Though I’m currently digging Legends of Tomorrow much more than I did during its earlier days, I must confess that season 1’s “Star City 2046” may very well be my favorite episode to date. In that, the Waverider crew visited the Emerald Archer’s stomping grounds in a dystopian future where Connor Hawke AKA John Diggle Jr. inherited the mantle, with Oliver Queen himself being a one-armed recluse. On top of that, Slade Wilson’s son, Grant, held dominion as the second Deathstroke. Yes, it was pretty cool.
If you’ve been following Arrow this season, then you’re aware of how it’s played host to flash forwards taking place twenty years down the road, therefore presumably being in 2038. And while there, Ollie’s son, William, meets a grizzled Roy Harper now calling Lian Yu home.
Naturally, these developments have fueled speculation of the events depicted in “Star City 2046” coming to fruition, but Arrow‘s new showrunner, Beth Schwartz, has stepped in and given us all a reality check, saying the following to TV Line:
“This is not connected. This is our own future. We’re sticking to the grounded storytelling.”
Let it be known that the part referring to “sticking to the grounded storytelling” was in regard to time travel and other science fiction elements, therefore it may be safe to rule out the new Green Arrow in town being William from the future.
That said, I’m in no way willing to take my eyes off present day Roy Harper when it comes to casting suspicion over the vigilante’s identity. Another possibility that dawned on me is that it could actually be Earth-2’s Laurel Lance trying to turn over a new leaf, but that theory may sound a little far-fetched to some.
Arrow airs on Monday nights on The CW.
