8 Years Ago, the Arrowverse Fumbled the Greatest DC Cliffhanger Ever (And It Still Feels Insulting)

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Ending a story on a cliffhanger can be a gamble. Audiences generally prefer closure and don’t like being left in suspense for long periods. However, a well-executed cliffhanger can be incredibly effective, as Marvel Studios proved with Avengers: Infinity War, where the heroes faced defeat. This created massive anticipation for Avengers: Endgame, which became a huge box office success. But Marvel isn’t the only superhero world to use this technique; the Arrowverse also frequently employs cliffhangers, with varying degrees of success.

The second season of *The Flash* concluded with the main character traveling back in time to prevent his mother’s death, which launched the “Flashpoint” story arc. Season 3 continued this storyline, and although the alternate timeline wasn’t as strong as hoped, it generally delivered on its premise. Despite its flaws, this version of “Flashpoint” in the Arrowverse is far superior to how the show later dealt with one of its most compelling cliffhangers.

Arrow Season 5 Goes Out With a Bang

Season five of *Arrow* begins with the usual crisis: a dangerous new villain threatens Star City, and Oliver Queen needs his team to fight back. As Oliver tries to assemble a new group of heroes, a masked attacker known as the Throwing Star Killer emerges, clearly targeting the Green Arrow. The situation escalates when the Throwing Star Killer manipulates Oliver into accidentally killing Felicity’s boyfriend, causing a major rift within Team Arrow. The villain is eventually revealed to be Adrian Chase, the district attorney who had been a trusted colleague of Oliver’s for months, and goes by the name Prometheus.

Adrian holds Oliver responsible for his father’s death and is determined to reveal Oliver’s hidden, darker impulses. After capturing Oliver, Adrian forces him to confess that he secretly enjoys fighting and even killing – a desire Oliver has struggled with for years. Prometheus’ next move is to kidnap all of Oliver’s team and bring them to Lian Yu, the island where Oliver’s journey began. Oliver teams up with some of his old enemies to rescue them, and they’re making progress. However, Prometheus takes Oliver’s son, William, hostage and tries to escape. Oliver pursues and captures him, but Prometheus still manages to carry out the final part of his plan: he commits suicide and destroys the island. The fate of the rest of Team Arrow is left unknown until Season 6, which takes a somewhat chaotic turn.

The Resolution of Arrow‘s Major Cliffhanger Leaves a Lot to Be Desired

Okay, so I just watched the *Arrow* Season 6 premiere, “Fallout,” and it really played with my expectations! After the crazy cliffhanger at the end of last season, the episode starts like everything’s totally normal – Team Arrow is fighting a new bad guy, Oliver and Felicity are actually *talking* about their problems and trying to reconnect. It felt a little off, like the show was deliberately trying to trick us. I figured there had to be a huge twist coming, but honestly? It didn’t deliver. The episode ended with a flashback revealing the only person who died on the island was Samantha Clayton, William’s mom. It felt very… *Arrow* – a bit of a letdown after all that build-up, if I’m being honest.

Losing a parent is a deeply painful experience, and while Samantha’s death affects Oliver and William significantly, it doesn’t have a lasting impact on the other characters who were with her. Given how well the story was set up, particularly in the final episodes of *Arrow* Season 5, her death deserved a more meaningful resolution.

Arrow is streaming on Netflix.

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2025-09-14 19:13