The much-loved superhero shows that make up the Arrowverse quickly became popular, with smash hits like Arrow and The Flash leading the way to success. Over the last decade, these fan-favorite shows have had us both in tears and laughter, but if you need a good cry, there are plenty of gut-wrenching episodes you can rewatch.
Every series in the Arrowverse has had us in tears and some point, and while The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow had their fair share of heartbreaking moments, it was Arrow that often brought the true tearjerkers. As one of the original darker superhero TV shows, Arrow was chock-full of hard-hitting emotion. From Tommy's (Colin Donnell) death in the season one finale to Oliver's (Stephen Amell) torture at the hands of Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra), we lost count of how many times this series left us in need of some comfort food and hug.
"Dark Waters" (Season 4, Episode 10)
Explosive cliffhangers from the previous episode. Hospital scenes. Oh, and just the possibility of losing a beloved character that we couldn't bear to lose. What didn't this episode throw at us that wasn't downright soul-crushing?
Episode nine ended somewhat with a bang. After getting engaged, Oliver and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) found themselves under attack by masked figures who opened fire on their limo. While Oliver initially protected her, he leaped into the driver's seat to get them to safety, but Felicity was shot. She was left paralyzed from the waist down due to an irreversible spinal cord injury. While she was ultimately able to walk again, the idea of losing such an iconic character was a terrifying thought.
"Seeing Red" (Season 2, Episode 20)
The writers at Arrow became true professionals at creating edge of your seat scenes, often resulting in a heartbreaking culmination, and this season two episode was certainly no exception. Oliver's world once again came crashing down when Slade Wilson (Manu Bennette) gave him the choice of who to save, his mother or his sister.
While Oliver initially begged Slade to kill him and leave them both alive, Slade insisted on him choosing one to live and one to die. Moira (Susanna Thompson) ultimately sacrificed herself to save her children, standing up to face him. Slade struck Moira through the heart in front of Oliver and Thea (Willa Holland). From the look on Oliver's face as he fell to the ground to Thea's cries all the way through, we're still not over this moment.
"Lian Yu" (Season 5, Episode 23)
Season five's finale is one of the most fan-favorite episodes by far and still remains one of the best finales of the show in many people's opinions. It was full of action, nail-biting tension, and a classic edge-of-your-seat cliffhanger to culminate the series.
It was a fantastic episode to round out Oliver's five-year run on the island, albeit full of heartbreaking moments to add to the action. If Malcolm's (John Barrowman) sacrifice was enough to twinge your heart, then the flashback to Oliver's phone call with his mom after being rescued from Lian Yu was more than enough to shatter it completely.
"Sacrifice" (Season 1, Episode 23)
Tommy may have only been a consistent character in the first season, but he was loved by thousands and quickly became a popular part of the show. So when he sadly died at the end of season one, it was heartbreaking to say goodbye.
How he died was even more soul-crushing to see. After freeing Laurel and before he could escape, an explosion rocked the building. When Oliver got inside, Tommy was impaled by a piece of rebar through his chest, pinning him to the ground. Between Oliver's voice cracking and then begging him to open his eyes, there wasn't a dry eye by the end of the episode.
"Kapiushon" (Season 5, Episode 17)
Adrian Chase is a memorable villain for many reasons. Prometheus became hellbent on making Oliver's life a living hell, and he succeeded. He managed to turn the entirety of Star City against The Green Arrow in a way much different from past villains.
He became a bane in Oliver's life and succeeded in doing something no other villain had been able to do at that point. In episode seventeen, he mentally and physically tortured him to the point of admitting that he liked killing. Seeing Oliver so broken upon returning to the bunker and quitting the team was heartbreaking.
"Eleven-Fifty-Nine" (Season 4, Episode 18)
Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) had been a regular in Arrow since the show's beginning in 2012 and had grown increasingly popular over her time on the show. Saying goodbye to any beloved character is always hard, but a long-running character can dig a little deeper into your heart.
While attempting to thwart Damien Darhk's (Neal McDonough) attempts at regaining his power, Laurel was stabbed by the villain. Between the false hope after being told she'd be okay to the pain in everyone's eyes as they watched the doctors unable to revive her, our hearts were heavy with grief. And if losing Laurel wasn't sad enough, the moment Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) rounded the corner to be met with Oliver's teary face and realized she'd died, our emotional stability was no more.
"Life Sentence" (Season 6, Episode 23)
Perhaps one of the most devastating character deaths of the show. Quentin Lance was an incredibly loved part of the Arrowverse for many years, and he appeared in over 100 episodes before his untimely death. Lance was shot after he jumped in front of Black Siren (Earth-2's Laurel Lance) and rushed to the hospital.
In a sort of deja-vu moment bringing flashbacks to when Laurel died, Lance was taken into surgery after an emotional chat with Oliver, who told him he'd had a good fatherly example in him. In a devastating reveal to the team, Oliver had handed himself in so that the others would be immune. Before he was taken away by the FBI, team Arrow was informed that Quentin had suffered a seizure, and the surgeons weren't to revive him. From the devastation on everyone's faces to Sara (Caity Lotz) not getting the chance to say goodbye to her father, we were an emotional wreck by the end of this finale.
"Crisis On Infinite Earths: Part Four" (Season 8, Episode 8)
The most highly anticipated Arrowverse crossover event took place in December 2019. While the CW-verse crossovers typically consisted of four shows, this time, it consisted of five, airing in the order of Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow.
To kick the event off in a shocking way, Oliver died at the end of part one, leaving many fans upset, albeit mostly confused, believing they wouldn't kill off The Green Arrow out of his own show. They were correct, as he may not have died in Supergirl, but heartbreakingly, he did in Arrow's part four, leaving us devastated at the loss of the one that started this universe.
"Fadeout" (Season 8, Episode 10)
As the heartbreaking finale of Arrow came to an end, what remained of our emotional stability was in tatters. If you weren't prepared beforehand and already eating ice cream under a blanket while steadily getting through a box of tissues, then what were you doing? Are you mad? Why weren't you prepared?
Saying goodbye to this beloved series after eight years was never going to be easy, but the emotional turmoil it put us through after we'd already suffered through enough crisis (see what I did there?) was downright cruel. Between seeing those much-loved faces at Oliver's funeral and that final everlasting peace for Felicity and Oliver, we were in bits, and two and a half years later, we still are.