The Starling City Times: News and Media about Arrow

[formerlyfreedom]

Topic please - this is about Arrow in the Media, not in social media, and definitely not a fandom discussion of any type. Thank you.

[Trisha]

Arrow is moving to Tuesday at 9pm after The Flash:

[tv echo]

I only quoted his Olicity/Felicity comments because they're so good...

Arrow Season 7 Finale Review: “You Have Saved This City”
Chris King   May 14, 2019
https://ckinger13.wordpress.com/2019/05/14/arrow-season-7-finale-review-you-have-saved-this-city/ 

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While Oliver Queen has always had faith in his mission to save Star City, from the time that it was a murderous vendetta against a list of names to him now being willing to die in order to redeem his half-sister, he did not always believe he was worthy of love, of happiness. He only looked at himself as an instrument for good, a tool to achieve the happiness and safety and security of others, not himself. However, as he tells Felicity in their final moments together in “You Have Saved This City,” that all changed when he met her. “I didn’t think I was capable or deserving of love,” Oliver says to his wife before he is forced to leave with The Monitor. “You opened up my heart in ways I didn’t know was possible.” Felicity Smoak and her willingness to look at Oliver Queen without judgment for his past, her ability to see the very best parts of him, kick-started everything, ensuring the existence of Team Arrow. Of course, Diggle is also a founding member and integral part of not just the team but Oliver’s family. Both Felicity and Oliver tell Dig as much when he shows them their new cabin late in “You Have Failed This City.” However, the friendship and brotherhood that John provides Oliver with serves a contributing factor to Oliver’s overall journey, whereas Felicity’s capacity for inspiring hope, forgiveness, and selflessness in Oliver is what solidifies Team Arrow as a fixture and guarantees that Oliver will not just have a legacy that remains in Star City long after he’s gone but a legacy that his children will be able to admire and, ultimately, inherit.

And while Felicity’s love for Oliver can be seen as the foundation for Team Arrow, it’s Oliver’s love for his wife and family that helps to maintain that structure, ensuring that his children are safe, secure, and prepared. Of course, Felicity would have always protected Mia and William even without promising Oliver that she would; they are her children, her family, her world. However, the fact that she does promise Oliver that she will do everything in her power to keep them safe, the fact that this is one of the very last conversations she has with her husband before he leaves with The Monitor to face his death, a sacrifice that will save the entire universe, the fact that there is a verbal agreement between the two of them, imbues Felicity with an even greater sense of strength. Because of this promise to Oliver, she fights to protect Mia and William even more intensely and, as seen in a few moments throughout the finale, perhaps even a little too intensely now that they are adults. Just as Felicity motivates Oliver to be the best hero he can be, he inspires her to do the same, because they are the best parts of each other, and the love they share is powerful enough to spawn a legacy, protect a family, and break through any and all challenges the whole friggin’ universe tries to throw at it.

Oliver and Felicity’s connection, and the friendship and guidance they’ve received from so many people over the years, from Diggle and Quentin to Roy and Thea to Dinah and Rene, has prepared them for whatever comes there way, ups and downs, celebrations and difficulties. Their love for each other is why Oliver has the fortitude to leave with The Monitor when he tells him that the crisis is here, and it’s why Felicity is able to let her children go and carry on her and their father’s legacy while she says, “I’m ready” to entering the portal with The Monitor to a place she can ever return from in order to see Oliver again. Their relationship, whether you’re a fan of their romance or not, has defined this era of Arrow; it’s been the cornerstone of so many of the series’ strongest storylines and most pivotal moments. And now that the series ushers in this new era during its final season, an era without Emily Bett Rickard’s Felicity Smoak and, I would assume, very limited screentime for Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen, the soul of Oliver and Felicity lives on through William and Mia and the spirit of Team Arrow continues with the two of them, Connor, and Zoe.

And ultimately, that’s why I’m content with whatever Arrow has in store for viewers during its final ten episodes in Season 8, because I know that Oliver and Felicity, no matter how much screentime they have, will permeate whatever stories the show is telling. Because Oliver and Felicity the best parts of each other, and those best parts have helped shaped the best parts of their children. And that, my friends, as Felicity Smoak says, is a legacy and love that’s bigger than the friggin’ universe.
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It’s a small moment in the much larger, grander sequence of Oliver/Felicity scenes we get near the end of the finale, but I love that Felicity challenges Oliver’s self-sacrifice, asking, “Why does it always have to be you?” Felicity knows the man she fell in love with, the man she married, and she knows that he’ll always be the one willing to give himself up if it means that everyone else will be happier and safe because of it. She understands Oliver’s choice but that doesn’t mean she should be happy about it. She never has been pleased when Oliver makes these choices without her, so her asking him “Why?” feels very much in line with the tenacity and bluntness that we’ve seen from Felicity Smoak’s character over the past seven seasons.
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Lastly, I want to commend “You Have Failed This City” for being a spectacular farewell episode to both Felicity Smoak and the actress who portrays her, Emily Bett Rickards. I do hope that Emily will be back as Felicity for Arrow‘s series finale, but even if she doesn’t, how can I be upset with how Felicity’s story ended? She got to see her daughter grow into an incredible woman and reconnect with her son, all while helping to save the world yet again. And then, when she knows that Star City is in good hands and that her children are ready to care for themselves, she makes her own choice to go be with the man she loves. She ends her journey with complete and total strength, determination, and autonomy, and she goes off to rediscover what she has always displayed and deserved: love. That’s pretty damn beautiful if you ask me.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Arrow Season 7 Finale Review – ‘You Have Saved This City’
MAY 14, 2019 BY JESSIE ROBERTSON 
https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2019/05/arrow-season-7-finale-review-you-have-saved-this-city/ 

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It pains me to say that when this show, Arrow, running for 7 seasons now and over 150 episodes, gets it right, I’m just as surprised as when it gets it really wrong. I think, overall, they got this one right.

Let’s start with Emiko; a character that had a cool look, cool backstory but everything about her trajectory felt forced as the season progressed. Surely she wasn’t our big bad this season? Yes, in fact, she ended up being that, but only because she was a Queen. A arguable manufactured plotline was added that she had been somewhat culpable in the death of Robert Queen, her rejecting Father, that either landed well with the audience or flat. The Ninth Circle, a mysterious group, unlike the one Ricardo Diaz fought to be apart of, a different secret society, also felt recycled and stale and not a serious threat, even with the Cygan gas weapons. No, the big bads of this season were not any one enemy, not the police force of Star City, although it looked that way several times. It was simply time itself. The Green Arrow, and his team of vigilantes, whether employed by the SCPD or not, were only going to be able to maintain what they had been doing for so long at this point. So, once they were back on Team Arrow’s side, and the bio weapon had been neutralized, and the Ninth Circle kept at bay for now, what was next?
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The beauty of this season finale feels so simple but this show works best when it keeps it that way. The title “You have Saved this City” says so much about who Oliver Queen is in this last episode. Emiko, his blood, wants to destroy his family, murder his wife and unborn offspring and kill the legacy of the Queen family name and he doesn’t give up the fight for her soul. He wants to change, finally. And here you can see, he has. He pulls her back from the brink. Her arc never really paid off but even if, for Oliver, it was about pulling her back, for us, the audience, after 7 years, it was seeing and finally knowing the flip-flopping was done: Oliver Queen is 100% a good man now.
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What about Felicity? It’s well known this is Emily Bett Rickards last episode as the quick witted, sarcastic computer genius Felicity Smoak. How would that be handled if there’s a whole other season left? It was done very well. Felicity played an important part in our future storyline, which ultimately, could also be called a mish-mash of success and failure. I finally felt good about both Queen children (William stood out as a success quickly; Mia, not sure). The plot line got hokier and hokier as the season moved on and there was a bit of that Tony Stark God complex stuff worked in with how Archer was used and Felicity’s original intent with it but some good action, a quick wrap up and we get our older generation of Team Arrow moving on, leaving it to the younger ones. (That Star City didn’t seem teeming with prospects of a great life, just saying.)
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When our final destination hits (the first thing we saw this season- Felicity giving birth to Mia, with Oliver by her side) the “new normal” as Oliver puts it, them actually being a family for real this time, the other shoe drops. And it hits wonderfully. For once, the crossovers left a breadcrumb or two that would come back to give us an ending we could both accept and admire. The Monitor returned, just as this family unit was thriving, and called Oliver to duty. And he didn’t mince words: He has seen Oliver’s death, fighting in this upcoming “crisis.” Felicity and Mia would not see him return. Both Rickards and Stephen Amell nailed this final scene with Felicity and Oliver saying goodbye. It hit all the right emotional chords you would want. And later on, in the future Star City, when Felicity strangely says goodbye to her children, whom she just got back, the Monitor returns again, this time to lead Felicity back to the man she lost all those years ago and never stopped loving. A rightful, comic book-y, beautiful way for her to finish off.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

From what I've read, the media reviewers pretty much agree that Felicity goes with the Monitor to reunite with Oliver somewhere, but just disagree as to where that 'somewhere' is  - here's one reviewer who thinks that Oliver & Felicity are now together in the afterlife...

