove to be too much for some to handle. In flashbacks, Oliver continues his initiation into the Bratva.
Director: James Bamford
Writer: Beth Schwartz, Speed Weed
8.0/10 3,192 votes#3 - A Matter of Trust
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/19/2016
The Green Arrow is forced to face a powerful new drug dealer when Wild Dog goes off on his own.
Director: Gregory Smith
Writer: Emilio Ortega Aldrich, Ben Sokolowski
7.9/10 3,058 votes#4 - Penance
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/26/2016
Oliver and Lyla team up on a secret mission for Diggle. Felicity finds out and disapproves of the plan and opts to stay behind. When Tobias Church launches a deadly assault against the city, Felicity must decide if she wants to send the recruits out sans the Green Arrow.
Director: Dermott Downs
Writer: Oscar Balderrama, Brian Ford Sullivan
8.4/10 3,310 votes#5 - Human Target
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 11/2/2016
When Tobias Church captures and tortures one of Oliver's new recruits, Oliver must turn to an old friend, Christopher Chance AKA the Human Target, for help. Meanwhile, Felicity's worlds collide when Detective Malone joins the ACU.
Director: Laura Belsey
Writer: Oscar Balderrama, Sarah Tarkoff
8.1/10 3,049 votes#6 - So It Begins
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/9/2016
Prometheus claims two more victims, and Oliver realizes that the killings are related to the people on his father's list. His recruits aren't happy to hear that Oliver used to be a serial killer. In the past, Oliver finally meets Kovar and may not live to regret it.
Director: John Behring
Writer: Wendy Mericle, Brian Ford Sullivan
8.1/10 2,986 votes#7 - Vigilante
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/16/2016
When the bodies of two criminals are dropped at SCPD, Oliver realizes there is a new Vigilante in Star City. The team is split about whether they should stop someone who is helping keep the city safe. Diggle is frustrated with his new situation and Thea fights for Lance who confesses a shocking secret. Meanwhile, in the flashbacks, Oliver finally sits down with Konstantin Kovar.
Director: Gordon Verheul
Writer: Emilio Ortega Aldrich, Ben Sokolowski
8.9/10 4,958 votes#8 - Invasion! (III)
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/30/2016
Oliver wakes up to a life where he never got on The Queen’s Gambit. Robert and Moira Queen are alive and well. Laurel is his loving fiancée and their wedding is imminent. Everything seems perfect, but Oliver starts to notice small imperfections that make him question this new reality. Meanwhile, Felicity and the recruits take on a new threat with help from The Flash and Supergirl. The crossover starts on Supergirl S02E08 Medusa (I) and The Flash S03E08 Invasion! (II). It continues on DC's Legends of Tomorrow S02E07 Invasion! (IV).
Director: James Bamford
Writer: N/A
9.1/10 4,176 votes#9 - What We Leave Behind
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 12/7/2016
After Prometheus attacks Curtis, Oliver realizes Prometheus knows all of Team Arrow’s secret identities and is planning to come for them one by one. Felicity and Detective Malone discover a clue that links Prometheus to Oliver’s past.
Director: Antonio Negret
Writer: Beth Schwartz, Wendy Mericle
7.7/10 3,118 votes#10 - Who Are You?
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 1/25/2017
Worried that Prometheus is right and he is truly a killer at heart, Oliver looks for any ray of hope and finds it in what seems to be the miraculous return of Laurel Lance. However Felicity, still reeling from Detective Malone's murder, is bent on revenge - she wants to stop Prometheus at any cost. While in prison, Diggle fights for his life.
Director: Gregory Smith
Writer: Brian Ford Sullivan, Ben Sokolowski
8.0/10 2,849 votes#11 - Second Chances
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 2/1/2017
In his quest to take down Kovar, Oliver gets help from a surprising source - Talia al Ghul. However, when she reveals what she wants from him in exchange, Oliver isn't sure he can accept her help. Felicity attempts to hack the NSA to help free Diggle but when her online efforts are flagged, she faces off against an unknown adversary. Meanwhile, Curtis tells the team about a female vigilante, Tina Boland, he uncovered online who has been wreaking havoc all over the country.
