Team GATV Roundtable: Looking Back At The First Half Of Arrow Season 4

Is “Olicity” working now?

DEREK: Pretty much, yeah! I think, in a way, it’s not really “Olicity” anymore — in the sense that it’s not really defined by “will they/won’t they” drama, nor overblown as this epic destined romance. It’s an actual functioning relationship, where they disagree and grow from the disagreements and make each other better. That’s a huge distinction from the hot mess of season 3, and even some of season 2, where they constantly went in circles and turned any slight disagreement into sprawling melodrama, or tried to tease the relationship as The Most Important Romance In History. They’ve talked through things when it’s been rough and, aside from that really false blowout in the crossover, they maturely come to conclusions and don’t harbor ill-will. I guess one good thing to come out of season 3 is that the characters and the writers clearly learned from the bad decisions they made regarding the relationship.

I also adore how elegantly “Lost Souls” addressed a lot of the misgivings about last season. Felicity recognized that she lost herself in Oliver — which, yeah, is exactly what we were all complaining about, regarding her not really being a real character anymore. This season has solved that by giving her ample non-relationship material — all her dealings with PalmerTech and Curtis, particularly — and keeping she and Oliver on equal ground. And as much as I didn’t like the drive off in the sunset at the end of last season, this season has truly worked a miracle out of it by immediately deconstructing it. No, you don’t just uproot your life and run off with a guy and not expect consequences. They were content and comfortable, but not truly happy, and that’s a subtle distinction that’s imperative to make in life, and especially in relationships. And again, all handled with maturity.

STEPHANIE: I think Olicity is working because it hasn’t been made into a big deal. These two characters are allowed to exist in a relationship without every scene between them turning into something about the relationship.

MATT: I’d say yes.  I’m still not necessarily a fan of it, but I think it is being handled gracefully and with a good sense of maturity. More important, it hasn’t been an overwhelming presence, which was a big detriment to Season 3. Now, I say that in light of the midseason cliffhanger, but I also feel that the cliffhanger had better impact because the balance of the romance with the other elements of the show is right. The one time it wasn’t handled so well was during the first pass timeline in “Legends of Yesterday,” the second half of the crossover with The Flash, to have a freak-out moment just to erase. Otherwise, so far so good.

CRAIG: Hiccups in the crossover aside, I feel it is. The characters are handling it maturely and not at the expense of one another’s independence as characters. It still was probably a bit too much of the midseason cliffhanger — there are other characters in the show, after all — but at this point in the series, I can understand why it is what it is, and I think the relationship has made Oliver, particularly, a better person.

In the crossover, both characters were problematic: Felicity for tearing into Oliver before he himself had a chance to even process all that was going on; and then Oliver, for choosing to keep the secret of a virtual stranger from the love of his life. Aside from manufactured TV drama, there’s no reason to keep that from her, no matter what Samantha requested. Oliver and Felicity should be past the secrets thing with each other. Yes, having a son out there would change the dynamic… but if Oliver was honest with Felicity, he could go see William any time without sneaking around. AND he wouldn’t be lying to Felicity. Win-win. I’m kind of glad that drama wasn’t even present in the next episode, but I wish Oliver would just tell her, already.

I know I carry on about this a lot; it just really, really bothered me.