Television shows shoot multiple takes of the same scene and then put together the final episode in editing. However, not every mistake is caught in editing, and Arrow has mistakes in it just like any other series. Sometimes, it’s a matter of a prop not being where it was before in a scene, or someone switched hands while holding an item between takes and the ones that were chosen for the final cut didn’t line up. Other times, it could be that an actor’s performance worked better in one take and it was more important than having the same item in the background.
In at least one case on this list, a character was recast, but that is understandable. The problem, though, was her hair color change, especially since the character’s hair color was important for a plot in the previous season. In other cases, what could have amounted to just a typo changed the entire meaning of what was behind a door in one scene, information ascertained in previous seasons was ignored or retconned by characters or events in later ones, and a continuity error was so obvious that it’s being fixed for later viewings, so if you did miss it the first time around, you may not be able to catch it.
Here are 25 Mistakes Fans Completely Missed In Arrow.
Which Hand Was Oliver Holding the Glass in?
Tommy threw Oliver a welcome home party in the pilot. As Oliver stood on a table to address those in attendance, Tommy handed him a glass for a toast, which Oliver grabbed with his right hand.
However, as he finished drinking and lowered the glass from his mouth, it was in his left hand. There was no way he had the time to switch hands, nor was there any reason why he would have. Then, when he raised the empty glass to toast, it was in his right hand again, despite his hands being at his sides and having no time to switch again.
A Visible Safety Rope
Whenever someone performs a stunt in a television show or movie, there are safety precautions in place. However, viewers aren’t supposed to be able to see any such items.
In the pilot, Oliver went after Adam Hunt as the Hood. With the police trying to stop him, he jumped out of the office window. As he jumped through the glass, audiences will notice that the safety rope is visible. Due to its location, it couldn’t be the zip line Oliver used to escape to the parking structure across the street, which was up and to the right of the window.
When Was Robert Queen Born?
When news of Oliver’s return broke in the pilot, so did news that Robert Queen didn’t make it home. In the report, it was listed that Robert’s birth year is 1948, however, in the very next episode, Thea showed Oliver the gravestones behind Queen mansion, which has Robert’s birth year as 1958.
Furthermore, in season 7 episode 8, Emiko Queen went to visit her father’s gravestone behind what used to be the Queen mansion. And again, Robert’s birth year was listed as 1958. Was 1948 just a mistake in the pilot, or was that a change made behind-the-scenes between the first two episodes?
When Did the Bow Return to Oliver’s Hand?
When Oliver first arrived on Lian Yu, Yao Fei began training him and it didn’t go so well at first. In season 1 episode 5, during one such lesson, Yao Fei took the bow from Oliver’s hand and then spoke for a short time. He then sent Oliver after the arrow he just let loose into the tree line ahead.
However, before Oliver followed the instruction, he handed Yao Fei the bow, which was the same one Yao Fei had already taken from him. Yao Fei should have already been holding the bow since Oliver never took it back from him, nor did he have time to do so.
There Was Already An Arrow in the Car
As Helena follows a car at the beginning of season 1 episode 8, an arrow can be seen in its hood on the driver’s side when it is stopped in an alley. If Oliver was responsible for putting it there at any point before this scene, multiple people around the car would have seen it and undoubtedly commented on it.
However, Oliver arrived on scene later and is shown firing the arrow into the car, into the exact spot where the previous arrow was. Obviously, the arrow wasn’t supposed to be there until a certain point in the scene, but it was a mistake that wasn’t caught in editing.
Switching Hands and Suddenly Appearing Scars
In the flashback-heavy season 1 episode 14, Slade pulled a weapon on Oliver. At first, he was holding the weapon in his right hand and the left side of his face was scar-free, but as Slade continued to speak, the weapon was suddenly in his left hand with visible scars on the left side of his face around his eye.
When Slade pushed Oliver back, the gun was back in his right hand and his face was once again scar-free. It didn’t look like the scars reappeared when Slade began to train Oliver afterward using sticks.
Why Wasn’t Oliver Next to His Motorcycle?
In season 1 episode 15, Oliver chased after his target on a motorcycle with his helmet on to protect his identity. He then caused his target to lose control of the car he was driving to stop him from escaping.
Afterward, the camera shows the Dodger struggling to get out of the car with the motorcycle in the background. However, Oliver was nowhere in sight. It is only later that the camera shows Oliver standing next to the motorcycle like he’d just gotten off of it, which is where he should have been the first time the vehicle was shown.
Did Slade Pick up the Radio or Not?
In season 1 episode 17, Oliver took the circuit board out of a rocket launcher and explained to Slade that, like a computer, it would not work without it. As a result, Slade grabbed the radio off of the launcher and hurried over to Oliver in excitement because they had leverage.
The only problem is that as soon as Slade stepped away from where he had taken the radio, the radio was still there. Even though he was supposed to pick up the radio, it looks like he left it behind. Later in the episode, Oliver and Slade used the same radio to contact Fyers.
How Old Was Joseph Falk?
In season 1 episode 18, Oliver went after Joseph Falk, who was calling himself The Savior and ending the lives of those he believed deserved it. Felicity found out that Falk’s wife had lost her life during a robbery and then proceeded to look him up. Although she says he was 42 years old, the Department of Transportation website that lists his information states that his birth year is 1980.
At the time the episode aired (2013), he would have been 32 years old, not 42. Considering how long the camera stayed on her computer screen, whoever wrote the text should have paid more attention.
When Did Felicity and Tommy Become Texting Buddies?
