Arrow Season Premieres Ranked

Arrow Season Premieres Ranked

Year 10 of the Arrowverse is in the middle of coming back, last week Batwoman Season 3 and Legends of Tomorrow Season 7 started. And in November, The Flash is starting back up with season 8. So today I’m going to be ranking all 8 season premieres of Arrow, the show that started it all for the Arrowverse. Let’s get started! 

8. Fallout (Season 6): Now in general, I like season 6. I think it’s a good solid season of the show. But the first episode is one of the weaker episodes of the season. Season 5 ended with one of the best cliffhangers of the Arrowverse with Prometheus blowing up Lian Yu with Team Arrow on it. And this should have been this show changing event of killing off a major character like Diggle or Felicity. But they didn’t do that, all they did was kill over Oliver’s ex and set up Oliver’s arc for season 6 with his relationship with William. At this point in time, the cast was too big. Somebody should have been killed off, like an actual member of the show. It’s a very disappointing way to kick off season 6, which otherwise is a good season. Now it is nice seeing Oliver’s dynamic with William start and the obvious conflict that is there between them. The battle in the bunker towards the end of the episode is done very well, the action in the show in general is pretty good and this is a very good fight. But in general, this isn’t a very good start to season 6 of the show. 

7. Green Arrow (Season 4): I’ve never understood all of the hate that this season gets, it’s still watchable to me. And this is an episode that falls into that category, it’s a fun episode. I have never had an issue with Oliver and Felicity being a couple, and so the fact that this episode largely focuses on them it’s a positive for me. I think Oliver and Felicity are one of the better Arrowverse couples. And I do like how this episode does deal with the choices that Oliver made in season 3 and how that could come in conflict with Team Arrow, especially with Diggle. And I thought that conflict worked in this episode. Damian Darhk is a very fun villain, Neal McDonough is a great actor and I think he nails playing this character. So the fact that he is in this episode does help it out a good bit. Now, I think some of the costumes for Team Arrow aren’t very good. Diggle’s helmet isn't very good, and I don’t like the sleeveless costume for Oliver. And the action sequences in this episode aren’t as memorable as I would have liked, but overall a good episode. 

6. The Calm (Season 3): An episode that I thought was a nice way to kick off season 3 and has a number of solid things about it. I love that Roy is officially a member of Team Arrow, and just love seeing Arsenal and Green Arrow team up just a little bit in that opening action sequence. Once again, we get Olicity in this episode and like I said, I don’t mind that about this episode. And where this episode ends sets up season 3 and also helps set up Legends of Tomorrow. Where this episode gets held back from being in the top 5 is it feels very one note up until the final scene. It’s just what you expect from an Arrow episode, there aren't many distinct things about it. Where I think the rest of season 3 had more of that. And in general, this is an episode that I’ve always enjoyed but never loved. And in a lot of ways, this is the episode that is just kind of there for me. Everything in this episode is good, nothing bad, nothing amazing or anything. 

5. City of Heroes (Season 2): If you have seen my ranking of the Arrow seasons you know that I love season 2, it is my favorite season of the show. Season 2 has so many fantastic episodes, especially as you move into the second half of the season. But I think this episode still does have some really good things about it. First up, I think this is one of the episodes that does a great job of dealing with the consequences from the previous season. In this episode’s case Moira is still in prison Oliver went back to Lian Yu after the death from season 1. And you see these characters in a very different light from where we saw them in season 2 and setting up their arcs for season 2. But...for whatever reason this episode is not super memorable. I could tell you plot points in the episode about things that happen, but I couldn’t tell you the flow of the story. What happens, what the big cliffhanger at the end of the episode is. That’s probably what holds it back from only being number 5 on this list. But still a very good episode, there are just a number of really good season premieres on the show. 

4. Inmate 4587 (Season 7): Season 7 is the season of the show that is most frustrating to me, and is kind of all over the place with it’s episodes and story arcs. Because the first seven episodes of telling Oliver in prison are great, it’s some of the best stuff of the show. And since this episode is the start of that and heavily focuses in on that, this is a great episode. And it does a great job of establishing the tone and the vibe that this story line will have. It establishes that it is a much darker place, and the action sequence in the shower is brutal, maybe the most brutal fight in the entire show or Arrowverse for that matter. It’s interesting seeing Team Arrow function without Oliver, see how Felicity raising William by herself plays out. It sets up these interesting ideas that work in the episode. Now, this episode had the pieces to be in that top 3. But I just don’t buy into the scene where Diaz attacks Felicity and Felicity is able to get out of there super easily. Even though season 6 established Diaz as a skilled fighter. Besides that, the Knicks pick, a great episode. 

3. Legacy (Season 5): After season 4 which wasn’t the best outing for The Emerald Archer, they came back with this episode and it’s a great start to season 5. One of the things that they marketed about this season was that it had a back to basics vibe about it. Where season 4 ended with Diggle leaving Team Arrow, Thea retiring as Speedy and so this episode is largely just Oliver and Felicity on Team Arrow. And I like that smaller vibe about it, I think it helps the episode out. Also, as this is the start to Oliver actually becoming Mayor, it’s interesting to see him in that light seeing Oliver is the leader of Star City, so it provides this new dynamic to everything. And teases Prometheus as a top tier Arrowverse villain with that cliffhanger teasing him as a threat. And just in general, did a number of things really well, and didn’t do anything to make it a bottom tier episode. But it’s not a bottom tier episode, this is a great episode of both the show as a whole and season 5. 

2. Pilot (Season 1): The first ever episode of Arrow, is still one of the shows best. I think origin stories are great stories to tell, especially when they are done well. And it’s fun seeing Oliver establish or reestablish a number of the friendships that were so pivotal for the show as a whole. I like how over the years, Oliver and Diggle formed this brotherly bond between one another...but it didn’t really start out that way. And Oliver being confused as to why his mom hired his personal bodyguard. They have some really funny moments that make me laugh every time I watch this episode. One of my favorite things in season 1 was the bromance between Oliver and Tommy and it’s funny seeing Tommy catching Oliver up on everything that happened in the past 5 years, and even hitting on Oliver’s sister, Thea. The “no one will not be my secret '' scene is one of the best of the season and easily the best moment of the episode. Also, the big cliffhanger at the end of the episode does a really nice job of setting in motion season 1. So a great episode to kick off the show and season 1. 

1. Starling City (Season 8): Going into season 8, Marc Guggenheim described this episode as a love letter to the fans. And I think that is the truth with this episode, season 8 was basically one big long love letter to the fans. And this is the episode of season 8 where I think it’s the best used. Where we see Oliver on Earth 2 interacting with old but familiar faces, seeing Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn return for this episode is always fun to see. Also, I think Tommy Merlyn is a great character and always enjoys it when they bring him back once or twice every season. It’s a great story that is told in this episode of seeing the pilot episode but instead it takes place on Earth 2 and how would that be different. So on this Earth, Oliver didn’t become the Green Arrow but Adrian Chase did. That’s a clever twist on a familiar story line that we’ve seen before. And the episode ends with a great cliffhanger that I remember watching this episode and was shocked by what I just saw, and wanted to see episode 2 really badly. Put the moments, characters, story lines, and cliffhanger together you get my favorite of the Arrow season premieres. 

There you have it, my ranking of the 8 Arrow season premieres. Which episode is your favorite? Also, remember I’ve done countless of Arrowverse rankings, reviews, and top 10 lists. Thanks for reading!