30 greatest Arrowverse episodes, ranked

Best Arrowverse episodes – No. 7

Pilot (Arrow season 1 episode 1)

When Arrow first arrived on our screens, Smallville was still fresh in comic book fans’ minds – as was Justin Hartley’s comic-accurate happy-go-lucky portrayal of the Green Arrow. Thus, Greg Berlanti and The CW had to ensure that their new Green Arrow had something different to offer – which they effectively managed to do with the show’s premiere episode.

Focusing on Oliver Queen’s return to society, the Arrow pilot was quick to differentiate itself from previous comic book adaptations. Calm, collective and internally troubled, this Oliver was nothing like his comic book counterpart, just as the grim and moody tone of the show was nothing like the somewhat upbeat tone we were expecting.

From the get-go, it was clear that Arrow wasn’t intended to be a superhero show. Instead, it was a gritty crime series that just so happened to feature a hood-wearing vigilante. But that vigilante was no superhero, he was a dark avenger scarred by the trauma of Lian Yu who sought to stomp out corruption by righting his father’s wrongs.

With a compelling redemption narrative at its heart and an intriguing ensemble of supporting characters, Arrow‘s first episode gave us an insight into what we could expect from the remainder of the season – and to say that it looked promising would be an understatement.

It was undoubtedly lightning in a bottle because, no matter how hard they tried, the writers have never been able to recapture the perfection that the show’s pilot (and whole first season) possessed. They struck gold, or Emerald if you will, with this one.