Will the Olicity romance return by mid-season? You betcha!
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Marvel/DC
kullagulla-84456 — 9 years ago(October 30, 2016 02:49 AM)
I think this quote from Berlanti give a pretty good indication of how the showrunners themselves view the issue of Oliver's and Felicity's romantic future, even though he doesn't spell things out:
https://imgur.com/a/W0x5U
My hunch is that the current "no-Olicity" narrative is a bit of a sham, or at least a bait, intended to lure those who would prefer to never see Oliver and Felicity together again. To me the current writing is an attempt to appease those who want Olicity gone, while still dangling the Olicity carrot in front of the shippers' noses. IF the writers were serious about this new boyfriend, they would have given him more than two minutes of screen time, and they would have actually SHOWN him together with Felicity, doing something romantic. In fact, we didn't even get a cute "first meet" or a little build up, like we did with Ray. He just turned up in Felicity's apartment, rubbing her shoulders, in a scene that was clearly shot from Felicity's POV.
In fact, as things are now, it's as if he barely exists, to us or to Felicity. Also, if the writers/producers intended this relationship to last and replace Olicity, they would have picked a really handsome hunk to portray Felicity's new BF, rather than the nice-looking, but rather non-descript Tyler Ritter. I mean, in comparison to Stephen Amell and his ripped body, Ritter is not really a serious contender. I know this is a shallow argument, but we're talking about the CW, where serious romantic partners usually don't look ordinary, or more ordinaty than their rivals for the female lead's heart.
Furthermore, if you compare the screen time Felicity spends with Oliver and the screen time she spends with non-descript boyfriend, it's abundantly clear that Detective Malone just an insignificant prop, deviced to stall Olicity until mid-season (or whenever the TPTB decide to hook them up again). That's also why I don't understand all the oliciter complaints about Guggenheim "betraying" or "destroying" Olicity. IMHO he and his writers are doing nothing of the sortthey're just following the conventions of television "will they, won't they", and maybe trying to appease those viewers who complained about romance taking over the storytelling in earlier seasons. Anyway, I'll just leave something that an Olicity fan wrote on another forum:
Let's see what we know:
Several script pages released for Arrow indicate that the writers often do script the specific emotions they are hoping the characters reach in a scene.
We've also been told, by more than one director, that part of the pre-production process (the eight days they spend prior to shooting) includes going through each scene with the screenwriter and at least one showrunner, sometimes more than one, to understand what emotional beats the scenes need to convey.
We've now had four straight episodes with one major Olicity scene, several lingering Oliver and Felicity looks, several touches, characters calling Oliver and Felicity Mom and Dad, Oliver immediately noting when Felicity wasn't ok, Oliver coming to Felicity's defense, Oliver knowing what fights to pick with her, and an episode ending with Oliver and Felicity again framed together as the leaders of Team Arrow - after one of those lingering looks. With every one of these Olicity scenes left in by the editors, and given final approval by the showrunners.
The "lingering glances" and spatial positionings that that we get in season five aren't that different from the "Olicity moments" that the writers sprinkled throughout seasons one and two, long before Oliver and Felicity were an item. And if these "moments" were considered as romance-building then, the ones we see in season five could be seen as "romance-sustaining" now. The big difference is that Guggenheim and company took the Olicity romance so far in season four (almost bringing them to the altar!), that the current Oliver/Felicity interaction seems odd, almost as if the writers had surreptitiously turned back the narrative clock to season two, and more or less made Felicity return to her S1/S2 persona (apart from the transient emotional crisis prompted by the Havenrock disaster).
Of course, there have been so many similar retcons when it comes to Oliver's emotional/love life, that fans shouldn't be surprised with the lack of follow-up concerning Oliver's and Felicity's emotional issues. On the other hand, if the current Oliver/Felicity "we're just partners working together to fight crime" vibe is primarely a stalling tactic (which I believe it is), I'm sure that the writers will get them back on the romantic track by mid-season, if not earlier. -
Whodat16 — 9 years ago(October 30, 2016 03:01 AM)
the writers will get them back on the romantic track by mid-season, if not earlier
To be honest, I wouldn't mind
IF
they only had them have the same kind of relationship as Dig and his wife. The well-known rule : "to keep your relationship alive, don't work together with your companion " has worked miracles for many fictional or real life relationships.
But we know it will not be like that.
Well, it will give us some time to catch up with other series.
Lance is a Saint -
ninthcentury — 9 years ago(October 31, 2016 08:54 PM)
I'll agree with you, as I was about to post pretty much what you said. I have nothing against the pairing though I think she could get over her harshness. You don't pair up with someone and then demand they change. If you do that, you were either desperate to settle for the first man you could snare, or you're nothing but a control freak.
Anyway, as I was saying before I sidetracked myself, I have nothing against the pairing but dammit, the story doesn't need to be HER STORY through and through. Get back to focusing on Oliver.
That's what I'm afraid won't happen. People have been making jokes about her being the Queen and controlling the plot, controlling Oliver, being the focus of every minute of the show. They're mostly right. This is a superhero/action/mystery show, not the "Felicity Rules the Roost Show".Because supporting your thesis is tough, but throwing adjectives is easy. -
canaryalive — 9 years ago(November 01, 2016 02:01 AM)
They changed her character a lot when they paired her with Oliver, she wasn't like that in the early seasons. I want her to be vocal, but not in the way she does it. I sometimes think that the writers are either idiots or want to write her unlikable on purpose.
But the same goes for every female character they pair with Oliver.
I remember a scene in s1 where Laurel specifically went to Oliver's home to give him a lecture, what a bad person he is.
The other characters were always written to be at odds with him, but that's not the worst, the worst is the way they do it, like some angry teachers scolding the kids for not behaving. -
Whodat16 — 9 years ago(November 01, 2016 10:13 AM)
My favourite - when it comes to love relationship - was Mckenna (cannot remember how you spell it, sorry). She seemed to care a lot for him and vice-versa.
But I think the show would be better if we saw the romantic side of him only occasionally. A big role in his life (seen but not necessarily shown), no role in the team would make my day !
Lance is a Saint -
canaryalive — 9 years ago(October 30, 2016 03:03 AM)
For me the biggest indication that they are still going with this couple is that Oliver does not interact with any other female character, but Felicity and Thea(his sister).
So yes, if they wanted to try something different they would have brought a new female character, someone who Oliver will have a good chemistry too and try to tease a change. But they are not. -
josuerios2694 — 9 years ago(October 30, 2016 07:35 AM)
You think a man stalking a woman and using reverse sociology is cute? What's wrong with you
2nd, they got rid of Olicity in 4x15, ratings went down in 4x16,
They got rid of Dig, ratings go even lower
So for rating's sake, they need to bring back Olicity and OTA