Arrow ran across 8 seasons and had many ups and downs across that time. In the latter years, it felt like it received more hate in the latter seasons and it’s of no surprise.
The one thing I did like about Arrow is that it wasn’t shy in killing off major characters. Something I feel like the other CW superhero shows is too scared to do.
Please note, these 5 are in no particular order;
1. Oliver Queen
Throughout 8 seasons Oliver Queen brought the one and only green arrow to our screens and absolutely nailed the role. He truly made us fall in love with this character. There were so many instances throughout this series where Oliver was supposedly dead, I mean it’s literally how we got the story of Arrow. Throughout the Elseworlds crossover, Oliver made a deal with the Cosmic being known as The Monitor, Promising to give his own life in order to save The Flash (Barry Allen) and Supergirl (Kara Danvers).
I think fans watching truly believed Oliver would somehow find a way to get out of this deal but sadly he didn’t, and after saving the world once again we had to say goodbye to the amazing character.
2. Laurel Lance
For the sake of this article, we’re gonna pretend these characters didn’t later return to the show whether they were revived or came back from a different earth, we’re gonna focus solely on their death at the time. Laurel was a huge member of The Arrow team, even though Oliver certainly didn’t want her that at first for her safety of course.
I think that made her death so much more impactful, the fact he wanted to keep her safe and couldn’t. Laurel was also the first member of the team they lost when Damian Darhk stabbed her in the abdomen, and to make it that much worse he used one of Oliver’s Arrows to do it.
3. Quentin Lance
Quentin had such a huge character development throughout this show, for six seasons we grow to love his character and it was devastating once he was gone. I think because he started this show hating Oliver and the entire Queen Family, when his time was up it made it that much more hurtful, because by this time we see him as more of a father figure to Oliver, in fact probably to the entire group. He truly loved them and did everything he could to help.
His death was caused by yet another Enemy of Oliver’s, Ricardo Diaz. To make this a lot harder on viewers his death came just as we expected, protecting his daughter. Even though Earth 2 Laurel wasn’t his Laurel, she certainly grew to be, he loved her regardless. Despite Laurel and Dinah getting him to the hospital on time he died during the surgery. His death was heartbreaking and also lead to some amazing character development for Earth 2 Laurel Lance.
4. Moira Queen
Moira was not exactly a fan favorite throughout this series, in fact, she caused more problems than most. But regardless of that, her death was certainly one of the most graphic and brutal killings that we saw on this show. The murder itself was carried out by Slade Wilson, who after learning why Shado died, thought Oliver should have to make that decision once again.
After having to choose between his sister and mother, the choice is pretty much stripped away from him after Moira stands up against Slade, I think her hope was that she and Thea would both have their lives spared, and even as a viewer I think everyone thought Oliver would find a way out of this. But that wasn’t the case as Slade drove his sword through her chest.
5. Tommy Merlyn
It’s awful to think Tommy only had the one season before he was killed off the show. Yet in such a short space of time viewers certainly grew to love Tommy. He genuinely cared about everyone around him, no ulterior motives or anything, even when Oliver was gone he looked out for his sister, he didn’t have to but he did. Saying all that I guess it does make sense that he would sacrifice himself for Laurel.
Despite knowing she loved Oliver, he still would rather he die than her. His Sacrifice shaped season 2 perfectly.
Is there anybody that we’ve missed out on that you think deserves to be in the top 10? Let us know down in the comments below.
