#arrow wishlist

[cogentranting]

Arrow Season 8 Wishlist Checkin

I made a wishlist (here) so here’s my check in to see what did and did not happen

Tommy and/or Chase to be in more than one episode - 2 episodes for Tommy AND he came back to life!

Lot’s of mentions of Felicity and Oliver’s kids even if he’s not seeing them- Yes they did so good

Seeing at least a couple different Earths- Earth 2 and a couple in Crisis so I guess

The Oliver/Diggle bromance moments they promised at comic con- YES

Lots of callbacks to past seasons- So many, so good

Smoak Tech taking shape on the periphery of the stuff that Oliver is doing- No but that’s fine

Oliver to be back to killing people- I think he did. Sometimes it’s unclear. In my head, he’s killing people. 

Oliver fighting off hordes of people on his own and it not even being hard- You know it

Russia callbacks- YES. Good. 

A lot of talk about how important and impressive Oliver is. Just lots of praise for Oliver.- So much. Season 8 knows who the king of the arrowverse is.

Dinah and Rene friendship stuff- Not really. 

Future Roy babysitting Oliver’s grown children- No but it wouldn’t have made sense

Some nice moments between Oliver and the team in the present (especially Oliver and Roy)- Nothing huge, but pretty good.

Discussion of the public’s view of Oliver/The Green Arrow- Some in the finale

Mia to start going by either Mia Queen or Mia Smoak Queen- YES

Adequate explanation for why, while Oliver is hopping around with the Monitor, he’s unable to even contact Felicity- Well no. Though it’s not 100% clear whether or not he’s in contact. 

If Oliver dies, then a real big emotional funeral with all the superheroes paying their respects, some old family friends, public figures, and then everyone from the frenemy group chat (Slade, Anatoly, Nyssa, Talia, Chien Na Wei) either coming in fake mustaches or hiding in the rafters or something. And Walter better be there.- Walter, Slade, and Chien Na Wei did not get to attend (Slade was there. we just didn’t get to see him. You can’t convince me otherwise) but they did right by my love in terms of memorials and speeches and people honoring Oliver. 

I think it would be kind of cool if there was something weird going on with time and the season was longer for Oliver than for the rest of the team. Like for them it’s real time, for him it’s like 2 years or so.- no

Characters I’d like to see return (whether in the present, future, alternate versions or flashback)

Thea- YES

Slade- No. I suspect because of either scheduling or DC not allowing it

Moira- Yes. Better than I hoped for. 

Emiko- Yes!

Walter- No. :(

Young William- Yes. Not as much as I would have hoped for though.

Huntress- No

Tatsu- Yes!

McKenna- No

Ben Turner- No

ANATOLY-- YES YES YES UNCLE ANATOLY

Quentin- YES

Shado- No :(

Lyla- Yeah some good Lyla stuff

Rory- YES

Evelyn- No :(

Nyssa- Yes though not as much as I would have liked cuz scheduling

Big Picture End of the Show Desires

Oliver and adult Mia to meet- YES SO MUCH WONDERFUL ABOUT IT

Oliver’s legacy as the Green Arrow to be repaired- Heck yeah baby! First hero, savior of Star City, savior of the multiverse, tributes all over the place. That’s my king of the Arrowverse

Thea and Roy to have their happily ever after- My babies are getting married!

Mia to fully adopt a superhero identity either as BlackStar or Green Arrow- Green Arrow #2 in the house!

Mia and Connor to get together (unless there’s going to be a Blackstar spinoff, then they can wait)- No but if GAC gets picked up we’re good

Future Star City getting fixed somehow (or never broken….) (again, if there’s gonna be a spinoff, this doesn’t need to happen)- Oliver said “here have a utopia” 

Oliver to literally save the entire universe by himself- Yes. I mean technically the paragons too, but mainly Oliver.

If Oliver does die saving the universe it better get talked about by ALL the other shows on their episodes following the crossover. More than once on Flash and Legends.- No idea whether or Supergirl or Batwoman talked about it. Legends... talked about him dying and had everyone but Sara and kind of Behrad not care so now they’re all on my bad side. Flash talked about it a little but not enough.

An ending where all that Oliver gave and all that he did for the world and how heroic he was is acknowledged and embraced by more than just his close friends and immediate family. I want to know that the history books are writing about Oliver Queen.- YES. They did good by him.

[callistawolf]

Time can be rewritten

The concept of a character going into the past to change the future isn’t a new one in our popular culture. Look at Back to the Future and the Terminator movies. I’ve seen all of those franchises more times than I can count. I saw the first Terminator shortly after it came out, before there ever was a T2, and far younger than a kid should be allowed to watch such a movie. I had nightmares for weeks. Still... Would you believe me if I told you my favorite Terminator movie was the most recent one? Terminator: Genisys? 

It’s not too hard to squint your eyes and picture Jai Courtney as Reese and Emilia Clarke as Sarah. They’re meant to be the very same people they were in the first Terminator movie and that was a leap of disbelief that I had no trouble making. Probably because of the changes to the storyline and the deep dive into how the future can be changed by the past were so fascinating. I recommend it, if you get a chance. 

