The eighth season of Arrow proves to be quite different after the departure of Emily Bett Rickards who played Oliver Queen’s (Stephen Amell) wife, Felicity. It’s, sadly, also the final season, meaning that the series of action, characters, and stories have been amped up to another level. 

“This year is fundamentally different,” Amell said. “The episodes are events. The show as we constructed it ended as Emily left.”

Rickards’ absence from the sets of Arrow this season is felt by fans and the cast as Amell reached out to her via message. 

“I actually texted her when I was on the plane to Vancouver last week and I just texted her that I was sad,” Amell said. “The show feels different, in no small part because Em Bett’s not with us anymore. It feels different.”

Although Rickards left the show, Amell’s character will be going around to different places with The Monitor to warn and protect others from the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths – an upcoming Arrowverse crossover.

Showrunner Beth Schwartz is ready for fans to see a bigger mission for Oliver Queen as the stakes have been raised. 

“This is sort of his final test because it’s greater than Star City,” said Schwartz.

Executive producer Marc Guggenheim realized just how better and bigger the show has gotten since its premiere back in 2012. 

“[We’re] taking the show on the road, really getting away from Star City,” Guggenheim said. “Oliver is going to be traveling the world and we’re going to go to a lot of different places. Every time I see Oliver and the Monitor, it’s like, ‘Okay, we are very far from where we started.’ But again, that means the show has grown and evolved.”

Arrow returns for its final season on Tuesday, October 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.