6 Ups & 3 Downs From The Arrowverse In 2018 (So Far)

Ups...

6. A Stronger Portrayal Of Female Characters

Over the years, the Arrowverse has been criticised for the way it portrays the majority of its female characters. This all started on Arrow when Laurel Lance suffered a lot of injustice at the hands of the writers. But it wasn't exclusive to the leading lady as supporting characters like Felicity lost their way and eventually became intolerable. Furthermore, The Flash made similar mistakes last season, portraying Iris West like a damsel in distress who needed to be saved by the Scarlet Speedster. While the second wave of shows, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow aren't entirely exempt, they have a much better track record with their female characters than the two original Arrowverse shows.

However, this season has seen a significant improvement across both shows in regards to their female characters. The Flash made up for its mistake with Iris by making her the sole leader of Team Flash in Barry's absence, allowing her to be both independent and intuitive. Additionally, Caitlin's struggles with Killer Frost led to some of the season's most compelling moments, while supporting character Cecile Horton stole the show with her humorous new metahuman ability. In addition, Arrow was populated with multiple strong female characters and the rivalry between Black Siren and Dinah Drake gave both women some well-deserved spotlight. Though Felicity played a more reduced role this season, she functioned like the supporting character that she was originally intended to be - a role she thrived in far more than she ever did when she was the show's primary focus.

While some of the Arrowverse's shows saw a decrease in overall quality this season, the universe's portrayal of women characters is undoubtedly on an upward trajectory. Hopefully, the writers will continue to do right by them as they head into their next respective seasons.