Arrow: 10 Best Episodes So Far
4. Sacrifice (Season 1, Episode 23)
Written By: Marc Guggenheim & Andrew Kresiberg
Directed By: David Barrett
Arrow is at its best when it finds that sweet spot of being simultaneously silly and poignant. Since it’s a CW show, there’s often overwrought moments of drama, but when it reigns those in and provides an emotional payoff, the series is never better. Case in point, the season 1 finale, Sacrifice.
Every character had something important to do. Lance finally caved and joined up with Felicity to stop the earthquake device, Moira publicly exposed the Undertaking, and Malcolm revealed himself as a seriously terrifying megalomaniac.
Action-wise, the series had never been better. The final battle on the island cemented the scope of the series on a technical level. And in the present, the rooftop fight sequence between the two archers was visceral and proved that Oliver didn't need to be the best fighter to win.
For all his hard work though, Oliver couldn’t stop Malcolm, because his second, secret device goes off. This was a wonderfully surprising reveal that few assumed Arrow could pull off. This would lead to the best moment in an episode full of them, when Tommy sacrifices himself to save Laurel, and dies in Oliver’s arms.
Like any good finale, Sacrifice brought all of the season’s pertinent storylines to a satisfying close and set a bar that none of the show’s subsequent finales have matched.