When Stephen Amell took to the Comic-Con stage for the final time for Arrow, he was met with praise and appreciation from his cast for everything he’s done for the superhero genre on television.
There were cheers. There were tears. There was a dawning realization that Arrow was taking its final bow on the stage where it all started.
“I have a difficult time anticipating appreciation and adulation — it catches me off guard,” Amell said. “I don’t know if you guys saw the panel, but it was basically just me putting my hand over my mouth and looking at (David) Ramsey going, ‘If you guys don’t f**king knock this off.'”
As for how Oliver Queen’s story eventually ends, Amell said that he had influence on how Oliver’s journey wraps. In particular he referenced the season 7 finale, where Oliver and Felicity shared an emotional goodbye as the Monitor swept him away to pay off his sacrifice for saving Barry and Kara in last year’s crossover.
Given that it was potentially the last time fans will see Oliver and Felicity together — and see Felicity — Amell made his voice heard when it came to her exit.
“The fact that it ended with Emily (Bett Rickards), a lot of that was my pitch,” Amell said. “I thought that we had to write that episode like we’re never going to see her character again. Jumping off from that, if we think we’re never going to see her character again, well, you better give her a good goodbye. You better wrap that up.”
And while the tears were definitely flowing during this emotional final moments, Amell reassured everyone that, despite their separation via the Monitor, they’re definitely in a good place.
“I thought it was good for the fans to realize that, somewhere out there, they’re good,” he said.
Watch our interview with Stephen Amell, where he discusses season 8 and what’s to come:
Arrow‘s final season premieres Oct. 15 on The CW.
