The Best Case Scenarios For Arrow Season 3B 

on Jan. 21 is finally going to put anxious, nerve-wracked fans out of their misery –and likely start a whole new round of it. Considering that Season 3B starts with an entire trilogy about an Oliver Queen less Team Arrow, the official debut of Laurel Lance’s Black Canary, and angst galore for any Olicity and Felicity fan, it is all too easy to be very skeptical and weary. In fact, considering what’s to come and what will surely come when Oliver returns from the certain dead, it is far too easy for this writer to dread even watching much of the next 13 weeks to come.

I demonstrated the hypocrisy of giving virtually every individual episode of Season 3A a respectable score, while being downright hostile and pessimistic about the long term in pre-episode editorials – albeit for very justified reasons in my opinion. Given the things that will surely happen in the next several weeks to test my patience, make me doubt the writers and make me shake my head at what may be a real lack of genuine creativity and guts, I wonder if my scores will finally reflect this.

But before I go back into doom and gloom mode over being suckered into yet another angst trap by a TV show, I still have to consider how

might get things right in its second half. There’s still a chance that when the season finale is over, I will look back at the whole picture – once it is finally available to all -- and realize that the mistakes and errors of certain episodes past actually had a real point. In fact, I hope all of us who have bristled at certain parts of the season, and are ready to rant about parts ahead, will have reason to eat our words in May 2015.

Season 3B that would make me eat all of my negative words. Some of these hopes are those of a downright dreamer, but if even half of this list comes true in the next 13 weeks, I will gladly eat my Canary-shaped crow.

1. An Oliver-free trilogy that isn’t overrun by Laurel

For various reasons, good and bad, the trilogy ahead is viewed in some circles as merely an excuse to speed ahead Laurel’s vigilante destiny – whether she’s actually earned that or not. This trilogy is already going to be painful enough without Laurel testing everyone’s patience even further than usual. At the least, the show may come to realize that it takes more than weeks of boxing lessons and a magic black jacket to make Laurel the true Black Canary that Sara was. But the learning process for her to see that, and the headaches along the way, may still be painful to watch.

However, if Laurel doesn’t eat up all of the screen time and leadership that should go to Diggle and Felicity, actually learns to work with them and begins to recognize them as partners and possible friends, then there may be something to this new Team Arrow.

Given that Felicity really needs female friendship, now more than ever, and given that Diggle has always been skeptical of Laurel and her influence, forging the beginning of a bond with them – and having it pay off when Oliver returns – could well make Laurel eventually realize what it really means to be a hero.

If Diggle and Felicity could teach Oliver that during his Hood days, they can certainly get through to Laurel if they are allowed to get a real chance. Otherwise, imagining what Season Three would have been like if Laurel was the Lance sister who was killed – and lamenting that they couldn’t have gotten away with writing Katie Cassidy out that way – will remain an all too common pastime.

2. Thea being allowed to see the whole truth once and for all

For a show that has largely given up on the notion of keeping Oliver’s alter ego a secret, Thea has been the one massive exception left. And the price has been paid for that in full with her falling under the influence of father Malcolm Merlyn – and Malcolm putting her under the influence to kill Sara and set up the whole Oliver vs Ra’s al Ghul duel to begin with. Even when Oliver went off to die for Thea, he was technically prepared to leave her under Malcolm’s influence and “care” without a single clue anyway, all in the name of protecting her from a terrible truth.

But there are some things far worse than learning terrible truths. And it is high time that the people “protecting” Thea from them get it through their heads. Quite frankly, if Thea doesn’t figure out a few things while Oliver is gone, and if Oliver is still willing to keep her in the dark when he comes back, then someone needs to set both the Queens straight – preferably Felicity in her loud voice.

Secrecy is what tore the Queen family apart right before Moira was killed, what drove Thea to run to Malcolm, what made her such an ideal puppet for Malcolm to kill Sara and set up Oliver’s “death” and what still leaves her too vulnerable to anything else Malcolm might try.

So no matter what Oliver fears about Thea knowing he’s the Arrow, or knowing she killed Sara, it’s time for Thea herself to actually get to decide what she can handle – and to decide, with

, whether she is truly a Queen or a Merlyn. And it’s well past time that she gets to have a say in it, instead of being overly protected by Oliver and Roy, or overly manipulated by Malcolm. And unless the writers want to push this secrecy well past believability for another season, they will finally let Thea know everything she actually should know, and should have always known, before May 2015 comes.

