Soon the Arrowverse will be missing its namesake show, as The CW's Arrow will end after eight
seasons with a final ten-episode run.
The other Arrowverse shows will continue, at least for now.
But here's why the flagship show is really ending.
Ratings seem to have played a role in Arrow's cancellation, but they probably weren't the
definitive factor.
Viewership numbers have dropped for a few years, and in 2017 the show was shifted to
Thursday in the hopes it would get some castoffs from Supernatural's superior ratings.
Unfortunately, it instead suffered a 14 percent ratings decline.
Viewership dropped off again in 2018, at which point the question on most fans' minds may
have been why it wasn't already canceled.
A couple days after the announcement that Arrow would end, ScreenRant reported that
while the show continued to lose viewers in 2019, things weren't completely bleak.
In fact, the site reported that statistics they received from an analytics firm showed
Arrow as the second most successful of CW's four Arrowverse series at the time of its
cancellation, coming behind only The Flash.
So while flagging ratings may have contributed to the end, one would assume that Supergirl
and Legends of Tomorrow would also be cut if that were the only factor.
The term "superhero fatigue" has been thrown around for a few years now, with people understandably
wondering exactly when the public is going to grow tired of caped crusaders.
Arrow may be the victim of a CW-specific version of this phenomenon.
Along with all the Arrowverse shows, the network also airs Black Lightning, it will soon air
Batwoman, and there continue to be rumblings about Superman getting his own CW entry.
The Arrowverse was already crowded, and it's getting more crowded every year.
One of the factors of the decision to end Arrow may be that there simply isn't enough
room for it.
The timing of the cancellation makes this possibility more likely considering Batwoman's
pending arrival.
Of all the Arrowverse series, Arrow is usually the grittiest.
And Batwoman may need to inherit that title in order to thrive.
Another possible reason for Arrow's finale is that it's a perfect time to end it.
The Arrowverse is known for its annual crossover events.
The 2018 edition, entitled "Elseworlds," featured a seemingly godlike being called The Monitor
who said he was preparing Earth-1 for something cataclysmic.
"This world will be doomed, like all the others."
Then the crossover ended with a tease for the following year's event, which will be
called "Crisis On Infinite Earths."
That's also the name of a classic 1985 comics story that might be the most important DC
Comics crossover of all time.
It changed the publisher's entire fictional landscape, bringing together disparate narratives
and completely wiping out others.
The event was also noteworthy for some prominent character deaths, which is where Arrow may
come in.
Since the final season will only be 10 episodes, the finale will probably air close to the
crossover.
Considering the timing, it seems like a good bet that whatever narrative choices are made
to wrap up the story of Oliver Queen, possibly including a heroic death, they'll have a whole
lot to do with the events of "Crisis."
Perhaps we shouldn't be asking why Arrow is ending, but instead why it's even lasted this
long.
Oliver Queen has walked over the same ground again and again, literally and figuratively.
There have been hours and hours of flashbacks to the Island of Lian Yu [lee-ANN YOO] where
he was "stranded."
Meanwhile in the present, he and his Team Arrow buddies have gone back to the island
so often that it's a little confusing why they don't just build a summer home there.
There have also been countless times when characters have died and then somehow come
back, or sworn off the crime-fighting game only to quickly return to it.
But worse than the repetitive plot points is the ongoing, unconvincing struggle with
Oliver's darker self.
His inner struggle seems to say that he is both Hannibal Lecter and the only person who
can solve the world's problems.
It's a dead horse that the Arrow creative team finally needs to stop beating.
Moving on
According to the show's star Stephen Amell, the biggest determining factor for ending
Arrow was Green Arrow himself.
Shortly after the announcement that the show's eighth season would be its last, Amell posted
a Facebook video to let fans know what had happened.
He revealed that he'd approached producer Greg Berlanti at the end of the sixth season,
expressing his wish for season seven to be the last.
"I've always been a fan of television shows that not only don't overstay their welcome,
but end in a manner that really packs a punch."
Fittingly, considering his character has grown to be much more of a family man over the years,
Amell told viewers that the changes in his own life behind the camera greatly informed
his desire for Arrow to conclude.
Like the character he plays, he's become a husband and a father himself, and it's understandably
been a significant change in his life.
Flashbacks have been one of Arrow's hallmarks since its first season.
But the show switched things up starting in Season 7, as the premiere ended with a flash-forward
set 20 years in the future with Oliver's grown son William meeting an older Roy Harper.
Over the course of the season, a story has been unfolding in the flash-forwards about
a time when "vigilante" has become a dirty word.
By going forward, Arrow has painted itself into a corner.
Unless there is some sort of time-traveling salvation, everyone watching the show knows
how the future looks for its characters, and it's not good.
As one review for CinemaBlend put it, the flash-forwards potentially took away any reason
to keep watching.
From that perspective, it's best for Arrow to wrap up quickly before things get any worse.
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