Arrow’s season finale sets up a whole new TV show for its next and final season
By Justin Carter  May 14, 2019
https://www.polygon.com/tv/2019/5/14/18623769/cw-arrow-season-7-finale-recap-season-8 

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Since 2012, Arrow has always been billed as the more serious series in the Arrowverse. Flights of silliness are typically reserved for crossovers, and the season finales are typically even more somber than the usual episodes.

But not this season’s finale. Arrow’s penultimate season closer goes a completely different, absolutely bonkers, route.
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What does retirement mean for Felicity, a hacker and vigilante for decades? After a tearful goodbye to her kids at Oliver’s grave, she goes on a journey of her own that puts her in the path of the Monitor. “Where I’m taking you,” he warns, “there is no return.” To Felicity, that doesn’t matter, and the Monitor reunites her with her Oliver the afterlife. Though Stephen Amell could always show up during the final season, this is the definitive end to Felicity’s story, as Emily Bett Rickards won’t be back in October.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

‘Arrow’ season 7 finale review: 7×22 “You Have Saved This City”
Lynsey Neill   May 15, 2019
https://www.purefandom.com/2019/05/15/arrow-season-7-finale-review-7x22-you-have-saved-this-city/ 

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I’m not ready to say goodbye. But saying goodbye was made much much easier by this emotionally impactful and sob-inducing finale.
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However, I will say this, I think one of the reasons why fans love OTA so much is because their relationship was actually allowed to develop and grow. Unlike with other characters where we are told we should love them because of X, Y, and Z. And any other meaningful relationships the show has took time in developing, and earning, (besides Olicity) are with people who are gone or were killed off. One of the failures of Arrow was never making the whole cast of characters feel like a family.

And even when we don’t get too many quality OTA moments, the ones we do get, we can always feel the history and the love that the three of them have for each other. The original three.

That’s why that moment with OTA saying goodbye to the bunker was so emotional and beautiful. Because the three of them and their hero’s journey is what makes the show.
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Oliver and Felicity are poetry. They are the epitome of heroism, strength, and all-consuming love. One beautiful aspect of “You Have Saved This City” is the acknowledgment that Olicity is the heart and soul of this show, and in knowing that, they took the time to give them a proper farewell, along with some time together as a family. The bad guy plot was secondary to what is MOST important.
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Oliver is always the one that sacrifices the most, and gives the most, in this Arrowverse. I get frustrated with him over it, but I also truly, truly, love him for it. And that’s how Felicity feels, “why does it always have to be you?” she says while looking back and forth between her husband and The Monitor. Oliver is sacrificing everything for the safety and security of the universe. And that’s Oliver in a nutshell.

He goes to prison to save undeserving newbies, and he will go to the multiverse with The Monitor because he made a deal to save Barry and Kara.
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And the goodbye Oliver and Felicity share will always be the most impactful, and emotionally resonant moment of the show:

She promises to do everything in her power to keep William and Mia safe.

And wherever Oliver goes, and whatever happens, he’s not allowed to leave her.

They are the very best parts of each other.

And THAT ladies and gentleman, is so much bigger than the freaking universe.

When Oliver returned home he didn’t think he was capable or deserving of love. But then he met Felicity, and she opened up his heart in ways he didn’t think were possible.

His only regret is he didn’t tell Felicity he loved her sooner.

But they can’t have regrets, not now.

Felicity will tell Mia that her father loves her every day.

And he knows she will grow up to be as smart and as beautiful as her mother.

Felicity promises that she will find him again. It’s her will.

He loves her.

She loves him so much.

And that’s goodbye, for now, and for 20 years.
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Oliver and Felicity are together again, twenty years later, wherever he is. Their love story is protected now that Felicity (physically) will not be part of season 8. And I couldn’t have asked for a better ending for the beloved Felicity Megan Smoak. She’s happy with her husband, after knowing that her children are safe and okay, and have each other.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

“Bring It On”: CW Boss Mark Pedowitz Stares Down an Uncertain Future
by LAURA BRADLEY   MAY 16, 2019
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/the-cw-new-programming-replacing-supernatural-jane-the-virgin-arrow 

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Arrow will also exit with its eighth season—and with Disney readying its own slate of streaming superhero shows, the competition for the attention of comic-book fans will be fiercer than ever. When asked if he was worried about facing the Marvel-verse without Green Arrow, Pedowitz touted the success of the CW’s own DC Universe—an expansive franchise that encompasses The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and Legends of Tomorrow.

“We believe that as Arrow leaves, Batwoman comes on,” Pedowitz said. “I have to give Greg [Berlanti] and his entire team great kudos in the sense that they weave a universe that fits together. It’s nice being mimicked by others.”

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Arrow Confirms Oliver Queen's [_______] In Season 8
BY MATT MORRISON – ON MAY 16, 2019
https://screenrant.com/arrow-oliver-queen-death-season-8-crisis-infinite-earths/

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This was cold comfort for Felicity, who was revealed to have made her own bargain with the Monitor. The Arrow season 7 finale concluded with the Felicity of 2040 meeting with the Monitor and affirming her commitment to making a journey she could not return from and stepping into a breach with the Monitor. Precisely where they went is open to interpretation, but it's presumed that wherever Felicity and Oliver wound up that they are together. All that remains now is to see how Oliver Queen dies a hero's death in the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths event.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

How 'Arrow' Said Goodbye to Emily Bett Rickards' Felicity and Set Up Next Season's 'Crisis' Crossover
By TooFab Staff | May 14, 2019
https://toofab.com/2019/05/14/how-arrow-said-goodbye-to-emily-bett-rickards-felicity-and-set-up-next-seasons-crisis-crossover/

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The action then jumps forward to 2040 to wrap up the flash-forward timeline and confirm that Oliver did indeed die in 2019. Of course, then things get even stranger as future-Felicity connects with the Monitor who promises to take her someplace from which she can't return ... strongly hinting that she will be reunited with Oliver there.
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And we can always hope that Rickards agrees to drop by for at least one appearance before all is said and done. A satisfying series finale demands Oliver and Felicity together ... or at least fandom does.

Wait, So What's Going On In The Arrowverse Now?
Jill Pantozzi   May 17, 2019
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/05/wait-so-whats-going-on-in-the-arrowverse-now/

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Oliver made a deal with the Monitor during the Elseworlds crossover and the season seven Arrow finale informed us it was the obvious: Oliver must give his life to save the universe. And he’s going to die in 2019.

But what does this mean for Arrow’s final season?

