I really want to talk about how calm Oliver is when Felicity shows up in the paradise dimension.
Compare it to how she rushes toward him.
She is overwhelmed by seeing him.
Meanwhile, he’s just soaking her in.
I LOVE this contrast for two reasons. First, it really brings home the different ways each of them have been anticipating this moment:
Felicity has been missing Oliver with every beat of her heart for 20 years, a part of her always yearning toward him. She’s been getting less patient, more frantic, the closer the times comes for her to join him.
Meanwhile Oliver has had to be patient. Unlike Felicity who was busy living her life, being a hero, raising their children, running her company while half her heart was elsewhere with Oliver, Oliver has had nothing to do but wait. And dream. And plan (because you can tell he meticulously planned this moment down to the very last detail).
Second, it accentuates their core personality traits, and parallels their very first meeting:
Oliver is still, steady, grounded, certain, and magnetic, with a gravitational pull. When he approached her for the first time in 1x03, he stood still and waited for her to notice him. Meanwhile he was drawn to her brightness, fascinated by her energy. The same thing applies in this last first meeting. He’s just completely taken with her.
Felicity, meanwhile, is buzzing, energetic, bursting with life. When Oliver first approached her in 1x03, she was overwhelmed, nervous, and so attracted to him that she completely lost her chill. When she sees him again here, it’s like she’s meeting him again for the first time. She’s so nervous. Unlike the first time, she knows and trusts that he loves her with his whole heart, but it’s been so long since she’s seen him. She’s forgotten, just a little, what it feels like to be loved so completely. So when she sees him here again, just like the first time, she’s overwhelmed by him - by his steady, boundless love just for her. And again, she loses her chill a little 😂
It’s how they have always been, it’s who they are. Oliver is patience and fortitude while Felicity is an overachiever, never content to settle. He is stillness, she is movement.
Just like always, they are drawn to each other, they complement each other. Perfect.
I thought I was done but no because I just realized
The ending of 8x10 basically confirms that Oliver fell in love with Felicity at first sight.
Not like we often think of “love at first sight” like you immediately know you’re in love with the person, but “love at first sight” in that...in retrospect, you realize that you started loving them the moment you first saw them.
Oliver has 20 years to craft a perfect moment for him to finally see Felicity again - and we see the evidence of his fine attention to detail. But when does he choose?
2x06, when he first realized he was probably in love with her?
No. What about 3x01, when he finally decides to go for it?
Noooo. How about 3x20, the first time she told him she loved him?
Nope. Also not 3x23, when he chose her:
And not beautifully idyllic Ivy Town either:
Not even his first proposal:
Or hers:
HE CHOOSES AN AMALGAMATION OF THE FIRST TIME HE EVER SAW HER (3x14 flashback) AND THE FIRST TIME HE EVER TALKS TO HER (1x03).
Because from the beginning, there was just something about her. His heart knew it all along. None of those other moments marks the first time he loved her, or when he loved her “most,” because he always loved her. Right from the start. There was never a moment when he didn’t already love her, which is why the moment he first saw her, and the moment he first spoke to her, remain the most significant moments in their history to him.
Oliver Queen is a protagonist with a tragic backstory who started as an antihero whose instinct was self-sacrifice and to go it alone. Throughout the course of Arrow, he learned to rely on his family, his team, and his Felicity. He grew emotionally and evolved into a hero, into someone who remembers that there are people who love him (and need him). The laws of narrative demand that his story have a happy ending. In this essay I will...
because if we are responsible for this plot, we feel like we first need to have a reason for the story to exist, a character motivation that no one’s ever thought of before, a REVELATION (or maybe two), maybe some subplots, and most definitely some kind of twist.
but if you are responsible for this plot, then whatever the fuck - you asked for it. we just wrote the thing.
bottom line: GIVE US YOUR STUPID PROMPTS WE ARE DYING FOR AN EXCUSE
mmmkay to start off I just need to talk about the season 8 trailer
when this trailer dropped, I think I was in tumblr hiatus/hiding, so I didn’t get to gush over it with the rest of you.
so I’m just going to take a moment now to revel in how absolutely (surprisingly) perfect this trailer is. it encapsulates the essence of Arrow. It highlights:
Oliver’s tragic origin, everything he had to go through in the 5 years he lost before he could begin his journey to becoming a hero
the people in his life who helped him in that journey, the ones who saw the man behind the mask and inspired him to be better, including his brother in arms John Diggle
and the love of his life, the only one who could help him harness the light that was still inside him, Felicity Smoak
the people he lost (and sometimes found again), leaving a piece of themselves with him always: Tommy, his mom, his dad, Shado, Sara, Laurel, Quentin, etc.
and Roy and his other team members throughout the years.
all of whom - be they family or friends - comprise his found family.
as well as the villains he has overcome, who posed unique challenges that forced him to grow as a person - to try another way - in order to triumph.
All of whom have been integral to his journey from spoiled billionaire to vigilante to hero.
