Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Arrow, season 8, episode 10, "Fadeout."
The series finale of Arrow brought a satisfying conclusion to the show that started the Arrowverse. Yet for all that the episode resolved, it also opened several avenues for the stories of Star City's heroes to continue elsewhere, such as the proposed spin-off Green Arrow and the Canaries.
When Arrow first aired in the fall of 2012, there were few who predicted that it would survive a season and fewer still who expected it to spawn a spin-off with The Flash. Now, nearly eight years later, Arrow has redefined the superhero series and become the cornerstone of the single largest shared reality in television history. Indeed, the Arrowverse may now be the largest shared multiverse in all of fiction, with Crisis on Infinite Earths having tied the Arrowverse to virtually every television and cinematic universe ever based on a DC Comics' character.
"Fadeout," the final episode of Arrow, was a worthy tribute to that accomplishment and a memorial to the legacy of the hero who started it all. While Oliver Queen may be dead, the ideals for which he lived and died live on and the world that he sacrificed himself to build seems stronger than ever. But what about the friends and family that joined Oliver Queen on his journey? What was their final fate in the new Arrowverse? Here's what happens in Arrow's ending and what it means for the future.
What Happened In The Arrow Series Finale
The action of the Arrow series finale, "Fallout", was split between three storylines. In the first, the heroes of Star City tried to figure out where they stood in the newly rebuilt Arrowverse and how much things had changed following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the second, an all-star team of Green Arrow's allies joined forces after learning that Oliver's son, William Clayton, had been abducted from his grandparents' home in Central City. Finally, Oliver Queen's friends and family gathered to pay tribute to the first hero of his generation and mourn his passing.
The episode opened with John Diggle conducting a new interview with filmmaker Marcia Pedowitz. In the pre-Crisis Arrowverse, Pedowitz had filmed a documentary about the vigilantes of Star City and their difficulties in working alongside the police in 2017. In the new reality, Pedowitz had yet to finish the documentary and was now reworking it into a memorial film about the life of Oliver Queen. Shortly afterward, Diggle met up with Rene "Wild Dog" Ramirez and the two discussed how in the month following the Crisis there was practically no crime in Star City (at least, none that the Star City Police Department couldn't handle). This led them to hold a wake of sorts in the Arrow bunker, joining with Roy "Arsenal" Harper, Dinah "Black Canary" Drake and Laurel "Black Siren" Lance to drink vodka, toast the man who saved their city, and discuss their plans for the future.
The five assembled heroes also gave each other a matching tattoo based around a design Oliver had created; The Mark of Four. Based around what he dubbed the Four Pillars of Heroism (Courage, Compassion, Selflessness and Loyalty) the Mark of Four was meant to be symbolic of the values that had kept Oliver Queen on the hero's path, even in his darkest hours. The tattoo was meant to remind the five heroes of what they had come to mean to each other as the ones who were there with Oliver during his final battles.
In the future of Star City 2040, Mia Queen was awoken by the sudden arrival of Sara Lance, who had accidentally teleported into her bedroom through a time portal. When Mia asked for an explanation for the rude awakening, Sara explained that she had come to take Mia back in time to see her father's funeral. Mia followed her back to the year 2020, though she freely admitted that she had no idea why Sara was so insistent that she should attend Oliver Queen's funeral.
Shortly after arriving, Mia had a private talk with Dinah, whom she had come to know better in the future following the events of "Green Arrow and the Canaries." For Mia, it had been a few weeks since her brother William had been kidnapped and she'd made no progress in tracking whoever had abducted him. Despite Dinah's assurance that Oliver would be proud of how Mia was continuing his legacy, Mia said she still felt like a failure since she couldn't do the one thing Oliver had managed successfully: keep his family safe. Coincidentally, it was at that moment that the computers in the bunker reported that William Clayton had been kidnapped in the modern day.
With most of Oliver Queen's friends and family coming into Star City for the funeral, it didn't take long to put together a strike team to hunt down William and his kidnapper. Thea "Speedy" Queen, Lyla "Harbinger" Michaels, Curtis "Mister Terrific" Holt and Rory "Ragman" Regan joined the rest of the assembled heroes in the Arrow bunker, pairing off to search Star City. Felicity Smoak was the last to arrive, but was quick to put mourning her husband aside to focus on the task of saving her stepson and coordinating the teams.