Considering Oliver seemingly went straight off to take care of Crisis business, and Emily Bett Rickards, who plays vital team member Felicity, decided that this season would be her last, will the big Arrowverse Crisis crossover be the first thing all the series do this year? I can’t imagine how else Arrow would premiere without its two leads. Or, frankly, where the show even goes for 10 episodes. This finale wrapped a lot up; it probably should have just been the series finale.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

The Arrow season 7 sends off Felicity and sets up the coming Crisis
By Eric Frederiksen - May 15, 2019
https://batman-news.com/2019/05/15/arrow-season-7-ending-crisis/

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Arrow raced to the finish line this year, and for good reason – with the show ending, a primary cast member leaving, and an ultra-sized crossover to set up, the show had a lot to do. Oh, and it had not one but two stories to tell. That’s too much, man. And for the most part, it actually works. I’m almost as out of breath as that time I tried to tell someone everything that happens in Aquaman. The finale didn’t nail every part, but it got the important parts right for what feels in some ways like part of a series finale.
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Emiko’s story and the stakes of it never really landed for me until her final battle with Oliver, when the two laid the entire story out and talked about it. Her appearances mostly felt tedious to me, and that’s not a judgement of the actress or character but rather how Emiko was used. She was meant to be this character with a lot of genuine hurt, but instead became more like a mustache-twirling villain whose motivations felt more more and more far-fetched.
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The latter half of this overfull episode was actually wildly successful. One of my biggest questions was how the writers would handle writing off Felicity Smoak in a way that felt believable and true to the show but still let Emily Bett Rickards off the hook for season 8. And they actually nailed it and set up a very different final season.
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Before this, Oliver passed the torch to Diggle, Dinah, and Rene, and the scene ended with the team shutting down the bunker and the set disappearing into the darkness around Oliver. The true weight of all of that hits doubly hard when the Monitor shows up, because we know that these were real goodbyes. I’m not sure whether we’ll see John Diggle in season 8, for example, but the got-your-back status of Diggle and Oliver’s relationship is forever changed after this. Friends forever, but no longer brothers in arms. This goodbye was a cathartic flip from the grim, lonely Arrow we’ve seen in previous seasons, who actively resisted the idea of being part of a team. Looking back it almost looks like the writers had a plan.
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But most important is the fate of Felicity Smoak. By taking Oliver away from his true love, we now have a good reason for why Felicity won’t be present next season. The goodbye the couple shared was genuinely emotional – probably for the two actors as well as for us, sitting and watching at home. While Oliver and Emiko’s goodbye didn’t quite land, these final moments with Felicity and Oliver were just about perfect.

And to put a nice bow on all of it, the 2040 storyline tied back into the whole thing perfectly. It hit home that, while Oliver was done saving Star City, Star City still needed saving – and that he’d picked the right team to do it. As the story ended, with Oliver and John’s kids and the remaining Star City vigilantes victorious, Felicity surprised us by meeting up with the Monitor, 21 years later, to go to a place where she can’t come back from. I suspect that we’ll see Rickards again in the series’ very last moments. Instead of undercutting Oliver’s sacrifice, it felt like a satisfying ending for Felicity.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Here's How 'Arrow' Said Goodbye To Felicity Smoak During The Season 7 Finale
TUE, 14 MAY 2019 AT 10:06 AM 
http://www.justjaredjr.com/2019/05/14/heres-how-arrow-said-goodbye-to-felicity-smoak-during-the-season-7-finale/

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However, before leaving, Felicity takes Mia and William to visit Oliver’s grave — which confirms he dies in 2019 — because she wants to say goodbye to them one last time.

Mia and William aren’t understanding of why they can’t see her again, but it all comes to light when we see her meet with the Monitor – and heads straight to where Oliver is.

Arrow Finale: 5 Things That Brought Us Closure (& 5 That Didn’t)
BY ANDY BEHBAKHT  – ON MAY 14, 2019
https://screenrant.com/arrow-finale-closure/

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In the flashforwards, after all, is said and done, we see Felicity leaving with the Monitor to see Oliver who we learn died in 2019. The Monitor makes it clear that where they are going, there was no way she could come back after that. While that final scene may have been heartbreaking, if we focus on Felicity in the present: this was a powerful departure for the fan-favorite.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Tweets by Jo-Anne Rowney (now with Radio Times, formerly with Daily Mirror, both in UK) about 722...

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Emily Bett Rickards Says Goodbye to Felicity Smoak in Season 7 Finale of ‘Arrow’
By Erin Crabtree  May 13, 2019
https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/arrow-finale-emily-bett-rickards-says-goodbye-to-felicity-smoak/

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So long, Overwatch! Emily Bett Rickards bid farewell to her beloved role as Felicity Smoak during the Monday, May 13, season 7 finale of Arrow, titled “You Have Saved This City.”
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In flash forwards, fans learned that Oliver did indeed die in 2019. Felicity, knowing that her children were finally safe, met up with The Monitor as she told him she had waited a long time to see Oliver again and they stepped through a portal.

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

‘Arrow’ Says Goodbye To Felicity And Reveals Oliver’s Crossover Bargain In Season 7 Finale
By ETONLINE.COM. 13 May 2019
https://etcanada.com/news/452306/arrow-says-goodbye-to-felicity-and-reveals-olivers-crossover-bargain-in-season-7-finale/?sf212635453=1

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However, all may not be as tragic as it seems. In the future storyline, Felicity meets with the couple’s now-grown children, William and Mia, who have taken up their parents’ mantle as the protectors of Star City. While William and Mia think their mom is merely headed back underground, she cryptically explains — while standing in front of Oliver’s grave, which marks his death as occurring in 2019 — that she will no longer be in touch, having served her purpose as their protector all these years. “It’s time for me to go on a journey of my own.”

After she bids her children a heartfelt farewell, Mar Novu appears once again to take her “where there is no return” — and this time, there are no tears. “I have waited a long time to see him,” Felicity says, seemingly referring to Oliver and hinting at a possible reconciliation for the lovebirds somewhere in the multiverse. “I’m ready.”

Edited May 16, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

[tv echo]

“Bring It On”: CW Boss Mark Pedowitz Stares Down an Uncertain Future
Laura Bradley   May 16, 2019
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/the-cw-new-programming-replacing-supernatural-jane-the-virgin-arrow

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Arrow will also exit with its eighth season—and with Disney readying its own slate of streaming superhero shows, the competition for the attention of comic-book fans will be fiercer than ever. When asked if he was worried about facing the Marvel-verse without Green Arrow, Pedowitz touted the success of the CW’s own DC Universe—an expansive franchise that encompasses The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and Legends of Tomorrow.

“We believe that as Arrow leaves, Batwoman comes on,” Pedowitz said. “I have to give Greg [Berlanti] and his entire team great kudos in the sense that they weave a universe that fits together. It’s nice being mimicked by others.”

Edited May 18, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Kyle Anderson and Chance Agard discussed the Arrow S7 finale (among other things)...

Entertainment Weekly - Superhero Insider: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl
May 17, 2019

-- Arrow 722: Kyle liked S7 "a lot more" than S6, although he found this season a little "uneven," just like most seasons of Arrow. He thought that, "on most fronts" the S7 finale "stuck the landing" because it "wrapped up" a lot of loose threads, set up COIE, and dealt with EBR's exit from the series. He was very excited to see LaMonica Garrett return as the Monitor.

-- Chance said that he needed to re-watch S7 now that he knows "where it was going." Although he appreciated that S7 did a "lot of interesting things" in trying to shake things up a bit, he thought that this season lacked a "firm center around it" and that, even though he knew the season's theme was redemption, he never felt it as strongly as past seasons' themes, like legacy.

-- Chance felt that the finale "felt divorced from everything else that happened in the season." Kyle agreed and said that the "finale was like a finale to a better season than what we had." Kyle also noted that S7 opened with Oliver in jail and Ricardo Diaz as the Big Bad, which "had almost no connection to what we saw" in the season finale, "which is weird." Chance replied, "Exactly," and also noted that the Longbow Hunters "were a thing, but they never came back."

-- Chance thought that the season finale didn't work "from a plot level" and that the Emiko story was "a mad rush" to wrap it up. Kyle agreed that it felt like they were cutting that story short.

-- However, Chance thought that the S7 finale worked "on a emotional level." He also said: "The one thing I loved about it, uh - like, James Bamford who directed it, who's like the series director now, and he's a former fight choreographer. He loves a one-er, that's his thing." Chance liked that, in every Bunker scene, Bamford tried to "cram as many heroes into the shot or into the take" in order to highlight that it's team.

-- Kyle was surprised to find himself getting emotional when Oliver was closing up the Arrow Bunker and the lights went out. He didn't expect to feel so invested in the series.

-- Chance noted that Oliver & Felicity deciding to go into hiding felt like a repeat of S3. However, he "loved the montage" of Oliver & Felicity at the cabin and with their baby. 

-- Chance also loved the "OTA" scenes at the Arrow Bunker and at the cabin.

-- Chance noted that the finale "revealed that Oliver dies in the Crisis."

-- Kyle said again that "this season doesn't feel like it earned this finale", but that this finale "did feel like the culmination point of seven previous seasons of television"; so, in that regard, it did feel like the "stepping stone into the final arc."

-- Kyle didn't know how long "the conversations have been going on about ending Arrow." Chance was "curious" as to when they knew EBR was not returning for the final season.