It does a fantastic job focusing specifically on the relationships that have shaped him into the person he has become:
husband: how from the moment he met Felicity, he started transitioning from someone who was afraid of commitment into someone who declares, over and over with his words and his actions, that she is his always. How through his relationship with her, he was able to learn to trust other people; to see other people as people and not just threats or targets; to laugh and experience joy; and most importantly, to accept that people love him. To realize his own worth.
father: starting with the complicated relationship in life and death with his own father, to the inherent characteristics that Felicity knows “in her bones” mean Oliver will be a great father, to Oliver’s tragically shortened time with his own children, we see how important fatherhood is to Oliver, and we see that it has always been a part of him.
brother: specifically, the growth of his relationship with Thea. How his 5 years away created a rift between them, but ultimately allowed them to get closer than ever. How the tragedies they weather together cause them to lean on each other and trust each other and truly be the family that the other needs and deserves.
And finally to his final trial: the task set by the Monitor, his supposed death...and ultimately the question of what is the essence of heroism?
(Spoiler alert: they’re trying to sell us on the idea that the essence of heroism “is to die so others can live” BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE IT because this show spent literal years telling us the opposite: that a hero shouldn’t fight to die, but rather fight to live. So I guess we’ll see.)
As many of you know, I was at the Arrow 7x22 filming that took place in North Vancouver on Tuesday, April 9 at the “Olicity cabin.”
It ended up being an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am still processing. Those of you who are on the Olicity Discord channel (want to join us? read more about it here) shared this experience with me in real-time, but I also wanted to share with the wider fandom on tumblr. So, what follows is a bare-bones rundown of what happened. (I AM GOING TO TRY TO BE SUPER BRIEF HERE. Sorry ahead of time for when I inevitably fail.)
So my husband saw the filming notice on Twitter (which I had already seen of course) and he messaged me: “wanna jet up to Vancouver?” He was only half serious, but you know once the idea was in my head, there was no other option. Anyway, we only live 3 hours (and one country) from the filming location, so we left late Monday night, got a little sleep, and were at the filming location by 8:30 on Tuesday morning. There weren’t really any crew around at that point, so I snapped a few photos (just sharing a few here to save space).
When the crew came over to where we were, they talked to us (they were super nice all day!) and I assured them I was there to see what I could see, and we planned to follow the rules. I asked about photos, they said “NOPE,” and I didn’t take any more photos on set that day (except for the one below 😏 which was fully authorized).
Cutting for length. There is much, much more under the cut.
So we were hanging out with a great view of the Olicity cabin and the fence around the property. We could see into the property too, and there we saw an archery target set up in the cabin’s backyard. (That might be a spoiler, but Canadagraphs or whatever that site is already leaked photos of it so whatever).
The actors were brought onto set in tinted-window SUVs that would drive up, turn around in the narrow street, and back up onto the property to let them out. I didn’t realize that actors were being dropped off the first 2 times it happened, so I missed the first two actors that got dropped off. I am pretty sure one of them was Stephen, because I never saw him arrive. I did see Emily arrive!
AND - this has been leaked by that paparazzi dude, too, so I might as well share - I saw LaMonica Garrett arrive. Discord friends can attest that I freaked the fuck out. Because FUCK. The second I saw him walk out of his SUV, I was just like 😱😱😱
The morning was basically spent watching the crew, and hearing what was happening filming-wise: when they blocked, rehearsed, and filmed, the entire crew would yell out the direction so that everyone always knew what was happening and people knew to be quiet. It was really cool.
During the “morning” (until I walked up to get lunch around 3:30), 4 or 5 - I think 5 - scenes were shot. I’m pretty sure they were all indoor. I was able to hear details about who were in the scenes and where they were for some of the scenes, but I wasn’t able to watch because everything was inside or behind the fence. Around 1 PM we heard them say that David was due on set, but hadn’t arrived yet. At that point, I started getting concerned about exactly who he was and wasn’t going to film with and what it would all mean.
Throughout the day, Stephen and Emily (and LaMonica in the whole Monitor get-up!) would occasionally walk out. It was very cool, and also bittersweet, because it was Emily’s last day filming.
The crew was super welcoming all day. People kept wandering over and talking to us, and they saw how freezing cold my husband and I were - especially me - and they brought us hand and body warmers! Several of them said they would let the actors know that we were out there so that they could some say hi, which was so nice! But I didn’t want to get my hopes up, seeing as it was Emily’s last day and not only was everyone super emotional, but they had farewell events planned, and a bunch of guests coming on set to be a part of it:
At one point a woman arrived and introduced herself to the crew as “Diane” - it was Emily’s mom. Later, Stephen left the set, walking up the hill to the road, and when he came back, Stephen and Emily’s friend Carina was with him. At some point his wife and daughter arrived, too.
Around 3 or 3:30, everyone (cast and crew and guests) gathered around in the cabin’s backyard (behind a fence, alas) and I could tell that Emily was speaking, but I couldn’t hear what she said. Probably other people spoke too. There were intermittent rounds of applause.