As they searched the city, some of the duos talked about other matters. In the case of Roy Harper and Thea Queen, Roy wanted to discuss their relationship. At first Thea thought he wanted to apologize once again for having left her without a word so that he could get his head together after being resurrected by the Lazarus Pit. Instead, Roy stunned her with a proposal, saying that death had given him a lot to think about and he was certain that he couldn't spend the rest of his life without her.
As Ragman and Wild Dog cleared out a drug den, the two discussed how things had changed in the three years since they had been partners in crime-fighting and newbie members of Team Arrow. Ragman said he had started fighting crime again to honor Oliver Queen's memory, with the magical suit of rags that he wore only recently having recovered from being used to contain a nuclear bomb blast. For his part, Wild Dog said only that he and Oliver "had our differences over the years." Ragman said that didn't surprise him, as out of all the members of Team Arrow, Rene and Oliver were the most similar in temperament.
Ultimately, it was Mia Queen who found William Clayton and his kidnapper first in Arrow's series finale, having gone off on her own to avoid talking to a younger version of her mother, Felicity. The kidnapper turned out to be John Byrne; a human trafficker who had been the first person on Robert Queen's list of people who were hurting Star City that Oliver Queen was persuaded by John Diggle to leave for the police rather than killing them outright. Ironically, Byrne would have preferred death to eight years in prison and became determined to kill the son of the man who put him away. When faced with the new Green Arrow, however, Byrne released William and tried to taunt Mia into killing him. Mia didn't take the bait, however, declaring that "if Oliver Queen didn't kill you, then neither will I."
With Byrne brought to justice, another celebratory party was held in the Arrow bunker. In the middle of the celebration, Dinah turned on the Channel 52 news, just in time for a report to show amateur video footage of Mia's arresting John Byrne. Dinah repeated once again that Oliver would be proud of Mia. For her part, Felicity was proud of her daughter too, but she admired her from a distance, being as reluctant to risk things getting weird as Mia was.
In the end, only John Diggle, Rene Ramirez and Dinah Drake remained behind to see the Arrow Bunker closed down for good. In discussing their plans for the future, Diggle realized there was no need for Team Arrow in the safe city Oliver Queen had left behind and that between people leaving town or moving on to new roles there would be no vigilantes left to maintain the base. Dinah Drake took it upon herself to shut down the power, as the trio took the elevator to the surface one last time.
The night before Oliver's funeral, a candlelight vigil was held in his honor, along with a private unveiling of a memorial for Oliver Queen; a bronze statue of Green Arrow, with a plaque reading "He saved this city." The dedication ceremony was supervised by Mayor Quentin Lance, who had been restored to life in the post-Crisis reality.
"Oliver Queen wasn't just a hero," Quentin Lance noted. "He was a good man. He was an honorable person. And the fact that he didn't start out that way makes him, in my book, even more honorable. He stands as a reminder to all of us that anyone can change."
The funeral was held in the woods behind Queen Mansion, where a tombstone for Oliver had been erected next to the one for Robert Queen. As they waited for things to begin, Thea Queen wondered why Oliver hadn't brought back his own father. Moira speculated that Oliver could only change those things that didn't change his own destiny and, for better or worse, Robert Queen had to die for Oliver Queen to become the Green Arrow.
Despite being a small, private function, the funeral attracted a wide variety of people who had come to pay their respects to Oliver Queen's memory. Apart from the heroes who had helped search for William, Nyssa Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul were there to honor their ex-husband and former pupil respectively. Anatoly Knyazev, the Russian gangster who had become Oliver Queen's brother in spirit, was also there. The Flash and Supergirl were there, in their secret identities of Barry Allen and Kara Danvers, representing the superhero community that Oliver Queen had established.
Before the ceremony started, there were a number of brief reunions and meetings. Emiko Queen introduced herself to Thea and Moira, who welcomed her into their family. Tommy Merlyn introduced himself to Black Siren, noting that he had been married to the Laurel Lance of Earth-1 before her death in the new reality. Finally, Mia Queen and Felicity Smoak finally met one another and exchanged a hug, taking comfort in their mutual grief without saying anything that would make things awkward.
