Arrow Seasons Ranked
Arrow is one of my favorite T.V. shows of all time, and I want to talk about the show. Since it doesn’t have a new season coming out, I thought I would rank them in the month of November.
Fun Fact: I am a bit biased towards the show because I met Stephen Amell (actor who plays Oliver Queen) at a comic con in 2018.
8. Season 4: I’ve seen a lot of people on the internet hate on this season, and I can get some of that, but I still get some enjoyment out of the season. Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk is so much fun to watch on screen, and can be very entertaining. I also enjoy Oliver’s new suit in this season, the suit in seasons 1-3 got old after a while, but fun to see a new suit. On the negative side of things, Felicity was a great character in the first couple of seasons, but in this season she is lecturing Oliver about keeping secrets from her, and is being the worst of the show in this season. And while I really enjoyed Damien Darhk as a character, I thought that since he was so magic based it didn’t fit the tone of the show. When he was on “Legends of Tomorrow”, he was great, but in this season of Arrow he doesn’t fit the tone. So overall, not a terrible season of television, but it certainly has a lot of issues that hold it back, but still has some entertainment in it.
7. Season 3: The fact that they got Brandon Routh to play another superhero is a lot of fun to see, (I also met Brandon Routh at the same comic con where I met Stephen Amell). He adds some nice humor to the overall thing that adds some nice entertainment to it. In my opinion, this is Roy’s best season, finally getting to see him become Arsenal and officially join Team Arrow is cool to see. Also, getting Ras al Ghul as the main villain and doing Batman Begins but with Oliver Queen instead of Bruce Wayne is interesting for a season of this show. I thought with the nature of the plot they decided to go with was weird because it meant that Oliver was detached from Star City and Team Arrow that the main character is the side character for a lot of this season. Where in episode 9 he fights Ras al Ghul...and doesn’t go well, so he’s gone from Team Arrow from episode 10-12, then episode 20 he joins Ras al Ghul, so Oliver is the Green Arrow for only 69% of the season, and that’s a big problem. Interesting idea but not executed all that well, so I like a lot of things but a big plot line holds this season back.
6. Season 6: There are a lot of really great episodes inside of this season. You have the 2-part Deathstroke story arc that is great, you have the Fundamentals episode, and the final 3 episodes of this season are great. Michael Emerson as the villain in the first half was great to see, he can be villainous and obviously Emerson is a great actor so he is great in this season. And, I also thought the dynamic between Oliver and William was interesting, and nice to see Oliver in a new light. Once again like Season 3 there are a couple things that bog the season down. The middle episodes were a bit rough to watch. You have Team Arrow doing a Civil War where they break-up, but the way they break-up is weird. Spoilers: In episode 9 it is revealed that Rene was the one that told the FBI that Oliver was the Green Arrow, and Rene gets mad at Oliver because he thinks that Oliver doesn’t trust him, and it doesn’t make any sense because Rene turned on Oliver. Spoilers End. And Diggle is pouting because Oliver won’t let him wear the Green Arrow costume. So a lot of things I enjoy, and a few things that hold this season ack from being top tier Arrow.
5. Season 7: This is the season that I’m so split on, I love a lot of things and don’t love a lot of things. The first seven episodes with Oliver in prison is my favorite story line on the show. It is so intense and fantastic. One of my top 3 favorite Arrow episodes is The Slabside Redemption the conclusion to the prison story arc that is great to see Stephen Amell do this hardcore action. And the I like episodes 20 and 21 with the murder investigation and getting Roy back in the present time. Also there are some emotions in the final episodes with Oliver and Felicity. But, most of the other directions they took things didn’t work for me. The big issue is the villain Emiko, her motivation doesn’t work for me. What her motivation is she wants to killing Oliver because Robert Queen (Oliver’s father) turned down her business proposal, that’s a stupid and dumb villain motivation. Also the flash forwards didn’t work for me, it showed Star City in the future where Oliver failed to save the city, and the flash forwards are blend and a weak part in the season. So I love the prison story arc in the beginning, the second half didn’t work for me that much. If the second half was as good as the first half, Season 7 could be the top 3 Arrow seasons.
4. Season 8: The eigith and final season of Arrow I thought was very very good. Each of the 10 episodes I thought were fun (except for episode 9), and different scenarios that happen, that worked for me. And it was nice where each episode brought back a character from the show. Also, I thought the characters that they introduced in the flash forwards were used a lot better in this season that in season 7, so that was nice. I also enjoyed the dynamic between Oliver and Mia for the middle section of the season. The finale for the show really worked for me, it has emotions and I liked the final scene of the show. And I have heard some people on the internet being not a big fan of this season, where it just feels like an epilogue for the actual show, that doesn’t bother me. It still worked and provided a satisfying final season for this show that I’ve been watching for years now. On a small note, I thought that Oliver’s costume in this season is the best costume he wore in the show. While a lot of people on the internet are not a big fan of the final season of the show, this was a season that I really enjoyed.
3. Season 1: I love this season, I really do. If this season is at number 3, it just shows that this show has a lot of great seasons. I thought this season did a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the show, a more dark and grounded show, and they also did a great job of introducing the characters. And the villain of the season Malcolm Merlyn is so good, he thinks that he is the hero in his own story, and how the Glades treated Merlyn wrong, and he wants revenge. Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen is great for him as the playboy billionaire and as the vigilante getting justice for his father. I also think this is Diggle’s best season where I like his dynamic with Oliver and the early work of their relationship. The flashbacks worked for me, and I liked that they introduced Slade Wilson in this season to help build that relationship that leads into season 2. Oliver’s relationship with Felicity worked for me, Felicity was only meant to be in like 3 episodes, but she became a fan favorite and got promoted to be the second most important character on the show. Maybe where this one gets held back is that I think this season has a few to many filler episodes and some boring episodes, but besides that. I love this season, and did a great job of setting up the rest of the show.
2. Season 5: What a big step-up from the weaker points of seasons 3 and 4, this season brought the show back to a more grounded and realistic tone in the first two seasons. Prometheus is another great villain in this show that broke Oliver, and posed a great threat to him, and so once you get into those final 3-5 episodes their rivalry just builds and builds to this amazing dynamic between the two of them. The episodes also has my favorite episode of the show with “Lian Yu” the season finale for the season. And I liked that Oliver started recruiting a team of heroes with Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, and Artemis and getting to see Oliver be the mentor of a team of new and young heroes. This season have great fight scenes where it is shot the best and it is choreographed the best. Put the pieces together and you get a season with great characters, villains, and fight scenes and one of my favorite seasons of Arrow, and one of my favorite Arrowverse seasons.
1. Season 2: This is Arrow in its prime, where they were just firing on all fronts, with the episodes, characters, and story. This season has the most consistent episodes in the Arrowverse, were the weakest episode of the season is still very very good. And the final 5 episodes are just fantastic, maybe the best stretch of great episodes in any season. Slade Wilson as the big bad for the season is fantastic. And like I said earlier, I love that they built Oliver and Slade’s relationship in season 1 so you get to see the relationship grow in this season and when Slade comes to the present time the season gets fantastic, and Slade helps make this season my favorite of the show. The story here with Slade coming back and getting revenge on Oliver and using the mirakuru to make an army worked for me, and Slade posed a great threat towards Oliver. This is the best team Arrow where it was Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle and a few people are joining like Roy and Sara but doesn’t feel overstuffed. This season is fantastic, and is not only my favorite season of the show and the entire Arrowverse.
That is my ranking of the 8 seasons of Arrow, and I also ranked the Legends of Tomorrow seasons. The Flash and Supergirl will be coming in 2021.
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