Oliver Queen has finished his Arrowverse journey as Arrow has come to an end after 8 long seasons. The Green Arrow, for 8 years, has helped create a universe on The CW with several spin-off shows coming to life bringing various DC heroes to the small screen. But throughout his journey on Arrow, the Emerald Archer has battled several kinds of evil, struggled with plenty of life challenges and more. With the end of the long-running series, the Arrowverse is going to feel different without Oliver’s presence moving forward. But with 170 episodes of adventures, the Green Arrow will always have plenty of stories to be re-watched for years to come.
As the series has reached its end, it’s time to take a look at some of the characters’ best moments throughout the course of 8 seasons. With Oliver being the leading hero of Arrow, these are some of his greatest moments and events.
Killing Damien Darhk (Season 4)
Neal McDonough’s Damien Darhk was definitely one of the more gruesome foes in the show’s history. The fourth season had Oliver and the team going up against a magic-based big bad which complicated things. But throughout Darhk’s time on the show, he caused a lot of pain and torture wherever he went, which had to end, eventually.
After Darhk murdering Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), Oliver had to take him out the big way. While the season finale may have been a mixed bag, Oliver’s decision in killing Darhk was one of the finer calls in the hero’s journey. Even though Legends of Tomorrow would eventually find ways of bringing him back, at least season 4 got to end with Green Arrow taking him out.
Accepting William’s Coming Out (Season 8)
Oliver had plenty of powerful moments with the William of the present, without a doubt. However, it was Ben Lewis’ grown-up version that led to one of Oliver’s greatest scenes in the entirety of Arrow. One of the big reveals of William’s journey in the future was that he had come out as gay. While the William in the past hadn’t come to that point yet, it was a beautiful thing to see one of Oliver’s children be a member of the LGBTQIA community.
Once William got to the present, through time travel, it didn’t take long for the father and son to have some amazing scenes. One of them is when William catches his father up to some aspects of his life in 2040. Since William never got to do it with Oliver as a teenager, the adult version came out as gay to his father. What follows is Oliver giving the biggest smile to William as he tells him that he and Felicity already knew. It’s, without a doubt, one of Amell’s strongest acting moments in the series as well as one of Oliver’s best scenes.
Passing the Mantle to Mia (Season 8)
As Oliver knew that he only had some time left of his journey, the Emerald Archer made sure to keep the legacy going. With his death looming, Oliver got to have his biggest moment with his daughter Mia (Kat McNamara), after having only spent a few episodes with the 2040 version. Knowing that she could carry the torch (or bow, to be more fitting) after his time had ended, Oliver passed the Green Arrow mantle on to her. While this technically occurred during the Supergirl hour of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it still counts as a moment for Arrow.
Not only does it set up Green Arrow and the Canaries spinoff, but it was a beautiful daughter/father moment that isn’t often seen in a lot of superhero stories in live-action. For Oliver to get to do that for Mia, allowed her to have a major moment with her father that, in her timeline, she never got to meet.
Oliver’s Journey in the Dominator-World (Season 5)
The 100th episode of the series was included in the Invasion storyline which not only became a fantastic milestone hour but one of the best parts of the crossover. The characters’ journey into the Dominator-simulation allowed the 100th episode to benefit from the comic book-y elements of the Arrowverse. But it’s Oliver’s adventure in the hallucination-reality that leads him to have another pivotal moment in the series.
With all the darkness that he has gone through, prior and after becoming a vigilante, Oliver has survived through a lot. As he gets ready to leave the hallucination, Oliver gets remembered by the people he has impacted in his crusade. Even though he has lost many people, Oliver has still changed and saved countless lives in his journey. It’s at this point where it becomes clear how Oliver was able to leave some of that darkness behind.
Revealing Himself to the World (Season 6)
The ending of season 6 was quite the surprise as it changed the show forever for the remainder of its run. After having done everything he could to fool people that he wasn’t Green Arrow, Oliver ends up outing himself anyway, but through a deal with the FBI. The season 6 finale has Oliver team up with the FBI to help Ricardo Diaz while agreeing to go to prison for his actions as a vigilante while Team Arrow got immunity.
In the closing minutes of the finale, Oliver officially declares to the world that he is, in fact, the Emerald Archer. It was a decision that set up a lot of new directions for the character in season 7 and onward.
Forming a Superhero Partnership with Barry Allen (Season 3)
While they first befriended one another in season 2, it was during their first crossover in season 3 where Oliver’s partnership with Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) truly began. During the first two-night event, Arrow and The Flash officially go to becoming superhero allies.
With Oliver being the broodier one out of the two and Barry being more of the optimist, the crossover gave birth to a perfect partnership. By the end of the crossover, when they had committed to being super-allies, it was the start of one of the best relationships in this universe.
Meeting Grown-Up Mia & William (Season 8)
The final season was inevitably going to bring Oliver to see his grown-up children before his sacrifice in Crisis. While it was really mysterious at the start, seeing William and Mia, along with Conner, get transported from 2040 to 2019 was an enjoyable twist. Oliver already had a lot on his mind, so for him to see his kids shook his world.
The opening moments of the episode where Oliver and the team see these three strangers are emotionally charged. But the minute Oliver realizes that it is William and Mia standing in front of him that stands out and makes it one of his best moments.
Battling the Anti-Monitor & Rebooting the Universe (Season 8)
Oliver may have died in the crossover, but it wasn’t in vain. Once given the mantle as the Spectre, it was a countdown to Oliver’s time in the Arrowverse coming to an end. His battle with the Anti-Monitor was perhaps one of his best fights as he was taking on the biggest threat ever encountered.
From the moment he tells the foe that he has failed this universe, it gets even bigger when Oliver uses his final strength to, literally, create the new universe.
Oliver’s Second and Final Death (Season 8)
Despite being a heartbreaking one, Oliver’s second, but last death was a pivotal moment for the Arrow portion of the crossover. Having fought for the final time and also creating a new universe, there is no other way to go out on a big note.
Not only did the series honor the promise it had set out in season 7, but it allowed Oliver to die a true hero’s death.
Oliver’s Happy Ending (Season 8)
While the series finale had Oliver mostly in flashbacks, the hero gets one final scene as the tenth episode was coming to an end. Viewers find out that Oliver got to live happily ever after with Felicity in the afterlife as the Monitor took her there from 2040.
As sad as it is to know that they are both dead in the Arrowverse, at least they get to be with one another forever.