Why "Olicity" is Killing Arrow

Why "Olicity" is Killing Arrow

SPOILERS. How the forced romance is hurting the third season of what had been a very good show.

Editorial Opinion
By Shazam37 - Apr 23, 2015 04:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Arrow

It’s no secret that season 3 of Arrow has been woefully disappointing, and last night’s episode did them no favors. 

The show's most recent installment, “The Fallen”, was initially sold on Thea’s resurrection using the Lazarus Pit – it was to be the first time the audience saw just what the mysterious and magical waters could do, but unfortunately we only spent about 5 minutes on that because we needed to see Oliver and Felicity finally happen. 

It started with a ridiculous scene where Felicity actually confronts Ra’s al Ghul and demands he allow Oliver to leave. Matt Nable then delivers a beautiful dialogue harking back to his own past lives and telling her that she needs to let Oliver know how she feels, a luxury that he did not have many years ago when he was forced to leave his family. She took this as, go have sex with Oliver so all the fangirls can tweet about how they “literally can’t even, rn”. 

Olicity

“So that happened” (an actual quote from the show) and directly afterwords she decides, by herself, that it would be a good idea to drug Oliver and escape from Nanda Parbat and all of their ninja guards – keep in mind, she had no idea what substance she was giving Oliver and had no idea if it was a lethal dose…

The escape scene was basically used to eat up about 5-7 minutes because it literally didn’t lead to anything other than Malcolm killing some ninjas, Diggle shooting some ninjas, Maseo helping them by harpooning his brethren ninjas, and Felicity knocking out some ninja with a giant candlestick. 

This took away from what was actually a decent episode and one that could have been much better. This leads me to argue that this forced romance between Oliver and Felicity is actually hurting the show, badly.

“Olicity” is the epitome of a forced relationship. Apparently Marc Guggeneheim likes to please his Twitter and Tumblr followers because he completely shoehorned this entire romance into the story.  In fact, Felicity’s character actually has far better chemistry with two other characters in the universe, Barry Allen and Ray Palmer, but her relationships with them were only used to create angst between her and Oliver. (And love rhombus’)

The Flash

The way her character has been written this season is appalling. More screen time has seen her become arrogant, hypocritical, whiny, and act as if her opinion holds more weight than anyone else on the team, including Oliver’s. If she doesn’t get her way, she just throws a little temper tantrum until everyone agrees with her.

She was loved so much in season one because of her cute, quirky personality and her crush on Oliver that was completely one-sided. She would blurt out awkward innuendoes that would cut the tension and help lighten up a very dark show. She acted as Team Arrow’s Oracle and was given minimal screen time to instead allow for the development of actual plot. 

Olicity

Unfortunately she has lost her light. She has become as convoluted and morally ambiguous as any other character (i.e. She doesn’t want Oliver to work with Malcolm, but she tells him that he needs to kill Ra’s…) At this point we are basically being given a romantic drama with some crime fighting and superheroes mixed in. Felicity has taken over the entire show, and, no surprise, the show is experiencing it’s worst season thus far. I don’t care about ratings, as far as actual plot, character development, pacing, and story telling go, this season is far worse than the previous two. 

So what is the point of her character now? She doesn’t bring any light to the show, she’s not morally strong, and, outside of the Olicity shippers, she is becoming increasingly unpopular. All she brings to the table now is teenage drama and a forced romance that will drive away many viewers if it continues to be showcased during every episode. 

On the flip side, her increased screen time has basically pushed Laurel/Black Canary to a supporting role. In last night’s episode she wasn’t even alerted that Thea, a friend that she’s known probably for most of her life, was killed and resurrected or that Oliver was planning on leaving for the League of Assassins. It’s ironic, because Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr fans alike all voiced their displeasure with Laurel last year due to her very realistic meltdown. This season has seen her character redeem herself in a very big way, but the Olicity fans have spoken, so we only saw Laurel for about 12 seconds last night when Felicity came crying to her about Oliver.

It’s obvious that the Arrow writer’s are catering to the Olicity shippers, and I don’t blame the shippers, they enjoy that pairing and that’s absolutely their right to do so and tweet about it all they want. I blame the writers who were so easily influenced by the more vocal group of fans and, by doing so, allowed the quality of the show to suffer.

I do, though, believe that they, like Laurel, can redeem themselves. Yes, they're limping to the finish line this season (although the show has seen an increase in quality over the past few weeks) but the final couple of episodes sees much higher stakes than anything we've yet to see from season three. The one thing Arrow always seems to get right are premiers and finales. While it's too late for this season to be held in the same esteem as season two, there is still hope that they can deliver a strong finale and set up and epic season four. 

