WHO IS IN THE GRAVE?
LUCIANA MANGAS: I have been changing my mind every week about this since the premiere. One thing I am absolutely sure of, though. It can’t be Felicity. Yes, I know she has been shot and may be in mortal danger, but it’s not her. Come on, guys. Felicity is the heart and soul of this show. You take her out of the picture and there is no more ARROW. It’s simple as that. Besides, can you imagine what that would do to Oliver? The guy has suffered unimaginable pain during his five years away, lost both his parents very tragically, lost his best friend in another tragedy and nearly lost his sister – and that’s just naming a few of the traumatic events of Oliver’s recent past. If they were to kill the love of his life, Oliver would be set on a destructive path with absolutely no return. So nope. They are not killing Felicity.
For now, my money is on Captain Lance. As much as I like him, the way he is mixed up with Dahrk and everything just doesn’t bode well for our dear Captain. That and the fact that I just can’t see them killing anyone else from team ARROW. Can you?
MELISSA SMITH: My guess is William, son of Oliver and his college girlfriend, Samantha Clayton. Yes, Felicity was shot in the winter finale, but there’s a hole in the DC-verse that needs to be filled, and Felicity fits that bill (more about that later). If the grave had been Felicity’s, Barry would be more distraught. They are good friends. If the grave belongs to Samantha, they will have to do a lot of relationship-building to make the viewers care and to make Oliver willing to kill someone to avenge her death. So, my guess is that William will be murdered by Dahrk, and that will send Oliver into “killer mode.”
SHANA LIEBERMAN: Ok, I have no idea. For a while there, I thought maybe it could be Malcolm Merlyn. As much as I’d hate to see John Barrowman go, it just seems like there’s not a whole lot of story left for Malcolm. Between that and the recent reference to Captain Jack on DOCTOR WHO, I feel like Malcolm’s not long for ARROW’s world…But the more I think about it, the more I figure Malcolm’s the one Oliver vows to kill, not the character who’s already been laid to rest in the mystery grave.
So, who is it? It has to be someone that Oliver cares a lot about but with whom Barry doesn’t have a close relationship. That definitely takes Felicity off the list of possibilities, and I’d argue any core Team Arrow member is safe because of that, as well. That pretty much leaves either some part of Diggle’s extended family or Captain Lance, I think? No, I really have no idea.
MEREDITH ZYLBERBERG: Someone whose last name is Lance. But for real. At the beginning of the season I had a list going, that I can’t remember the order of right now. But it had Baby Mama, both Lances, and even the kid on it. I think Mama Smoak was somewhere at the bottom of the list. But now more than ever I’m convinced it’s one of the Lances. I’ll briefly explain why.
Laurel: Laurel has no storyline this season. The closest she’s come was a couple episodes about resurrecting her sister. Meanwhile, she’s like the Roy of last season. She’s tying up loose ends, reconciling with people (her friendship with Oliver, her relationship with her dad), and pretty much acting as support to everyone else. Regardless of one’s opinion of her, you can not argue the fact that she has basically nothing to do onscreen this season other than being another body in the room (or fight). Also – killing the Black Canary would be shocking in a way this show hasn’t managed to achieve in a while. My one hesitation at claiming with certainty that it’s her is just that: I’m not sure the show is willing to go there. I *will* say, whether it’s her or Quentin in the grave, I think Laurel Lance will no longer be on Arrow (at least not as a regular character) come next season.
Quentin: See, originally I was more sure it was Quentin than Laurel. But now… he has a storyline, he has a new love interest. I’m just not sure. It definitely still could be him – he could sacrifice himself to save his daughter (there has been an awful lot of talk about daughters this season). He could have a redemption arc to make amends for working with Damien, and the end result is his death. Plus, as I mentioned, it would serve the purpose of allowing Laurel to exit stage left without killing her. Either way, my guess right now is that one of the Lances is in that grave.
Next page: Felicity Smoak…