For that matter, the notion of keeping big secrets at all should have been shattered as early as last spring. Slade Wilson was such a frightening enemy when he arrived not because of a super serum, but because he was the man with all the secrets about Oliver – and used them in the most terrible ways. His reign of terror brought so many of Oliver’s sins home to roost, yet even then, it wasn’t enough to give Thea the clues and honesty she needed to avoid her fateful choice in trusting Malcolm – or to save Moira’s life.

Even beyond that, Laurel continues to hide Sara’s death from Quentin Lance, out of fear it will kill him – and like Oliver, she fails to give someone she overprotects far more credit than that, and far less faith that loved ones and the truth will do more to help counteract any horrible revelation. Thea and Quentin were in bad places when the series began, but they’ve both come so far to deserve the honesty and support they need from those that are not just supposed to protect them, but love them and get them through anything the right way.

As such, Season 3B needs to do what Season 2B fell just short of doing – destroy the need for any secrets, aside from Oliver’s remaining years on the island/Hong Kong, for good once and for all. In fact, it’s fair to go one step further than that.

Since this is a season of Oliver fearing and refusing to be himself and the Arrow, there is no other way this season can end than with him actually coming forward, to the world – not just Thea and Quentin – on who he really is. Whether it is voluntary, or whether it is collateral damage for whatever final battle emerges to end Season Three, is almost irrelevant.

But what better way would there be for the year to end than with Oliver standing proud in front of Starling City, freely beginning to admit that he is both the Arrow and Oliver Queen? What more fitting way would there be to end such a season of identity, with Oliver no longer afraid to be both hero and human -- and no longer paralyzed by fear over being recognized as both, by his city, his enemies or his loved ones? And what better cliffhanger would there be than imagining what a Season Four would look like with the world and Starling knowing Oliver’s duel identities?

Marvel dropped the gauntlet on its cinematic universe, and announced it would do things differently, when it had Tony Stark say he is

at the end of his first movie. DC TV may not be willing to take a page from Marvel, but it might just be what gives

a whole new world of possibilities for Season Four. At the least, not revolving another season around lying, hiding one’s humanity and keeping secrets would be a novel change of pace.

regular, it often didn’t feel like it in Season 3A. Aside from being a major part of

– episodes 303 and 304 – when Malcolm actually did show up in other episodes, it was only for one scene. In essence, he is still a glorified major guest star.

But with Malcolm officially telling Team Arrow that Oliver is dead, and with a major part to play in the final installment of the trilogy, the writers may finally be willing to let Barrowman loose for more than just every other week. Before long, Malcolm either has to be established as the true Big Bad in yet another season, or start some kind of redemptive arc, so he’s going to need to be a big part of the second half either way. Regardless of what role he does take, however, it has to really justify Barrowman’s newfound status.

The issue of Ray Palmer, his total lack of boundaries when it comes to Felicity, and the writers’ total lack of realizing that it is an actual problem, is one of the clearest signs that there is a problem with

this season. Thus far, the only reasons to justify Ray’s existence is to add another superhero to a show that has one too many of them already, to create a love triangle that has absolutely no reason to exist, and to audition Ray for his own spinoff. Not a single one of these reasons is good enough to excuse any problems, and any obliviousness to these problems, that Ray has brought so far.

But a good way to start bringing Ray back from the creative brink is to put a lid on any more “Raylicity” sparks, if there were any. Ray and Felicity might have real potential as smart, quirky friends – or they might have if they bothered to show any real friendship and warmth between them before Ray bought her $10 million necklaces. Yet any romantic connection between them while Oliver is “dead” – and any that Felicity might be made to show as a further excuse for keeping her and Oliver apart when he does return – would dig a hole far too great to come back from.

If Ray is supposed to be the next CW hero, then maybe it’s time to actually make him a hero instead of a clueless stalker. If Ray is supposed to be seen as anything more than a placeholder for Felicity until Oliver comes to his senses, then maybe it’s time for him to lay off the quasi-stalking – and for the writers to admit there is a problem in how so many of us see his behavior that way.

If they are really so desperate to spin him off, then perhaps it’s time for him to actually do something to deserve it. Given that he must have fans from his A.T.O.M. comics who know Ray Palmer/The Atom is not this problematic, they truthfully deserve better too.

