7 Ups & 5 Downs From The Arrowverse In 2019

6. Arrow Excels Without Felicity

Emily Bett Rickards' departure came as something of a shock to Arrowverse fans as it meant that we'd be bidding farewell to the quirky Felicity Smoak.

A character that has been divisive from the very beginning, she was once an adored recurring part of the series that eventually became the primary love interest of Oliver Queen - and after that, everything went south with the show changing her personality and ramming her down viewers' throats. Though the writers eventually redeemed the show by getting the balance right in Seasons 5 and 7, even on her best day Felicity struggled to make it past more than a few episodes without quickly falling back into her infuriating Season 4 tropes.

Still the question remained: Could a show that relied so heavily on one character (for better or worse) continue on without her? Fans of the comics longed to see it while fans of the character proclaimed that Arrow was nothing without her. Just how would it work out? The answer to that was revealed in the second half of the year, as Season 8 of Arrow didn't just work without her, it thrived.

We've long wondered what Arrow would have looked like without Felicity. The writers were too afraid to let go of her, but if they had done so much earlier, perhaps we would have had multiple incredible offerings like Season 8. That being said, it's nice that the show finally made it back on top for its final season.

On that note...