News & Interviews for Arrow: Season 7

Critic Reviews for Arrow Season 7

All Critics (211) | Top Critics (0) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (0)

Had some rough parts, but overall I think it was a strong season and led to a good overall conclusion to the entire series, despite Season 8 still to go!

Jun 3, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

David Hogan

hoganreviews.co.uk

In Season 7, Arrow finally acknowledges that its female characters are worthy of their own chance to shine.

Dec 13, 2018 | Full Review…

Lacy Baugher

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View All Critic Reviews (211)

Audience Reviews for Arrow: Season 7

• Jul 28, 2019

  A legendary Shawshank-y/Alcatraz-like superhero-in-prison arc start innovative to superhero TV – along with a masterpiece 150th-episode found-footage vigilantism documentary, correction of burdensome characters/arcs from past seasons, & intricate future-dystopian plot – despite a poorly-casted Emiko & short Longbow Hunters arc, let Arrow S7 set the stage for a spectacular final season next fall. 8.7/10. ... Review: The penultimate season. The Longbow Hunters. Emiko Queen. Dante and The Ninth Circle. Slabside Prison. Green Arrow/SuperMAX. S7 put all its cards on the table teasing some serious comic lore for its 2nd-to-last hurrah bringing the TV show that revolutionized the superhero genre back in 2012 to close. A legendary Shawshank-y/Alcatraz-like superhero-in-prison arc start innovative to superhero TV – along with a masterpiece 150th-episode found-footage vigilantism documentary, correction of burdensome characters/arcs from past seasons, & intricate future-dystopian plot – despite a poorly-casted Emiko & short Longbow Hunters arc, let Arrow S7 set the stage for a spectacular final season next fall. The Slabside Redemption, 150th-episode, & innovated superhero TV conventions. The season starts with a ballsy, unfathomable arc we never thought we'd ever see: our star superhero and main character locked behind bars. No longer Oliver Queen/Green Arrow but now Inmate 4587, this is an incredibly innovative plot choice lending for some seriously-entertaining and out-of-the-box story possibilities the writers' room clearly exploits. A brilliant, dazzling cocktail of Shawshank-y/Alcatraz/Count of Monte Cristo-like themes and homages mixed in fresh new ways under a superhero motif, with a decidedly-darker and more violent array returning Oliver to (alone) S1/2 badassness like in its opening 5-to-1 shower assassination attempt that turns wrong.. for the attackers – makes for one of the greatest arcs I've ever seen in superhero TV tens of seasons and shows in. Beyond the first 9 Slabside-set episodes (wish was given a longer arc as I'll address later), there are several other masterpiece-level episodes. The best of these, being also one of the greatest episodes in series history, is Arrow's 150th episode intricately, decidedly showing us what an Arrow movie would've been like as a found-footage vigilantism documentary complete with quick-cuts and jaw-dropping cinematic fight scenes that feel 10x-higher budget and perfect in every way (why, why, WHY WB did you not up the budget for DCTV currently blowing away the comparatively overexpensive messes of films like BvS and Suicide Squad). The season also ends on an emotionally-resonant, tear-jerking, epic finale arc rife with character development for Oliver and setting the stage for another masterfully-innovative TV finale with our main character being taken who-knows-where in the Multiverse before a teased death in this fall's finale season and ultimate superhero-crossover event: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Correction of burdensome characters/arcs from past seasons. The season also leads into the final run by cutting some of the dead weight and problematic characters it built up over the years – while also bringing back some fan favorites to the absolute JOY of its biggest fans and detractors alike. Previously-annoying characters Curtis and William are given satisfying exits, Dinah is no longer Black Canary leaving the door open for fan-favorite and meticulously-redempted Katie Cassidy's Laurel-E2/Black Siren to become the ultimate BC next season, Diggle is more nostalgically-Diggle with fleshed out-character development glimpses into his past & father, Roy/Arsenal is back, Tommy is back in visions