8 Years Ago, the Arrowverse Fumbled the Greatest DC Cliffhanger Ever (And It Still Feels Insulting)

Cliffhangers are always a risky move. Viewers enjoy seeing stories come to a conclusion and don’t want to have to worry about waiting months or years to learn more. However, when done right, cliffhangers can be very effective. Marvel Studios learned as much after releasing Avengers: Infinity War, which saw the franchise’s heroes lose to Thanos. The hype for Avengers: Endgame was real, leading to one of the best box office performances of all time. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t the only superhero franchise to keep its fans in suspense. The Arrowverse tries its hand at the practice on numerous occasions, with some working out better than others.

At the end of The Flash Season 2, the titular speedster runs back in time to save his mother, setting the stage for the “Flashpoint” storyline. Season 3 picks up the baton from there, and while the alternate timeline is a bit disappointing, it makes good on its promise. As lackluster as the Arrowverse’s “Flashpoint” is, though, it’s still light-years better than the way the franchise handles its best cliffhanger.

Arrow Season 5 Goes Out With a Bang

The fifth season of Arrow starts out like any other: Oliver Queen’s city is under attack from a ruthless villain, and he needs the help of his friends to save the day. While Oliver is working to put together a team, another mysterious bad guy starts making unwanted appearances: the Throwing Star Killer. Since the villain wears a mask, there’s no way to identify him, but it’s clear he has a serious beef with the Green Arrow. The straw that breaks the camel’s back comes when the Throwing Star Killer tricks Oliver into killing Felicity Smoak’s new boyfriend, fracturing Team Arrow. Not long after, the villain, now known as Prometheus, reveals himself to be Adrian Chase, the district attorney who’s been working closely with Oliver for months.

Adrian blames Oliver for the death of his father and wants to expose the hero for having a dark side that he can’t control. After capturing his target, Adrian gets Oliver to admit that he enjoys killing and wants to do it, a feeling he’s been fighting for years. The next step in Prometheus’ master plan is to kidnap all of Team Arrow and take them to where Oliver’s journey started, Lian Yu. The Green Arrow recruits a few former foes to help him get his friends back, and they appear to be getting the job done. However, Adrian takes Oliver’s son, William Clayton, hostage and tries to flee the island. Oliver, of course, gives chase and apprehends his adversary. Prometheus is leaving with something, though, so he kills himself and blows up the island. The fate of the rest of Team Arrow remains a mystery until Season 6, which fools around a bit too much.

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The Resolution of Arrow‘s Major Cliffhanger Leaves a Lot to Be Desired

Knowing it has everyone on the edge of their seats, Arrow Season 6, Episode 1, “Fallout,” decides to pull the rug out by acting as if everything is back to normal. Team Arrow is facing off against another villain in Star City without a care in the world. Oliver and Felicity are openly discussing how to work through their issues and get back together. The tone isn’t anything like the end of the last season, which is clearly an attempt by the show to subvert expectations. The only way for that to be successful, though, is for Arrow to be holding back a major bombshell. That doesn’t end up being the case, with the end of the episode, in typical Arrow fashion, being a flashback that reveals the only person to perish on the island was Samantha Clayton, William’s mother.

A child losing their parent is nothing to gloss over, but Samantha only has a handful of appearances in the series. While her death drives a wedge between Oliver and William, it has little impact on the other characters who were on Lian Yu, who all move past the event pretty quickly. When the setup is as good as the final moments of Arrow Season 5, more has to be done to ensure that the resolution is just as worthwhile.

Arrow is streaming on Netflix.

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