Arrow , just like The Flash , has returned from the Christmas break and has jumped right back into action in the midseason premiere.
[Warning: Potential spoilers ahead.]
When we last left Team Arrow at the end of the Midseason finale, Green Arrow stood up to Damien Darhk and, as a result, Felicity and Oliver’s limo was attacked. Felicity lay bleeding and nearly dead, which led many to assume that Felicity Smoak must be the one in the grave teased early this season. Olicity was thought to be dead. This was not so, but serious consequences exist for Felicity, as she was told she will never walk again. Comicbook reports that executive producer Wendy Mericle explains how Arrow will be handling this new development from midseason forward.
“The way we’re exploring this big, life-changing event is though the prism of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. I think Felicity being the person who is injured and who is dealing with this new reality, we really want to be true and respectful and honest and real about what it’s like to find yourself in that position, like she does. We really want to delve into the emotion of that and the reality of it in a very respectful way. At the same time, without being too fantastical or magical about it, I think Oliver will be optimistic that this is a world where Barry Allen exists. You don’t know if this is permanent or not.”
Many Arrow fans were predicting that Felicity Smoak would become Oracle, and although there has been no discussion of the sort, it did not seem implausible for the DC Comics TV universe on the CW. Mericle, however, chose to get ahead of this rumor and dispel this possibility.
“I think it’s something the fans kept picking up on and really wanted, and understandably. I can see why it would seem organic to go in that direction, but it’s definitely off the table. We’ll be coming up with different ways of exploring Felicity’s new identity.”
Although something like this might put a strain on normal relationships, at the end of the midseason premiere, Olicity put the ring back on and vowed to push through. The previews for next week’s Arrow is something different entirely. The unexpected Oliver Queen baby (aka Conor Hawke) is still the massive elephant in the room of that relationship. Producer Wendy Mericle said Arrow Season 4 will test their relationship, and test it they apparently will.
“We’re really excited about how things are going to change things and it’s really going to raise the stakes and throw some wrenches into the works of their relationship, which so far has been smooth sailing. True to form, we’re going to really mine that. There’ll be some fallout for that.”
Comicbook inquired on a little-noticed aspect about the extended grave scene. In the limo, you can see Olicity seated in the car and Felicity without her engagement ring . Mericle said that Arrow fans can “definitely read something into that.”
Olicity could be at an end, and it would make sense as they have vowed to bring Arrow closer to his comic-book roots this season, but a straight out separation is probably not what many wanted. So, the mysterious grave and funeral have made its second appearance this season in the midseason premiere. Sadly, this Arrow episode did not get us any closer to the knowledge of whose grave it is.
Arrow fans do now know that it is not Felicity, but Olicity may be headed for a fall. The newest theories suggest Felicity’s mother, which is highly probable. It is uncertain as to when in Arrow season 4 this answer will appear. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
[Image via ‘Arrow’ Season 4 Screenshot | Courtesy of CW | Cropped | Resized]