While Felicity’s heartbreak and Laurel suiting up will dominate much of the upcoming trilogy, it needs to be Diggle to step up as the real leader. What’s more,

needs to recognize him as such and give David Ramsey the showcases he has more than earned in the last two years. And when Oliver comes back and Diggle becomes second-in-command, he needs to bring Oliver back into the fold – and finally get through to him in showing that being in love and being a hero are not mutually exclusive.

At some point, Diggle and Lyla will get married again, further showing that a balance between heroism and having a real life can exist – even if it didn’t work out the first time. If Oliver is ready to learn that lesson and live it after he returns, so much the better. But if there’s still too much nonsense to clear out of his head first, no one can and should clear it like Diggle – which the show needs to let him do as often as possible. In any case, he may not have much choice anyway.

7. A.R.G.U.S. and Amanda Waller to factor into the present day

Although the ruthless Amanda Waller has been a big factor in the Hong Kong flashbacks, she strangely has not shown up in any of the present day scenes – even when A.R.G.U.S. was attacked in the second half of

crossover. Yet given that the show clearly doesn’t want us to forget her, and is finally starting to make the past in Hong Kong connect to the present, Amanda may merely be biding her time – which may well be the worst thing possible.

A popular Tumblr theory is that A.R.G.U.S and Amanda, not Ra’s al Ghul or Malcolm, will emerge to be the biggest villains of the season. Given the revisiting of Oliver’s ugly past with her, how a battle with Amanda would rock both Diggle and Lyla, and how A.R.G.U.S. under Amanda is equally as ruthless in a warped view for justice than the League of Assassins under the al Ghul’s, this could be the wisest course of action to go on. Either way, something has to give with Amanda in both timelines.

There have been teases that Felicity and Laurel will finally start to have a connection, and that Felicity and Thea will have their moments together later this season. If so, all of this is long overdue – and quite frankly, after killing off the likes of Moira and Sara for good without any magic resurrections,

Laurel and Thea did good work together in Season One, but Laurel will certainly try to kill Thea at least once when she finds out what really happened with Sara, so that friendship is likely out. The strongest examples of female friendship since Season One actually came between Sara and Felicity, even when Sara was with Oliver, but that’s out now too. Unfortunately, Lyla isn’t around enough, although she, Felicity and Catilin Snow defended the Foundry quite well together in

. And even more unfortunately, Felicity and Catilin likely won’t share the screen again until fall 2015 at the earliest.

With Felicity likely to feel more alone than ever, even after Oliver comes back, she needs all the friends she can get. If Laurel is on her way to becoming an actual friend, and if Felicity is allowed to show Thea who her brother really was, then maybe

can pass the Bechdel Test – or at least let two women bond for any reason – in one or two episodes this spring.

Felicity has already been made to look bad as a result of poor writing decisions this season – first by so easily falling for Ray’s flashy gifts, and then by having her last words to Oliver be a plea to kill Ra’s al Ghul. Considering the show’s track record of having characters fall utterly off the rails after a loved one dies, from Oliver to Laurel twice, there’s a real risk that Felicity won’t deal with her grief too well either.

With the teaser summary for episode 312 stating that Felicity will oppose Roy and Laurel in allowing for Malcolm’s help, the show will likely ultimately have to overrule her – and run the risk of making her look irrational for opposing help that could save the day, regardless of how right she actually is in wanting nothing to do with Malcolm. What’s more, with the additional tease that Felicity may say the line “I don’t want to be a woman you love” at the end of that episode – and Marc Guggenheim’s hint that Olicity shippers might be furious at the end when it’s over – the mind boggles as to what more they could do to her.

The worst case scenario is that Felicity runs right into Ray’s arms right after seeing Oliver, being unable to trust her heart to him again. But having her officially hook up with Ray right before Oliver’s return would probably be worse.

Most likely, they’d have her and Ray get physical right before letting the audience know that Oliver is back, even if she doesn’t know. Given that the show already used the aggravating “man runs to confess his feelings only to see a woman kissing someone else” cliché in

one shouldn’t put it past the show to have Oliver seeing them kiss again right as he returns to Starling.