as Oliver's conscience, and best of all: FELICITY IS BEARABLE as a much watered-down-romance version of the annoying hack-girl given more screentime than Green Arrow in previous seasons to her original awkward geekiness and light-treaded greatness pre-Olicity for a smoother time even given great character development plus an exit from the show in heartbreaking multiversic death fashion. All these amount a perfect set-up for a final season focused on the only character the show should be worried about: Oliver Queen as Amell's final run as Green Arrow, while also securing his legacy on E1 with glimpses into the future of Star City by way of its future-fractured arc and strong new characters. An intricate future-dystopian plot. Terminator/cyberpunk-like in all the best ways showing a dark distinct future where all our past seasons of vigilantism mattered little, the Star City 2049 half of the season is sublime. A wildly-twisting mystery cleverly beginning at Lian Yu for maximum nostalgia before going back to the Glades and invoking future-torn versions of Team Arrow from Dinah to Arsenal, involving screenwriting keeping us involved and interested in classic whodunnit manner, and a whole slew of incredible new characters make it easily the highlight of the season aside from the Slabside arc. Newly-added, highly-redemptive characters include grown-up versions of William – WAY better than the whiny immature version complaining his dad is Green Arrow we were given in S5/6 – and a canary-leading Zoe, but that's nothing compared to Connor Hawke and the show-stopper, screen-stealer of the whole season: Katherine McNamara's Mia Smoak. An absolutely BADASS street-fighter, slums-sleuthing outcast with fiery kick and secret agendas/baggage to solve, she is one of the best new characters ever introduced on Arrow, after Deathstroke, Merlyn, and Prometheus of course. I would be happy to see her become a future-version of Green Arrow as one of the only people (and skilled archers) who proved herself enough to don the sacred forest colors – and sincerely hope we see more of her in any capacity. Emiko Queen and The Longbow Hunters/Diaz. Flaws in Arrow S7 largely center around one (problematic) character: Emiko Queen. While she makes for a decently-interesting villain hitting Oliver at emotionally-vulnerable spots where it hurts most bringing back well-treaded psyche-breaks for him in his family's wrongdoings pre-Gambit sink and even serving as a crux for remarkable character development giving Oliver a reason to go back on his promise to Tommy of never killing again by threatening his entire family only for him to choose hope, she is WOEFULLY miscast with an *awful* actress in Sea Shimooka not even remotely deserving of the role and big bad presence. She is shaky as an actress, unemotive, and doesn't even give a believable performance of how heartbroken and messed-up someone with her kind of backstory would be – or counter Amell's always-compelling performance with any sort of might. Also, her wearing the Green Arrow costume – sacred territory – for so much of the season and even being written Mary Sue-ish to be as good an archer as Oliver was a poor choice that comes across as pandering and disrespectful to the lore when no one except Oliver (and maybe Mia by season's end since she thoroughly earned with a way more deserving/badass performance) should be wearing that suit. Beyond her, the Longbow Hunters – incredible GA villains from the comics – are given too short an arc, slabside was given *way* too short an arc (should've been 2-3x longer or whole season being easily the best part of the series), and Diaz overstays his welcome going from good villain last season to just a pain in the neck now with a comparatively wimpy exit for as good as he was last season as Richard Dragon. Overall, S7 of Arrow is a spectacular penultimate season that sets the stage for a JAW-DROPPING series finale next fall. A legendary Shawshank-y/Alcatraz-like superhero-in-prison arc start innovative to superhero TV – along with a masterpiece 150th-episode found-footage vigilantism documentary, correction of burdensome characters/arcs from past seasons, & intricate future-dystopian plot – despite a poorly-casted Emiko & short Longbow Hunters arc, this masterful build-up to the unfathomable cannot come soon enough this fall: The Death of Oliver Queen. Overall Score: 8.7/10
  Raj B
• Jul 22, 2019

