How Arrow became a victim of its own success

The A.V. Club

"To put it simply, Arrow tore through big events in those first few years, and it made those initial seasons feel really exciting and fresh," says Sam Barsanti, who adds: "Unfortunately, the problem with burning through story is that you’ll eventually have no more stories to burn, and it didn’t take long for Arrow to become a victim of its own success. By doing all of the cool things—like Deathstroke’s turn to evil, sidekick Roy Harper adopting the name Arsenal, and season one villain Malcolm Merlyn being identified as an acolyte of Ra’s Al Ghul—as soon as possible, Arrow eventually had to settle for plots and villains that didn’t have nearly as much punch." That's why, he says, the most recent seasons have been a mess.