Arrow
 
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BigFoster
BigFoster - 4/23/2015, 4:34 PM
Very valid well articulated points. She really is getting too much focus
BigFoster
BigFoster - 4/23/2015, 4:36 PM
The problem is definitely how vocal the shippers are and the fact that the writers are listening
MisterSuperior
MisterSuperior - 4/23/2015, 5:02 PM
How is something that was building for almost three seasons long "forced"?
TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 5:17 PM
@MisterSuperior

Lack of chemistry...and...being built for 3 seasons? ... Oliver just magically started to "love" her this season...

Also the fact that Felicity is a plot device and not a character would play into the fact that it is forced...and Amell and Rickards have 0 chemistry


@Shazam37 I was planning on writing a similar piece for thearrowverse.com , would you mind if I used parts of this? (of course with credit)??
MisterSuperior
MisterSuperior - 4/23/2015, 5:33 PM
@Arrowverse

"Lack of chemistry"

Stephen Amell and Emily has far more chemistry than Amell and Katie. The two just clicked even in Felicity's very first scene. I'm not a fan of shipping or shippers or what have you, but I think "Olicity" is so much better and seems so much more natural than Ollie/Laurel.

"...and...being built for 3 seasons? ... Oliver just magically started to "love" her this season..."

If you believe Ollie was just pretending when he told Felicity that he loved her in the S2 finale.
Shazam37
Shazam37 - 4/23/2015, 5:41 PM
@Arrowverse Absolutely, man!
TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 5:41 PM
@MisterSuperior

Sorry I don't take into account one episode in the last season...before then...there was literally nothing but Felicity's awkward sexual jokes...


As for Amell and Rickards having chemistry? Your kidding right? ... The ONLY time any "chemistry" is shown is in the extremely forced scenes between the two...

On the other hand Amell and Cassidy have had almost NO time to test said romantic chemistry save 2 scenes...the first when they hookup in Season 1... which 1000% trumps any chemistry between Rickards and Amell ... and the second time in Season 2 when Oliver tells her that he is done and he has "loved her half his life" at the family dinner
TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 5:41 PM
@Shazam37 Thanks!
Shazam37
Shazam37 - 4/23/2015, 5:44 PM
@MisterSuperior One way flirtations don't equate to "building for three seasons". There was nothing that pointed to Oliver feeling anything for Felicity in that regard until season three when, like @Arrowverse said, he magically fell in love with her.
the
the - 4/23/2015, 5:51 PM
I thumb'd, but this is definitely not the prevailing aspect killing Arrow; merely one of the easier complaints to discern.
I await a Part 2 to really analyze this phenemona.
TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 5:55 PM
@oMonRo Gotta disagree with that...the primary story is being shoved aside by the drama and love tension of the show...

And at the head of that army of tension stands Olicity
MisterSuperior
MisterSuperior - 4/23/2015, 6:04 PM
@Arrowverse

Awkward sexual jokes is just who Felicity is. She's always tried to hide her feelings by inadvertently saying the most awkward one-liners that has sexual subtext through the roof. Throughout S2 you can see moments of how Felicity and Ollie feel towards one another, so that scene in "Unthinkable" isn't just a one-off or a throwaway scene at all.

As for a lack of chemistry, YOU'RE kidding, right? Those two have always had chemistry. Emily's Felicity represents that exact opposite of Stephen's Ollie in this stage and the two goes off with each other perfectly well.

I REALLY don't understand how you and @Shazam37 believe Ollie just magically fell in love with Felicity, unless you just didn't even pay attention that much during the second season.
BigFoster
BigFoster - 4/23/2015, 6:07 PM
The fact is she is getting way too much focus over characters like roy and laurel who needed more care and attention
TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 6:09 PM
@MisterSuperior

All I can say is that your clearly an Olicity fanboy

I suggest you rewatch Season 2... it isn't until about 1/2 way through that Oliver admits he is going to give up "chasing" Laurel...

He admits to loving Sara after that....

....

Yes.."Awkward sexual jokes is just who Felicity is." and she tracks stuff...That is ALL there has been to her character for THREE whole seasons...and despite that she still occupies WAY to much of the screen time that should be allocated to people who can actually...act?...

EVERY Olicity scene is written as such...a clear standoff from the actual story...why?...because it is FORCED...