-- Regarding the flashforwards, Chance wondered why they decided to do the Zetas, which come from "the animated series that no one talks about." Chance also thought that KM "looked like a bad-ass" and that you could tell that she was doing most of the stunts herself.

-- Chance noted that we still don't know why Roy was on Lian Yu.

-- Kyle said that it was a "strong finale."

-- Chance hopes that the final season is just Oliver and The Monitor traveling the multiverse together and going to different Earths, saying, "That would be a fun show." Kyle asked if that would mean we would still see Diggle, Rene and the others in Star City. Chance replied that it could be that, or that, for every trip, Oliver would have to bring a different teammate along, "like a little companion, Doctor Who-style." Also, for example, Chance said, Oliver could go to Earth-5 and see another version of Wild Dog.

-- Also on Chance's final season wish list: the salmon ladder, the Huntress, and the Question.

-- Both Chance and Kyle thought that S5 was the best season in terms of a fully-realized season "from start to finish," although S2 had the best individual episodes.

Edited May 18, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

😉 The Monitor took Felicity to another universe where that Oliver doesn't know her and their relationship starts building all over again - because Olicity is bigger than the frickin' universe...

DC TV Watch: 'Arrow' Finale Confirms Oliver Will Die in 'Crisis' Crossover
MAY 18, 2019 8:15am PT by Sydney Bucksbaum
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/dc-tv-watch-arrows-oliver-will-die-crisis-crossover-1211534 

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Other noteworthy moments: One thing that's known for sure is that the final run won't include Felicity. Rickards exited the series after this season, and her absence was explained away first in the present day storyline, as she agreed to live off the grid to keep her daughter Mia safe. Emiko (Sea Shimooka) had told the Ninth Circle about the pregnancy, and Felicity knew the only way to keep her daughter safe was to hide her. No matter what happens with Team Arrow in the present, Felicity will never rejoin the team for the sake of her daughter. And having already said goodbye to Oliver knowing he was going to die in this finale, that also helps explain why the character won't be in the crossover or series finale (unless Rickards decides to appear in the series finale). In the future storyline, after saving Star City with both her grown children Mia (Katherine McNamara) and Will (Ben Lewis), Felicity visited Oliver's gravestone and then called on The Monitor to take her ... somewhere. “I have waited a very long time to see him. I’m ready,” she said before walking with him into a blue portal. Did he take her to another universe where Oliver was still alive? If the Crisis crossover eliminates the multiverse as it did in the comics, that can't be possible. Is he taking her to heaven? Is that even possible? So many questions will remain open-ended forever.

Edited May 19, 2019 by tv echo

[Mellowyellow]

Can you really abolish the multiverse? 

Like how do you know there isn't another multiverse? Or something bigger?

ETA: This is why I like this ending so much. Everyone can run off and make up their own HEA.

You can reset time so Oliver gets to raise Mia, have Old Olicity bouncing around some place chilling with each other, have Olicity meet again and fall in love again (either young or old). And none of it feels like it's a "consolation" or a fix it  but rather just letting our creativity and preferences do the work.

Edited May 19, 2019 by Mellowyellow

[tv echo]

^^^ Don't know. And I don't read the comics, so I have no idea what kind of machinations they go through to do what they want. 

[tv echo]

DCTV ROUND-UP WEEK OF 5/12/19: ‘SUPERGIRL,’ ‘LEGENDS OF TOMORROW,’ ‘ARROW’ & ‘THE FLASH’ 
LYRA (Alyssa Barbieri wrote the Arrow section) MAY 18, 2019
http://fangirlish.com/dctv-round-up-week-of-5-12-19-supergirl-legends-of-tomorrow-arrow-the-flash/ 

Quote

For some, like Arrow, that signals a huge change coming in the form of losing the heart of your show in Felicity Smoak. ... 
*  *  *
I’m not going to waste much time on the parts of the Arrow season finale that weren’t centered around Felicity, Olicity or OTA because, quite frankly, nothing else mattered from that finale. Nothing. Okay, except Future Felicity and children. In a lot of ways, Arrow’s season 7 finale felt like the perfect series finale. Naturally, there’s still one 10-episode final season coming this fall — all because of this Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover — but this would’ve been the perfect ending. Well, minus the crossover stuff. So, if anything, at least the series finale has a chance to redo it — the right way. With Oliver and Felicity getting their happy ending — getting to raise Mia and William.
*  *  *
Then came perhaps the best 10 minutes of Arrow in the past several years — or ever, to be honest. Where Oliver, Felicity and Diggle were the last ones to stand in the Arrow Cave — a beautiful callback to their first team-up in season one. It was the first of an emotional 10-minute segment that had me cry my make-up clear off. Cut to Diggle bringing Oliver and Felicity to their new home, where they would be safe to live from the Ninth Circle, and raise their daughter and son. Then we got the most wonderful segment with Oliver and Felicity getting to live their lives — before Mia and after she was born. It was beautiful — nightly porch talks, Oliver falling asleep with baby Mia on his chest as Felicity comes to love on both of them. Be still my heart because I’m still a wreck.

Then came the inevitable heartbreak. Honestly, it wouldn’t be Arrow without it. The Monitor returned to Oliver demanding payment from the previous crossover. He’d seen the future, and he’s seen Oliver die. So in order to protect his family, Oliver left with The Monitor. And it wasn’t until the flashforwards that we got a somewhat happy ending, that saw Felicity — knowing her children were okay without her — went with the Monitor to be reunited with Oliver. And I’ll be damned if I’m not still crying.

Edited May 19, 2019 by tv echo

[statsgirl]

If you abolish the multiverse, what happens to Supergirl's Earth? And Black Siren's Earth2, because if she stuck around on Earth1, Mia would have known about her.

[apinknightmare]

3 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

If you abolish the multiverse, what happens to Supergirl's Earth? And Black Siren's Earth2, because if she stuck around on Earth1, Mia would have known about her.

All the Earths merge into one.

Mia would've known about Laurel anyway from the Green Arrow documentary she stole. With Felicity in hiding, Laurel and Mia not knowing each other personally is pretty easy to explain away. 

[Mary0360]

Did Mark Pedowitz actually imply that Marvel is  mimicking the Arrowverse? Lol 😂 

I mean a. Marvel was making movies years before Arrow started and b. Greg and crew basically mimicked Chris Nolan’s Batman for the first couple of seasons of the show so.

[way2interested]

12 minutes ago, Mary0360 said:

Did Mark Pedowitz actually imply that Marvel is  mimicking the Arrowverse? Lol 😂 

I mean a. Marvel was making movies years before Arrow started and b. Greg and crew basically mimicked Chris Nolan’s Batman for the first couple of seasons of the show so.

Marvel totally copied the Arrowverse, or specifically Marvel TV (admittedly not previously run by Kevin Feige but still CW's actual competition) definitely did. After Arrow did well, AoS (not copying Arrow but still after Arrow paved a way for superheores to go back to tv) came out and Daredevil s1 and Iron Fist s1 and the Neflix framework of having a shared superhero universe was taken from the Arrowverse. 

[statsgirl]

13 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

All the Earths merge into one.

How exactly does that work physically or emotionally?  How does Evil Cisco on another Earth merge with good Cisco?  How does Green Arrow Robert Queen on E2 merge universes with Green Arrow Oliver Queen?

Mia knew about Laurel from the documentary but she'd spent three (?) years on the street and then knew Dinah and her Canary network but still didn't know about her being on this Earth.  Has Laurel been undercover in another place all this time?

[apinknightmare]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

How exactly does that work physically or emotionally?  How does Evil Cisco on another Earth merge with good Cisco?  How does Green Arrow Robert Queen on E2 merge universes with Green Arrow Oliver Queen?

Mia knew about Laurel from the documentary but she'd spent three (?) years on the street and then knew Dinah and her Canary network but still didn't know about her being on this Earth.  Has Laurel been undercover in another place all this time?

I assume only one version of each character lives, but I have no idea. 

Did Mia indicate she knew every Canary in Dinah's network? Laurel's over 50, so maybe she just didn't go out that much anymore, or maybe Mia never ran into her. There are so many Canaries, it's possible. 

It's also possible that it won't hold up if you put a microscope to it, much like William's complaining about being abandoned when in reality he A) chose to leave and B) his dad died! And however many other dumb things don't add up about the future. 

