Arrow

10 Best Episodes of Arrow

Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.

Written by Sophie and last updated on jan 30, 2023.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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Arrow - S2E21

#15 - City of Blood (Season 2 - Episode 21)

After Slade threatens to take everything Oliver loves away, Oliver decides the fastest way to stop further bloodshed is to surrender to his enemy. Knowing that surrender will surely lead to Oliver’s death, Diggle and Felicity go to extreme measures to keep Oliver from confronting Slade. Meanwhile, Thea considers leaving town, and Laurel resumes her crusade against Sebastian Blood. Finally, Slade unleashes his assault on Starling City.

The episode was rated 8.16 from 3522 votes.

Arrow - S2E19

#14 - The Man Under the Hood (Season 2 - Episode 19)

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Oliver, Canary, Diggle and Felicity return to the lair and find Slade waiting for them. An epic battle breaks out and one member of Team Arrow is sent to the hospital. Thea hits her breaking point, but just as Oliver is about to reach her, Slade intervenes and Oliver is faced with a choice — his battle with Slade or his family. Meanwhile, Laurel struggles with a new secret.

The episode was rated 8.19 from 3456 votes.

Arrow - S1E21

#13 - The Undertaking (Season 1 - Episode 21)

Finding it difficult to mend fences with Tommy and Diggle, Oliver instead focuses on crossing another name off the list. While digging through a crooked accountant’s laptop, Felicity discovers a transaction that could help Oliver find Walter. To reconfirm the lead, Oliver gambles that Felicity can be counted on in the field for the first time. In a flashback, Malcolm reveals to Robert Queen and Frank Chen painful details surrounding his wife’s murder, and how that shaped his plans for the Glades. Meanwhile, Tommy stuns Laurel with the truth.

The episode was rated 8.21 from 3360 votes.

Arrow - S2E14

#12 - Time of Death (Season 2 - Episode 14)

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Oliver brings Sara into the Arrow team. Watching Oliver and Diggle spar with Sara and talk old scars, Felicity starts to feel left out. The team is investigating a villain named William Tockman, a.k.a. The Clock King, who is a brilliant thief armed with technology that can open any bank vault in Starling City. After The Clock King infiltrates the computer systems in the lair, Felicity feels pressure to prove her worth. When she gets a lead on Tockman’s whereabouts, she heads out without the team, putting her in peril. Meanwhile, Oliver throws Sara a welcome home party, but Laurel refuses to attend. After Lance makes his case for a family dinner, Laurel acquiesces, but when Oliver shows up with Sara, she loses her temper on both of them.

The episode was rated 8.21 from 3511 votes.

Arrow - S2E18

#11 - Deathstroke (Season 2 - Episode 18)

Slade makes his move against Oliver and the repercussions are enormous. While Oliver scrambles to protect his family, a key player in his team starts to question Oliver’s decisions. Meanwhile, Isabel makes her move to take Queen Consolidated away from Oliver.

The episode was rated 8.23 from 3455 votes.

Arrow - S3E8

#10 - The Brave and the Bold (Season 3 - Episode 8)

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Oliver, Arsenal and Diggle track down the location of a boomerang-wielding killer named Digger Harkness, but are surprised when they come face to face with an A.R.G.U.S. team. Diggle asks Lyla why A.R.G.U.S. is involved but she defers until Harkness attacks the building, killing several agents and targeting Lyla. The Arrow joins the fight and gets help from an old friend — The Flash. Harkness manages to get away and Oliver teams up with Barry again to find him before he can get to Lyla. When Harkness plants five bombs in the city that are timed to explode at the same time, both teams must come together to save the city.

The episode was rated 8.25 from 3480 votes.

Arrow - S5E23

#9 - Lian Yu (Season 5 - Episode 23)

The battle between Oliver and Adrian Chase culminates in a final epic battle on Lian Yu. After recent events, Oliver decides to recruit a group of unlikely allies — Slade, Nyssa, Merlyn, and Digger Harkness — to defeat Chase. However, Chase has his own army — Black Siren, Evelyn Sharp, and Talia al Ghul — and the forces collide.

The episode was rated 8.26 from 4866 votes.

