Over the last few days, well ever since the news hit that Felicity Smoak would be getting a boyfriend, the Olicity fandom has been a little bit uneasy to say the least. With discussions and arguments going back and forth on if Arrow writers are making the right move. I believe both sides have reasonable arguments for and against Felicity’s new man.
For me much of the arguments come down to one thing, as a fandom how much do we trust these writers with Olicity? I can make the argument that over the last 2 seasons, these writers have done a lot to earn and lose trust, but after season 4b a lot of fans seem to be crawling over the non trusting side.
Season 3, we were told Ray Palmer was coming, that he would be Felicity’s new love interest, and like any passionate shipping fandom does, we panicked, but we reassured ourselves this would be okay, this would be written wonderfully, for Felicity’s benefit, make Olicity stronger. It turned out to be a mix bag, while we did get some wonderful Olicity scenes and Olicity payoff the journey there was at times tough to swallow and at times down right disrespectful to Felicity as a character. We all remember Ray Palmer Island and how Felicity was used as a prop for a character and his new show.
Season 4, was pretty smooth sailing, but like any shipper, Olicity fans knew it wouldn’t last, rumors of baby mama drama started surfacing, and once again panic ensued, once again calmer nerves persevered, we told ourselves, we trust these writers, this will be okay. Then what happened was not only one of the most contrived stories ever written by the writers, but the disrespect of not even dealing with thier own contrived story they put so much effort into. Felicity and Oliver’s relationship was pretty much dropped and ignored for much of the second half.
It was a hellish hiatus for this fandom, but hope springs eternal with each new season, it is the shipper way, and seriously have you seen Olicity, this fictional couple is worth the pain, worth the emotional trauma.
Then came Felicity is getting a new man news came along, and again the melt down came, we will once again find our calm, we always do, but this time it will take longer, because I believe this time its a matter of trust, many in this fandom simply don’t trust these writers after Ray and especially after the disastrous 4b. If the Olicity story was given the time and respect it deserved in the latter half of season 4, I believe this panic wouldn’t be happening on this large of a scale.
For many knowing Olicity is endgame is enough to withstand the anguish, for me and others if the journey is filled with lazily written garbage like season 4b the destination will not matter.
In the end all this comes down to how much do we trust these writers, we have been given reasons to trust them to the moon and back, and reasons to never believe a word they say. Everyone has a pain limit when it comes to fiction, just like we do in real life, for some this lack of trust in the writers will be too much, for others it will not matter as they have never lost trust in said writers to begin. In the end no one is wrong and no one is right, it is all based on your own emotions and observations, as long as we remain respectful in our disagreement, we will be fine, this fandom will be fine. Or we could just contact MTV and tell them to make the Ship Of the Universe poll.
Myself, I switch my opinion on a regular basis, one moment I feel like the best is yet to come, that the angst will be beautiful, the writing will be exquisite, the motivations will make all the sense in the world. In another moment I feel nothing but dread, they will write this horribly, it will make no sense, it will be written for shock and plot point, they will ruin this beautiful relationship. Both of these emotions and opinions are warranted. That is the price of loving someone else’s art, that is the beauty of having no control over something that brings you joy. But when season 5 hits, the hours before we will all be buzzing, aching with anticipation,
because,
we cant give this up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_90FAo27Ry0
We can’t give this up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCy3l4H6gqU
We can’t give this up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5gsJPemjqg
We won’t give this up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK02m8cs6Vo