When it comes to mid-season finales, many shows like to lean toward cliffhanger endings that leave characters in particularly daunting circumstances. This has been true with Arrow , which featured Oliver (Stephen Amell) being stabbed with sword and run off a cliff side during last season’s finale. However, the show may have crossed the line this time around with the apparent death of fan favorite character Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards).
According to Cinema Blend , the show’s latest mid-season offering, titled “Dark Waters,” started off innocently enough and even managed to finally reveal the highly-anticipated marriage proposal between Oliver and Felicity. However, instead of ending on a good note with Oliver and Felicity making plans for their wedding, Oliver and his team initiated their biggest fight against Damien Darhk and his organization, H.I.V.E.
Although the fight between Oliver and Darhk provided a lot of action and excitement in the episode, things took a turn for the worse after a group of Darhk’s men shot up Oliver and Felicity’s car while “Little Drummer Boy” played in the background. Oliver appeared to make it out all right, but Felicity was not so lucky.
The final scene of the midseason finale of Arrow featured Oliver holding a bullet riddled Felicity outside of their bullet torn limousine. While Felicity was not completely dead when the finale cut, the blood pouring from her mouth as she struggled to breathe was a clear indication that her life was in serious danger. Could this mean the show really decided to kill off one of its most popular characters?
Felicity’s death was never completely out of the question given the circumstances leading up to the midseason finale. In fact, ever since the flash-forward scene at the beginning of the season, fans have known that someone close to Oliver was going to die. This was shown by Oliver mourning over the grave of an unknown person.
Furthermore, the show has gone to great lengths to display just how much Oliver loves Felicity. Killing off his true love would definitely be a way to push the character over the edge. This could eventually lead to further development for Oliver in a manner similar to Rachel Dawes or Gwen Stacy.
That being said, hasn’t Oliver developed enough already? At this point, Felicity’s death would probably do more harm than good to Oliver, who has already gone from being labeled as a murderer to a true hero on the good side of the world.
According to E! Online , there is some evidence that suggests Felicity is not going to die. For starters, the grave that Oliver was seen mourning over in the flash-forward scene is still a good three months away from happening. If Felicity did meet her end next to the limo, then the timelines do not match up.
Secondly, there is evidence to suggest that producers are just trying to generate enough buzz about the series to carry it through the winter break. This tactic of making it look like a character died has happened quite a bit on TV recently. Perhaps the show is doing the same thing and has plans for Felicity to survive her gunshot wounds.
Solid points aside, the preview clip shown after the midseason finale hinted that Felicity was indeed dead. It included the flash-forward scene with Oliver saying, “It’s not his fault…”
At the end of the day, fans will likely have to wait until the show picks up again in the spring to find out if Felicity survived Darhk’s attack. Either way, fans are surely going to be disappointed if the series really does kill off Oliver’s potential future wife.
Tell us! Do you think Felicity Smoak will survive getting shot on Arrow ? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via The CW]