Green Arrow May Find “True Love” In This Fall’s DC TV Crossover

One element that’s proven to be divisive amongst DC TV fans has been that of romantic relationships involving some of our favorite onscreen characters. While some viewers are rabid when it comes to stuff such as “shipping,” there are others who feel it has no place in superhero storytelling. To be honest, there’s really only been one example of this that’s been a detriment to Arrow, which will be examined in a moment, but it’s never gotten out of hand as much as, say, Smallville season 6.

Personally, this doesn’t bother me as long as it’s kept in check. Frankly, you’re going to need something other than just high-octane action to pad an hour of television and, let’s face it, relationships are a part of life. Really, these heroes aren’t monks, and they have the same emotions as the rest of us.

There are, however, some instances where this has spiraled out of control, chief among which is a little thing the internet dubbed “Olicity,” an annoying name for the Oliver Queen-Felicity Smoak pairing. Sure, some of you couldn’t get enough of it and can’t stop lighting up Marc Guggenheim’s Twitter page, but the rest of the viewing audience saw it as something that dragged seasons 3 and 4 into the mud.

Last year, we saw that dead horse show some movement in a few of the latter episodes, causing real concern for the future. After all, why would you want to repeat past mistakes when you’ve just won back the favor of your fan base with a stellar season?

Well, according to executive producer Wendy Mericle, Ollie’s love life will be a central theme in “Crisis on Earth-X“:

“[The crossover is] really Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) story… It’s Oliver and one other character in the Arrow-verse’s story. It really explores the question of true love, and what does that look like? It’s emotionally really compelling, and you’re going to be surprised by what he learns and how he learns it and who he learns it from. It’s pretty crazy stuff, I’m not going to lie.”

Our better judgment says she’s talking about “Olicity,” but, again, why would you shoot yourself in the foot right after the last cast just came off? If Oliver is to be romantically paired with anyone, we suggest the producers take a closer look at either the new Black Canary or Black Siren, especially if the latter is able to find redemption.

Arrow returns for its sixth season on Thursday, October 12 on The CW.