Across Arrow's first seven seasons on The CW, I don't think any fans would go so far as to call Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen a quantifiable source of comic relief, or even someone who lives in the same hemisphere as mirth. One might expect Season 8 to be Oliver's darkest year yet, too, considering he was separated from Felicity or William. But according to Amell, Oliver won't be quite as bad off as expected.
Speaking with CinemaBlend and a handful of other press outlets at San Diego Comic-Con, Stephen Amell reflected on what Oliver's mentality will be like during Arrow's final season, considering he will be taking part in The Monitor's multiverse-saving mission. In his words:
It's good. When I read the premiere I talked with Marc [Guggenheim] and Beth [Schwartz] a bunch. Because I didn't want him to spend the entire season being morose, right? It was my thought that yeah, he had to leave his wife, and he had to leave his infant child, and he had to leave William. And theoretically, he had to leave Diggle and Thea and all of the people that are important in his life. But I want him to be strong, because it's important to me that when Felicity says, 'Whatever happens, I'll find you,' if he believes that, then he can march forward.
It's not hard to get where he's coming from there. If the circumstances were different, and Oliver ended up losing Felicity, William and Mia to a tragic accident or murder, then fans would likely have seen a rage-infused Green Arrow taking over Season 8. Or, similarly, if he was caught up in a plan working for someone with more nefarious goals than The Monitor, such as The Anti-Monitor, then his emotional responses would be slightly different.
Rather, Oliver is attempting to save the multiverse from collapsing in on itself or worse, with the fore-knowledge that he is meant to die in 2019. Okay, so that scenario sounds just as doomed as the others, and doesn't automatically imply someone's happiness, either.
Regardless, there is indeed one thing that will be keeping his mojo alive in the final batch of Arrow episodes, and it's the prospect of one day reconnecting with Felicity, the love of his life. (Sure, he wants to see his kids, too. Sure.) Whether or not this will involve some time travel or some other kind of trickery, we cannot say. Maybe the fact that Tommy is coming back is enough to keep him smiling.
The Arrow finale seemed to imply that this reunion was happening in 2040. The Monitor took Felicity away in the episode's final minutes, presumably to bring her to meet Oliver somewhere. However, it's definitely unclear how he might have survived 2019, or how the Crisis on Infinite Earths arc went in general for this planet and others.
Add to that the fact that Adult Mia wants to meet the father who left when she was so young, and all the pieces feel put in place for a big family reunion in Season 8. We're just not quite sure how such a thing would turn out, and whether or not it would break any time rules. (Just don't expect to see Felicity come back.)
Stephen Amell had a lot to say at San Diego Comic-Con, understandably, and a lot of it was about the final season of Arrow. For what it's worth, he told panel-goers loved the final season of Game of Thrones, and jokingly said that he'd know the Arrow team did a good job if the series finale got hated on by the fanbase. One would assume that would leave Amell less happy than Oliver, even.
Below, fans can check out the Comic-Con sizzle reel that was released over the weekend.
Arrow on The CW this fall for its eighth and final season on Tuesday, October 15, at 8:00 p.m. ET. And don't forget that the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" arc, which will feature two different Superman portrayers, will go live at some point ahead of the midseason hiatus.
