‘Shiptober: Should Oliver, Felicity get engaged on ‘Arrow’ season 4?

Mrs. Carter: Are Oliver and Felicity ready for the next step?

There is no arguing that the producers of “Arrow” have a near-impossible task on their hands with this show of trying to please everyone. There are some people out there very interested in seeing a show that is strictly about watching people kick butt in costumes, and have no interest in romance at all. Meanwhile, there are others who watch because of the relationships, and see something in Oliver / Felicity that appeals to them on a personal level. They don’t necessarily want the show to be a soap opera, but want there to be romance and character-building in every episode.

So what the show’s producers have tried to give us in order to satisfy everyone is a balancing act. There has definitely been action, but at the same time some romance. Even in the season premiere, we had a brief suggestion that Oliver may be ready to propose! While that has not been addressed repeatedly since that time, it is a worthy question to be discussed in this ‘Shiptober article: Can Oliver and Felicity get to a position this season where they can be engaged, and can that big romantic moment happen while not upsetting the balance of the show?

The case for the engagement – To us, it’s pretty clear that the moment could happen this season, and it doesn’t take the show really pushing the relationship too hard, either. Go back to the pattern of season 1 and the first half of season 2, when the two characters had this fun, lighthearted chemistry about them. You could tell that they made each other better people, and continuing to build off of that will make fans want to see them married more and more. You can write in an engagement story during the February or May sweeps that is a little more impactful than the premiere, and get many of the characters involved in it. We feel like you want there to be some time onscreen for the two as a couple before that engagement happens (it would’ve been a mistake to have it so soon in the premiere, since most of their romance as a couple had been off-screen at that point), but 23 episodes is a long time. There’s plenty of time in there to prepare for an engagement. Plus, fans would revolt if you broke the two up.

The case for no engagement – If you want to create some sort of drama in the relationship, a good way to do it is by either giving Oliver cold feet, making some problems surface in the relationship, or making Felicity hesitate for some unknown reason. You can still have the two married without having it happen this season. We can see a camp of people out there wanting it to happen maybe in season 5, though there are probably some out there who’d rather just see them broken up altogether.

A great engagement should always be about timing, and we’re okay with waiting for another season or two down the road if it presents a better opportunity. “Arrow” is not going anywhere, and we don’t want an engagement forced in just for the sake of doing so. Personally, we’re pulling for the two, and the fact that they are together is more important to us than whether or not she has a ring on her finger right now.

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