Arrow: Farewell

By: Courtney Groom

Early in March 2019 “Arrow” executive producers announced the series would wrap with its eighth season and that season would consist of only ten episodes. “Arrow” premiered on The CW in October 2012, following the attempts of playboy billionaire Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) to redeem his father’s legacy and to save what was originally called Starling City. Initially, Queen was known to Starling City residents as “The Hood” who hunted down criminals and sometimes killed for the sake of protecting his identity. “Arrow” was the first of its kind, creating a gateway for all the CW/DC shows we love and watch today.

After Oliver Queen first featured in the television series “Smallville” from 2006 to 2011, producers decided to take a leap of faith and start fresh with the character, finding a new actor and exploring comic book tales. Initially, the show set out to follow playboy billionaire Oliver Queen. Having spent the last five years shipwrecked on a mysterious island called Lian Yu, he finally returned home to Starling City where he set out to become a secret vigilante in honor of his father’s death. Throughout the series Oliver is joined by some serious pals that help him put the bad guys of Starling City in their place. We were introduced to some of Arrowverses’ best characters such as former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), IT expert Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), former assassin Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), aspiring vigilante Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), sister Thea (Willa Holland) and attorney turned vigilante Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy).

It’s worth mentioning at the time the show began in 2012 that the superhero genre was next to non-existent, especially on TV. Cinema screens had just seen the release of Marvel’s Avengers and no one at the time could’ve predicted how far the genre was about to take off. “Arrow” changed the face of superhero television, thus creating the Arrowverse with “The Flash” premiering in 2014, “Supergirl” in 2016, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” in 2017, “Black Lightning” in 2018 and the new hit “Batwoman” in 2019. Since then they have dominated and still continue to reign as hit television, being some of the most long-lasting hero shows we have ever seen.

With such powerful shows must come powerful ends – and “Arrow” is no stranger to character deaths. In fact, it’s safe to say viewers have suffered their fair share of beloved characters leaving us far earlier than they should have. One character in particular that we lost at the start of the show, and one myself and many other fans never got over, was the death of Oliver’s best friend Tommy (Colin Donnell). In a fight to save Starling City, Tommy got caught in the middle of the crossfire and found himself crushed by The Glades as the Dark Archer activated his second earthquake device in the finale of Season 1. For only appearing in twenty-three episodes of the first season, Tommy become a much-loved character. In fact, falling in love with Laurel he was able to put his former playboy status aside. Furthermore, he represented Oliver’s past and, despite the fall outs, embraced his present. Fans felt it was a cruel decision to take him from the series as he was starting to accept what the island had done to Oliver. To this day, we still wonder what “Arrow” could have been like if he had remained a part of it.

We’ve also seen the Lance family perish before our eyes; first with Sara back in Season 3 falling off a roof top after being shot with arrows by Thea Queen but was later resurrected by the powers of the Lazarus Pit. Sister Laurel Lance perished in one of the most heart-wrenching deaths the show has crafted in season 5 – following being stabbed with arrows by the twisted Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough). Sadly, all the Lazarus Pits were destroyed by this point (shocking) and Sara set out for revenge, showcasing one of the best character developments the Arrowverse has ever seen. Finally, Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), everyone’s favorite father figure, died at the end of Season 6 after being shot by vicious villain Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo). As one of the last standing original characters left, it was hard to let him go and see Sara, again, lose a member of her family.

However, as one Canary falls another must rise. After the death of Laurel we saw an introduction to the new mantle of the Black Canary, Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy). With this new addition came a new wave of heroes that included Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez) a/k/a Wild Dog and computer hacker Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum) a/k/a Mr. Terrific. With these new hands in the fight, there was also a fresh, clean look to the show. Laurel did make a grand return though in Season 6 as a Doppelganger known as Black Siren, a meta-human version from Earth-2 who was set out to destroy Oliver and his team. But, eventually, this Black Siren overcame the darkness and fought alongside Oliver and his new team.

