30 greatest Arrowverse episodes, ranked

Best Arrowverse episodes – No. 3

Unthinkable (Arrow season 2 episode 23)

Following on from the last entry is Arrow‘s explosive second season finale in which the long-awaited collision between Oliver Queen and Slade Wilson finally took place.

With Slade’s Mirakuru army continuing to cause destruction on the ground, Oliver brought in the big guns as he arrived at the battle with The Canary, Arsenal, the SCPD, Nyssa Al Ghul and the League of Assassins. In one of the show’s best-choreographed group fights, Team Arrow took the fight the super-soldiers while administering a cure to the Mirakuru at the same time.

The Arrow would then foil Deathstroke’s plan to kill “the woman he loved,” leading to a final showdown between the pair on a rooftop as A.R.G.U.S.’ Amanda Waller threatened to destroy the city in order to contain the threat. However, the beauty of this scene was that, as the fight unfolded, the flashback narrative mirrored the present, with Oliver and Slade’s very first battle running parallel to their last. It was only then that Oliver finally managed to subdue his foe, saving the city from complete destruction.

There is a reason that Deathstroke is so highly regarded among the Arrowverse fandom, and this episode showcased why. It was a fitting end to an exceptional season – one that allowed two years worth of flashbacks to come full circle while providing us with perhaps the most impressive “final boss” battle of the show’s run to date. It was daring, bold and downright gripping and it brought an end to the show’s most edge-of-seat narrative yet, with the foretold encounter exceeding expectations.