Into The Arrowverse: Saying goodbye to the Green Arrow

Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW

Arrow Episode 810: “Fadeout”

Talk about one of the best series finales ever.

Arrow ended its eight-season run this week, and it’s difficult to put into words just how devastating and heartbreaking it was to say goodbye. I mean think about it. Arrow started the Arrowverse, and introduced us to a world of DCTV shows that I can’t imagine living without.

The series finale did not disappoint at all, and gave this hero the ending he deserved while meeting fans’ expectations of a proper conclusion. And for those of you wondering if we’d actually see Stephen Amell in the final episode, then I have good news: HECK YES WE DO!

Before I get into the review, Amell bid his own emotional farewell to his very iconic character. Grab your tissues, lots and lots of them.

The Arrow series finale does something special for day-one fans with a series of flashback scenes. They do an amazing job of incorporating all the major characters from the series into the finale, but not in an overwhelming way.

The episode kicks off with a throwback to 2012, to the moment Slade Wilson is about to take Moira Queen’s life. But things don’t play out this way, because Oliver breaks free of his shackles and stops Slade from killing Moira.

Why does the episode start this way? It’s to underline what Oliver’s death and sacrifice mean for the Arrowverse. He’s why Moira Queen is alive in the present, and giving an interview for a documentary about Oliver.

Arrow’s series finale was very interesting in the way it unfolded. Every moment gave us more insight what exactly Oliver did while he was the Spectre. People previously dead are now back (Moira, Emiko, Quentin and Tommy), and Star City is crime-free!

So, wait, there are no crimes,at all? Like, zero, zilch? Is that really possible? If Oliver as the Spectre was so powerful, he could have basically done anything, right?

Despite my doubts, I love that Oliver chose to bring back every single person he loved. It’s a very Oliver thing to do and makes a lot of sense for the series finale. He always went above and beyond for his loved ones, and even if he can’t be in this world, he wants them to be. How poetic!

The series finale found a very clever way to keep Amell in the episode without things being weird. Additionally, it gave us a lot more insight into Oliver’s relationship with Diggle. There’s something to be said that after eight seasons, we still want to know about their friendship, and how it transformed into what it did. They really had to work on it, and it didn’t come easy.

Which brings us to Arrow’s coolest fight scene ever. I don’t think they have ever pulled off something so epic, and by the end of it, we see Oliver turn into the man Diggle believed he could be: a hero, and not a killer.

In the present, team Arrow gathers to bid farewell to Oliver as a family. We basically see anyone that has ever been important to Arrow return, including Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity.

Didn’t you just love the scenes she was in!? It made me so emotional.

Of course, things can’t go off without a hitch, so after Sara brings Mia from 2040 to attend her father’s funeral and young William is kidnapped, things become a hot mess. That’s why Felicity comes out of hiding.

I had chills when Felicity looks across to an adult Mia for the first time. Up until now, I didn’t think I missed Felicity, but seeing Rickards’ emotional (and very believable!) performance made me feel her absence this season.

There was a lot of doubt in my mind about whether I wanted adult Mia and Felicity to talk, but when they did, it was everything I ever wanted. And speaking of emotional moments, shout-out to Katie Cassidy for giving it her all as Laurel Lance. Her time in the Arrowverse has truly shown just how talented she is.

It’s obvious that everyone Oliver ever loved is back, but what was peculiar is that this version of Laurel remained, not the original one. Laurel really struggles with this throughout the episode. I’m so glad they addressed this point, because it almost felt like a plot hole. Luckily, Papa Quentin came to the rescue with the perfect response: “Because sweetheart, there is nothing about you that needed to be fixed.”

Cue tears, lots of tears.

At Oliver’s funeral, everyone, including Barry and Kara, come together to say farewell to Oliver. Surreal as it is, it’s a perfect scene and couldn’t have gone any better. Everything from them coming together to Diggle’s speech had me ugly crying.

And then…are you ready for it? Are you sure?

The final few moments blew away my mind, and I think Arrowverse fans were collectively screaming and shouting at their television screens in excitement. During Diggle’s speech, the scenes flash to Dinah leaving Star City, Mia back in 2040 looking for William, and Diggle and Lyla packing up for their move to Metropolis.

That is until Diggle is blown back because of a foreign flying object that slams into the ground. As he approaches it and opens up the box in the ground…a very bright green light takes over the screen. Yes, that’s right, folks. The Arrowverse just gave some life to the rumors that John Diggle will become the Green Lantern. HECK YES! We want more!

And if that wasn’t enough to make you feel all the nerdy feels, then this just might: Remember when Felicity walked off with the Monitor into a portal somewhere? She was told that she couldn’t come back from this, and once we realize where she ended up, we were more than okay with it.

After all the deals and promises, Felicity was reunited with Oliver in the afterlife where they would spend eternity together — finally. Of all the places Oliver could have picked, he went with Moira’s office, the place where he saw Felicity for the very first time. Sigh, always a hopeless romantic.

And that’s a wrap on Arrow. Oliver Queen’s story may be over, but we’re far from the end.

Fadeout.

Grade: A

What a week, Arrowverse fans! I can’t really say any more than I already have, but I do want to say is that I’ll miss Arrow very, very much. It was the start of something special, and while it may be over, there is plenty to look forward to.

We’re not done just yet, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Arrowverse!

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