With everyone else reluctant to speak, John Diggle took command of the ceremony and spoke from the heart, not having a speech prepared. "Oliver always told me that in order to save his city he had to become someone else," Diggle began. "He had to become something else. I always thought that meant becoming the Green Arrow, but... today I realized that meant becoming a better man." Diggle went on to speak about how Oliver had become a better man and an inspiration and that his legacy would continue to shape their world.
How Dead Arrow Characters Returned In The Series Finale
Over the course of "Fadeout," several characters were revealed to be alive in the Post-Crisis Arrowverse who had died over the course of Oliver Queen's career as a vigilante in the Pre-Crisis Arrowverse. These included his mother, Moira Queen, his best friend, Tommy Merlyn, his half-sister Emiko Queen and his mentor, Quentin Lance. Precisely how most of them cheated death was not explained in detail in the Arrow series finale, though it was revealed that Oliver Queen was able to free his hands and stop Deathstroke from killing his mother in the new reality. It can be safely assumed then that Oliver Queen found similar ways of helping his friends and family to cheat their own deaths when he rebuilt the Arrowverse as The Spectre.
One person was curiously absent among the resurrected; Oliver Queen's first love, Laurel Lance. This was a matter of some concern to Black Siren, who hid her fears until finally having a tearful breakdown in private with Quentin Lance. She asked Quentin why Oliver brought back everyone except "your Laurel," assuming it was because she was there filling the space the other Laurel was meant to fill. Quentin had a different take on things, saying that Oliver hadn't "fixed" her because "there is nothing about you that needed to be fixed."
Is Diggle Green Lantern In The Arrowverse Now?
As John Diggle delivered his improvised eulogy at Oliver Queen's funeral, his speech was intercut with scenes of Diggle confronting something strange while packing his van. A small meteor hit the Earth near John, throwing him back into the van. When Diggle recovered, he found a smoking crater with a small box in the center. The box contained something which glowed with an emerald light. The implication was obvious and seemed to confirm a long-held fan theory; that John Diggle was destined to become the Green Lantern of Earth in the Arrowverse. Diggle's speech as he encountered the odd meteor seemed to hint at this as well, speaking of the strange things he had seen since meeting Oliver Queen and the wonders he had beheld.
"I don't know what the future holds, except to say expect the unexpected. Oliver may be gone, but his mission endures. And that mission lives on. Oliver lives on in the people he inspired. Some will take that mission to the rest of the world. Maybe even beyond that. Because if the past eight years have shown us anything, it's that this universe is far bigger than any of us could have dared imagine. Even if it is a little less bright without him in it."
The references to light and the universe seem like pretty clear nods that Diggle is meant to join the Green Lantern Corps. While the same production team behind Arrow is currently working on a Green Lantern series for HBO Max, details are few and far between so far. For his part, actor David Ramsey (who plays John Diggle) is keeping quiet about the possibility that he'll have a role in the upcoming series or that it is being made into a vehicle for him.
Why Felicity Is Killed By The Monitor
The final scene of "Fadeout" was a callback to the Arrow's season 7 finale and the final fate of Felicity Smoak. The season ended with Felicity meeting with the Monitor in the woods behind Queen Mansion and stepping into a portal with him. Where they were going was not made clear, beyond the Monitor warning Felicity that there was no coming back from this journey and Felicity saying that she had "waited a very long time to see him" while twisting her wedding ring. The implication is clear; she had been waiting for 20 years to be reunited with her husband and the Monitor, who was responsible for separating them in the first place, was now joining them together.
The same scene happens again at the end of Arrow's series finale, but this time the camera followed Felicity through the portal. Suddenly, Felicity was several decades younger and standing in a familiar looking office with a red pen on the desk. As she picked it up and looked at the photos on the desk (which showed a young Oliver Queen with his father), Oliver Queen entered the office, looking very much as he did when they first met nearly three decades earlier. After kissing and hugging her husband, Felicity asked him why the afterlife looks like his old office at Queen Consolidated. With an impish grin, Oliver said that it was his mother's office and he wanted to see her again in the same place he saw her for the first time.
