apinknightmare

He could’ve agreed to come back in a reduced capacity. They wrote a way for him to disappear for the most part in the present, and have already indicated he’d be disappearing at some point soon in the near future and for at least the next 20 years. I’m honestly surprised by all the spec about the timing of this. Beth wrote an exit storyline for both Oliver and Felicity. There’s no way they didn’t know this was coming - and have probably known for a really long time! The only debate seems to be whether they would try to continue the show once Stephen left, and they ultimately decided not to.

Thank you! I didn't think I was making that up, haha - I remember following some very light Twitter kerfuffle a while ago because someone who used to work at the company was tweeting the Walker Stalker guy (I think) and Stephen's wife about not being paid for some work that she did. I figured the Amells must have had some kind of financial stake in the thing because of that.

Oh yeah, but I don't think the sketchiness is anything new. I was just wondering what specifically triggered the split, because I had it in my head for some reason that they had some kind of partnership, not that Stephen was just a random attendee at their cons.

I would love to know what kind of BTS stuff happened with HVFF. He doesn't sound like he's going to be attending anymore of their cons (and he also doesn't seem all that bummed about it).

I don't think the clarification rules out the possibility that they've known for a while. If they didn't, they really lucked into just happening to write a storyline that gives them an excuse for her exit. I tend to think they knew, and have known for a while, and wrote the season 7 storyline with her departure in mind.

Oh yeah, I didn't think she would let it slip either way, I was just wishing that she (or someone) would for my own peace of mind. I hope someone gets an answer from David or Stephen at a con this summer, LOL.

I love Oliver and I care about what happens to him, but with Crisis looming and the fact that it seems like he'll be around in Star City in some capacity while his pregnant wife is in hiding because things aren't safe, and the dismal, depressing flash forwards painting a bleak picture for everyone I care about, I just don't think I have it in me to watch beyond the end of this season. If I knew for sure things were going to turn out well for him and that the future is going to be changed, I would. It would be nice to know that Emily's going to come back for a final swerve to a nicer future, but I don't want to get further invested only to have things stick (still hope they won't, but I'm not gonna count on it). Do me this one solid, please show.

I'm really interested in what they thought was going to happen when it was revealed that Felicity went into hiding in the country and no one ever knew about Mia. Maybe that the show was going to continue with O/F having adventures in that town or something? Once the news came out that she was leaving I would think that those pieces would click into place.

What are they saying? I hope it isn't anything about contract disputes/wanting more money. Some of the commentary I've seen on other sites about her (both hating Felicity and also hating Emily for not coming back for 10 measly epodes and being ungrateful to her fans), is not surprising, but disappointing.

Sure, I mean he’s only been her biggest fan since she first appeared.

They probably don't want to commit to anything so far out - schedules can change, things can fall through. It's better to not say anything and just let it be a surprise than to promise something that might not happen.

I'm preparing myself for her to pull a Moira to save William and/or Mia.

I saw this tweet: It would be funny if we were focusing on the play and she's got a whole other show lined up, LOL.

I guess that's a fitting end, considering it stopped being grounded when Flash came onto the scene. Now we have metas and Lazarus Pits and all sorts of other stuff that never really belonged on this show, and wasted SO much time setting up other shows. Might as well stay consistent to the bitter end.

All I remember her saying about them is that they would remain for the duration of the show.

Beth has to have known for a while now considering the trajectory of the season, and I can't imagine she wouldn't have mentioned something to Stephen even before she told Beth.

They already showed us that Oliver and Felicity went into hiding and that no one apart from Diggle and Nyssa knew about their kid - so they don't have to come up with any reason for it, they're just following the story they've already written.

Oh yeah, it totally makes sense given the secret pregnancy, I guess I just always figured Oliver went with her and stayed? If it's not safe for them to publicly have a baby, it just seems weird to me that he would ever leave her - although I guess maybe he might not be in every episode, or if he is, it doesn't have to be large chunks of time. I guess they could always give the excuse of ARGUS guarding her or something (despite their past failures with doing that successfully).

If he is going to be in every episode, I just...I really need to know what reason Felicity gives for leaving and what excuses Oliver gives for her absence, LOL.

I still eat meat sometimes, because I travel a lot and don't want to be an inconvenience to my travel partners. But when I'm home, there are so many alternatives that I find myself just going with those - Beyond Meat burgers and sausages are very satisfying replacements, I use jackfruit for shredded pork/chicken, and I started making taco filling out of cauliflower and walnuts that, while it doesn't taste like meat, it does have that crumbly consistency and tastes like the kind of thing that would be in a taco, and it just makes me feel a lot better in my day-to-day life.

Same. I had some hopes that something (other than Crisis) would happen to trigger a change and we might get to see the beginning of a new future, but since I think the secret pregnancy was planned specifically to accommodate Emily and Stephen's departure, I'm kinda worried that...oh, this one's sticking. I still have hope that Crisis changes things, or that...IDK old Oliver pops up in the future and they both get written out of the flash forwards with at the very least a happy retirement ahead of them. I would take 20 years of misery without him if he pops back up and gets to spend time with his family vs. Felicity raising Mia without him.

I truly don't think she cares about any of that. She always seemed to be very supportive of everyone - I think she just found something else that she wanted to do.

Sadly, I think they have anticipated it and that's why the pregnancy got written in - to accommodate her and Stephen leaving in the present.

It's tofu

Yeah, it'll help to know the reason they give for leaving town and why exactly they do it. If it really is a no Queen is safe kind of thing I can't imagine him leaving Felicity in their little country house to come and go - because then it wouldn't be safe for him either, and that only increases the risk of someone finding them. I have to stop expecting this to make sense, LOL.