We’re soon coming up on the final season of Arrow, which will both link into the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” arc and provide a send-off for Oliver Queen in its eighth year. Candice Patton, who plays Iris West-Allen in sister series The Flash, recently spoke to ComicBook.com about reactions to the death of Oliver Queen within the Arrowverse, and how Team Flash will be dealing with their newfound status as the oldest show in that universe after the current season.
“He’s so beloved in all of these cities and by all of these superheroes. I think its going to be devastating. I mean, it’s Oliver Queen. You can’t replace Oliver Queen, you just can’t.”
The actress then went on to discuss where The Flash will be going after the Arrow finale and “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” saying:
“It’s really weird, I didn’t notice that until someone said it earlier. We’re the senior class now, it’s crazy. You have to give credit to Arrow, they’re the ones who started this. This show, this cast, these producers. They laid the groundwork for what makes these shows successful and we followed the template. We did our own thing, but they really figured out, through trial and error, what makes a show last for eight seasons. We owe them a lot for giving us a pathway to be successful.”
We already know that there will be big changes for Team Flash in their sixth season, as well as a new look for Patton’s Iris that is reportedly driven by the producers showing different sides of her character. In terms of how The Flash will continue without Arrow though, star Grant Gustin wants fans to keep referring to The CW series as being part of the Arrowverse, rather than the Flashverse, which is just fine by us.
We’ll see how The Flash tackles season 6, and a host of big bads alongside “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” when it returns to The CW on October 8th. Meanwhile, season 8 of Arrow arrives a week later on October 15th. Don’t miss it.