The revelation Artemis has betrayed Oliver in favor of a partnership with Prometheus was a nice nod to Young Justice, but the thought of a traitor on Team Arrow is a bit unnerving. Especially considering Artemis knows everything there is to know about Green Arrow’s operation, giving Prometheus even more ammo than he already had before.
The reveal raised the question of just how long Artemis has been undercover. Thankfully, Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim has an answer. He instructed fans to rewatch Season 5 episode 6 for clues during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“If you view the end of 5.06 and her final scenes with Oliver as, ‘Oh, she’s lying,’ I think you see when she decided to team up with Prometheus. Basically in the commercial break between Act 5 and Act 6 [of that episode], that’s when she made the decision to join up with Prometheus. So while people were watching car commercials, that’s what she was doing.”
The same episode, “So It Begins,” had the first showdown between Green Arrow and Prometheus. It was also the same episode the new recruits -- Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, Ragman and Artemis -- learned of Oliver’s Season 1 ‘list’ and all the name’s he crossed out along the way. Team Arrow 2.0 was fairly upset about this new information, particularly Artemis, who was already on rocky terms with Ollie.
Oliver was the one who convinced her killing wasn’t the answer back in Season 4 when she dressed as Black Canary and went on a crusade to get revenge for her parents death. She blamed Oliver at first, who she believes left her parents to suffocate in Darhk’s testing chambers. Obviously she forgave him and joined Team Arrow, but it appears Oliver’s newly revealed secrets were the last straw. By the end of the episode, she was calling Oliver a serial killer and warned her fellow recruits not to trust him.
“We all want to believe in Oliver’s crusade,” Artemis told Wild Dog and Ragman. “But how are we supposed to follow him into battle when his first instinct is to hide the truth from us? First it’s, ‘I used to be a serial killer,’ what’s tomorrow's revelation gonna be? I don't know how to operate with that in the back of my mind.”
Afterwards, she ends up going head to head with Prometheus on a subway car. It’s still unclear if the reason she doesn’t get hurt is because she’s already made a deal with the big bad. He shows her mercy, but he didn’t do the same to the train operator. Luckily, Ollie arrives just in time to save the train operator, although Prometheus disappears.
Back at the Arrowcave, Ollie patches up Artemis. She apologizes to him, saying she was a jerk before. Guggenheim’s statement’s confirms that final scene between the two of them was just a facade, and by then, she was already on Prometheus’ side. Season 5 episode 7, ‘Vigilante,’ revealed to viewers where Artemis’ loyalties lie, but Oliver still has no idea. The promo for Season 5 episode 9, “What We Leave Behind,” shows Artemis and Prometheus standing together across from Team Arrow. How do you think Oliver will react? Let us know in the comments below.
The Arrow Season 5 midseason finale airs Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. on The CW.