Edited May 20, 2019 by apinknightmare

[tv echo]

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 7, Episode 22 - You Have Saved This City
Matt 'Starman' Morrison  May 19, 2019
http://www.mygeekygeekyways.com/2019/05/arrow-episode-guide-season-7-episode-22.html

Quote

The Ninth Circle leadership expels Emiko from their ranks and kills her because of her vendetta against the Queen family exposing the group to the public. Yet they are perfectly willing to keep that vendetta going once Emiko is dead, because... reasons?

For that matter, even if the Ninth Circle were going after Oliver and Felicity for being thorns in their side, why not go after the whole of Team Arrow? All of whom have public identities now!
*  *  *
Emily Bett Rickards gives it her all one last time and steals the show in both the modern day and future segments. Somehow, Stephen Amell seems all the stronger playing against her and he's hardly a slouch. Their final moments together are Emmy-worthy.
*  *  *
The fight scenes are fantastic, even for this show.

The episode's ending is absolutely perfect - both as a send-off for Felicity Smoak and as the series in general, as it seems that all of Season 8 will be devoted to Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Edited May 20, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

There's a lot more to this interview, so you may wish to read the entire article...

Spotlight Interview: Beth Schwartz, Showrunner – Part 3, Getting Personal
BY SARAH J EAGEN ON MAY 20, 2019
http://msinthebiz.com/2019/05/20/spotlight-interview-beth-schwartz-showrunner-part-3-getting-personal/ 

Quote

Welcome back for the third and final segment of my interview with Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz! (If you missed parts 1 and 2, definitely check them out!) In this part, we talk about how Beth stays grounded and inspired, what it’s like running a show while pregnant (yep!), and her advice for writers working to break in. Here we go!
*  *  *
You just signed an overall deal with Warner Brothers – congrats!
Thank you!
*  *  *
Do you already have projects in the works?
Definitely not, since I’m still on Arrow full-time. I’ve always wanted to create my own show, so I’m super excited about that. I care about creating interesting characters and putting them in a unique world. My taste is all over the place. What all the shows that I like have in common is incredible characters.
*  *  *
What’s inspiring you these days? (entertainment industry-related or not)
My pregnancy. It was kind of funny, the timing, because we knew Felicity was going to be pregnant WAY before I knew I was going to be pregnant. But it just happened that when I found out I was pregnant was around the same time I was writing about Felicity finding out she was pregnant. So there are a lot of fun nods and jokes to pregnancy with Felicity that my staff wrote about me. There’s certain, little tiny things in there that they’ve seen me go through that they put in the script.

Even more specific pieces of you in the show.
Yeah, and Felicity is just one of those characters – I’ve always related to her, even though I’m not a tech person and I’m not a superhero. But her voice – saying the wrong thing, and kinda babbling, and just a little silly, and sticking up for herself and being a strong female – I’ve always related to that character, so the fact that we shared our pregnancy together was a nice surprise.

That’s super cool. Could you speak more about what it means to be a working writer and showrunner while pregnant?
It has felt very empowering to be the boss and be super pregnant, and people being like, “Whoa, how can you do your job and be pregnant?” And that’s also something we carried through for Felicity, in terms of – she’s still kicking ass and she’s still doing her job, just like I’m still doing that in my real life. It’s definitely more challenging because physically, you’re not the same. But at the same time, it doesn’t mean your life has to stop. And there’s something kind of cool about being a very pregnant woman and being the boss at the same time.

I hope that that inspires. I didn’t know that that was a possibility, because I feel like when you’re pregnant a lot of writers take time off because they feel like they’re not going to get support or they’re not going to be able to do it, or whatever their reasons are. I also felt that way in the beginning and was completely supported by Greg when I told him, and it’s been great.

It’s been really inspiring having that huge support, which is probably more rare in the workplace. I feel very lucky.

Edited May 20, 2019 by tv echo

[way2interested]

Quote

What’s inspiring you these days? (entertainment industry-related or not)
My pregnancy. It was kind of funny, the timing, because we knew Felicity was going to be pregnant WAY before I knew I was going to be pregnant. But it just happened that when I found out I was pregnant was around the same time I was writing about Felicity finding out she was pregnant. So there are a lot of fun nods and jokes to pregnancy with Felicity that my staff wrote about me. There’s certain, little tiny things in there that they’ve seen me go through that they put in the script.

Even more specific pieces of you in the show.
Yeah, and Felicity is just one of those characters – I’ve always related to her, even though I’m not a tech person and I’m not a superhero. But her voice – saying the wrong thing, and kinda babbling, and just a little silly, and sticking up for herself and being a strong female – I’ve always related to that character, so the fact that we shared our pregnancy together was a nice surprise.

That's actually so funny/sweet.

[lemotomato]

56 minutes ago, tv echo said:

What’s inspiring you these days? (entertainment industry-related or not)
My pregnancy.

Talk about burying the lede 😂 Congrats to Beth! 

Edited May 20, 2019 by lemotomato

[tv echo]

Five Important Unanswered Questions Going into Arrow Season 8 
Tom   May 21, 2019
https://www.tvovermind.com/five-important-unanswered-questions-going-into-arrow-season-8/ 

Quote

1. Where exactly did the Monitor take Felicity?
This is kind of left up to the viewers to decide for themselves since there’s no real set destination to where the Monitor takes Felicity, though there is an indication that she might be going to see Oliver. If that happened some people would be grateful, others might be upset, but the whole gist of it is that it would be an ending that seems fit for the moment. After all happy endings might not always be reality but they are still nice to see every now and again. And on top of that, some heroes have surely done enough to finally earn that little bit of happiness at the end when everything finally settles.

5. Is Bronze Tiger going to make the jump to Team Arrow?
4. Where were the heroes for 20 years?
3. What exactly is the mark of four?
2. Why was it so easy for Mia to fight the Zeta soldiers?
1. Where exactly did the Monitor take Felicity?

Edited May 21, 2019 by tv echo

[BkWurm1]

I lose track sometimes, is TVOvremind usually salty in regards Olicity and Felicity?

Cause it felt like pulling teeth for them even to say "there's an indication she might be going to see Oliver" when I found it pretty darn explicit and then the comment about that idea making some unhappy seemed really unneeded.

Just one of the most unenthusiastic summations of the end I've seen written.  Happy endings are unrealistic but I suppose it's ok sometimes?  Damned with faint praise. Lol 

[Featherhat]

11 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I lose track sometimes, is TVOvremind usually salty in regards Olicity and Felicity?

Cause it felt like pulling teeth for them even to say "there's an indication she might be going to see Oliver" when I found it pretty darn explicit and then the comment about that idea making some unhappy seemed really unneeded.

Just one of the most unenthusiastic summations of the end I've seen written.  Happy endings are unrealistic but I suppose it's ok sometimes?  Damned with faint praise. Lol 

Depends who's writing I think.Whether you think Oliver is Felicity is pretty clearly going to meet him (forever), that's in the text of the scene. She's not just randomly hanging around with the Monitor.

then again I disagree that the Mark of Four is a big important unanswered question as well.

[tv echo]

Even the DC Comics reviewer thinks that the Monitor is taking Felicity to join Oliver (I just posted that article in the Golden Arrow thread here because he wrote a great tribute to Felicity and her impact on both the Arrowverse and the DC comicsverse)...

Quote

Did anyone else need a tissue after watching Arrow’s season finale, “You Have Saved This City,” or was it just me? I’m used to action and drama on Arrow. I’m not used to the series tearing my heart out and tossing it around the room like a T-Sphere. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, though. For months, fans have been speculating that Oliver would die during the upcoming Crisis, and his absence from the future storyline lent some credibility to these theories. Felicity’s visit to Oliver’s grave seemed like confirmation…right up until the Monitor appeared, offering to take Felicity to her husband.

