Arrow: “Green Arrow and the Canaries” Ending Explained

With “Crisis on Infinite Earths” officially in the books, The CW’s Arrowverse is preparing to look ahead in some major ways, especially with regards to Arrow. The long-running series aired its penultimate ever episode tonight, which also prepared to set up a brave new era for the show. The episode served as a backdoor pilot for Green Arrow and the Canaries, a potential spinoff surrounding Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), and Mia Smoak-Queen (Katherine McNamara), and it definitely set up enough for the series to explore. While there is currently no indication if the project will be taken to series on The CW, the cliffhanger ending of the backdoor pilot is certainly going to leave fans wanting more. Spoilers for this week’s episode of Arrow, “Green Arrow and the Canaries”, below! Only look if you want to know!

The episode saw Laurel, Dinah, and Mia reunite in a post-“Crisis” 2040, which has essentially eradicated crime for two decades. This made the disappearance of a young girl named Bianca Bertinelli (Raigan Harris) all the more suspicious, leading the trio to suit up once again to investigate. Eventually, they discovered that Bianca’s jealous ex-boyfriend was behind her kidnapping, and that he had suited up as the latest Deathstroke. He also had a tattoo on his arm, which Mia later realized mirrored the hozen that has passed through the Queen family for years.

In the episode’s final moments, Mia and William Clayton-Queen (Ben Lewis) stood at a statue erected in Oliver’s memory, and remarked about what was next. They then were suddenly hit with tranq darts and kidnapped, a fate that then began to happen to John Diggle Jr. (Charlie Barnett), Mia’s fiance, as he slept in his bed. A masked figure tackled J.J. and then hit him with STAR Labs’ memory technology, which allowed people to regain the memories of what their life was pre-“Crisis”. J.J. then learned that he had previously turned to villainy as Deathstroke.

Wait, what?

At the moment, there’s no telling exactly what this means for the Queen family, and how it relates to Mia appearing in the 2020s in next week’s series finale. Still, the idea of her and William being in trouble – and J.J. learning of his previously life – certainly sets up an interesting conflict if Green Arrow and the Canaries gets picked up to series.

“The fun part, as I said at the beginning, of doing these kinds of shows is the fantasy element. It can go anywhere and everywhere, and it usually does,” Barnett told ComicBook.com last year. “And luckily, we have a really responsive and just downright great group of writers. They have a hard task of reining in this world or these worlds. And I think on Arrow specifically, it may be the context that Green Arrow isn’t a superhero, he’s a man. He is human. He has had some aid in doing superhuman things. But the best part about this is it still resides within humanity. And so much of our relationships, our emotional life within it can balance in that. But then you add this fantasy element and sh*t can go crazy. So I can’t say too much, but I will say J.J. has some ups and downs. You’ll see him all over the map.”

What do you think of the ending of “Green Arrow and the Canaries”? Does it make you want the series to get picked up even more? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Arrow airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.