Starling City (Arrow episode)

Lore & Background

The episode was conceived as a remix of the pilot, revisiting key moments from the first season. The opening scene, showing Oliver running on Earth-2's Lian Yu before being taken to Starling City, emulates a similar scene from the pilot. Many scenes, such as Oliver uniting with Earth-2 versions of his family, are near-verbatim homages to the pilot, though the Earth-2 counterparts differ: Moira Queen is married to Malcolm Merlyn, Tommy Merlyn is the Dark Archer, Rene Ramirez and Dinah Drake are corrupt, and Adrian Chase is a vigilante known as the Hood. The episode ends with Earth-2 being vaporized by a wave of antimatter, a decision the writers consulted on with writers of The Flash.

Reader's Guide

The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 100% approval rating based on 13 reviews and a critical consensus praising it as a rousing start to the final season. It was watched live by 0.8 million viewers with a 0.3/2 share among adults aged 18 to 49. Critics highlighted the emotional weight of callbacks to season 1 and Stephen Amell's performance. The episode is significant for setting the stakes of the dimensional conflict and providing closure for Oliver with his mother Moira, while also introducing the destruction of Earth-2, a major event in the Arrowverse.

Did You Know?

• The episode features Earth-2 versions of Moira Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Tommy Merlyn, Adrian Chase, Rene Ramirez, and Dinah Drake.
• The quote attributed to Earth-2's Adrian Chase (the Hood), 'if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains -- however improbable -- must be the truth,' was originally created by Arthur Conan Doyle for Sherlock Holmes.