...Felicity confronting Ra's last night?... A joke and a half...100% out of character
...Felicity "doing" Oliver ... meh.... and then a joke and a half when we found out she took advantage of his emotions because he thought that as the LAST time he would see her... but she clearly had other plans
...Knocking him out?...She even ADMITTED she had NO IDEA what the chemical she was using was...nor what it would do
...Knocking out the LoA member in the escape...she hit him in the back...and she fell...another "go Felicity" moment for those to blind to see she is nothing more then a plot device



TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 6:16 PM
You can fabricate a false "Oliver loved Felicity" in Season 2 all you want...

Oliver's romantic intentions and relations were pretty clear until the finale...and that was the whole point of the twist...

Shazam37
Shazam37 - 4/23/2015, 6:16 PM
@BigFoster I completely agree. Laurel has had a nice bounce back season and she and Roy have been sidelined for the most part.

@oMonRo Thanks for the thumb!
sikwon
sikwon - 4/23/2015, 6:21 PM
I know this isn't popular but I have had that problem with this show and Flash since the beginning. There is entirely to much focus on the love interests of the characters. I have other issues as well but for me, no matter how much I'm enjoying an episode the switch up to CW Romance Time always kills the episode for me. It's just so poorly done, on both shows.
MisterSuperior
MisterSuperior - 4/23/2015, 6:26 PM
@Arrowverse

"All I can say is that your clearly an Olicity fanboy"

Now you just sound ignorant, especially when I just said the exact opposite in my very first comment towards you.

I get it, you can hardly defend your point, but don't sound like a flame baiting "fanboy".

And Ollie told Sara he loved her. You don't say!

Because it's not like Oliver Queen actually loving more than one woman at once. Ollie is so not a womanizer at all, lmao.
TheRockmore
TheRockmore - 4/23/2015, 6:30 PM
@MisterSuperior

Evading every point by directly attacking me...

And you do realize that "loving" two people was never out of the question...but when you "love" two people it tends to imply you...care for two people...which means you wouldn't sleep with one girl...and talk to the other girl about her...

Also...I can say I hate Arrow ... but that wouldn't be true... so "especially when I just said the exact opposite in my very first comment towards you."...I'm laughing at

****

"Ollie is so not a womanizer at all, lmao."

Also if you watched Arrow and THEN SOME (watched and read interviews etc...)

You would know the writers saw the #1 drama complaint from Season 1 amongst female fans was the fact that Oliver was a womanizer...so in Season 2...they closed that book...and have made it pretty clear in interviews that that was intentional...


And this is why I don't comment on CBM... its a website crowded with trolls, fanboys, and people who lack common sense

Peace Out :D
MisterSuperior
MisterSuperior - 4/23/2015, 6:37 PM
@Arrowverse

Attacking you?

REALLY?

You call me an "Olicity fanboy" just because YOU believe one way in which I don't, resorting to calling me something that I said I didn't care about like shipping?

If you call that attacking you, then it's best to just read my comments first and foremost a bit more carefully before you decide to call me this or that.

And no, Oliver Queen, being the womanizer he is, would indeed love one woman but act another to another woman. He loved Dinah but ended up kissing Marianne. The list goes on and when you understand that character of Oliver Queen even in the comics, it's not surprising that he loved Laurel, loved Sara and loved Felicity and STILL speaking of how he loves each and everyone throughout the past three seasons.

Yes, you are correct...it's best to not speak to trolls, and I'm glad I just found one out right now.

Adios.
the
the - 4/23/2015, 6:54 PM
@Arrowverse The "primary story" has never been this unfocused even when it was episodic.
You typed drama and love tension as separate entities.
I'm putting a check next to the former...now to see where it all began for this season.

My speculation is the aftermath of Sara's death spun the writers out of control. They may have wanted to introduce Ra's in the most engaging way possible, but what we got was a contrived and convoluted trainwreck. They spent time on Brickwell for whatever reason. The flashbacks are disjointed from the "primary" story. The characters within those flashbacks are relevant, not by much.
All in all, this season felt like the show was being hijacked by other people's problems and Ollie/Arrow was conveniently written in to correct them.
If you can connect all those dots to Olicity, I'll burn that bridge.

The only ongoing positives, I have, so far from this season, is Laurel's development into the Black Canary and Palmer's development into the Atom.

