With Arrow's first season finale airing Wednesday at 8/7c, TVGuide.com thought it would be a good time to look back at The CW's super series as a whole, and see if they heeded our original advice on how to make a show about DC Comics' emerald archer work.
12 things Arrow can learn from Smallville, Buffy and more!
Last summer, we gathered a list of 12 things that Arrow should and shouldn't do in order to be a successful series based on tried-and-true heroic formats, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Green Lantern, Batman Begins and superhero predecessor Smallville. Let's take a look and see if they listened:
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With the Undertaking drawing near, Oliver is in the worst place he could be to save The Glades: Malcolm Merlyn's captivity.
In Arrow's penultimate episode, Oliver (Stephen Amell) set his sights on Malcolm (John Barrowman), unaware that his former best friend's father is actually the Dark Archer who once defeated him. Now, make that twice. Will Oliver be able to free himself from Merlyn and stop the Dark Archer's evil plans of leveling The Glades? TVGuide.com turned to executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg for an in-depth interview on the finale, including Oliver and Laurel's (Katie Cassidy) future, a new side of Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) and a Thea (Willa Holland) moment that may make fanboys happy:
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Arrow fans are in for the ride of their lives as the ultimate showdown between Oliver (Stephen Amell) and the Dark Archer (John Barrowman), as well as the unveiling of the Undertaking, grows closer. Will Oliver be able to save Starling City? Will his identity be revealed? There are many questions before the series returns Wednesday (8/7 on The CW), which is why TVGuide.com sat down with both Amell and Emily Bett Rickards, who portrays go-to IT gal Felicity Smoak, to get the scoop on what's in store for the rest of the CW super series' season:
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The epic Spartacus finale brought the expected bloodshed, but also tears.
"Everybody was a big puddle," Spartacus creator Steven DeKnight tells TVGuide.com. "I still can't watch the finale without tearing up. ... But yeah, it's very emotional, not only because of the story, but also the whole experience."
Spartacus' Manu Bennett on Crixus' downfall
That experience involved two actors playing the titular hero. Original star Andy Whitfield bowed out after the first season to treat his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And although he made an uncredited voice appearance during the six-part prequel series Gods of the Arena, newcomer Liam McIntyre stepped in to portray the Thracian gladiator-turned-freedom fighter for the final two seasons.
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Get ready to hear "I am Spartacus!" one last time.
It has only been three years since Spartacus splashed its bloody way across Starz, and Friday's epic series finale (9/8c) will conclude the legendary rebel leader's quest to free the slaves of Ancient Rome. And although history spoils the ultimate outcome, it is how each character has lived — and in some cases, died — that is the key to the show's appeal.
Spartacus' Manu Bennett on Crixus' downfall
Death is a complex thing on the series. Although there's no denying that it can be gloriously gory and over-the-top, at the same time, it is closely tied to the underlying theme of freedom. Slavery or death? That's the choice that masters force upon their slaves sent into the gladiators' arena and on the flip side, the choice fugitives make when they escape to join Spartacus.
Who will live? Who will die? Who will send men to their deaths? Check out this preview of the final Spartacus: War of the Damned and then continue reading for the cast's thoughts on killing or being killed on the series:
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