Arrow's 8th season to be the last one.

[costas22]

The news broke today from Stephen Amell himself. Season 8 will only feature 10 episodes in the fall. Which makes perfect sense given Amell's declaration that he wouldn't sign a new contract after season 7.

I am guessing the show's end, as well as Oliver's fate, will be heavily tied to the Crisis crossover.

http://www.greenarrowtv.com/arrow-to-end-with-season-8/

[Haggard01]

Yeah it does make perfect sense regarding Stephen for not signing a new contract. Is it bad I'm more happy then sad? Like the show is already at the end of it's rope like there's not anywhere else they can really go story wise.

[TheSecretVampire]

I'm not sad because I think they lasted longer than expected. 7 seasons and what will be 10 episodes in a season 8 is pretty good for show about Green Arrow. And while there might've been a lot of more stories to be told from the comics, this show doesn't really follow the comics so ending like that is for the best.

[darkphoenix21]

Assuming he does die in the crossover, will there be an additional 1-2 episodes (usually these crossovers happen at the 8th or 9th episode mark) without Stephen Amell? Wouldn’t they end the series with just the Arrow cast (not the entire Arrowverse cast)?

[Haggard01]

If Arrow season 8 is just ten episodes and is going to air them all in the fall I could see them actually setting up the cliff hanger so the Arrow episode is the end of the crossover with Oliver's death, assuming you know he does indeed die.

Because after all Arrow's 100th was right in the middle of the season 5 crossover events.

I can't remember the actual article where I read it but Stephen mentioned character wise the only thing Oliver really has left is to die or something along those lines.

[President_Luthor]

This wasn't a total surprise, even before the Elseworlds situation. There were subtle and not so subtle hints during the prison arc (one of the better arcs in the series IMO). He was setting his affairs in order re: legacy and there was a definite vibe during his psych evaluation that he was having closure with his GA life. His Elseworlds deal with the Monitor all but confirmed it.

They've mostly told Oliver's story by S5 with the past two seasons tying up loose ends, his successor and team are set up to carry on his legacy (even if off-screen post-S8), and they could spin off any number of characters to join other shows if they wished. Oliver is ready to punch his ticket in Crisis this fall.

(Barry and Kara: You may start planning monuments to the Emerald Archer now, because it looks like he's about to save the cosmos.)

[costas22]

Thanks to Craig for adding a link. In my haste, I forgot to post one myself.

Yeah it does make perfect sense regarding Stephen for not signing a new contract. Is it bad I'm more happy then sad? Like the show is already at the end of it's rope like there's not anywhere else they can really go story wise.

If you are still following the show to this day? I think it's only natural that you would feel happy right now. It's like finally knowing when school will end and the summer can begin. These shows drag on for so long, that you end up anticipating the final curtain more than anything. That's how most of Smallville viewers felt towards the end as well.

It just sucks that they didn't make this call 2 years ago. This show should have ended after its 5 year cycle concluded.

Assuming he does die in the crossover, will there be an additional 1-2 episodes (usually these crossovers happen at the 8th or 9th episode mark) without Stephen Amell? Wouldn’t they end the series with just the Arrow cast (not the entire Arrowverse cast)?

We'll see. It wouldn't surprise me if they do what Haggard suggested. Line up the whole season in a manner where the series finale is also the final part of the crossover. At the same time, they might stick to their usual route, where episode 8.09 is the crossover episode and the series finale airs the next week. In that scenario, they will have a better chance to wrap up everything and focus more on the Arrow characters.

[costas22]

Odds are I won't watch because it's been too long now and I will have to catch up with the other shows as well. Plus, the dreaded Olicity baby is finally on the way, so I don't need that aggravation in my life.

I will say this much though. Credit to Stephen Amell for sticking to his guns. If he signed a new long term contract, odds are that the show would have carried on for a couple more years. But he wants to branch out and look for new roles and I respect that. At 38-39 years old, he knows that window of opportunity is getting smaller.

I wonder if there are any chances for a spinoff? The flash forwards, from what I hear, have introduced Mia (an Olicity offspring in this universe) and have reintroduced Connor Hawke. And of course Roy is still around along with William. Theoretically, they still have stories from the Green Arrow universe to tell.