Fekkius
Fekkius - 4/23/2015, 7:02 PM
Felicity needs to be permanently moved to the Atom/and friends show when that comes out. She actually has chemistry with Ray, and isn't nearly as annoying when they share scenes. Rickards is awesome, but Olicity has just about ruined Felicity for me.
WinterOstritch
WinterOstritch - 4/23/2015, 7:32 PM
Felicity in season 1: fun, quirky
Season 2: better, little more expansion and some interesting turns
Season 3: ...reallyyyyyy pushing it.

And that's how I feel about the show in general.
Season 1 is cute, finding its footing, season 2 cranks it up but thematically controls itself, making a pretty great season, and season 3 feels like a pushed, straining mix and mumbling slur of words of what would be a great poem.

Some great ideas and themes surfaced this season, batman references aside. New ways of protecting his city, trying to become a symbol and strive even further away from who he once was, but at the same time is that tearing away from who he is now? Is he Oliver Queen, or the Arrow?

It just feels like the writers wanted to pan to an audience that didn't really care for an over arching story, and just wanted more of a side character that hasn't gotten a lot of devolpment and too much spot light.

Maybe push Felicity back for season 4, and try fleshing out Laurel a bit more? Oliver might need a new partner other than a some what newly experienced Thea now that Roy is gone. The first few episodes can have Arrow, Speedy, and Black Canary tracking down HIVE, Diggle being tied into a larger focus, have ARGUS become relevant again through something other than Suicide Squad.
A lot of things can bring this show back to its season 2 days
manowar
manowar - 4/23/2015, 7:35 PM
Completely, completely agree with this. I liked what Felicity was in the first 2 seasons but not the 3rd. Honestly it doesn't even feel like Oliver is the leader anymore. It's like anything Team Arrow wants to do, it has to sit right with Tumblr Queen Felicity.


I think another reason this season isn't as good is that the writers put way too much on their plates. There were way too many characters to try and expand upon, which resulted in them basically letting Roy go (which sucks because they spent a big part of season 2 for him to be Arsenal.) They were trying to introduce Ray, expand upon Felicity's backstory, continue Laurel's journey to becoming BC, and Thea to becoming Speedy/Cheshire? (not sure who she's gonna be). Which left little time for Diggle (who has just become a babysitter at this point), and Roy (left the team).


KevinFeigePGA
KevinFeigePGA - 4/23/2015, 8:23 PM
i just want oliver and laurel to get they shit together so they can getmarried. it makes me think that felicity HAS to die. its inevitable if GA/BC are gonna get reacquainted
KevinFeigePGA
KevinFeigePGA - 4/23/2015, 8:25 PM
thats how w'd do it in earth-99999999......


throw the bitch off the top of a bridge, make some tough decisions, everybody wins

ESPECIALLY the fans
jjk2814
jjk2814 - 4/23/2015, 10:16 PM
Couldn't agree more! Overall I've liked the season, but this nonsense is embarrassing.
TheTMan15
TheTMan15 - 4/24/2015, 5:34 AM
I do completely agree that Felicity's opinion seems too carry too much weight now and she is turning into a whiny and hypocritical annoyance. Especially in that ending scene form episode 12 where she finds out Oliver is going to work with Malcolm Merlyn and she calls him a hypocrite and stuff. Oliver should have been like "b*tch shut the hell up, you weren't the one who was stabbed in the chest and kicked off a mountain by the guy who leads an army of assassins who are now probably gonna come after us. I think I'm allowed to work with one guy I still plan to lock up after this is all over if it saves everyone's ass."
EhMaybeSays
EhMaybeSays - 4/24/2015, 6:34 AM
Season 3 has been enjoyable and the romance doesn't ruin but it IS a weak point of the show.
Superheromoviefan
Superheromoviefan - 4/24/2015, 8:17 AM
I complitly agree. I like felicity in season 1-2, but now she has turn into a teenage romance. I feel like watching a soap opera.
Verzwei
Verzwei - 4/24/2015, 12:04 PM
May I have the consent of the people here to spread rage and hate, starting another flame war on my personal opinions about Arrow? LOL :P
McGee
McGee - 4/24/2015, 1:15 PM
Felicity's ass is the best reason for Olicity!!!
aquaman1982
aquaman1982 - 4/24/2015, 3:46 PM
@Shazam37
I couldn't agree more!!!!
Ghostpointzero
Ghostpointzero - 4/24/2015, 6:00 PM
Yeah my only hope is that the finale and set up for season 4 will be great. This season is a big slap in the face, the dark knight rises of the sereis.
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