The Arrowverse is going to have its most important year of all time when it returns this fall on The CW as Arrow, the show that started it all kicks off its eighth and final season. After almost eight years of helping create the large DC TV Universe for the network, the adventures of the Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) will come to an end. As San Diego Comic-Con 2019 just happened a few weeks ago, new details for the final season were revealed to get fans ready.
There have been a few announcements of characters returning to the series including Colin Donnell and Josh Segarra. However, there is still a lot we don’t know about Season 8 and with final seasons of any TV show, there will always be wishlists for characters that need to come back. With that said, there are seven characters who need to show up in Arrow’s final year as well as three that need to be excluded which is what we’re going to go through below.
EXCLUDE: Evelyn Sharp/Artemis
One of the weaker characters of Arrow’s later seasons was Evelyn Sharp a.k.a. the show’s own take on the DC character Artemis. Starting out as stealing the Black Canary mantle right after Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) passed away, she would then become part of New Team Arrow. But not long after that, she betrayed the team by turning to Prometheus.
She has not been seen since the season five finale when Lian Yu blew up thanks to Prometheus. Given that Arrow loves to throw twists at its audience every once in a while, this is one situation where a twist is not needed. Whether she is dead or alive, Evelyn should stay as far away as possible.
NEEDS: Rory Regan/Ragman
When the New Team Arrow came together, we got the introduction of a lesser-known DC hero in Rory Regan a.k.a. Ragman (Joe Dinicol.) Depicted as one of the sweeter heroes throughout Season 5, Rory sadly left the series way too soon. While his rags may have been destroyed, we have not seen him aside from a brief cameo in Season 7. Given that Team Arrow has lost a few members in the last season, having a little visit from Ragman would be greatly appreciated.
NEEDS: Sara Lance/White Canary
One of the characters that came to have a big role in the Arrowverse early on was Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) who is currently busy running the Waverider on Legends of Tomorrow. While we will see her along with the rest of the team in this year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, it would be wrong to not have Sara in Season 8 as part of Arrow’s own story, one last time.
One of the stronger episodes of Season 7 was “Lost Canary” when we got to see all the three Canaries together. That needs to happen again before the end of the series.
NEEDS: Malcolm Merlyn/The Dark Archer
While Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) may have died on Lian Yu in the Season 5 finale, you can’t end a Green Arrow series without the Dark Archer. Despite the fact that we never saw a body after the events of the finale, it is probably safe to say that this Malcolm is no more.
However, the Arrowverse has the glorious Multiverse to play with, especially in a season that is leading up to Crisis on Infinite Earths. With a Multiverse story like that, there has to be a way to bring Barrowman back as some version of Malcolm to either clash or team with Oliver.
EXCLUDE: Alena Whitlock
During Felicity Smoak’s (Emily Bett Rickards) time on the show, we got introduced to Alena Whitlock (Kacey Rohl), a fellow computer hacker, but also Felicity’s biggest fan. While it was always fun to see Felicity have a friend or two who shared similar experiences, Alena always felt like a weird copy of Felicity dialed up to an 11.
Even when they had her appear in the flashforwards, Alena just doesn’t fit. Now that Felicity is gone, it is terribly easy for the show to rely on Alena for any hacking business they may need. No one should come in and fill Felicity’s shoes like that so Alena is also someone that Season 8 should avoid bringing back.
NEEDS: Slade Wilson/Deathstroke
One of the best villains that have been depicted on Arrow is and always will be Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke. While he made a few appearances in Season 5 and 6, we never saw him in the recent season. Given that he is still out there, Season 8 has to bring Slade back, if only for one episode.
Given that Esai Morales is set to play the character on Titans, it remains unclear whether this makes a guest spot for Bennett possible or not. However, if TPTB allows it, hopefully, there is a Deathstroke appearance set for Arrow’s final season.
NEEDS: Felicity Smoak/Overwatch
The reason that Season 8 has to exclude Alena is that there is no hacker we would want to see that isn’t Felicity Smoak. While the doors seem to be open for the actress to return, nothing has been set yet for Felicity’s potential return.
However, seeing Arrow end without Felicity would just not feel right. Whether she would appear in one of the final episodes of the series or in the crossover, we’re crossing our fingers for Felicity’s return.
NEEDS: Thea Queen/Speedy
Aside from a quick cameo in the recent season, Arrow has been missing Thea Queen a.k.a. Speedy (Willa Holland) for over a year now. With Oliver’s death coming, it would feel incredibly wrong of the series to not feature his little sister one last time before everything is said and done.
Since Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) returned last season and is most likely back for the final season, a visit from Speedy would be something very sweet.
EXCLUDE: Joe Wilson/Kane Wolfman
While Deathstroke was done excellently, the same can’t be said for either of his two sons who have appeared in the Arrowverse. Focusing on Arrow, Joe Wilson (Liam Hall) wasn’t exactly portrayed as he is in the comics. Since we couldn’t get Slade last season, we instead got a brief appearance from Joe in the Elseworlds crossover before being a recurring character in the Ghost Initiative.
That didn’t really do anything for him as a character which is why Season 8 should leave him out, especially if they can’t get Slade back. To have Joe as a substitute for Slade is wrong for several reasons.
NEEDS: Helena Bertinelli/
One of Arrow’s earliest characters they brought in from the DC Universe was Helena Bertinelli a.k.a. the Huntress (Jessica De Gouw) who has not been seen since Season 2. There have been attempts to bring De Gouw back for another round as the Huntress, but the schedule and other obstacles have gotten in the way.
It would be a massive shame if we can’t see Huntress back for at least one episode in the eighth season, especially now that a Birds of Prey-esque team exists on the show thanks to the two Black Canaries. Only time will tell who will and won’t appear in the final season of the series, but fingers crossed that Helena is one they can bring back.
