Arrow season 6 report card: The good, the bad, and the ugly
With the sixth season of Arrow now wrapped up, it’s time to give the Emerald Archer’s latest set of adventures their final grade.
Note: This article contains spoilers for Arrow season 6.
Yesterday, the sixth season of Arrow came to a rather shocking and bleak conclusion. Team Arrow put aside their differences to retake the city. Star City’s corrupt police force and city government was removed from power. A beloved member of the show’s supporting cast said goodbye. Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) and Diaz’s (Kirk Acevedo) conflict came to a wholly unexpected resolution. The season-long federal investigation into Oliver’s secret identity came to an end, and the city was left without the protection of its greatest hero.
While “Life Sentence” is one of the best finales the show has produced to date, the season that led up to it was decidedly not. Arrow’s sixth season often lacked momentum and really struggled to tell compelling individual stories. Plus, an ill-advised midseason villain switch up meant that this year’s villains didn’t feel as compelling as they have in the past. And the season-long storyline of Oliver essentially failing to save Star City gave the series a bleak tone that sometimes made it a chore to watch.
But for all its flaws, Arrow season six did produce a number of standout moments. It was compelling to see how Prometheus’ sustained assault on Team Arrow in season five affected them this year. And with the abandonment of flashbacks, it was cool to see the show’s supporting cast to step into the spotlight. And while it took a circuitous, sometimes exhaustive route to get there, the way the show methodically broke down Oliver made for a compelling arc.
To determine whether or not this was a good, bad or middling season of Arrow, here’s a look at how the show’s main storyline played out, and how it served its hero, villain, and supporting cast