When Felicity says that the first time they met was in the IT department seven floors down, Oliver asks if she's sure as he thinks back to how he once saw Felicity two years before he "met" her, when he was sneaking around Queen Consolidated while on a mission for ARGUS. Realizing that he never told Felicity about how he saw her before they first spoke, Oliver said that it was a long story. He then guided her to the office window, which was overlooking Star City. It was a bright, sunny day and everything, for once, looked beautiful and perfect. "Lucky for us," Oliver smiled, "We have all the time in the world for me to tell it to you."
What Happens To All Of Arrow's Remaining Characters
Beyond Oliver and Felicity being given their personal heaven, "Fadeout" established the final fates of most of the rest of the major characters of Arrow who were still operating out of Star City. Thea Queen accepted Roy Harper's marriage proposal, though it was unclear if she and Talia Al Ghul were still working at turning the League of Assassins into a heroic organization. Lyla Michaels accepted a promotion to a position in Metropolis, so she, John, Sara and John Jr. began making plans to move after Oliver Queen's funeral. What organization offered her a job is not stated, but it's possible that the family might be showing up in the upcoming Lois and Clark series. (This assumes, of course, that John doesn't wind up with a new job of his own on the planet Oa.)
Quentin Lance announced his intention to retire from his position as Mayor of Star City when his term expired in April 2020 and his endorsement of Rene Ramirez to fill the position instead of him. This marked something of a rapid change, since Rene had been running for City Council in the pre-Crisis Arrowverse. Sadly, it doesn't look like Rene is going to become Mayor right away, as the Green Arrow and the Canaries pilot revealed that a Mayor Ramirez was running for his third term in 2040. Unless Star City is suddenly electing its mayors to decade-long terms, it doesn't seem likely that Rene is going to win the election.
Dinah Drake had been offered the position of Chief of Police of Star City, but decided to turn it down. She didn't see any point in being a police officer in a city with no crime, much less a vigilante, when there were so many cities out there that needed saving. Dinah was seen driving her motorcycle out of Star City in the closing montage showing the final fates of Star City's heroes, but we know that her fate lies elsewhere... and elsewhen.
How Arrow Series Finale Sets Up Green Arrow & Canaries Spinoff
Strangely enough, the Green Arrow and the Canaries pilot episode did more to set-up Arrow's finale than the other way around. Still, a few small bits of new information regarding the future of the Arrowverse did make their way into "Fadeout." Chief among these was that Mia Queen was brought back in time to attend Oliver Queen's funeral a few weeks after the abduction of William Clayton depicted in the final scenes of "Green Arrow and the Canaries."
Beyond that, Arrow's ending establishes that Dinah Drake had planned to leave Star City behind her before she was suddenly sent forward in time 20 years and all mention of her was erased from the historical record. The episode also firmly establishes that the Laurel Lance we saw in "Green Arrow and the Canaries" was the Laurel Lance of Earth-2 and not a hybrid or blending of multiple Laurels condensed into a single body. The closing montage includes a clip of Mia Queen returning to her time through the Legends of Tomorrow's time portal, more confident in herself than she was before.
What Arrow's Series Finale Means For Arrowverse's Future
Beyond what has been established for Green Arrow and the Canaries so far, there is little that can be said to be certain about the future of the Arrowverse after Arrow's series finale. The future of Star City for the next 20 years seems to be bright enough, with the city having almost literally no crime at all. Yet even that bit of peace may be fragile and could change at any moment due to an errant time-traveler.
Whether or not John Diggle becomes a Green Lantern, we can expect to see aliens playing a greater role in the destiny of Earth now that Supergirl's Earth-38 has been merged into Earth-Prime. For the same reason, we can also expect to see more political intrigue due to the influence of Black Lightning on the rest of the new Arrowverse. Finally, as Arrow comes to a close, we can expect to see a lot more team-ups, now that the barriers between Earths aren't preventing the super friends from getting together. Perhaps the next event will see a new crisis across time, with Green Arrow and the Canaries joining forces with the Legion of Superheroes? Come what may, John Diggle had it right when he said that all we could do is "expect the unexpected."