Edited May 22, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Ask Matt: 'Big Bang' and 'Thrones' Finales, High Road for 'Arrow,' Drowning Sorrows Over 'Whiskey'
Matt Roush May 21, 2019
https://www.tvinsider.com/779607/ask-matt-big-bang-game-of-thrones-finales-arrow-whiskey-cavalier-cancellation/ 

Quote

A 12-Gun Salute to Arrow

Question: Kudos to Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards for their emotional and satisfying goodbye at the end of Arrow’s 7th season. I love the risks this show took to move away from canon and make it stand on its own. Oliver and Felicity have been the heart of this show despite everything (with Diggle, of course). What is next for Stephen Amell? I know he is contracted for Season 8, but does this mean his contract ends with CW when Arrow ends? Or will he be kind of the father figure coming back when needed for Barry, Kara, etc.? Also, can we give it up for Stephen Amell. What a great captain he has been all these years. Kind, supportive, and generous. No wonder he has amassed such a large social media following. Younger stars could learn from the captain, this is how to use social media correctly. — Dana

Matt Roush: This has always been my impression of Stephen Amell, and I'm glad fans are giving him the respect and affection he deserves as Arrow approaches its endgame. We may want to see how Arrow actually ends before speculating on its star's future with The CW's many other (too many?) superhero franchises. But it could sense for Oliver to reappear, come crossover time, if the story calls for it. Though I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to give the vigilante costume a rest for a while.

Edited May 22, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Arrow's Season 7 blu-ray will be released on Aug. 20...

Arrow Season 7 Blu-Ray Cover Art & Extras Revealed
May 22, 2019 Craig Byrne 
http://www.greenarrowtv.com/arrow-season-7-blu-ray-cover-art-extras-revealed/ 

Quote

ARROW: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON
 
Contains All Exhilarating Episodes from the Seventh Season,
Plus a Crossover Featurette, 2018 Comic-Con Panel, and More!
 
Available on Blu-ray™ & DVD August 20, 2019
 
Including All Three Episodes of the DC Crossover Event: Elseworlds Available Only on the Blu-Ray Set

BURBANK, CA (May 22, 2018) – Get ready for nonstop action from start to finish when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Arrow: The Complete Seventh Season on Blu-ray and DVD August 20, 2019. Both sets contain all 22 action-packed episodes from the seventh season, plus the show’s 2018 Comic-Con Panel, a crossover featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and more! All three DC Crossover: Elseworlds episodes will be available only for fans who purchase the Blu-ray set. The Complete Seventh Season is priced to own at $39.99 SRP for the DVD ($51.99 in Canada) and $44.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($52.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Both sets have an order due date of July 16, 2019. Arrow: The Complete Seventh Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.
*  *  *
BLU-RAY & DVD FEATURES

• The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panel San Diego 2018
• Inside the Crossover: Elseworlds
• Villains: Modes of Persuasion
• Gag Reel
• Deleted Scenes

Edited May 22, 2019 by tv echo

[way2interested]

Huzzah for Deleted Scenes and a Blooper reel

[tv echo]

Jen's review is very, very long, so I tried to be selective about what I quoted - even so, it ended up being a lot (you can read her entire review at the link)...

Bigger Than The Friggin Universe: Arrow 7x22 Review (You Have Saved This City)
jbuffyangel   May 24, 2019
https://jbuffyangel.tumblr.com/post/185102448843/bigger-than-the-friggin-universe-arrow-7x22 

Quote

Even though Original Team Arrow doesn’t get the focus and screen time we crave, they are and will always be the show. The chemistry between Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, and David Ramsey was discovered as Season 1 evolved. 
*  *  *
Original Team Arrow is the gravity which kept the show centered. Diggle talks about the legacy of heroes Oliver launched, but in truth it is the legacy THEY launched.
*  *  *
This is the moment I started to lose it because it didn’t feel like Diggle, Oliver and Felicity talking. It felt like David, Stephen and Emily. The lines between real and fiction began to blur as these actors said goodbye to Emily/Felicity and to the team they formed both on and off the camera. 
*  *  *
Each member and relationship is a beat of this heart. Diggle is a beat. Oliver is a beat. Felicity is a beat. Their relationships with one another: Diggle and Oliver, Oliver and Felicity, Felicity and Diggle, and of course the trio, are beats as well. When we remove one of these characters or relationships the rhythm of the show is changed.

It’s unfathomable to imagine the show without all three and yet this is where we’re headed. All I know for certain is next season Arrow’s heartbeat will be irregular. It will be an echo.
*  *  *
Sometimes even superheroes need to be saved. Felicity is Oliver’s hero. She saw the best in him. She harnessed his light.  Felicity was his path from purgatory to peace.  Love was the way through. And now he’s here. Oliver Queen is every bit the man Robert asked him to be and every bit the man Felicity Smoak deserves.
*  *  *
I couldn’t connect with Oliver until he met Felicity Smoak. When he smiled I remember thinking, “Oh there you are Oliver.” And this is the man I saw in that smile. This is who he was meant to become. We’ve waited seven long years, but Oliver Queen is finally home. The dream foreshadowed all those years ago came true.
*  *  *
I think Oliver saw the newspaper heading of The Flash’s disappearance at some point and figured he had at least until 2024. Due to some shenanigans on The Flash which I won’t get into other than IT’S ALL BARRY’S FAULT (well his daughter too, but mostly Barry), “Crisis” is happening sooner. 
*  *  *
 *  *  *
Honestly, the little headshake Oliver does when Felicity asks why it always has to be him says it all. Oliver has no answer for why the world is constantly screwing him over. So he slept with someone’s sister. Yeah, I know that was bad, but the man watched his father blow his brains out, was tortured multiple times, has been nearly killed every day for the last ten years, watched countless people he loves die, suffered a romantic horror show with L*urel, and put up with the Newbies & their bullshit for the last three years. Oliver has suffered enough.
*  *  *
All I have wanted for Oliver and Felicity is for them to be happy, but that’s a fairly broad spectrum. I truly didn’t expect the suffering to stop until the final moments of this show and we aren’t there yet. Just look back on the ebb and flow of their relationship: ....
*  *  *
In the movie of The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmund is unable to buy his love Mercedes an engagement ring, so she wraps a string around her finger and promises to never take it off. When they come face to face again twenty years later, and even though she is married to the man who sent him to prison, the string is still on her finger. Felicity is making the same declaration. No matter where Oliver goes she will always be his wife and her devotion will never end.
*  *  *
I love that Felicity tells Oliver they are the best parts of each other. We’ve focused a lot on the impact Felicity had in Oliver’s life, and it was monumental, but he changed her too. Oliver opened up Felicity’s world. She found a strength she never knew existed, a purpose worth fighting for and a love worth living for.

Love wasn’t the finish line for Oliver and Felicity. Their relationship wasn’t the reward after all the struggle and hardship. Their love was the evolution. Oliver and Felicity inspired, challenged, changed and supported each other. They became heroes together. They are unique and interesting characters separately, but together they are magic.  Olicity brings out the very best in each other, which means they are living life to the fullest. This love makes life worth living… just as Diggle promised Oliver not so long ago.
*  *  *
 
Whoa. I can do twelve pages just on this statement alone. WOW. These writers love shining a beautiful bright light on Olicity while simultaneously taking a crap on L*uriver. It’s truly a gift.

I am going to take some time to discuss this because this line is incredibly important. The writers are drawing a comparison to Felicity and Oliver’s past relationships for a reason. This is a deeply profound statement as Oliver reflects on the person he used to be and the person he is today.
*  *  *
Oliver’s pursuit of L*urel in Season 1 is much like his pursuit of his mission. He is chasing an illusion of love just like crossing off names on a list gave Oliver the illusion he’s saving a city. 
*  *  *
He was going through the motions with L*urel just like every other love interest. Oliver mimicked love, but he didn’t feel it. Not the way he should and, even back then, I think he knew that on some level. He was addicted to the toxic cycle with L*urel and what he wanted, more than anything, was to fix things with her. If he fixed everything with L*urel, if she forgave him and took him back, then it was like Lian Yu never happened. Oliver earns his redemption without having to look deep inside the pain. 
*  *  *
Felicity Megan Smoak is the antithesis of all of this. She is the first mirror to reflect all the good things in Oliver and slowly, bit by bit, he began to believe that reflection was true. The sheer force of her goodness was like a battering ram against the wall Oliver built inside himself. She cracked him wide open and all his light began spilling out. 
*  *  *
She was the first person to tell Oliver he deserved more. There was one inescapable truth Oliver couldn’t ignore. Oliver believes in Felicity Smoak. She is beyond reproach. Felicity is the best of humanity in Oliver’s eyes (and he’s right).  If that is true, and Felicity loves him, then maybe Oliver isn’t as bad as he thought. Even more importantly, she loves Oliver for who he is and not in spite of who he is. This is the difference between feeling deserving and undeserving of love.
*  *  *

*  *  *
SO WHEN WAS SOONER OLIVER? Quite frankly, we could make a strong case for 1x03. Hell, I’m willing to argue for the 3x14 flashback too. One of the first metas I ever wrote was “When Did Oliver Fall in Love with Felicity?” and to this day it’s probably the most popular article I’ve written. It is my firm belief Oliver’s journey towards realization was slow and then it happened all at once. 
*  *  *
This line perfectly dovetails with all those moments because the truth is there is no right answer. Felicity Smoak evolved as Oliver’s true love as the show evolved and yet it was also destiny. Talent and chemistry met opportunity. The unexpected became the plan. That’s the magic of television.
*  *  *

*  *  *
Arrow did their very best to convince us Oliver is dead. Look guys! A grave!  

