‘Arrow’ Season 5, Episode 16 Spoilers: “Checkmate” – Chase Stages Trap for Oliver Using Susan as Bait; Josh Segarra Hints Prometheus’ Backstory

‘Arrow’ season 5’s episode 16, titled “Checkmate,” is set to follow Chase as he stages a trap for Oliver by using Susan as bait. Chase actor Josh Segarra hinted that the series will explore Prometheus’ backstory in the incoming episodes.

The synopsis for episode 16 posted on TV Guide reads, “Oliver (Stephen Amell) gets closer to the truth about Prometheus. Meanwhile, Helix refuses to continue helping Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) until she does a favor for them.”

In the previous episode, titled "Fighting Fire with Fire," it was revealed that Prometheus’ real identity was actually Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra). Adrian served as Oliver’s lawyer during his impeachment process.

According to Mic, the final moments of episode 15 showed Chase appearing to kidnap Susan, Oliver’s ex-girlfriend. It will be interesting to see how this will lead up to a Green Arrow-Prometheus showdown. It will also be interesting to see Oliver’s reaction to the revelation that his attorney is in fact one of his enemies.

The promo hints at an imminent battle between Oliver and Chase. A clip reveals Susan tied and bound in captivity. Chase will torture her and send video footage to Oliver in order to trap him.

It seems that Chase a.k.a. Prometheus’ real intentions are yet to be revealed. Showrunner Wendy Mericle explained the surprising twist during an interview with IGN. Mericle said, "One of the reasons we did do it was because everybody would be thinking, 'Of course he's going to be Vigilante.”

She continued, “We thought it would be a really fun twist to do what we've always done on the show which is to take the comic book mythology and turn it on its head and see what kind of story we can mine from a surprise like that… We wanted to change up how we introduced the big bad and change up when we did it, how we did it, and hopefully we succeeded in that this year."

Segarra, who plays Chase, also hinted that Chase’s intentions and backstory will be revealed in the upcoming episodes. He said, "We're not going to leave it to the end of the season… You're going to see Chase just kind of trying to burn the world around him. We've seen the reluctance [in] him to kill [Oliver]. I never want to kill him. It's just to make sure that we can make him stir a little bit, make him uncomfortable. So I think that's where it's going. Once they do find out, it's how then to continue with my mission."

‘Arrow’ season 5’s episode 16, titled “Checkmate,” is scheduled to air on March 15, 2017 on The CW. It was directed by Ken Shane and written by Beth Schwartz & Sarah Tarkoff. It will be followed by episode 17, titled “Kapiushon," directed by Kevin Tancharoen and scheduled to be released on March 22.