Spoilers ahead for Episode 21 of Arrow Season 7, called "Living Proof."
Only one episode is left before Emily Bett Rickards departs the Arrow-verse as Arrow's leading lady, and the question on many fans' minds at this point is how Arrow will say goodbye to Felicity when Oliver will be back as leading man for Season 8. Her appearances in the flash-forwards throughout Season 7 are proof that she survives the present timeline, as Arrow almost certainly isn't going to reset the timeline a la The Flash. But could she be killed off in the flash-forwards?
At this point, I could see it happening, sadly. As one of the original members of Team Arrow, Felicity has never hesitated to put herself in harm's way if it means protecting others, especially her loved ones. In "Living Proof," however, she realized that she had to shuffle her priorities now that she's pregnant. She wants to do better by her children than her parents did by her, and she had to tell Emiko about her pregnancy to stop Emiko from killing her in "Living Proof."
As fans who have been watching throughout Season 7 know, both of Felicity's kids do grow up to be badass adults with heroic streaks of their own, but not everything is going to be happy. Mia was not a fan of her mom when the flash-forwards picked up, and William hadn't spoken to her for a long time. Whatever happens in the present to drive her away next week must be pretty bad.
She will survive the present, though, and my current theory is that Felicity willingly goes into hiding to protect her child. Emiko has been targeting Team Arrow in the last several episodes, and Felicity had to admit this week that her life has been in danger several times since she became pregnant. She loves William very much in the present, and the flash-forwards prove that she'll come to love Mia very much as well.
As a hero, doesn't it stand to reason that Felicity would sacrifice herself for her kids if the situation called for it? "Living Proof" saw a confrontation between Felicity and William when William blew up at her for seemingly cutting him out of her life, raising the point that it's not her money that he needed as support. He then ran off on an ill-advised mission to gather intel that would help them take down Archer.
Felicity found out that William's life is in danger in the flash-forwards; I would not be shocked if Arrow used William's situation as a way to let Felicity sacrifice herself to go out like a hero. Her death would be a heroic goodbye for Emily Bett Rickards and motivate Mia and William, in case that future-set spinoff actually does happen.
That said, Felicity Smoak is the leading lady of the show that started it all in the Arrow-verse, and killing her off -- even via flash-forward -- would be a big move that could alienate a lot of fans. Surely Arrow can come up with a way for her to have a happily-ever-after without needing her on screen, right? And the flash-forwards are continuing, after all.
Considering how awful everything seemed to turn out in the flash-forwards, it would be nice if future Oliver and future Felicity finally got to enjoy a life together, even if they didn't get the chance to raise their daughter together. Less nice if future Oliver turns up with one arm and that awful Legends of Tomorrow future goatee, but nicer than dying!
It would be a shame for Emily Bett Rickards' seven-season stint as Felicity Smoak ending with death, even if Felicity is still alive in one timeline. We'll have to wait and see. Rickards' final episode sounds like it will be a tear-jerker, so fans will probably want to stock up on the tissues before next week.
The Season 7 finale is called "You Have Saved This City," which makes me optimistic about however Felicity takes her leave in the present. She's not mentioned explicitly in the episode description, though, which simply says that the battle between Oliver and Emiko "comes to a boiling point which brings back some familiar faces and leaves others in dire jeopardy." It sounds like we could be in for another finale cliffhanger, so it won't be an episode to miss.
Tune in to The CW on Monday, May 13 at 9 p.m. ET for the Season 7 finale of Arrow.
