Heroic actor of the week (1/27): The Arrow cast

This week’s Heroic Actor of the Week analyzes how the whole cast of Arrow brought their A-Game in that heartfelt series finale.

Usually, we’d open these Heroic Actor of the Week pieces discussing all that went down in the comic book film and TV world over the past seven days, but in all honesty, there’s only one thing we should be talking about.

We are, of course, referring to the fact that Arrow – the CW powerhouse that single-handedly redefined a genre through the launch of the Arrowverse – took its final bow when its series finale aired on Tuesday night.

Next, we’d usually lead into our choice with a paragraph introducing them but, the truth is that it’s impossible to pick one winner this week because the whole cast of that show delivered in a way that simply shouldn’t have been possible.

The Arrow Cast

Given that Arrow often struggled to juggle its large variety of characters from season-to-season, relegating some to lesser roles while promoting others, it’s rather ironic that the show (mostly) managed to juggle the whole lot of them quite well in its series finale – as the vast majority of characters had a moment to remind viewers why we fell in love with them in the first place.

Let’s face it though – even if those characters didn’t get their chance to shine, we still would have been 100% invested in what was going down because of each cast member’s endearing performance. And they really did come through in spite of their limited screen-time.

More from Arrowverse

• The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
• 27 best fighters in the Arrowverse, ranked
• All 8 Black Canary actresses ranked from worst to best
• 11 things nobody wants to admit about the Arrowverse
• The 7 best (and 6 worst) Arrowverse villains

In the wake of Oliver Queen’s death, the main characters found themselves heartbroken at the thought of a life without their dearly departed Emerald Archer. This prompted great performances from David Ramsey, Katherine McNamara, Juliana Harkavy, Rick Gonzalez and the returning Emily Bett Rickards – who delivered one of her finest performances as Felicity Smoak (which was, no doubt, helped by the fact that she had some of the best material the character’s had in years).

Meanwhile, Katie Cassidy and Paul Blackthorne were on usual powerhouse form as they broke hearts with their tearjerking chemistry in the father/daughter moment between Laurel and Quentin Lance, while Colton Haynes and Willa Holland once again lit up our screens during all of their scenes together as Roy Harper and Thea Queen.

A special honor, of course, has to go the man himself: Stephen Amell. Though he didn’t appear in the present-day story, he channeled enough grit to resurrect the Oliver Queen of old through the flashbacks, reminding us all how we fell for him in the first place. And his subtle, quietly emotional moment in the closing scenes only served to remind us how much we’re all going to miss him in this role.

Arrow‘s cast has always delivered, but even in an episode as packed as this, they all managed to exceed expectations in order to give fans one last emotional rollercoaster.

So with all that in mind, this writer raises a glass to this exceptional cast and thanks them for entertaining, inspiring and moving us for the past eight years. Prochnost!

Arrow‘s run on The CW has officially come to an end, but there’s a good chance that the network will pick up spin-off series Green Arrow and The Canaries. Be sure to check back next Sunday to find out who will be the next Heroic Actor of The Week – and you check out previous winners here.