After that, Stephen came over to me and my husband and chatted with us and we took a photo:
After that, a lot of the crew seemed to take a break, and it was clear they were preparing to shoot outside the house (they took down a lot of the equipment that was attached to the house for the indoor shoot). We took the opportunity to walk up the hill to this cool little “general store”/cafe, where we got lunch. (Later from Carina’s instrgram I saw that Emily and Carina had been there just a few minutes before us.) I took a couple selfies there to document the experience ;)
By then it was maybe 4:00 or so and we kinda thought that Stephen was done filming for the day, but a crewmember had confirmed that Emily would still be shooting for the rest of the day, so we went back down to the set to see what we could see. I can’t remember if David had shown up at that point, but we knew he was still going to be filming, and I was crossing my fingers like crazy that he was going to film with both Emily and Stephen, but I was worried it might only be Emily.
When we got back to “our” spot outside the set, they had removed all the cables and equipment that previously had bordered the property. A second later, we found out why when a crewmember walked over - they were going to be filming outside, including the area where we had been standing all day.
And then they invited us to come on set.
SO WE WENT ON SET.
MY FRIENDS. THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW AMAZING IT WAS.
Those of you who are on the Discord server can (or have) read more about it, but honestly words can never do justice to how cool it was. So instead I’m just gonna list some things:
we were there for a total of one hour
I obviously didn’t get any photos because they made us put our phones away, of course
the crew was SO FRIENDLY and awesome, and I am so indebted to them for the experience of a lifetime
we got introduced to a BUNCH of crewmembers. The one crewmember who had sort of “adopted” us kept going out of her way to introduce us to literally everyone who stopped by - and we were right in the middle of the action so many many people stopped by. One person we got to talk to was Rebecca Rosenberg, the co-writer of both 7x15 and this episode, 7x22. So cool! She was very nice.
we also got introduced to actors, including:
David Ramsey!!!!! who talked to us and shook our hands
Caity Lotz! (Whose presence I wouldn’t have spoiled except that Carina already spoiled it on her instagram account, so I might as well share it now). She also shook our hands and talked to us.
they let us stay and watch while they filmed a scene. (I’ve decided not to generally spoil anything about the scene, because the crew were honestly so nice, and just in case, I don’t want to get any of them in trouble. Sorry. 😛) They positioned us in a spot where we could see:
two monitors that showed what the camera saw as it filmed
the camera itself, so we could see the camera as it filmed (honestly so cool)
the actual area and actors as they filmed the scene (so we could watch it “in real life” and on the screen at the same time!)
the director (Bam Bam!) and all the associated people, and we could hear all his directions straight from his mouth.
since we were right in the middle of the action for an hour, we saw a bunch of people coming and going, and standing around right next to us, including all the actors mentioned above, and Stephen, and his family (wife and daughter who, along with Caity, were seated right next to us for awhile - you can actually see on Carina’s instagram video the exact spot where we were standing - right by the metal leg of the pop-up canopy), and Emily! (more on that below)
the crewmember who had adopted us asked us if we had tried craft service, and when we said “no,” she basically insisted (lol) that we go to the craft service table and partake. (Seriously, they were so nice!). AND GUESS WHAT?? (Aside from watching the filming this is the other thing I will NEVER BE OVER). EMILY’S GOODBYE CAKE WAS THERE and they told us to have some!!! (The cake had a piece of chocolate on it with writing on it that said “Thanks for 7 Smoakin years” 😭😭😭😭) SO. YOU GUYS. I CUT A PIECE OF CAKE FOR MYSELF FROM EMILY’S CAKE. I TOOK A SLICE OF EMILY’S GOODBYE CAKE. I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE IT.)
but I did not eat the cake right away, because I knew the instant it was in my hand that I had to take a picture 😂 But I couldn’t take any pictures on set, obviously, so I just held onto it for an hour!! 😂😂😂
at one point after we had our cake, Emily walked by and looked at us and I kinda smiled at her and she said, “I heard it’s good!” (So, while I never did get to talk to her or get a photo, she did talk to me lol)
after the scene was filmed, they came over and told us that, because they were going to be filming dialogue next, we had to leave.
Here’s the photo of the cake, before I ate it. (I ATE A PIECE OF EMILY’S GOODBYE CAKE OMG).
That’s basically it. We stayed another hour or so after that, and we watched another scene be filmed from afar, but after that they needed us to go up the hill to get out of the shot, and we couldn’t see anything anymore. By then it had been a very, very long day and we had already had an amazing experience, so we decided to leave without trying to wait for Emily. We figured she was having an emotionally exhausting day, not to mention a busy day, with a full day of filming plus friends and family on set, so we decided the odds of us actually getting to see her were probably small anyway. So, with only that one regret, we left.
And that is the story of one of the most unexpectedly amazing days of my life, when I got to witness the filming of Arrow 7x22.
Special shout-out to the FAM who lived it vicariously with me - it wouldn’t have been half as fun without you! @msbeccieboo @lucyyh @faegal04 @1-crazy-dreamer @puck038 @stephswims @bookolicitynessa @chrissykins-for-the-win @it-was-a-red-heeler @tangled23works @mirkakaroliina and all of the Discord FAM. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! 💗💗💗💗
(and extra special shout out to @1-crazy-dreamer who just saved my ass with screencaps of this post when tumblr fucked up and ate a third of it - my hero!!)
