#arrow speculation

This has stuck with me y'all. I can't help but draw a parallel between the infinity stones killing Iron Man, and the potential for the book of destiny to kill one of our heroes while they try to bring back as many earths possible.

And if you're following my line of thought... I'm scared that hero will be Oliver, his final sacrifice.

(Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, bad thoughts)

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

either way I wanted to post my New Official Season 8 Theory (TM) here, so I can revisit it later and see just how wrong (or right) I was. In any case, I think this is How It Should Be:

we know Oliver’s going around to multiple earths, right?

and we know Stephen’s playing multiple versions of Oliver, right?

and we know there’s no onscreen Felicity (for the majority of the season, at least 😒)

AND we know that Mar Novu chose this Oliver, from this earth, out of all the possible Olivers

(and look, I’m not up on the multiple-earths theory, but isn’t it that there was only supposed to be one earth - THIS earth - and the fact that reality got shattered into all these alternate universes actually A Problem, and COIE is meant to “fix” that, revert it back to the one, true reality? IF SO, then I want the following to be True and Meaningful, in that all these other realities are WRONG/never meant to be)

THEREFORE: I want the fact that Felicity is absent in all these other Oliver’s lives to be THE REASON why those Olivers are not The Hero of the Multiverse (or whatever). I want Oliver to learn, as he journeys to these other earths, that the one factor that is missing from each of these Oliver’s lives is Felicity. I want to see that, for whatever reason, he never meets her and/or she gets taken out of his life. I want the narrative to MAKE CLEAR that in the true universe, she is meant to be with him, and she is critical in making him become the hero he is. (After all, we know very well from the narrative of the show all these years that that is true. I just want her absence and his journey in season 8 to reiterate that. If we have to be without Felicity, I want it to mean something.)

So that’s my theory/wish for the season. (Am I shooting for the moon, destined to fall short? Yeah, sure. But come on, IT’S ALL THERE. It would make so much sense. It would be so narratively satisfying. It could explain so much. COME ON ARROW WRITERS. ONE LAST CHANCE TO NOT LET US DOWN.)

I’m pretty sure he’s going to break our heart in some way, saying something similar about his family. And it will be so bittersweet and I’ll cry. A lot.

Just look at this precious man who would do absolutely anything for his family.

You know when I first saw the season 8 key art I didn’t think anything of it and then I saw a cropped version and I realized something ... 

That has to be Mia in the suit in the foreground. The body is much smaller than Oliver’s and the suit is super ill fitting. Then I realized the art was giving me major Lion King vibes. 

That coupled with the tagline of “Heroes fall. Legends rise.” and the announcement of a potential spin-off in the works ... I think this is where we really say goodbye to Oliver Queen forever. I have a feeling that somewhere towards the end of it all, we’re going to see Oliver die and Mia take on the mantle. 

The last time (presumably) that I’ll be doing this! I can’t say never because the series finale is so up in the air. Will I watch? Will I not watch? No one knows. Except EBR. Whether she knows it or not, she knows if I’ll watch. Or she will know. Ahem.  Where was I? 

OH that’s right. 7x22 is upon us and so is the end of times. I’ve been giving Twitter a wide berth the last week or so since after 7x21 it was patently obvious that it was no place for me at this particular moment in time. I don’t know if any of you are aware or not but my real life has been an enormous source of stress for the last month or so (the whole last year, really, but who’s counting... the last month is when things heated up to a whole new level of suck). So when things are pretty dire in reality, and I go online to escape that a little... a mass of folks who are endlessly upset (and pretty much justified to feel so, I might add) isn’t gonna improve my state of mind. So it’s a little self-love. Stay away from the unhappy Twitter, Calli. Go read Jaime/Brienne meta on a fan forum instead. 

So that’s what I’ve been doing. Has been working famously, I might add. 

BUT we’re in that sliver of time where one speaks now or forever holds their peace regarding Arrow so I thought I’d throw out a few things I’m thinking about this finale that’s coming up next Monday. Here’s what I think we’ll see: 

big fight in the future, possibly bigger than the one in the present

Oliver showing Emiko mercy

Oliver and Felicity carrying through with the plan to leave the city and go off the grid for the better of the unborn Mia. 

(though why they can’t call up Will and have him come visit at the very least I DO NOT KNOW but whatever)

The reveal of where the heck Oliver went to in the future (simultaneous in the present and future, perhaps?)

Mr. Monitor shows up to rain on EVERYONE’S parade. 

This happens post-Baby Mia. 

(pls pls pls get at least one shot of Oliver cradling his daughter pls pls pls)

Oliver and Felicity get an amazing scene and we all collectively swoon and sob and why couldn’t they give us more scenes like this leading up to the end I DO NOT KNOW but at least we get it now? I feel pretty sure they’ll ruin us as per Steve’s tweet when filming it. 

Felicity will refuse to give up on him (hence her wearing her wedding ring 20 years in the future). 

Felicity DOES NOT die in the future. 

I repeat: FELICITY. DOES. NOT. DIE. IN. THE. FUTURE. 

shall I say it again for those in the cheap seats: FELICITY AIN’T DYING IN THE FUTURE, FAM!!!

It’s possible, however, that Rene could sacrifice himself to save William in the future. #ByeHaircut

The future will actually get somewhat resolved/bettered. Mia, Connor and William will show their chops as rising vigilantes. Felicity will be proud. 

Felicity might remark on how her father would be proud too. 

Felicity figures out where Oliver is/how to get to him/something of that vein and goes off to find him. 

I’m a little more hazy on that cuz I’m just not SURE how she’ll exit in the future. Just that she will. And that she’s not dying. 

NOT. DYING. 

I *do* feel certain we’ll learn of Oliver’s fate though and that he is not dead either. 

Suck it, haters. 

The Oliver reveal (not him personally, just his fate/Felicity going to find him/etc) could be the cliffhanger the season ends on. 

VOILA. 

That is what I’m low key expecting. I say “low key” because if we’ve learned anything after 7 years with this show, it’s that having “this must happen or I’ll riot” expectations leads to a whole lot of grief and anguish and resentment. And for me, personally, with my life as it is right now, I have zero interest in feeling those things. So I sorta expect these things to happen but if they don’t? Eh. That’s cool. Something else will happen and hopefully it’ll be fantastic. 

But I don’t think I’m wrong. 😉