As mentioned before, Quentin Lance was a father figure to many of the team members, especially to Oliver. During his time, he was one of the hearts and souls of the show. He had been through his fair share of trauma during the six years. First, he lost both of his daughters (although Sara is never really dead) which crumbled his marriage apart. He also was put into prison for protecting Oliver’s identity. Next, he joined teams with baddie Damien Darhk before turning to alcohol. All of the pain in his life pushed him towards this unhealthy form of comfort. But despite all the loss and heartache he faced, Quentin always found a way to help those he cared about. After he spent years trying to discover who was behind The Green Hood, in a means to vengeance on Sara, once he discovered it was Oliver, he was able to forget all about his anger and heartache and was able to seek forgiveness. Since then Quentin found himself looking after Thea and working alongside her as Oliver became Mayor. We loved every moment of seeing his fatherly instincts looking after the only “family” left in his life.

Another character that really was, in large parts, the glue that really held “Arrow” together was Felicity Smoak. Being part of the show from the very beginning, Smoak was introduced as the tech genius and a former hacker who went on to become a love interest for Oliver Queen. However, she became much more than that. Over the course of her time on the show her character completely turned the idea of the nerdy superhero sidekick on its head. Though she is perhaps the least physically capable member of the team when it comes to throwing a punch, she is as much a hero as anyone who suits up in a vigilante mask or hood. Her enormous heart, her compassionate nature and her refusal to back down when facing the worst sorts of odds make her the kind of woman any of us might aspire to become one day. Her compassionate nature is invaluable and her vibrant personality provides a much-needed ray of sunshine in the otherwise dark and grim world of “Arrow.” She’s brave, loyal and willing to stand up to those she thinks are doing wrong, even when they’re her friends.

Taking the lead on strong female characters the show was able to explore more of Felicity’s darker side in recent seasons – her regrets, her insecurities, her own past as a hacker, her messy relationship with her parents and her rage at the situation that landed Oliver in jail – making her character become much more complex and layered. The decision to pair her romantically with Oliver represents one of the series’ first major departures from the comics and established the show as one willing to take risks and tell its own story on its own terms. “Olicity” turned into Arrowverse’s best couple and helped with the development and growth of Oliver as after losing his own family and doing whatever means necessary to save the city. He now had other people to protect and think about. Felicity was smart and tough, complicated and quippy, loyal and brave. She was her own leader. Without Felicity’s tech genius Team Arrow would have crumbled and we would have never seen the wave of strong leading female characters in the show that we have today.

“Arrow” has truly has come a long way since it first aired. Yes, some of the character developments have been…well, questionable. And some storylines merely not as strong as others, losing fan interest. But “Arrow” always comes back to one thing and one message – family. Family has been a huge role in the development and ever-growing character list in both this world and the Arrowverse. Every sacrifice, every decision always boils down to protecting the ones they love the most. Oliver faced a tremendous amount of heartbreak in his time. He has lost both of his parents, both of whom died before his eyes. Additionally, his best friend, his ex-lovers Sara and Laurel and even sister Thea turned “to the dark side” for a while. But Oliver continued to push away from his millionaire I-don’t-care-about-anyone-but-myself lifestyle and ended up turning into a leader, a husband, a father to William (Ben Lewis) and more importantly – a hero. Comparing Season 1 Oliver to present Oliver and his sacrifice on Crisis on Infinite Earths shows just how much the writers and producers of the show put into his character over the last seven years. He’s not a perfect character, but having the strife of protecting his family, including Team Arrow, has always been the message of this show and, thus, the reason I believe it has managed to continue for all these years.

It’s never easy to say goodbye to characters we have learned to love over the course of seven years and a show some of us watched growing up. However, we understand that it’s the right time to hang up the bow and arrow. “Arrow” did the impossible, it changed the face of the superhero genre for television and built a foundation for other incredible and diverse shows to stand on. It gave everything a show could ever give – heartbreak, laughter, destruction, twists, love and showcases that no matter what family will always be important. The series has by no means been perfect, but what show is? “Arrow” set out to do exactly what it was intended, bring people together. The cast, crew, writers and anyone involved in the show at any point should be so proud of themselves. It’s a show that has brought so many people around the world together and it’s a legacy that will always be remembered throughout the rest of the Arrowverse history.

Thank you, “Arrow.”