As popular CW shows with more than five seasons each, Riverdale and Arrow have more plot crossovers than one would expect. Since Arrow had a five-year head start on its sister show, this helped the Archie Comics adapted series, Riverdale, by presenting plot points that could be borrowed and freshened.
Both series follow the darker, grimmer versions of characters that originated in comics and live in a fictional version of the current day. As each series progressed, they were marked by increased drama and plot threads that seemed to come out of the left field. Some surprising plot points include the sudden appearance of magic, lots of murder, and even the traversal of the multiverse.
10
Both Shows Had A Prison Arc
After years of murder and mayhem as the Hood and Green Arrow, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) finally faces the consequences of his actions and is sent to prison. During his brief stint behind bars, Oliver regularly fights and becomes a target for many of the people he put into Slabside.
This was a much more toned-down and necessary arc for Oliver than Riverdale’s prison arc. The prison arc of Riverdale followed Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa) as he was framed for murder and shipped off to juvie. There, he participates in an underground fight club and is set to be sacrificed to the Gargoyle King who controlled the warden. A breakout is staged by both leads, but only Archie escapes.
9
Magic Is Suddenly Real Now
The first few seasons of Arrow kept their villains in a somewhat realistic setting. The only superpowered people were typically under the influence of a drug. After introducing Metas alongside The Flash, that changed. By season 4, magic is commonplace and the villainous Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) takes the spot of the big bad.
The five-part mini-event at the beginning of season 6 of Riverdale set its world apart from its previous seasons by introducing magical and mysterious concepts. One of which was the inclusion of real magic, which is only aided by the fact that Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) from Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina makes appearances.
8
Being A Murderer Runs In The Family
Seemingly commonplace on CW shows, the plot point of murder running in the family is seen in both series. In Arrow, this is a noted characteristic of Malcolm Merlyn’s (John Barrowman) familial ties to Thea (Willa Holland). He trains her to become a killer like him using this rhetoric.
In Riverdale, this is more widespread as everyone seems fine with killing. It is most apparent in the Cooper/Smith/Jones household since Hal (Lochlyn Munro), FP (Skeet Ulrich), Charles (Wyatt Nash), and Betty (Lili Reinhart) all have a few notches of murder under their belts. Hal and Charles are serial killers. Betty regularly grapples with her serial killer genes as plot points throughout Riverdale.
7
Multiverses Exist In Canon
The multiverse was always going to end up connecting with Arrow. Unsurprisingly, Arrow would venture into the multiverse several times, from going to the Supergirl universe to Earth-10 and beyond. The multiverse became so engrained in Arrow that the show regularly featured main cast members from other Earths, including the Earth-2 Dinah Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy).
In addition to introducing magic, season 6 of Riverdale introduces the multiverse by revealing that ‘Rivervale’ is the parallel universe of Riverdale, created by an explosion. The episode The Jughead Paradox addresses this as Jughead works to split the universes from each other through writing.
6
The Town Is Threatened By A Businessman
Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) serves as the lasting antagonist of seasons 2-5 of Riverdale. His entire character is devoted to ruining Riverdale and taking over the city and wiping it off the map. By season 5, he achieves this. He becomes the mayor, owns most places within the town, and ends the town of Riverdale.
In Arrow, this role is taken on by several businessmen including Malcolm Merlyn, Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo), Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra), and even Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett). Hiram Lodge and Malcolm Merlyn share a lot of similar story beats throughout the seasons they appear, and both actively destroy parts of their cities.
5
Fast Forward Split Timelines
Season 4 of Riverdale featured a split timeline story. Fans glimpsed the future of the characters in a situation revolving around Jughead’s death. Each time it flashes forward, a little more detail is released until the season caught up to the actual event. It is revealed to be a faked death storyline.
Every season of Arrow includes some form of split-timeline/flashback story. In season 7, Arrow switches perspective and looks ahead to 2040. As the future children of the team try to get by in the darker future of Star City, they solve mysteries and stand up for the civilians.
4
A Dangerous Drug Causes Aggression
A core plot point of Arrow featured the use of Mirakuru, a drug that gave the user strength and stamina at the cost of their mental sanity and rage control. The two most impacted characters of this were Slade Wilson and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) who both had to be cured, though the effects lasted. Others injected with the drug would kill indiscriminately before dying.
After Jingle Jangle fell out of style as a drug in Riverdale, a Fizzle Rocks operation took over. This was first headed by Hiram, and then by Gladys Jones, Jughead’s mother. A bad version of the drug hit the streets, turning anyone that used it into mindless, mouth-foaming attackers who lashed out at anyone around them. This often ended in death.
3
The Main Character Fakes Their Death
Season 4 of Riverdale saw the murder of Jughead at the hands of his Stonewall Prep friends. After killing him, they attempt to blame it on Archie, Veronica, and Betty. As the season plays out, viewers learn that the core four characters faked Jughead’s death to allow him time to get revenge on the school and its murderous ways.
Arrow has routinely faked death for a number of its characters including Laurel, Sara (Caity Lotz), Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), and Oliver. Oliver’s fake death included the comic character the Human Target., aka Christopher Chance (Wil Traval), taking the bullet instead.
2
Creating Vigilante Crews
One of the core tenants of Arrow is Oliver’s use of teams. He started as a lone hero but found himself constantly in need of a team. While each member of his team (like Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity) had their own identities and skills, they are referred to as Team Arrow.
Riverdale’s Archie founded vigilante groups to hunt down The Black Hood and fight against the Southsiders. Though his best vigilante work didn’t come until he went solo, Archie’s groups would go down as an important, albeit humorous outing.
1
They Both Featured Red Arrow
Roy Harper and Thea Queen both take on the mantle of the Red Arrow, reflecting the comic counterparts they were based on – Roy Harper and Mia Dearden. They both have a harsh history. Roy was injected with Mirakuru, and Thea was resurrected in the Lazarus Pits.
Seemingly out of place in the universe, season 2 of Riverdale sees Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) taking on a similar role as a crimson hooded archer. This costume would show up multiple times over the seasons, including during the Serpents vs. Ghoulies war and Penelope Blossom’s challenge for the core four to survive her game in Survive The Night.
Source: cbr.com