They say all good things must come to an end and it appears that now that time has come for the television series Arrow. The show started back in 2012 and told story of billionaire playboy Oliver Queen whom returns to his home of Star City after being presumed dead. For the five years that he had been ‘missing’, he was actually trying to survive on a less than idyllic island. Upon his return, he sets about putting his new skills to use as he seeks to rid his home of crime by becoming the Green Arrow. The show has run for five years and in that time has seen Oliver enlist a team of fellow warriors, do battle with the likes of Deathstroke, Malcolm Merlin, and The League of Assassins, and even spawned its own shared universe. Whilst the cinematic DC universe has struggled to capture the same imagination as Marvel’s, when it comes to television, DC rules the roost. From Arrow we now have The Flash, Supergirl, The Legends of Tomorrow, and most recently Batwoman. It’s a great legacy for a show to leave behind, but is its own final season worth the watch?
Those that have stuck with the series will know that, despite a strong couple of early seasons, the show has struggled at times in recent years to fully engage its audience. For a while it seemed more focused on the Olicity (Oliver and Felicity) relationship drama than anything else, and some of the big bosses have been on the weak side. Season eight parallels this trend; the first couple of episodes point to exciting things, but then the season ends up falling into some blander chapters, before going out on a high.
The biggest frustration about the home entertainment release is that the whole series hinges upon the events of the annual crossover – Crisis on Infinite Earths. If you’re not familiar with these events, they’re basically one story told across all the DC TV shows: Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow. Each episode tells a segment on the story, whether or not it revolves around that particular show’s lead cast or not. This years event Crisis is the culmination of Oliver’s prophesied death, but the Arrow portion forms only one episode within the event – the penultimate chapter of the saga. That on its own is fine when watching it as part of the crossover special, however, the disc only features the crossover’s fourth episode – the other episodes are included as part of the boxsets of their respective shows. Given how integral these events are this time around for Oliver, it’s a huge shame to only have access to that one fragment of the story. Usually the crossovers don’t have so much impact on the individual shows overall, but this time around it is pivotal, and those that aren’t able to get access to the other episodes will be left a little bemused.
The aftermath of Crisis is told across the final two episodes. The first of those is a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off series focusing on Oliver’s daughter Mia as well as both Black Siren and Black Canary. For the first time in a while, this episode offers something fresh, new, and exciting, and it would be great to see where a stand-alone show would go given the opportunity. The second episode is of course the show’s final ever episode. It’s suitably filled with surprise cameos, welcome returns, and emotional goodbyes.
Though not quite perfect, this last season does a commendable job of tying up most lose threads, and paying respect to the hero whom spawned a legion of spin-offs shows. Television may be a little less super now with the green hood potentially retired forever, but thanks to this home entertainment release, you can relive the journey over and over.
Arrow: Season 8 is available to own on DVD and Blu-ray now.
Arrow: Season 8
Summary
Though not quite perfect, this last season does a commendable job of tying up most lose threads, and paying respect to the hero whom spawned a legion of spin-offs shows. Television may be a little less super now with the green hood potentially retired forever, but thanks to this home entertainment release, you can relive the journey over and over.
