Susanna Thompson's Return To 'Arrow' Reminded Us Why We Miss Moira Queen

Moira Queen was always a morally ambiguous character, but there was no denying that she loved her children. However misguided, every effort she made was to protect them. She could be deliciously evil, coldhearted and even downright cruel, but we still miss her, and the #Arrow season finale reminded us once again why. (Note: This post contains spoilers for Arrow Season 5.)

In emotional, brief flashback, Moira Queen gets a call from the son she thought she lost five years previously. And she's talking to her beautiful boy once again. Susanna Thompson is no stranger to gripping scenes, and as short as it was, she poured every ounce of love, heartache, and hope she could into less than two minutes.

For the first two seasons of Arrow, Moira Queen was head of the all-powerful Queen family. Though she went to jail for her crimes, she continued to lead and guide her children from behind bars, even reconnecting Thea and Roy when Thea ended the relationship in an attempt to protect her mother.

Since Moira has been gone, Thea has been lost. In the absence of her mother, we have to ask whether she would have made the same decisions if Moira had still been alive. Would Malcolm have been able to corrupt Thea's mind had Moira not been killed by #Deathstroke's blade in Season 2?

And even though Moira didn't have as much influence on Oliver, in the end, they were coming back to one another, and we wonder if she would allowed him to sacrifice himself in the ways he has.

Though we understand losing a character can be necessary to move the plot along, Moira Queen stood between good and evil, willing to step over any line to save her family. Now that Oliver and Thea are all that remain of the Queen legacy, her absence is profoundly noticed.

We're glad we had the opportunity to see her twice this season, but her appearances serve to remind us that Moira Queen was a mother with claws who wasn't afraid to use them. And both Thea and Oliver still need that, regardless of their ages.