Arrow - S2E8

#8 - The Scientist (Season 2 - Episode 8)

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A seemingly impossible robbery at Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division brings Central City police scientist Barry Allen to town. Citing a similar case back home, Barry offers to help Oliver and team with the investigation. Oliver senses there is more to Barry than meets the eye, but he’s distracted by the similarities between this current case and something that happened on the island. Meanwhile, Felicity takes a liking to Barry, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Oliver. Sin asks Roy for help when a friend of hers goes missing. Roy is surprised when Thea not only encourages him to help, but joins the search. Unfortunately, Sin’s friend is connected to Brother Blood, and their search ultimately gets one of them seriously injured.

The episode was rated 8.30 from 3656 votes.

Arrow - S2E22

#7 - Streets of Fire (Season 2 - Episode 22)

Oliver rallies his team as Slade’s soldiers attack the city. Felicity gets a call from S.T.A.R. Labs with game-changing news and Thea comes face-to-face with her father — Malcolm Merlyn.

The episode was rated 8.34 from 3489 votes.

Arrow - S2E9

#6 - Three Ghosts (Season 2 - Episode 9)

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After a fight with Cyrus Gold AKA the Acolyte, Oliver is drugged and left for dead. Determined to cure him, Felicity makes a risky decision. The cure causes Oliver to hallucinate, and what he sees forces him to confront his past. Meanwhile, Barry continues to help Felicity, and their connection grows stronger. The Arrow asks Lance to look into Gold, but when the stakeout on Gold goes bad, someone is killed. Roy is captured and tortured by Brother Blood.

The episode was rated 8.36 from 3661 votes.

Arrow - S1E22

#5 - Darkness on the Edge of Town (Season 1 - Episode 22)

With the Undertaking days away, Malcolm dons his black hood to conclude business with seismologist Dr. Brion Markov and his team. Oliver and Moira entertain a number of surprise – and mostly unwelcome – visitors. Hooded confrontations at home and the Merlyn Global Group reveal dark secrets. Meanwhile, Roy and Thea are still looking out for a hero. Laurel makes a decision after Tommy’s revelation. In a flashback to the island, Oliver, Slade and Shado struggle to prevent Fyers from shooting a Ferris Air jet out of the sky.

The episode was rated 8.37 from 3416 votes.

Arrow - S2E20

#4 - Seeing Red (Season 2 - Episode 20)

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The Mirakuru sends Roy into an uncontrollable rage and he unleashes on the city. After Roy’s deadly fight with a police officer, Oliver realizes the Mirakuru has taken over Roy completely and must figure out a way to stop him. Things get more complicated after Sara declares that Roy is too far gone and the only way to stop him is to kill him. Meanwhile, Thea believes she can break through to Roy so she goes on camera at Moira’s campaign rally to lure him to Verdant. Her ploy works but after Roy attacks Thea, Team Arrow unleashes on him.

The episode was rated 8.42 from 3588 votes.

Arrow - S3E9

#3 - The Climb (Season 3 - Episode 9)

Nyssa returns to Starling City and tells Oliver that her father, Ra’s al Ghul has given Oliver 48 hours to find Sara’s killer or the League of Assassins will start killing the citizens of Starling City. Laurel is stunned when her father delivers a very special Christmas gift — her mother, Dinah. Meanwhile, Ray tries to make amends with Felicity and Oliver sets a meeting with Ra’s al Ghul.

The episode was rated 8.46 from 3444 votes.

Arrow - S2E23

#2 - Unthinkable (Season 2 - Episode 23)

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Slade moves forward with his plan to kill one more person in Oliver’s life. While Oliver has fought all year to be more than the killer he once was, when Slade kidnaps someone close to Oliver’s heart, Oliver is pushed to the edge and realizes sometimes it takes doing the unthinkable to stop the monster. Meanwhile, Diggle takes on Amanda Waller with a little help from some friends, and Thea turns to Roy in her time of need.

The episode was rated 8.56 from 3670 votes.

Arrow - S1E23

#1 - Sacrifice (Season 1 - Episode 23)

Oliver and Diggle race to stop the Dark Archer from unleashing his vengeance on The Glades. However, they run into a roadblock after Detective Lance picks up Felicity for questioning. Tommy and Oliver’s already tumultuous relationship takes a turn for the worse after Oliver makes a confession about Laurel. After hearing of the danger in The Glades, Thea races to find Roy, inadvertently putting herself directly in the line of fire for Malcolm’s devious plan. On the island, Oliver, Slade and Shado are locked in a life-or-death struggle against Fyers as his missiles lock on a full Ferris Air jetliner.

The episode was rated 8.64 from 3597 votes.

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