The end of an era happened on television in 2023 with the series finale of The Flash on The CW, which effectively ended the Arrowverse that had begun with just one show all the way back in 2012. At its prime (and not counting the divisive "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover event), the superhero universe was comprised of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman. It's therefore fitting that Stephen Amell – a.k.a. Oliver Queen, the superhero who kicked off the Arrowverse – dropped a wonderfully nerdy Easter egg about The Flash's series finale.
No, it's not that Amell somehow appeared in the background of the episode and nobody noticed to follow up on his appearance earlier in the final season, although he did name his first appearance on The Flash as one of his favorite Arrowverse memories. The Flash finale Easter egg wasn't one for the eagle-eyed, but for those with an ear for music. Speaking with ComicBook.com, Amell shared this about the finale of the Scarlet Speedster:
I think it's good. I think it did well. I was there for Blake Neely to score the last episode of The Flash. The last cue that he did was called '641' because that's how many episodes that he scored in the Arrowverse. So, I think 641 episodes of anything is pretty good.
Yes, composer Blake Neely titling his final cue to fit the number of Arrowverse episodes he scored was a fabulously obscure Easter egg that makes me want to revisit the Flash finale and listen a little more closely. The show fortunately didn't end on any huge hanging cliffhangers to make it frustrating to rewatch that last episode, even though the door is seemingly open for possible spinoffs.
As somebody who needed an episode of The Flash to address an issue leftover from the Arrow series finale, I know I was glad that Barry and Co. got a batch of happy and mostly closed endings all around. And kudos to Blake Neely for delivering 641 episodes of memorable music over the years!
I also get a kick out of Amell as the source of the trivia about Blake Neely and the series finale of The Flash, as I can vividly remember watching the very first Arrow/Flash crossover back in 2014 and thinking that the score to Oliver and Barry's fight was phenomenal.
In fact, part of why I'd rank the Green Arrow vs. Flash showdown from The Flash Season 1 as one of the most memorable fights of the Arrowverse is because of the music in the background. Plus, I hope I'm not the only one who nerded out just a little bit when Neely brought some of the Arrow sounds back to The Flash for Amell's appearance in Season 8.
You can rewatch the good old days of both Arrow and The Flash streaming with a Netflix subscription now. The CW isn't totally out of superheroes yet despite the end of the Arrowverse, as Superman & Lois has been renewed for Season 4, although with a much reduced cast and shorter episode count than usual. The Tyler Hoechlin- and Bitsie Tulloch-led series is the last superhero show standing for the network, as Gotham Knights was cancelled after one season.
