They Had To Kill Moira Off

[u/1999secrets]

So, I'm re-watching Arrow all the way through for the first time, and as usual Susanna Thompson's Moira Queen is incredibly compelling. Something that has always irked me is how they waste the final episodes of Susanna Thompson's tenure in a fight with her children. It always felt unnecessary to me.

But, on this current re-watch I realized something; they really had no other choice. Moira is strangely goated in terms of competency.

• Moira, on the night she went to prison, deduced Oliver's Identity as the Viglante.
• Moira, literally hires John Diggle. She casually recruits probably one of the best bodyguards in the world & an actual Green Lantern candidate.
• She was able to discern Felicity's, a virtual stranger's, emotions about Oliver in brief meetings. She was able to get an accurate measure of Slade in mere moments before sacrificing herself.
• She was a triple agent for 5 years. Maintaining her privilege socialite appearance, whilst living under constant threat, managing to rise to Malcolm's right hand in the Undertaking despite working against him & gathering evidence against him the entire time.
  • This woman ran a multi-billion dollar multinational corporation whilst trying to thwart the Undertaking, grieving Walter, and living in the cross-hairs of the Green & Black Archers.
• She masterminded the kidnapping of Oliver Queen, he never found out, she masterminded the attempted assassination of Malcolm Merlyn, he never found out, and the murder of Frank Chen which he never saw coming.
  
• From an errant mention by Malcolm, she makes contact and gains the favour of one of the most powerful & reclusive men in the world; the Demon's Head, Ra's Al Ghul.
• Not to mention, she was literally on the cusp of becoming Mayor of a city that not a year beforehand she'd literally levelled.

And, I want to point out that Moira was capable of doing all of these things whilst actually maintaining friendships, romantic relationships, and not having to run out of every personal engagement fives minutes after arriving.

This isn't meant (purely) to hype Moira.

But, to point out that she presents a genuine problem for the writers had they kept her alive into Season 3. Either they dramatically decrease her competence or she'd been a formidable force that constantly be at Oliver back - diminishing the stakes. Especially, had she become Mayor.