Every 'Arrow' Season 8 episode may be an alternate take on important moments from seasons past, a fitting tribute
The end of the CW's flagship superhero show 'Arrow' is a big moment for the network. So it's fitting that the eighth and final season will be paying tribute to the history of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) by revisiting the stories of the show's past seasons.
Season 8's first episode 'Starling City' will reportedly be paying homage to the show's first season and its second episode 'Welcome to Hong Kong' will likewise be a tribute to the third season, according to the show's star Stephen Amell.
“I’m very emotional and melancholy, but it’s time,” Amell told EW. “I’m 38 years old, and I got this job when I was 30. I’d never had a job for more than a year. The fact that I’ve done this for the better part of a decade, and I’m not going to do it anymore, is a little frightening.”
“Episode 1 is an ode to season 1, and episode 2 is an ode to season 3,” he added. “We’re playing our greatest hits.”
While we were expecting the final season to pay tribute to the show's history in some way, the promotional stills that were released for the premiere confirmed that this was indeed the route the series would be taking. The images seem to hint at an alternate world scenario that mirrors the first season of 'Arrow', albeit with some major changes like the fact that Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy) and Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez), who were only introduced to the show much later, are seen interacting with characters like Colin Donnell's Tommy Merlyn, who has been dead on the show for quite a long time.
Judging by what we know so far, it seems season 8 may take major moments from the history of the series and reinvent them by introducing some significant changes to see how they may have played out differently if just a few factors were to be tweaked. It's an interesting idea and one that would make for an excellent tribute to a truly memorable show. Whether this is actually how things are going to go down, we won't know until the eighth season finally arrives on the air.
'Arrow' Season 8's first episode 'Starling City' will arrive on The CW October 15.