*  *  *
Felicity’s favorite story is The Wizard of Oz and this journey with The Monitor is like Dorothy leaving home for Oz. However, I prefer to think of it as Felicity leaving Oz for home because home is wherever Oliver is. There’s been sadness in Felicity’s eyes in the flash forwards because a piece of her is missing, but now her eyes are shining with light and joy. 

*  *  *
Felicity twists her wedding ring, the symbol of her unending love and devotion to Oliver, and steps into the other side of the world to find her husband and fulfill her promise. 
*  *  *
Felicity Smoak and Emily Bett Rickards drifts out of our world with the same light and hope she drifted in with. Oliver may be my favorite character, but Felicity Smoak is the most important. 
*  *  *
There is no other actor or character who had more impact on the story and the trajectory of the show. Emily Bett Rickards came in as a day player, turned the show on its head, became the female lead and anchored the love story Arrow revolved around. THIS IS UNHEARD OF. IT DOESN’T HAPPEN. 
*  *  *
Even more importantly, the writers and Emily crafted a strong female character by embracing her humanity. Felicity Smoak is intelligent, witty, compassionate, brave, resilient, optimistic and honest. She makes mistakes (occasionally), but she always learns from them and it makes her a stronger person. 

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

SEA SHIMOOKA IS ON HER WAY TO HOLLYWOOD’S A-LIST
BYMerilyn Chang  MAY 23, 2019 
https://cools.com/sea-shimooka-actress-interview 

Quote

Now having made the move from New York to Los Angeles, Shimooka expresses the relief that comes from finally having found a sense of relative stability. She writes me while taking a much needed trip to Palm Springs after working several consecutive weeks in Vancouver filming Arrow. Below, Shimooka opens up about her road to acting, the hustle of living in New York, her moments of intense self doubt, and her lofty aspirations for the future.
*  *  *
You’ve made it pretty far in your acting career since I first met you. What prompted you to go into acting to begin with?
“At first, I enrolled in high school drama class to be with my friends and goof around. I loved it more and more every year, but I played competitive volleyball and my life was consuming. When I realized I was too short (I’m 5’9”) to play professionally, the next best option was fashion because I assumed university drama programs wouldn’t want me without previous theater experience. I wore all J.Crew and devoured Teen Vogue, so I thought, obviously I’m a fashion guru! I applied to every liberal arts or communications program in New York and Los Angeles. ..."
*  *  *
Was there any point in your career where you considered other options?
“Pretty much every other day. I auditioned like crazy for a year and a half after fortunately nabbing a spot in the ABC Diversity showcase and signing with a great team. I would get close to parts and lost them to someone more Asian or more experienced than I was. It was frustrating. Even after I booked Arrow, those thoughts crept back in.”

What are the best parts of being in the Arrow family?
“The training! I was trained in various martial arts, stunt work, and weights to gain muscle and strength. The Arrow cast is insanely tough and works hard to assure their believability of the superhuman characters they portray. The training was heavily focused on archery because my character is supposed to rival the best archer in the Arrowverse, the Green Arrow (and my half-brother, Oliver Queen). I had countless sessions with most badass archery teacher, Patricia Gonsalves, in her studio. She was my on-set coach as well, and she guided me through the most demanding moves for which I’m forever grateful. I did a lot of my own stunts, but the best ones were done by my incredible double, Orphée. I learned how to fight with kali sticks, throw knives, and move my body like a fighter. Everyday posed a new challenge which made it exciting. ..."
*  *  *
Your character, Emiko Queen, is quite shrouded in mystery for most of this season. What it was like to play her?
“Playing the first female Big Bad in Arrow history was a daunting task. Some people were upset that the main villain of the season was a woman, or they were upset by my character’s motives. She was a difficult character to play because she was masquerading as a good guy but also didn’t want to work with the heroes. It was hard to pinpoint who she really was because she used some form of manipulation in almost every scene. As the show goes on, though, you see the loss that has shaped her and the unnatural amount of trauma she’s experienced—abandonment, betrayal, death. Her mental state wasn’t discussed at length on the show, but that was a huge factor in me being able to justify her actions. Painful trauma can cause people to live in an alternate reality, and that’s where Emiko lived.

“Shooting the finale was a wonderful, emotional mess for me. I got to see the character I love finally given a chance to redeem the horrible actions she committed under the spell of her pain. All she wanted was to be accepted into a family, and that simple desire never being met was devastating. I loved her, and I hope other people did too.”
*  *  *
What are some of the less glamorous sides to being an actress?
“The insecurity and self-doubt. Arrow is my first real acting job. I went from saying three lines on Bull to being a series regular and working nine, 16-hour days in a row in freezing wet weather. When you walk into a show that’s been running for six years, you miss the opportunity to build solid relationships with your cast because those friendships are already formed. I felt isolated and didn’t reach out for help. I became incredibly depressed, and then felt guilty because I was finally living my dream and wasn’t happy. On top of it, I was wildly insecure about my acting, and there were so many moments where I was like, ‘I’m going to quit and never do this again.’ I remember after a difficult scene I broke down in my trailer and started researching interior design schools in LA on my phone.

“Later on, I got the privilege to work with a very seasoned actor who snapped me out of it and reminded me what I was there to do. From then on, I felt like I could actually do this. Feeling happier in my personal life and more confident professionally definitely translated on-screen.”

Outside of acting, you have an incredibly curated sense of style. How would you describe it?
“I am extremely feminine in real life, and my character on Arrow was really masculine and had zero sex appeal. In the beginning, they gave me MMA fighter braids, and I was the first woman to wear the epitome of male strength Green Arrow costume. As the show went on, I became the villain and wore the coolest costume, which was a Japanese warrior-inspired black and red leather suit. Aside from the super suits, I started buying things from my character’s civilian wardrobe and dressing more like her. I have never been a fan of color or really frilly/flowery things since my days in New York, but I definitely chose edgier or more masculine pieces during the show. I own three pant suits now! ..."
*  *  *
Looking forward, what is your ultimate goal? Do you have any cool projects you’re excited about?
“I’m finally in LA permanently, so the hustle for the next gig is happening now. I am in pre-production for a short film I wrote and hoping to shoot in Berlin later this year. I made a vision board right before I booked Arrow, and one of my goals is to go to the Tribeca Film Festival with a film I wrote and acted in. Maybe I’ll have beginner’s luck?”

Edited May 24, 2019 by tv echo

[catrox14]

9 minutes ago, tv echo said:

SEA SHIMOOKA IS ON HER WAY TO HOLLYWOOD’S A-LIST
BYMerilyn Chang  MAY 23, 2019 
https://cools.com/sea-shimooka-actress-interview 

Wait, she wasn't the first female big bad. Moira was argubly the first one in many ways. Then there was Isabelle. Then Nyssa Al Ghul. And Black Siren. Hecj, Amanda Waller eas Big Bad adjacent in many ways.  I dunno, maybe I just have a different definition of Big Bad. Weird.

[way2interested]

Big Bad is the big villain they have to defeat for a larger part of the season and the season finale, which would be Malcolm, Slade, Ra's, Darhk, Chase, Diaz, and then Emiko. The others were VOTW or antagonists, but Emiko is the technically first big bad

[kickingnames]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

Jen's review is very, very long, so I tried to be selective about what I quoted - even so, it ended up being a lot (you can read her entire review at the link)...

Bigger Than The Friggin Universe: Arrow 7x22 Review (You Have Saved This City)
jbuffyangel   May 24, 2019
https://jbuffyangel.tumblr.com/post/185102448843/bigger-than-the-friggin-universe-arrow-7x22 

 

So in this case, “Bigger Than the Friggin Universe” refers to the length of her review, then?

