30 greatest Arrowverse episodes, ranked

Best Arrowverse episodes – No. 24

The Slabside Redemption (Arrow season 7 episode 7)

Oliver Queen’s imprisonment during Arrow‘s seventh season breathed new life into the show, highlighting that sometimes it’s important to change the status quo. However, it also set the stage for his eventual release and, as we settled in to watch would become the season’s greatest episode, it soon became clear that he was really going to have to work for his freedom.

“The Slabside Redemption” saw the former Green Arrow who, after District Attorney Laurel Lance/Black Siren secured a deal with the F.B.I., was preparing for his release. However, just as things began looking up, Oliver’s nemesis, Ricardo Diaz, took over Slabside and staged a prison-wide lockdown, releasing the prisoners, ensuring that Star City’s former savior would meet his end before he ever got out.

With the threat of Diaz looming, Oliver was surrounded by old enemies whom he had put behind bars and new ones that he made during his time there. But despite those odds, he fought harder than he ever had before, refusing to fall when his freedom was in sight.

This wasn’t just the story of a fallen hero’s final shot at redemption, it was a masterclass in how far one character was willing to go for the people that he loved – and in Oliver’s case it was clear: there were no limits. After a long haul, he finally overcame Diaz and, with Bronze Tiger’s help, saved the prison wardens. Though it most certainly failed him, the Green Arrow did not fail Slabside. And on that note, the writers did not fail us.