To me, at least, we as fans of Arrow are as in the dark as we were one year ago at this time. Back then, all we really knew going into season 7 was that Oliver Queen was in prison and a new Emerald Archer would be prowling Star City. And now, we’re left mystified as to how the eighth and final season will set up “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Because of how we’ve been consistently led to believe that the final ten episodes will be radically different from what came before, it’s been theorized by many folks that Ollie and the mysterious, all-powerful Monitor will travel the Multiverse ahead of the big crossover event.
Now, thanks to lead actor Stephen Amell himself, we can confirm that our hero will indeed be working with the Monitor this fall. Here’s what he revealed while speaking with Green Arrow TV at San Diego Comic-Con:
“We don’t know how much time passes between [Seasons] 7 and 8. Certainly enough time to let my hair grow a little bit. But Oliver is doing the Monitor’s bidding. What we get into in the early part of it is like what do I actually know about the Monitor? Should I just trust him? Clearly, when I told him that I needed to save Barry and Kara, he gave me an arrow that allowed me to defeat Evil Superman. So from that standpoint, he’s trustworthy, but, like, am I really willing to put everything on the line for this guy?”
From the sound of it, Oliver is going to keep Mar-Novu at arm’s length. Though the Green Arrow no doubt believes he’s doing everything for the greater good, it’s hard to argue with someone possessing abilities the likes of which nobody has ever seen.
As for Amell being uncertain about how much time passed between seasons 7 and 8, I’d guess a few months. For the most part, these shows unfold in real time. And since each Arrowverse show must align for the crossover, it’s not like we’re going to leap forward by several years.
Arrow returns with new episodes on Tuesday, October 15th on The CW.