[DigificWriter]

I have a feeling that the crossover will end up being the very final episode of the series and that its own internal and independent narrative will be wrapped up within the first 9 episodes.

[Austin 3:16]

Its sad to see it end but im glad they get to go out on their own terms. Also, what makes me mad is some people out there are blaming the cast members who left this season as the reason why the show is ending. Its not their fault and its just really sickening that some people have to have someone to blame for a show ending.

As for Ollie dying, hes died in the comics before and come back so even if he does die, who is to say he stays dead? We did see him alive in that ep of LOT set in the future Star City so id imagine he either dies and is back by the end of the series finale or else comes back sometime in the future. Plus, hasnt Stephen Amell said hed be open to guest starring on the other Arrowverse series? So never say never.

[Haggard01]

Also, what makes me mad is some people out there are blaming the cast members who left this season as the reason why the show is ending. Its not their fault and its just really sickening that some people have to have someone to blame for a show ending.

I'm not shocked got morons doing that. I mean I've seen people constantly make Zack Synder out as the devil from how he did Superman and Batman in his two films, with saying he got fired by WB to justify to themselves that he is such a bad guy who does not get the characters, and such. When in fact Zack left because his daughter had killed herself.

[Haggard01]

If you are still following the show to this day? I think it's only natural that you would feel happy right now. It's like finally knowing when school will end and the summer can begin. These shows drag on for so long, that you end up anticipating the final curtain more than anything. That's how most of Smallville viewers felt towards the end as well.

No I left after 6x01 but I was done following season 5 where I just more of finished it out to see Oliver's flashbacks close out. Frankly I was done back in season 4 or 3 when the show went massively down hill.

Yeah it is still a relief to see Arrow end and yeah no kidding on Smallvile for how they milked it.

Frankly I'm glad for similar reasons of Gotham ending so they can't turn Gotham into Supernatural or Smallville.

It just sucks that they didn't make this call 2 years ago. This show should have ended after its 5 year cycle concluded.

Oh no kidding and yeah they should have, instead of doing some stupid island blowing up cliff hanger.

[Austin 3:16]

Yeah people are outright blaming Willa Holland and Echo because they left. Just sad.

[TheSecretVampire]

Speaking of Infinite Crisis, I hope they give that arc more than just 3 episodes because I don't think that's enough to cover.


As for the final season of Arrow, I hope they go all out. Bring back Manu Bennett for a episode or two because why not? I would guess Willa would come back as well and many others that we've seen throughout the course of Arrow.

[evaba]

Yeah people are outright blaming Willa Holland and Echo because they left. Just sad.

How can they blame Willa and Echo when we don't know if they left voluntarily or not? If they left because the TPTB thought "their characters had no more story" (like they did with Laurel/Katie), it's the producers/writers they should blame.

Anyway, just like Costas and others, I personally feel a sense of relief now that "Arrow" will soon be over. When I started watching "Arrow" in 2013, it became my favourite television show, and I looked forward to every new episode. However, then came the horrific fourth season, and even if the writing picked up somewhat in season five, it lost it magic for me. So, now it's just another series that I will occasionally watch just because I have it available on Netflix.

I also feel that the Netflix Marvel series spoiled my "Arrow" viewing a bit, since they showed how comic book adaptations can be done without disrespecting the source material, and with considerably better writing, cinematography and acting. So, I was much more disappointed when these series were cancelled, mainly because there won't be any real closure. "Arrow", on the other hand, will have closure, since they have at least ten episodes to wrap it all up.

It will be interesting to see what Stephen Amell and the other actors have lined up in the future. I agree with those who've said that Amell needs to move on if he wants to do something else in his career. As for the fans, I think he's developed such a solid fanbase through his social media that he will have a "built in" audience, no matter which projects he chooses to pursue.

Although I think "Arrow" could have gone on for several years more (think "Supernatural") if Stephen had wanted to continue, I'm also wondering whether declining ratings helped the CW TPTB make the decision to end the series. The latest ratings were down to 0.2, with a 'live' audience under one million. I know that the CW doesn't care that much about Nielsen ratings, since they have other sources of revenue, but if the downward trend continues, it might not have been commercially viable to have another full season, and potentially a ninth one.