Basically, any scenario that paints Felicity as the main obstacle to her and Oliver coming together, especially if Oliver is actually ready to give it a shot when he comes back, will only blow back on her in the eyes of some fans. Considering all the stupidity and fear Oliver has shown for nine weeks straight this season, having the roles reverse like that for about nine weeks this spring is utterly unfair to Felicity. They’ve already done her and Olicity enough of a disservice for much of Season Three without dragging things out like that, in what would be a misguided attempt to be ironic and come full circle.

would do well to avoid – but sadly may not be creative enough to.

The assumption is that Oliver will return after episode 312. But with an Oliver who has died for real, and with the likelihood that the famed “Lazarus Pit” will bring him back, the chances of Oliver returning with a decided lack of humanity is very high. Whether he has been brainwashed to do Ra’s or Malcolm’s bidding, or is just back to his Hood-self for any other reason, a return to Season One era Oliver – and yet another round of Diggle and Felicity rebuilding his soul – would be the easiest way to eat up the final 10 episodes of screen time and drama.

And while it may be the easy way, it would also be the laziest.

Perhaps it may be inevitable that Oliver goes dark again immediately after his return. But do we really want to see the entire second half of Season Three devoted to making Oliver human again, after spending the entire first season on it? Repetition should technically be avoided, regardless of how different the fight for Oliver’s soul may be from two years ago.

spend in telling the same basic story deep down? Every show that’s lasted for more than a few years eventually struggles with telling new stories and hooks, of course. But after three years, the best shows eventually move onto something new, more creative and more challenging than just the same old stuff to fill up screen time.

is indeed one of those shows that can truly keep things fresh for the long haul, then the time is long overdue to not have every single season be about Oliver teetering on the edge of losing his soul. The second half of Season Three needs to settle that internal war once and for all – and not take 10 whole episodes to do it – before the writers prove that they do have more creative angles and character beats for the rest of the year and every year after.

11. Not waiting until the season finale to stop dragging Olicity out

The last thing the Olicity fandom needs is to only see the couple be happy together for the final few minutes of Season Three. At that point, we’d almost be right back where we started at the end of Season Two, waiting through the hiatus and hoping that the next year would have much happier times. After what they’ve put Oliver, Felicity and the fans through, and what they’re about to put them through, why can’t there be more than a few minutes of happy times now?

Why can’t they resolve any Olicity distance with about three, four or five episodes to spare, and let us actually see them work through things and wars together like a fully united team? Why would it be necessary to wait several more months for that to happen in Season Four – especially when there is no guarantee it would even happen then? Why should the show have to follow the outdated and frankly insulting TV rules, which state that star crossed lovers can’t get their act together until the very end of a season, if at all?

The last time Brandon Routh was the third wheel of a TV couple in

Season Three, he was done away with quicker than expected, and Chuck and Sarah were allowed eight episodes at the end of that season to be a real couple. After two-and-a-half years of waiting and a difficult first half of Season Three, it was the least that show could do for its lovers and fans. If

had the foresight to do something like that – even with only four or so episodes to spare – then getting a real extended taste of Olicity being in love and working as a true team, instead of Oliver making decisions for Felicity out of fear and darkness, would go a long way to making up for much of the season.

But if the writers really don’t trust the fandom to stick around to the finale without long, drawn out suspense on whether they’ll come together – or they just have nothing more creative to fill out the final act of Season Three – then the message is clear. After two years of Olicity coming from nowhere to be a truly original couple, they would really be committed to sticking them in a typical angst-filled romance formula to the very end after all, and leave us waiting three more months and another season for them to be true partners in every way.

The mere fact that the “Oliver walks in on Raylicity kissing before he could confess his feelings” idea even got to the writer’s room at all, much less made the cut of the episode, already shows that there is a real lack of true imagination when it comes to plots and ideas this season. Either they’ll spend Season 3B digging their way out and proving they knew what they were doing the whole time, or they’ll show that this failure wasn’t just a blip in the road – for this season and perhaps others to come.

If a good deal of these 11 wishes are granted over the next four months, however, then myself and others who feel the way I do will be irrational, fair-weather, panicky fools for having ever doubted

. But that would be much better than the various worst case alternatives the show made itself vulnerable to falling into, and made us dread for the next several weeks ahead.

Tags: Arrow (2012), The Flash (2014), Iron Man (2008), Katie Cassidy, John Barrowman, David Ramsey, Brandon Routh, Marc Guggenheim

Robert Dougherty is a longtime online freelance writer, who wrote reviews, articles & editorials on movies/TV for several years on the now defunct Yahoo Voices.

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