It’s a lot of the same reason why I love the movie Frequency. Remember when the CW made a (short lived) show based on the concept? I couldn’t get into that but I loved the movie. I loved how as things were changed in the past, the character in the future (present?) would discover new memories. The same thing happens in Terminator: Genisys. As changes are made, the character (in T:G’s case, Reese) finds new memories overlaying their old memories. Where once was desolation and heartbreak, are now new, happy family memories. 

And that’s why I can’t quite let go of my hope for something similar happening for Arrow in the final season. 

Maybe because it’s such an immensely satisfying twist... I’m filled with warmth when I consider the moments in Frequency and Terminator: Genisys, where these characters find their sad memories overlaid or replaced by memories filled with family and love. 

I know Beth has said this future is set. But she also said no Olicity baby in s7 and guess what we get to see happen next week? 

So you’ll forgive me if I don’t necessarily place all faith in Beth always telling us the absolute truth. 😉

The difference I see, and I think it’s the difference that Beth is counting on us not distinguishing is... no one is sent to change this future. We don’t have future William or Mia going into the past, I don’t believe. Or anyone else. There isn’t a deliberate effort to change anything. 

Which makes a person wonder... HOW could it be changed then? What if Oliver sees what this future looks like? What if the Monitor shows him? Or something else along those lines. What if Oliver sees what a future without him there does to his family, his city? What if the conscious, deliberate effort comes from Oliver himself? 

All good questions. And who knows, right? It’s all just a big ploy so that I get my emotional payoff. So I can see the happy family montage that I envision for my faves. Whose memories are getting overlaid? Oliver’s? Mia’s? William’s? Felicity’s? All of them? Or do they just not remember the dystopia at all when the new, happier memories rush in? 

Again, I don’t know. But I want it. I want it badly. And if the show doesn’t give it to me (entirely possible)... I’m gonna need one of you lovely people to fic it for me. 

[allimariexf]

Petition to bring back playful and flirty Olicity in season 7b:

[rhlizzy]

Ok, now I want a jet pack for Arrow season 6

[allimariexf]

Been thinking lately about my season 8 wishlist in light of the fact that there will only be 10 episodes (and at least one will be dedicated to the bullshit crossover 🙄🙄🙄). Here’s what I have so far:

Big Bad optional (but preferably non-existent)

Flashbacks/forwards optional, but if they do them, they better damn well make them filled with HAPPY THINGS. I would fully accept Queen Family Future Moments.

OTA fighting villains-of-the-week with plenty of wins (+Lyla would be cool)

NTA gone (not dead, just realized they’re redundant and moved on)

plenty of crime-fighting team-within-the-team Olicity

a good amount of domestic Olicity

some Felicity pep talks and some Oliver pep talks too (no need to be as deep as “don’t fight to die; fight to live,” but just show us all the ways they continue to harness each other’s light)

some domestic Dyla (preferably domestic Olicity + Dyla...and maybe even some Theroy? 🤞)

LOTS OF CALLBACKS to important Olicity and OTA moments and themes (and people). Like, season 8 better be a fucking LOVE LETTER TO THE TRUE FANS (and none of this Marc Guggenheim “love letter to the fans” nonsense; I mean a true celebration of the themes, characters, and relationships that made this show great. 

and speaking of, please NO MARC GUGGENHEIM. I understand he might still be involved in the crossover, but I hope he’s barely involved in it. And then HANDS OFF the rest of the season, asshole.

wrapping up loose ends (and with happy endings, please) on many of the side characters and relationships we love. Including, but not limited to: Thea, Roy, Theroy, Nyssa, Sara, Sin, Slade, Anatoly, and Talia. (And maybe Emiko, I guess?)

AFFECTIONATE, LOVING OLICITY all the time:

In the bunker Oliver better be leaning against her chair, sniffing her hair surreptitiously, sending her private looks across the room, and touching her at every possible moment. On the comms they better be making cute comments and laughing at their own stupid jokes. Felicity better be sneaking peeks at him on the Salmon Ladder. And all of this should just be naturally in the background of their perfectly-in-sync-since-always crime-fighting partnership.

And at home there should be sweet domestic bliss: doting, cooking, snuggling, DISCUSSIONS OF IMPORTANT MATTERS WHILE HOLDING HANDS (or even better, IN BED).

