10 Insane TV Plots That Almost Happened
8. Arrow Was Never Meant To Last More Than Five Seasons
Arrow was the beginning of the current era of the DCEU on television. The series ran for eight seasons and 170 episodes from 2012 until 2020, but it was never meant to run for that long.
Arrow's original plan was to have the series run for only five seasons, and the overarching plot for that plan was a bit insane, given what actually happened as the show progressed.
In the pilot, Oliver Queen is shown being rescued from an island after an apparent five-year stint on his own. Season one also showed numerous flashbacks that corresponded to the first year he was marooned there.
Each subsequent season would continue along that line for five years, each with corresponding flashbacks that fleshed out this island storyline.
The fifth season would see him return to the island, and the series finale was meant to see him rescued as a flashback to the pilot episode.
The whole story was designed to come around full circle, but the overall plotline didn't come to fruition as the show became unfathomably popular and extended long beyond this initial sketch.