[tv echo]

'ARROW' STAR BEN LEWIS URGES MARVEL TO CAST A GAY ACTOR AS MCU'S FIRST LGBTQ SUPERHERO
2019-05-24  
https://attitude.co.uk/article/arrow-star-ben-lewis-urges-marvel-to-cast-a-gay-actor-as-mcus-first-lgbtq-superhero/21037/ 

Quote

As William Clayton on Arrow, Ben Lewis is proving that a new generation of Hollywood actors can't - and won't - be held back by being out and proud. 

The 33-year-old might be enjoying possibly his most high profile role to date on The CW's hit superhero series, but Ben believes industry gatekeepers still have a responsibility when it comes to championing LGBTQ talent.

Speaking exclusively to Attitude in our new July issue - available to download and to order globally now - Ben discussing the ongoing issue of whether LGBTQ actors should prioritised for LGBRQ roles, and says he hopes that Marvel Cinematic Universe leads the way when it comes to casting the franchise's first out LGBTQ superhero.

“How many fucking Avengers are there at this point, and not one gay actor in the bunch,” Ben says (it should be noted that franchise star Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie, has spoken about having relationships with both men and women).
*  *  *
“It would be a huge missed opportunity if they didn’t do that and I know the community would certainly let them have it,” he adds.

Ben, who has also appeared in The Handmaid's Tale and 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, admits it "never occured" to him not to be open about his sexuality when starting out in the industry, but that the issue of casting gay actors in gay roles should be assessed "on a case by case basis."

“It has never been an even playing field and it’s still not, but because of the likes of [Arrow executive producer and Love, Simon director] Greg Berlanti and Ryan Murphy, we’re seeing more out actors being given a platform to succeed,” he explains.
*  *  *
“It’s a valid and important conversation to be having and it needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis.”

“There are times when you have straight actors playing gay characters, such as Richard E Grant and Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? and you can’t imagine two better people for the roles.

“I guess it’s up to the LGBTQ audience to decide.

"Either they see themselves represented in an authentic way or they don’t, and if they don’t it’s necessary to call it out."

Read the full interview with Ben in Attitude's July issue, out now.

 

Edited May 25, 2019 by tv echo

[Primal Slayer]

Quote

“I feel like Felicity has done her time,” she said. “I don’t know if anybody is going to like what I’m saying, but I feel like Felicity has done her time. We knew this was coming for a while – for over a year – so the whole thing is exactly what we wanted to happen. I trust the writers, and that’s in their hands.”

I'll still be highly shocked if she doesnt return for the series finale, even for a quick one off.

[Featherhat]

I think it's possible she will come back for a small cameo in the finale or that they've already filmed something that can be used (especially if nothing from the FFs is changed) buy I'm taking her at her word right now to avoid disappointment.

[tv echo]

What she said...

LETTERS FROM FANGIRLISH: WHY I’M FINALLY GIVING UP ON ‘ARROW’ 
ALYSSA BARBIERI  MAY 27, 2019
http://fangirlish.com/letters-from-fangirlish-why-im-finally-giving-up-on-arrow/

Quote

Dear Arrow,

We’ve been through a lot, you and I. Six years, seven seasons, five crossovers, roughly 130 reviews and countless editorials.

I’ve stuck with your through the good – Olicity, OTA, Slade Wilson and Prometheus – and the bad – forgetting your heart in OTA, countless Canaries and new characters and action-over-character storytelling.

But I’ve always said that I would stick with Arrow so long as Felicity Smoak remained on the show. And while I recognize that it was out of your control, the simple fact is that the reason that I was watching – the reason I started watching in the first place – has now taken her final bow.

Much like Slade Wilson, I’m someone that makes good on her promises. Even when I thought that maybe – just maybe – I could find a way to keep on watching Arrow without Felicity, I realized that I couldn’t. Even that one episode back in season 3 – when Felicity was in Central City for that Flash episode and not in Star City – the show felt like a shell of itself. It missed Felicity’s humor, her light and her presence in general.
*  *  *
While the pilot was good, it wasn’t great. So I game it a second chance with the second episode, but again it fell flat. There was something missing. This wasn’t a show that I wanted to waste my Wednesdays at 8pm timeslot on, so I decided to move on. If only I’d known that the saving grace of this entire series would appear one week later.

So I skipped the entire first season, but came back for the second season after I’d learned of a little something called Olicity. Which led me to binge watch the entire first season and professing my love for Felicity Smoak, the IT girl who was the missing piece this show desperately needed.
*  *  *
But perhaps my biggest issue with this show – that stems outside of my complaints for the influx of new characters that take away from existing ones – is that Arrow has been held hostage for the past five years by the shows that it created.

Not that I don’t like The Flash and Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow. But when Arrow was billed – and built – as a grounded superhero show without powers, it was truly at its best. Because, while superheroes tend to have special abilities, Arrow reminded us that heroes exist in all forms – they don’t necessarily have to have super abilities. Although, sometimes it seems like Oliver does have super agility. But that’s just good ol’ training.

But when metahumans and aliens were introduced to the Arrowverse, there was a dynamic shift. Now, Team Arrow had to deal with metahumans. Now, Arrow was held captive by these crossover events and forced to adapt to them because it’s what was best for The CW. In the process, Arrow lost control of its own series.
*  *  *
When I say I’m done with Arrow, I mean that I’m done caring. I might watch these episodes later on. I will watch the series finale, if Felicity is in it. But apathy is the opposite of love, and that love that I found for Arrow in 2013 has transformed into apathy in 2019.

I’d always stuck through it for Oliver/Felicity/Diggle and Olicity and Felicity. But now that all three of those dynamics won’t be present in a season 8 that shouldn’t even exist, I find myself finally bowing out.

When you stop caring, why continue watching?

Edited May 28, 2019 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Felicity should've been #1 on this list, given her integral and transformative role as one of the 3 core characters on Arrow - I really don't get this obsession with Slade Wilson - yes, he was a great villain with a great story arc in S2 (and MB is a charismatic actor), but Prometheus was arguably just as good...

10 Characters We Want To See Return On Arrow Before It Ends
BY CYNTHIA VINNEY  – ON MAY 26, 2019
https://screenrant.com/arrow-best-characters-return-finale/

Quote

2 FELICITY SMOAK
...
Felicity Smoak's last episode was the Season 7 finale. Because of that, we haven’t really had time to miss her yet. However, Felicity has been one of the most important characters on the series since it started. Ending the show without seeing her again just wouldn’t feel right.

Fortunately, it looks like the powers that be at the CW are open to her return. Network president Mark Pedowitz said that if Arrow’s showrunner can figure out a way to bring the character back and Emily Bett Rickards (the actress who plays her) is available, they’d “love to have her.” Let’s hope the stars align and it happens.

10 TATSU YAMASHIRO/KATANA
9 TALIA AL GHUL
8 CURTIS HOLT
7 THEA QUEEN
6 MALCOLM MERLYN
5 QUENTIN LANCE
4 HELENA BERTINELLI/ HUNTRESS
3 NYSSA AL GHUL
2 FELICITY SMOAK
1 SLADE WILSON/ DEATHSTROKE

Edited May 28, 2019 by tv echo

[statsgirl]

13 hours ago, tv echo said:

8 CURTIS HOLT

Anyone who wants Curtis back, I don't trust.

[tv echo]

The rest of this article contains (arguably) spoilery stuff, so I've quoted that stuff in the Spoiler Discussion thread...

Arrow star admits that "no one really wants" to make final season without Emily Bett Rickards
BY STEPHANIE CHASE AND TANAVI PATEL  28/05/2019
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a27610371/arrow-david-ramsey-final-season-without-felicity-emily-bett-rickards/

Quote

Arrow star David Ramsey has admitted that the show's cast members are really feeling the absence of Emily Bett Rickards after the actress said goodbye to the show at the end of the seventh season.

Rickards played Felicity Smoak in the CW series from season one right up until the season seven finale, and now Ramsey, who plays John Diggle, has shared that "no one really wants" to make the show without Rickards.

"We go back and Emily's not a part of it," Ramsey told Digital Spy. "That's a big thing. Y'know, no one really wants to do that show.

"[But] Stephen [Amell] and I both had conversations with the producers, telling us exactly what they want to do with the next season and it really is... it's exciting."

Edited May 29, 2019 by tv echo