Moira Queen

"I will burn your entire world to ashes."

- Moira threatening Malcolm Merlyn

Moira Dearden Queen (born 1964) is the wife of the late Robert Queen, the mother of Oliver Queen and Thea Queen, the ex-wife of Walter Steele, a former friend of both the late Malcolm Merlyn and the late Frank Chen, and an old friend of Jean Loring. After Walter was kidnapped by Malcolm, she became the new acting CEO of Queen Consolidated. In "Sacrifice", after Oliver convinces her to do the right thing, she holds a press conference and confesses her involvement in a conspiracy to destroy the Glades and everyone in it, against her free will, and that the mastermind of this conspiracy was Malcolm. After this, she is arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.

Season 1
In "Pilot", When her son returns, she goes to the hospital and is told by Doctor Neil Lamb that "the Oliver you lost, may not be the one they found". After Oliver is abducted, she voices concern over his safety and hires John Diggle to be his bodyguard. However, at the end of "Pilot", she is shown to be the one behind Oliver's abduction, after his arrival.

In "Honor Thy Father", It is revealed that the yacht was actually sabotaged, which led to the shipwreck.

In "Lone Gunman",

In "An Innocent Man", Moira is further questioned by Malcolm Merlyn, who points out to her that The Hood isn't going after the rich, but is actually going after the people on "the List".

In "Damaged",

In "Legacies",

In "Muse of Fire",

In "Vendetta",

In "Year's End",

In "Burned",

In "Trust but Verify",

In "Vertigo",

In "Betrayal", she burns the book that holds "The List". She is then later confronted by The Hood.

In "The Odyssey", She shot The Hood, and nearly killed him.

In "Dodger", She tries to leave The Undertaking. At the end, she asks the Chinese Triad, represented by China White, to kill Malcolm for her.

In "Dead to Rights", Malcolm charged Moira with discovering who tried to have him killed.

In "The Huntress Returns",

In "Salvation", When Malcolm seemed on the verge of being able to determine who paid the Chinese Triad, Moira betrayed her co-conspirator Frank Chen and set him up to be killed by Malcolm so that Malcolm would not discover she was the one behind the assassination attempt. She then begged that the life of Frank's daughter be spared, and Malcolm, as the Dark Archer, agreed.

In "Home Invasion", Moira welcomes Tommy and Laurel into her home, while they are hiding from the assassin who is trying to kill the child they are watching over. When she is talking to Laurel later, she admits that she likes who Oliver was when she was dating him.

In "The Undertaking", during flashback sequences, Robert confides in Moira about the Undertaking and she tries to convince him not to do it. In the present, she is online shopping with Thea when Oliver comes in to tell them that Walter was dead. She goes straight to Malcolm and is furious with him for having Walter killed. Malcolm calls someone to turn on the camera, and she is shown that Walter is actually alive. Oliver hears her admit that she was part of the Undertaking and he finds Walter.

In "Darkness on the Edge of Town", Walter is distant from Moira as he realizes that she was behind his kidnapping. He files a divorce soon after. Oliver later talks to her, and they both get kidnapped by John, disguised as The Hood. She admits, because John hits Oliver multiple times.

In "Sacrifice", Oliver convinces Moira that she had to do something. and she holds a press conference where she admits to the Undertaking in fear of her family's life. After a statement in front of the Starling City press, she is arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.

Season 2
In "City of Heroes", Moira is serving time in Ironhide Prison, and awaiting trial for her involvement in the Undertaking. Thea outright refuses to visit her at first, as she is still angry with her. After his return, Oliver visits Moira in prison, where she warns him not to trust Isabel Rochev. It is also implied that she suggests to Oliver to go to her ex-husband, Walter Steele, for help to save the company from falling into Isabel's hands. After being kidnapped by The Hoods, Thea realizes Moira was only trying to protect her and Oliver from danger, and visits her and they share a tearful exchange and hug.

In "Broken Dolls", Thea visits Moira in iron heights prison and picks out a few clothes for her court appearance. Later that day she appears in court and then is threatened with the possibility of the death penalty however it was not decided. Later in her prison cell talking to her lawyer she says that her Thea and Oliver are in a good place and that she should stop digging into it as there are some questions that must never be answered.

In "League of Assassins",

In "Keep Your Enemies Closer",

Personality
Moira is oftentimes ruthless, in an ends-justify-the-means sense. She had her own son kidnapped, but tried to justify it as doing to so prove he knew nothing about the Undertaking, and thus save his life. She attempted to have Malcolm Merlyn killed, so that she would be out from under his thumb, she and her children would be safe, and to prevent the deaths of innocent thousands. When the attempt failed, she betrayed her co-conspirator, Frank Chen, to avoid her own implication and so she and her children would not be killed. Malcolm, as The Dark Archer, killed Frank. Despite evident and prevalent flaws, it should be noted that Moira convinced The Dark Archer to spare Frank's daughter.

It becomes increasingly evident, as the series progresses, that Moira is in way over her head. After Oliver revealed how Robert really died, and how he sacrificed himself so he could live, she finally does the right thing, realizing she cannot live with the guilt of being an accomplice in killing innocent people in the Glades.

Appearances
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Comics
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 * Arrow #1
 * Arrow #2
 * Arrow #5
 * Arrow #25 (flashback)

Trivia

 * Moira's true intentions throughout the series was unknown, until it was revealed in Dodger, that she's been trying to get out of the Tempest organization for years, and trying to find a way to stop The Undertaking.
 * Moira knew the Queen's Gambit was sabotaged after she recovered the remains of the Queen's Gambit, but did not report it to the police in fear that Malcolm would kill her and her family.
 * In, Moira finally revealed what The Undertaking was when The Hood continuously beat Oliver up, unaware that Oliver set the whole thing up, and that he is The Hood. Moira also mentioned that Robert got involved in the Tempest organization, without her knowing, however she was lying.
 * In "Sacrifice", Oliver revealed how Robert really died, and how he sacrificed himself so Oliver could live. Realizing she cannot live with the guilt of being an accomplice in killing innocent people, she calls for a press conference, revealed her involvement in The Undertaking that had the single purpose of destroying the Glades and everyone in it, and that Malcolm Merlyn was the mastermind behind it,.
 * In the comics, both of Oliver Queen's parents die during a hunting accident in the safari, when they are both mauled by lions.
 * On Smallville, Oliver's mother's name was Laura.