Team GATV Roundtable: Looking Back At Arrow Season 6 & Forward To Season 7

Were you happy with how Thea’s story ended?

MATT: Yes. I’m glad they gave her purpose for taking off while keeping open the possibility of her visiting every now and then.

STEPHANIE: I’m glad she’s not dead, and I’m glad she’s out there righting the wrongs of her own father, but it’s difficult for me to consider this an ending because it was so open-ended and felt like a temporary departure at the time. When I was catching up on these episodes, I knew Willa Holland was leaving at some point, but it wasn’t until several episodes after “The Thanatos Guild” that I realized I had already seen her final appearance. I expected her to return an episode or two later having destroyed the Lazarus Pits and then be sent off for real.

CRAIG: I don’t know. I feel like Thea came back from her coma only to just leave again… and she was a series regular? Like Stephanie, I’m glad she left alive. I’m curious where her journeys will take her… even if we don’t see them on screen.

MELISSA: Yes, I was happy with how Thea’s story ended, but I have some caveats.

I wish they could have handled Thea’s story for the last few seasons differently, but with Willa leaving, I think they gave Thea a great send off. She left with purpose, love, and strength. She and Oliver shared a touching, final moment bringing their relationship full circle. I ended Thea’s last episode well satisfied even while wishing she could have stayed.

However, Roy’s return, as much as I am looking forward to it, does take away from Thea’s seemingly perfect happy ending. Thea seizing love and adventure at the same time was part of what allowed her departure to feel satisfying. Now she’s out there alone, much like Oliver had been before he returned to Star(ling) City, turning purpose and adventure into obligation and duty. Characterizing it as such is an oversimplification since Thea’s happiness isn’t dependent on a relationship, but it had tied things up in a neat bow and while Roy’s return doesn’t have to mean no HEA for Theroy, it has, at the very least, stalled it and made Thea’s ending feel more uncertain and bittersweet.