In season 1, there was only a short list of people who knew Oliver’s hidden identity. Over the years, that list grew, until he revealed the truth to the world in the season 6 finale.
In season 1, both Felicity and Tommy were on that list, and Oliver also operated out of the basement of Verdant, the club he opened with Tommy. At some point, it’s possible that Felicity and Tommy could have met, but it never happened on screen and there has never been any indication that they knew each other. Still, in season 1 episode 19, Tommy pulled up his text history on his phone and Felicity Smoak’s name was on the list. Even Marc Guggenheim doesn’t know why.
Was the Pizza Box Open or Closed?
In a flashback in season 1 episode 21, Oliver brought a box of pizza into his room and put it down on his bed. As Laurel asked where the bottle opener was, the camera shows Oliver put his hand down on the closed pizza box.
However, when he turned to answer her, the box was open. Then, when the camera was on Laurel again, the box was closed. He couldn’t have opened and closed the pizza box during the conversation because not only did he not have time to do so, but it also wouldn’t make sense.
What’s a Teraflop of Data?
In season 1 episode 22, Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity broke into Merlyn Global in an attempt to find information on where the earthquake machine was. Once they were back in the foundry under Verdant, Oliver asked if Felicity could locate the machine, but she was still working on it.
“There’s at least a teraflop of data to go through,” she told Oliver. However, a teraflop refers to a unit of computing speed, not data storage, which is something that Felicity would know. Something like that is what someone who knows nothing about computers would say.
Was the Arrow Bent?
In season 2 episode 3, Lance worked with Oliver (as the Arrow) in an attempt to track down a criminal who broke out of prison. They went to see the criminal’s lawyer in hopes of locating him and in order to get the lawyer to talk, Oliver used an arrow.
However, the angle of the arrow didn’t match up back to front. At first, the arrow was at an angle when looking at it from the front, and when Oliver used the arrow again, you could see it sticking out of the lawyer’s jacket horizontally, which wouldn’t be possible unless the arrow had bent.
Remember When Sara Was a Brunette?
Everyone knows that Sara was recast between the pilot and season 2, however, what some fans might not have noticed was that her hair color changed; even though Sara being brunette was important in season 1.
In season 1, Dinah, Laurel, and Sara’s mother (not to be confused with Dinah Drake, introduced in season 5), returned with “proof” that Sara was alive. Her evidence was a photo of a brunette woman, because when Sara left on the boat with Oliver and was seen in the flashbacks in the pilot, she was brunette. But when Caity Lotz took over the role in season 2, they reshot those flashbacks and Sara was blonde.
What Was Barry Doing the Day the Particle Accelerator Was Turned On?
Season 2 introduced Barry Allen in episodes 8 and 9. At the end of his second episode, he hurried back to Central City so he could be there for the particle accelerator to be turned on.
While on the phone with Felicity, Barry told her he missed the cut-off in line and was late. However, in the pilot of The Flash, he was working on a case the same day, meaning the pilot completely ignored the fact that he had been in Starling City that day, along with his phone call with Felicity.
Where Was the Merlyn Mansion?
In season 2 episode 12, Oliver went to the Merlyn mansion and took Roy with him. On their way, they ran into Bronze Tiger and a few thugs taking an earthquake machine in the garage. Bronze Tiger drove off with the machine down an alley and through city streets.
Firstly, Merlyn mansion wasn’t in the middle of the city, so that made no sense. Secondly, when he left the garage, he should have driven off down a driveway. It looked like he left one of the many warehouses in Starling City, not someone’s home.
Sara Never Answered Her Phone
In season 2 episode 13, Nyssa called Sara’s phone after she captured her mother and Sara presumably answered it and told Nyssa to stop. Most of the time, cell phone screens don’t actually show what they should when someone’s on a call.
However, in this case, it was really obvious that Sara never actually answered her phone. Even though Sara had the phone close to her face, the “accept and decline” buttons were bright and visible across the bottom of the screen. The phone should have still been ringing and she shouldn’t have been talking to anyone.
Was Lance Planning to Fight an Army With Legislation?
When Slade’s army attacked the Starling City Police Department in season 2 episode 22, Lance looked to the armory. Well, he looked to what was supposed to be the armory.
However, the sign on the door read, “Weapons and Ordinance Storage,” instead of “Weapons and Ordnance Storage.” An ordinance is a law or an order, whereas ordnance means weaponry. One would help against an army and the other would not, especially since this army wasn’t about to stop and listen to someone recite a law. Clearly, this was a typo, since Lance returned to fight the soldiers with a grenade and not a piece of paper.
Did Oliver and Thea Go to Central City for Coffee?
In season 3 episode 4, Oliver and Thea talked in a Jitters, the coffee shop of the Arrowverse, more often seen on The Flash. The coffee cups on their table read “CC Jitters.” However, considering they live in (then) Starling City, it’s unlikely they went all the way to Central City to talk over coffee.
The most likely explanation is that since Jitters is rarely seen on Arrow, they just used props from The Flash without thinking about the “CC” on the cups. The set was obviously the same one, though that could be explained by the fact that it’s a chain.
What Happened to Oliver’s Wound?
In season 3 episode 9, Oliver met Ra’s al Ghul on the top of a mountain for a duel. Oliver lost, and when he was on his knees, Ra’s near-fatally wounded him with a sword. Fans saw the violent action against Oliver, and after, his wound was clearly visible.
After his victory, Ra’s then stood above him and began reciting a prayer. As he did, from the side and then head on, Oliver’s wound should have still been visible, but it suddenly vanishes.