  I have no idea what was going on this season. Hard to follow, too many characters, not enough Arrow. I'm not surprised it's going off the air after season 8, I'm sure they lost a lot of viewers after season 7.
  Tracy D
• Jul 20, 2019

  The season is very depressing, it is not bad but it is quite tragic
  omer b
• Jun 19, 2019

  Warning: there are not spoilers withn for this season, but I do discuss the results of the finale for the last season if you haven't seen that yet. I felt this was one of the stronger seasons of the show. It went in some different places. I was worried about Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) being in prison, considering all the cliches they could go with and the fact that the Flash had already done that storyline. However, I was surprised at how well this was handled and that none of the multiple episodes felt wasted. This season does an interesting job of handling morality as Oliver learns to question his views and other characters have to ask themselves whether the ends justify the means. The season brings back the flashback substory, kind of. At first I was worried, because a couple of them were pretty weak, but his puts an interesting twist on the concept. The season also does a good job of keeping you guessing about the final threat,without the story feeling like it's dragged out. With the next season being the last, I thought this one did a good job of being a semi-finale. The last season looks like it'll be tying in heavily to the Arrowverse crossover event. So, this season tries to wrap several things Star City-wise. Admittedly, the first half of this is stronger than the second half. Being Arrow, the season does have it's moments of forced logic and actions. And this being the seventh outing, the show can't quite muster the energy it had in it's prime. One of the antagonists feels a little too reminiscent of earlier villains in terms of motivations. Despite the show showing it's age, Amell's acting ability doesn't apply. He delivers some of his best emotional material here. I liked Black Siren's continuing attempts to redeem herself. I feel that Katie Cassidy is doing a a better job in the role than her original character. However, I feel the writers could've done a better job of utilizing Black Siren. I really expected them to go into more detail about her past life in Earth 2 by now. Overall, I can't say the show is as good as the first two seasons, but it has some pretty good parts to it, and I think it ties (along with season 5) as the third best season for me.
  

  Jack W
• Jun 16, 2019

  Season 7 is horrible. Oliver in prision was good. The flash forward to 2038. Love Mia -smart, strong, beautiful. But this wrecks the whole series for me. What was the point of Arrow when nothing they have done has saved the city ? Starling city is destroyed. No bappy ending for anyone. Thea and Roy? Nope. Rene? Nope. So all the sacrifice of being a hero. All the trauma and fighting was for what? That is what wrecked it for me. Oliver Queen doesnt matter. Team Arrow doesnt matter. They have failed this series.
  

  Nicholas O
• Jun 13, 2019

  Season 1-4 we're great and it got worse ever since. Season 7 is literally dog shit. What the fuck guys
  

  Jesse A
• Jun 08, 2019

  I'm torn on this season. I enjoyed most of the prison storyline and it was an interesting challenge for Oliver, but it definitely changes him, for better or worse. The "is Felicity murderous now?" story was unbelievable and ridiculous. Ricardo Diaz inexplicably is still a threat (and dragged out his screen time with his insanely slow speaking), but like many things this season - it gets overly long and drawn out and then it's wrapped up overly suddenly without much explanation. There also starts to be flash forwards instead of flashbacks which I am not a fan of for many reasons. First, I felt they were distracting, the acting was stiff, and it truly undermined the entire show. Oliver gave up a lot to fight for his city and to see it was in dystopian ruins despite his sacrifices was disheartening. It also took away any drama over someone surviving in the present day. The last episode really could have been a satisfying series' finale so I'm feeling apprehensive about season eight. Pros: Felicity getting back to what she does best, drama with Oliver's fellow prisoners, Laurel Lance was finally worth watching!! Cons: the entire SCPD drama, William, Diaz, Argus nonsense
  Cait G
• Jun 05, 2019

  A vast improvement over season 6 this season is more like 3 it starts out amazing and slowly tampers off as it goes.
  

  Bob B
• May 29, 2019

  Season 7 has been just a standard series of Arrow with little in it that really stands out. Another archer villain, another family conflict, more of the same action scenes. The only things that it really does differently is perhaps what ruined the season for me. Instead of flashbacks, the show starts flashforwards, showing the adventures of the heroes about 20 years in the future. This dynamic makes the current day events less significant at best and full on ruins them at worst. Because we see the future we know who will survive season 7 (current day.) Whats more is the story of future events feels bleak as it shows a dystopian future where the city has hit its lowest. Would make for a good story but seeing Star City at its lowest in the future devalues Oliver's entire crusade as it would seem his sacrifices and his best efforts have been for nothing. The city is not saved, it is near collapse. The series also feels disjointed. looking back its hard to believe that the finale is the same series as when Oliver begins in prison. He goes from criminal, to law enforcer, back to vigilante, back to hero. The main villain chances several times and yet the reveal that there is someone bigger never comes as a surprise. After 6 solid series and in the wake of the show coming to an end, this series has been seriously disappointing and spreads some shade on the shows final season, I really hope they don't screw season 8 up.
  Michael T
• May 16, 2019

  This seasons proves once and for all that this is a great tv show. It also proves that this is the best of the Arrowverse shows.
  Funky Fun T

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