Director: Mark Bunting
Writer: Sarah Tarkoff, Speed Weed
7.9/10 2,760 votes#12 - Bratva
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 2/8/2017
A mission takes Oliver, Felicity and team to Russia where they meet up with Oliver's old friend, Anatoly. Meanwhile, fresh out of rehab, Lance returns to the mayor's office ready to get back to work. However, when Susan asks for an interview with Lance to discuss his addiction, he balks and it's up to Rene to help keep things on track.
Director: Ben Hernandez Bray
Writer: Oscar Balderrama, Emilio Ortega Aldrich
7.3/10 3,164 votes#13 - Spectre of the Gun
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 2/15/2017
A traumatic attack on City Hall triggers painful memories for Rene about his family. Flashbacks reveal how Rene went from simple family man to a hero named Wild Dog. Meanwhile, Oliver must deal with the perpetrator behind the attack and realizes the best way to do so is as Mayor Queen instead of the Green Arrow. Tensions run high in the Arrow bunker.
Director: Kristin Windell
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
7.6/10 2,695 votes#14 - The Sin-Eater
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 2/22/2017
China White, Cupid and Liza Warner break out of Iron Heights and head to Star City for revenge. Oliver tries to bring in the newly formed girl gang but the ACU intervenes mid-fight. To his surprise, they are there to arrest the Green Arrow for the murder of Det. Malone. Meanwhile, Lance feels responsible for the prison break after Warner tells him she heard about him working with Damien Darhk.
Director: Mary Lambert
Writer: Barbara Bloom, Jenny Lynn
8.3/10 2,913 votes#15 - Fighting Fire with Fire
Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 3/1/2017
Oliver faces his biggest challenge yet as mayor. Felicity continues down her dark path with Helix. After Vigilante attacks Oliver while he's acting as the mayor, Diggle leads the team in a mission to stop Vigilante once and for all.
Director: Michael Schultz
Writer: Speed Weed, Ben Sokolowski
8.8/10 3,394 votes#16 - Checkmate
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 3/15/2017
Oliver gets closer to the truth about Prometheus. Meanwhile, Helix refuses to continue helping Felicity until she does a favor for them.
Director: Ken Shane
Writer: Beth Schwartz, Sarah Tarkoff
9.1/10 4,501 votes#17 - Kapiushon
Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 3/22/2017
Prometheus goes to extreme lengths to destroy Oliver. In flashbacks, Oliver's violent tendencies come to a head in a confrontation with Anatoly.
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Writer: Emilio Ortega Aldrich, Brian Ford Sullivan
8.3/10 2,951 votes#18 - Disbanded
Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 3/29/2017
Diggle and Felicity are shocked by Oliver's decision to ask the Bratva for help in taking down Prometheus.
Director: J.J. Makaro
Writer: Rebecca Bellotto
7.7/10 2,746 votes#19 - Dangerous Liaisons
Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 4/26/2017
Oliver, Team Arrow, ARGUS and the SCPD kick off a citywide manhunt for Adrian Chase. Helix tells Felicity they have a way to find Chase but they will need something big, and illegal, from her in return.
Director: Joel Novoa
Writer: Speed Weed
7.6/10 3,417 votes#20 - Underneath
Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 5/3/2017
Oliver and Felicity get trapped in the bunker together, while Diggle and Lyla deal with marital issues.
Director: Wendey Stanzler
Writer: Beth Schwartz, Wendy Mericle
8.0/10 2,677 votes#21 - Honor Thy Fathers
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 5/10/2017
Oliver faces the forced release of criminals prosecuted by Adrian Chase, while a crate is delivered to Oliver's office containing a corpse in concrete.
Director: Laura Belsey
Writer: Sarah Tarkoff, Marc Guggenheim
8.9/10 3,478 votes#22 - Missing
Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 5/17/2017
Black Siren returns to give Chase help; Felicity plans a birthday party for Oliver; Lance is angry with Rene for missing the custody hearing about his daughter.
Director: Mairzee Almas
Writer: Oscar Balderrama, Speed Weed
9.6/10 8,363 votes#23 - Lian Yu
Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 5/24/2017
Oliver assembles a group of unlikely allies - Slade, Nyssa, Merlyn and Digger Harkness - to engage in an epic battle against Chase and his army.
Director: Jesse Warn
Writer: Wendy Mericle, Marc Guggenheim