Arguably no Arrow-verse hero has gone through more trauma than the man who started it all. Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen has watched friends and family perish with shocking regularity since The Queen's Gambit went down in 2007, and each death has taken an emotional toll. That said, he's apparently due for a bizarre reunion with his deceased loved ones during the upcoming Arrow-verse crossover - which also happens to be Arrow's 100th episode. Despite the mysterious nature of the event, the official logline for Arrow's 100th episode seems to provide a bit more detail regarding how these dead characters will return. It reads:
Oliver (Stephen Amell) wakes up to a life where he never got on The Queen's Gambit. Robert (guest star Jamey Sheridan) and Moira Queen (guest star Susanna Thompson) are alive and well. Laurel (guest star Katie Cassidy) is his loving fiancée and their wedding is imminent. Everything seems perfect, but Oliver starts to notice small imperfections that make him question this new reality. Meanwhile, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and the recruits take on a new threat with help from The Flash (guest star Grant Gustin) and Supergirl (guest star Melissa Benoist).
With the release of that logline from The CW, it's become abundantly clear that the network wants to dig deep into the Arrow mythology in order to celebrate the 100-episode milestone. While the rest of Team Arrow will join forces with the other heroes of the Arrow-verse to face off against the alien threat known as The Dominators, Oliver will awaken to a life in which his parents are alive, and he's engaged to the late Laurel Lance. The exact cause of this new life remains a mystery, but it's clear that things aren't quite right in Oliver's world, even if they seem idyllic.
Oddly enough, there's actually already precedent for a storyline such as this in the DC mythos---it's just not a Green Arrow storyline. The overall description of the 100th episode of Arrow shares a striking similarity to an episode of Batman: The Animated Series titled, "Perchance to Dream." In that episode of the iconic cartoon, Bruce Wayne awakens one day to find his parents alive and his alter ego as Batman nonexistent. Although he seems happy with this ideal life, he begins to suspect that he's living inside a dream created by The Mad Hatter when he realizes that he cannot read any of the books in his library -- due to the fact that one cannot read in a dream. Eventually he confirms his suspicions, and he kills himself in order to awaken to his normal life so he can bring down The Hatter.
At this point it's difficult to tell exactly what will send Oliver into this dreamlike state. Oliver has hallucinated on Arrow before, so exposure to some sort of chemical or technology may once again be the cause. Could this fantasy life be a result of exposure to some sort of weapon used by The Dominators during The Flash portion of the 4-way crossover? Only time will well, but it's definitely possible.
Our anticipation of the 100th episode of Arrow has already reached a fever pitch, and the promise of this bizarre story has us even more excited. We will bring you new details related to the upcoming event as more information becomes available. Arrow airs every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST on The CW, and the 100th episode event will air on Wednesday, November 30.
