There were a lot of times that Oliver Queen showed that he truly cared for his sister Thea Queen and proved to be an amazing brother in Arrow. Part of his drive to become the Hood later known as the Green Arrow was to protect the ones he cared about and to make his city a better place.
Oliver sacrificed a lot to keep his secret and to keep his friends and family safe. A lot of his actions from the past resulted in tragic outcomes. There were some times that Oliver wasn't a great brother and wasn't exactly always there for Thea when she needed him most. Here are 5 times Oliver Queen was a great brother and 5 times he wasn't.
Was Great: Stopping Thea From Being Reckless
One of the best things Oliver Queen ever did for his sister, Thea Queen, was saving her from following his footsteps in chasing a reckless lifestyle. Upon Oliver's return back home, he quickly learned that Thea was starting to get into the party scene and was hanging out with the wrong people.
She may not have appreciated it in the early seasons of the show, but it certainly helped her later on to become a mature adult that didn't get herself in a situation that would have brought her down a dark path.
Wasn't: Hiding His Identity From Thea
While Oliver did finally reveal his identity to Thea in Season 3, it was a bit late considering Roy, Laurel, and Diggle already knew it. Telling her a bit early on when she was going through some serious problems would have been a lot better and saved her a lot of grief.
Oliver's duty as the Arrow took a lot from his time being a brother to Thea and telling her sooner would have helped her understand why he was gone at certain times. Thankfully when he did finally reveal his identity to Thea, she didn't take it harshly and understood why he had waited so long.
Was Great: Took Thea's Advice
When Oliver returned from 5 years in hell, he had a lot of social skills to work on. One of those being how he pursued his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Laurel Lance. At first, he wanted to keep Laurel away for her own good but Thea gave him some very wise advice to start opening up.
Not only did this make the relationship between Oliver and Thea better but it eventually helped with the rest of Oliver's relationships with his friends.
Wasn't: Lying Constantly
Thea was exposed to a lot of lies throughout her time growing up with her family. She was lied to by her mother, father, and her brother and this pushed her into a dark place where she started doing drugs and getting involved in a reckless lifestyle. Oliver lied to Thea a lot.
So much to the point that Thea just couldn't trust her brother or mother anymore. While a lot of the times that Oliver lied were to protect his sister from a dark truth, he should have tried to see from her perspective rather than leave her to be hurt more in the future. Instead of hiding the conflict with him and Malcolm Merlyn, he could have told the truth.
Was Great: Training Roy
Taking Roy in as a sidekick was great for his relationship with Thea. Oliver truly cares for Roy who really cares for Thea. Training Roy gives him the ability to protect Thea with the only complication being hiding who he really is.
Oliver does reveal his identity to Thea in Season 3 but it was a bit complicated for Roy to have to lie to her before then. It was certainly a lot better than pushing Roy away for being involved with his sister.
Wasn't: Allowing Thea To Be Manipulated
Oliver was really busy during the final episodes of Season 2 as Slade Wilson terrorized his city. During this time, Malcolm Merlyn returned to Starling City and revealed to Thea that Robert Queen was not her real father and that he was.
This shattered Thea in her already vulnerable state where Roy wasn't around because of his duty to help Oliver. In a time of desperation to have someone that cares for her, Thea accepted Malcolm into her life which resulted in a brutal outcome in Season 3.
Was Great: Saving Thea Using The Lazarus Pit
After being killed by Ra's Al Ghul, Oliver was left with no choice but to bring his sister back using the Lazarus pit. The only downside to this was that Thea developed a very aggressive and violent nature that resulted in her becoming a murderer for some time.
However, it was the only way Oliver could bring his sister back to life after she was wrongfully killed for the death of Sarah Lance because of Malcolm Merlyn orchestrating the terrible deed. Thea did end up going back to her normal ways in future seasons so it was definitely worth the risk.
Wasn't: Going Back To Murdering
In the first season of Arrow, Oliver killed a lot of people while crossing the names off of the list left to him by his father. After the death of Tommy Merlyn, he swore off killing in order to be a better person and not the murderer that the public viewed him as. In Season 5, Oliver went back to his old ways. Thea, having seen Oliver kill once again, explained that she disapproved of him putting killing back on the table.
The man he killed could have been let go rather than killed and it was right for Thea to feel disgusted by her brother committing such a dishonorable act after all they've been through together.
Was Great: Saving Moira Queen
In the series finale of Arrow, Oliver was able to alter multiple events that took place throughout the show to bring certain characters back to life. One of those characters being Moira Queen, his mother. This was a great thing for Thea as she's finally able to reunite with her mother and isn't left alone with no family members to talk to.
Besides having her Arrow family, Thea was really close to her mother and they can both remember Oliver for his amazing legacy.
Wasn't: Trying To Control Thea
There were a lot of times that Oliver invaded Thea's life throughout the show. His decisions put Thea in a place where she felt like she couldn't grow on her own and while Oliver was of course doing this to protect his sister, sometimes it was a little too much. Oliver didn't want Thea following his reckless decisions prior to being shipwrecked on the island but he also would constantly lie to Thea's face.
On top of that, Moira Queen was also constantly trying to control Thea. Both Oliver and Moira should have let Thea be herself a lot more while just ensuring that she didn't get herself in trouble.