See, Felicity already knows that she is in love with Oliver. They played that beat in S3 with Ray. So, what is stopping Felicity from viewing Oliver as a "second best" choice behind this new bf? If the reason for the break up is Felicity keeping secrets from this bf, does that mean she'll be pining for him considering HE will probably breakup with her? Will the bf become her "first choice"? Or will she move on and apply this knowledge to getting back together with Oliver?
Anonymous said:So, I asked you before why Felicity would break up with this bf if he is a “perfect foil” for Oliver like Ray was. You told me: “Why did Felicity break up with Ray, nonnie?” I know it’s because “she’s in love with Oliver”. But we already know that is true now. Why would they repeat the storyline? So, how would Felicity and this bf break up then? Felicity already knows she is in love with Oliver. I’m just afraid that this time around, Felicity will view Oliver as the “2nd best”.
Anonymous said:Hi Lou! I wanted to ask you a quick question if that’s ok? I keep seeing his theory floating around that F breaking up w/ the bf could be due to her having to lie to him about Team Arrow. I’m not fond of this idea simply because it makes it seem like O is the “second best” to the bf now. It puts too much significance on F’s relationship with the bf. Do you think F will think of O and her’s romance as “second best” now? Or do you think F will fail to move on b/c this bf “isn’t Oliver”?
Reply:
A sampling of my Nonnies and this latest thing that won’t seem to die - people now worrying that Oliver will be second choice suddenly to Felicity.
Honestly, I’ve been ignoring the question (while still kinda answering it a million different ways in all my other answers), but it’s just not going away. I ignored it because it’s just so out of touch with the entire narrative of Arrow. I can’t even believe that so many people have latched onto it as an idea. I just don’t know how you can watch the show and then think that Arrow is going to do something like this. It’s just plain nonsensical. It’s so nonsensical I’m struggling even to know how to answer it.
Borrowing from my fave movie - Shaun of the Dead - where one of the characters kept declaring that dogs couldn’t look up, I’m getting that same feeling with this second best notion. It’s like of course dogs look up - why are we even having this discussion? Of course Oliver will never be Felicity’s choice, why are we even having this discussion?
What show are you watching that makes you think the intent of this bf s/l is to make out Oliver to be a second best choice for Felicity? Why would you even conceive that kind of notion? What’s the end game for the writers to do something like that?
Felicity will break up with the bf because she’s in no fit condition to be with anyone until she sorts out her PTSD. Why did all of Oliver’s relationships turn to crap when he was deep in the throes of his PTSD? Because people with that mental condition don’t make good choices. They struggle at life because of their trauma. They might put a vestige of being together over the top, but underneath they’re a red hot mess. Felicity is a red hot mess. The relationship with the bf will fail because of that fact.
But you know who is coming out the other side of being a red hot mess? Oliver. He’s been where Felicity is now. He knows what it does to a person. He knows how it can make you lose sight of your own light. He knows how giving yourself a mission and pretending the pain doesn’t exist doesn’t work. Felicity drew Oliver back to his own light, and Oliver will draw Felicity back to hers.
The reason they aren’t together isn’t because they don’t love one another. That’s not the sticking point. The sticking point is they don’t know how to be together with Felicity’s abandonment issues and Oliver’s tendency to abandon people from his life to go it alone. Those two issues are mutually exclusive to Olicity being together, as we found out last season.
The bf is a simply a symptom of Felicity’s disease, one Oliver is going to help her overcome, and in the process, show her that he is reliable, and will include her in his life, even when it gets hard.
The notion of Felicity falling in love with this guy but not being able to be with him, making Oliver second best, is so breathtakingly NOT the point of what is happening here. It’s not even in the same universe of reality as the narrative has laid down so far.
When Felicity is healthy, and facing down her abandonment issues, and when Oliver steps up and shows he’s capable of not turning himself back into an island when things get tough, then they will reunite. Everything else that happens to them up until that point is simply to service that end goal.
I really hope that makes sense. :)
This is just so beautifully written. I cannot. All the words! I’d tattoo them on my ass if I could they are so good. Seriously, Anons. You HAVE to start listening to Lou. She’s handing out GOLD answer after answer.
People are just so… worried. It kind of boggles me. This is a hero’s journey. Not a trip to Rainbow Brite Land. In a hero’s journey, they continuously throw obstacles the hero’s direction. The whole point of the story is so the hero OVERCOMES those obstacles. It’s how they become the HERO. And guess what? Felicity Smoak is a hero in her own right. This is her journey too.
Every season, the writers are going to throw obstacles Olicity’s way. It really doesn’t matter what those obstacles are. Some of them will be wildly entertaining while others will bore us to tears. Some of them will be heart racing drama while others will make us groan at the sheer stupidity. But the one consistent thing through it all is that OLICITY WILL OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES. Everything going on in early Season 5 is a carryover from Season 4. I’m calling Season 4 The Season Of Pause, because really that’s all it was. Everything we THOUGHT was gonna happen in Season 4 is just gonna happen in Season 5, because the writers wanted more time to explore it. These were monumentally huge obstacles the writers tossed Olicity’s way and they are still sorting out how to make their way through them. BUT THEY WILL.