Also at home there should be PASSION. Simmering, burning, can’t-keep-our-hands-off-each-other desire and at least one full on sex scene. (I would accept this in the bunker, as well 😉)

A REAL, TRUE, HAPPY ENDING. I don’t care how they manage it. I would accept any of the following options, to be honest:

the flash forward future doesn’t change, but it turns out that our current perception of it is skewed so that things aren’t nearly as bad as they seem.(Oliver is definitely alive, and moreover he didn’t miss out on most of Mia’s childhood. Sure, maybe he had to stay away for long periods of time - starting, maybe, when Mia was around 6 or 7, and maybe she even didn’t get to see him after that - but he was alive and in contact with Felicity the whole time, and she kept him updated on Mia. And they both kept tabs on William. And the season 7 resolution fixes all of that, so that they can finally retire and be happy in 2040. Or some better explanation that I can’t even predict at the moment.) Of course this isn’t exactly my preference, but I find it most likely that Arrow’s not going to change the timeline.

the flash forward future does change, because what we’re seeing is only a possible future and somehow our team manages to change their fate before it ever comes to pass. (But we still get Mia and Connor.) Honestly, as much as I hate the idea of “erasing” events that we’ve seen onscreen, I think I would be okay with it this time. I’m certainly not invested in the Queen family’s apparently bleak future, so having the time we spent learning about this future become wasted would, to me, be the lesser of two evils.

the flash forward future does change as a result of Legends/Barry/Crisis on Infinite Earths. (Again, not my favorite, and I think not likely, but I will take Queen family happiness however I can get it.)

Regarding Oliver being dead (because of the events of season 7 and/or because of Crisis on Infinite Earths), I would be okay with it if and only if:

if it’s revealed in the season 7 flash forwards that he’s been dead for years, then the timeline must be changed. Even if he eventually gets resurrected, I refuse to accept that Felicity and the family had to live for years while Oliver was dead. (But I still steadfastly refuse to believe he’s dead).

if Oliver dies at the end of season 7, then they better bring that boy back ASAP in season 8, like in 8x01

if Oliver dies as a result of the crossover, then he must come back from the dead ASAP. MAXIMALLY they may spend as many episodes of the crossover as they need to bringing him back. But once we’re back in Arrow episode territory, that boy better be alive and well.

In other words:

NO WAY is he allowed to stay dead

and they’re NOT ALLOWED to have Oliver be dead for most of the season. 

In short, EVERY MOMENT OF SEASON 8 MUST BE MILKED FOR MAXIMUM OLICITY/OTA SCREENTIME, CULMINATING IN A HAPPY ENDING FOR OUR HEROES.

I WILL ACCEPT NOTHING LESS.

[cogentranting]

Arrow Season 7 Wishlist

Oliver fights Brick and has zero problem winning

Oliver gets a prison tattoo

Felicity’s company actually gets of the ground (with our without Curtis)

William’s maternal grandparents show up or are mentioned

Zoe and William meet

William meets the Flash 

The other shows mention Oliver being in prison

Oliver having been in prison is brought up in the crossover and affects the way he interacts with others

Roy loses an arm like he does in the comics, or Oliver loses an arm like he did in the “Star City 2046″ future

Earth 2 Tommy, Moira or Robert (mention of Earth 2 Felicity and Diggle)

Dinah and Rene romance?

Oliver gets to kill Diaz eventually

scenes of Oliver interacting with random people who now know he’s the Green Arrow, including some people who are now afraid of him

Scenes of people questioning Felicity about marrying Oliver, including someone making a comparison to serial killers’ wives

Roy and Rene interactions

Rene and William interactions

Mentions of Quentin, including reference being made of how he was like a father to Oliver

Lyla visiting Oliver in prison

If Oliver does get out via working for Argus, some comparison to the Suicide Squad and to his work for them in Hong Kong

at least one mini-crossover with either an arrow character on another show or Arrow having a character from another show around for an episode (not Sara, unless it’s going to focused around her and Dinah)

Anatoly 

It doesn’t have to happen soon, because I want Oliver in prison for a while and I want his return to be rough, but by sometime around the midpoint (ep 13 ish) I need a fully reunited Team Arrow with Oliver at the lead (Roy and/or Diggle can possibly be excluded or withheld for later)

Oliver interacting with Nora Fries in some significant way in the crossover

More references to Oliver’s five Island years than we got in season 6

Walter Steele? 

An appearance by Thea

For Thea and Roy to still be together

Oliver having ptsd flashbacks of or because of Prison

Lyla becoming a regular

Rene having a job

a definitive age for William because at this point there are conflicting sources

William celebrating his birthday and either discussion of the fact that Oliver’s missing it or that he thought he would and is now getting to be there.

Discussion in the crossover of Oliver no longer having a secret identity and the other superheroes mulling over what that would mean for them 

And, as always, Tommy coming back from the dead

[cogentranting]

I’d kind of like if at the end of the season 5 flashbacks we didn’t just go up to the  the point where Oliver sees the boat and lights the signal fire, but if there was a little bit of overlap as well. I want glimpses of Oliver in Beijing before he flies back to the States, his first arrival into Starling city, going to the hospital. 

Because the opening of the pilot, interestingly enough, isn’t really from Oliver’s point of view. It’s sort of an outside observation of what Oliver says and does upon his return, from the point of view of someone who has no idea what has happened to him for the past five years. the season 5 finale has the chance to go back over all that with Oliver’s perspective of where he was and what he did. 

I don’t think we’ll get this because it would hard to fit that into the narrative flow a big climactic season finale. But it would interesting.