Arrow Finale: Why We Should've Seen That Ruse Coming

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from the Season 2 finale of Arrow. Read at your own risk!]

The moment Arrow fans had been waiting for all season — the Oliver vs. Slade showdown — surprisingly wasn't the most shocking one of the finale. That belonged to Oliver's (Stephen Amell) sudden and very out-of-character confession that he is in love with Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards).

The divisive moment practically made social media explode, with Olicity fans feeling validated and dissenters hoping that the declaration was preceding a quick death for Ollie's Girl Friday. But it was all a ruse designed so that Slade (Manu Bennett) would kidnap Felicity and she could get close enough to administer the cure.

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In an otherwise spotless sophomore season, Arrow seemingly succumbed to tantalizing fan-bait, giving those Olicity 'shippers exactly what they wanted while protecting themselves by assuring others that it was all a trick. And surely the implications of this will be felt in the third season, enough to keep that love triangle at least intact. But there's a fine line between loving someone and being in love with someone.  

With that being said, here's why we should've seen the ruse coming: How the heck can Oliver Queen love Felicity when he doesn't even really know her? The audience barely knows much about the former Queen Consolidated IT girl-turned-member of Team Arrow other than scarce hints that producers have promised to explore further. That's not to say that Felicity isn't an interesting character, but does Oliver really have time to get to know her on a deeper level when he's been busy saving Starling City and is already emotionally tied to the Lance sisters? The moment wasn't earned enough for it to be real at all, making it that much harder to swallow in hindsight.

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And if he really loved Felicity, he never would've sent her into the belly of the beast on the off chance that Slade wouldn't find the cure on her first or just as quickly slit her throat the moment that Oliver walked in. Ollie was willing to sacrifice Felicity in hopes of protecting the person Slade (likely correctly) assumed was his true love: Laurel (Katie Cassidy).

What did you think about the big twist?

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