There’s no second choice. That’s simply not a word that exists in the Olicity lexicon. They are each other’s first and only choice. Problem is… they just think they can’t be together now. Once they figure out their problems…. VOILA. Obstacle demolished. Time to make with the smoochies, all the sex and getting hitched.
This sort of reminds me of my sister’s reasoning for going into radiology. She’s so sweet and caring. I just assumed she’d want to practice medicine with more interaction with patients. Know what she said? HELL NO. You know why? It drives her NUTS when patients don’t listen to her advice. They always come back complaining about the same thing. She already told them how to fix it, but they didn’t listen. She has no patience for it. Give her a dark room, X rays and procedures where patients are knocked out. She’s a happy little camper.
If you are worried about Olicity, and there’s many who are, and you go in search of advice to make you feel better - then LISTEN. Accept the answers. Asking the same question 50 times isn’t going to change the answer. You can certainly disagree with the reassurance, be absolutely convinced Olicity is on the brink of demise, but then that sort of leads me to my next point…
Or accept that you are a worrier. That you will worry about Olicity until the very last episode. The minute they conquer one obstacle, you will be worrying about the next. Wringing your hands whether or not they’ll make it. And you know what? That’s okay. You can experience TV however you want. It’s okay to worry. The problem is when you expect people to constantly reassure you, but refuse to listen to their reassurance. You are going to worry not matter what anyone says, so the best thing is… stop expecting others to change you.
Because I promise you… even after Olicity is married and they’ve had all the babies (Triplets, naturally)… Wendy Mericle and Marc Guggenheim will still find a way to fuck up their lives. There will never be a point in this series where Olicity is just fine and dandy. There will be upheaval, drama, trials and tribulations, separations, triumphs and so on… until the very last episode. That’s the show.
Marriage isn’t some sort of finish line for Olicity. Marriage is a whole new chapter with a whole new set of problems. And the Arrow writers will find a way to make us wonder if Olicity will make it. We’ll be watching with baited breath to see if they stay together. It’s their job to make us wonder and given the amount of worry out there season after season, they are extremely good at it.
A lot of times people ask, “I’ve lost faith. What if the writers destroy this relationship? What if they screw up the story?” This, to me, is the biggest worry of all the worries among the worriers. That somehow this relationship that we’ve all invested in will collapse. That the writers will permanently nuke it.
First of all, let’s just get this out of the way - the writers are NOT going to do that. They’ve already announced the Arrow endgame - The Green Arrow. In fact, Arrow was one of the only shows I can think of that announced their endgame the second they announced the pilot. They’ve pretty clearly stated that Oliver’s love life goes hand and hand with that evolution. So… there’s not much to worry about folks.
BUT, my family is a big fan of “worst case scenario.” Play out the worst case scenario in your head. Then you can feel more prepared if it happens. It also brings a healthy amount of perspective.
Let’s say the writers DESTROY OLICITY. (Dun dun dunnnnn!). The writing turns to crap. The storylines are awful. We just hate watching the show. Guess what? It’ll suck. We’ll be sad, angry and rage for awhile. Then we’ll mourn. Sob until we can’t sob anymore. Nurse our pain with a lot of booze. Feel an ache in our hearts every time we think of our beloved couple and what could have been. Write a bunch of metas on it and then turn the channel. Or not (for those who still want to watch).
But, spoiler alert, YOU WILL SURVIVE IT BECAUSE IT IS A TV SHOW. This is NOTHING to worry about in the grand scheme of life. It’s not an actual problem. Believe me, it’s a good thing. If the biggest nightmare of your life is that Olicity didn’t end up together or they were poorly written, then I suggest you get on your hands and knees and thank Baby Jesus because you are BLESSED my friend.
You will find other shows to love. Other couples to ship. And you will still love Olicity for who they were during the days the writers got it right. Do you know how I know this? Because I’m old. I’ve lived this many, many, many times. I’ve loved Bangel for 19 years. There was no wedding. There were no babies. There was no happily ever after. There was no TOGETHER. Didn’t lessen my love for them in the slightest.
Sometimes a TV show doesn’t go the way you want it to. Sometimes a beloved couple doesn’t end up together. Sometimes the writers break your hearts. But you survive it and move on. You find something new to watch and love. Because, at the end of the day, TV is suppose to be an escape from the REAL PROBLEMS of everyday life. So, try to embrace it as that. It may help you worry less.
Enough of my yammering. Back to what Lou wrote. She so perfectly encapsulated EVERYTHING this PTSD storyline is about for Felicity (and Oliver) that it brings tears to my eyes. It’s the reason WHY I am looking forward to this season so much. Now, Oliver’s loved ones are experiencing the pain he’s survived. And it’s because of their love that he now has the tools to help THEM. It’s so exquisitely full circle and I love it.
