Ranking Every Season Of Arrow From Worst To Best

There's an irony in the fact that Arrow - a series that spent the vast majority of its own existence attempting to regain its former glory and failing - finally managed to overcome the odds in its last stand.

Only by taking away the bland crutches that the show had relied upon in recent years did it finally flourish, as the resetting of the status quo meant that there was no typical Team Arrow format while Emily Bett Rickards' departure proved that Arrow could thrive without the tired plot device that was Felicity Smoak. And thrive it did, as Oliver's quest to stop the Crisis increased the show's limited stakes by tenfold (and then some) while its direct relation to his impending sacrifice imbued Season 8 with a thoroughly compelling character arc.

From the fact that each episode brought back an old character to finally giving original leading lady Katie Cassidy her due in the endless array of Green Arrow and Black Canary adventures, this season succeeded because it was a love letter to everything that Arrow was in its glory days and, in being so, it managed to recapture some of that glory for itself.

Arrow didn't just go out a high, it went out stronger than it had been in nearly a decade.