In this age of social media, everybody and everything feels like they can be connected with only a few degrees of separation. Still, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and Arrow’s Oliver Queen don’t seem like they should share too many sound bites, so it was something of an awesome “Who with the what now?” moment for Arrow fans when Clinton dropped Oliver’s famous catchphrase during a recent speech. Check it out!
There’s really no way to conclusively declare a winner in a debate, but I think it’s safe to say that Hillary Clinton did not fail legions of Arrow viewers with her “They failed this city!” comment. She’s still short a voice modulator, medieval weapon, and murder spree as far as totally channeling Oliver when he first uttered his catchphrase back in Season 1, but her spirit of justice is good to see in a presidential candidate. I can’t help but wonder now whether or not she starts every morning with an expository recap monologue.
For those who need their own flashbacks, here's a clip of Oliver growling the phrase.
The comment also opens the election season up to a whole slew of possibilities. If Hillary Clinton theoretically watches Arrow enough to know Oliver's catchphrase, who’s to say that she’s the only candidate who tunes in to the CW? Does Bernie Sanders say “Run, Bernie, run!” to himself each day a la the pep talks to speedster Barry Allen on The Flash? Does Donald Trump find inspiration in how Vandal Savage never gives up no matter what era he finds himself in on Legends of Tomorrow? Who will be the first to stray from The CW to CBS and use the “Truth, justice, and the American way” line from a recent episode of Supergirl??
Okay, maybe it’s not all that likely that the candidates for the White House in 2016 have filled their DVRs with superhero shows, but imagining that they do is a fun distraction from some of the frustrations that come with election years. No matter who we may support to take the top job, the campaign season is positively exhausting. Between the debates, the speeches, the commercials, and the news cycles, the idea of candidates being fans of the Flarrrow-verse has some serious appeal.
Hillary Clinton inadvertently channeling her inner Oliver nowadays does have an extra note of fun for regular Arrow viewers. Oliver has spent much of his time in Season 4 running to become mayor of Star City. Hopefully for Clinton’s sake, she won’t be sabotaged by a magical supervillain before the election. Hopefully for voters, whoever wins the White House will be considerably smarter than Oliver Queen when it comes to politics.
The clip of Hillary Clinton dropping Oliver’s catchphrase is all too brief, but it will undoubtedly be incredibly rewatchable as campaign season drags on. We’ll need to take our laughs where we can get them, and the video is definitely worth a chuckle or two.
