There’s no denying that the latest DCTV crossover event was the biggest to date. It was also the most impressive in terms of scale and emotions. This felt like a four-hour movie in every way. It was the best yet — minus the whole unnecessary Nazis storyline.
One of the driving forces behind the emotional aspect of the entire crossover event was love — romance, friendship, family, team, you name it. Love is the most important emotion. It’s what defines us and drives us as human beings, and that was truly something beautiful to witness in a crossover event that can sometimes struggle to balance heart and action effectively.
The crossover event started with Barry & Iris’ wedding — which was interrupted by, what else, Nazis — and ended with not one, but two weddings. That’s right, Bartholomew Henry Allen & Iris Ann West and Oliver Jonas Queen & Felicity Megan Smoak are MARRIED.
For Olicity, it’s 6 years in the making. For Westallen, it’s 4 years in the making. For us, it’s been quite the emotional ride for both couples that’s been worth the heartbreak and wait.
Usually, marriage on television shows serves to bring a close to a chapter or the end to a show. But with Olicity and Westallen that’s certainly not the case.
Marriage isn’t an end. It’s a beginning. In life, in fiction. Which is why both Oliver & Felicity and Barry & Iris’ marriages have this fangirl thrilled for the future that awaits these couples moving forward. Contrary to what some in the television business might believe, it’s not all about the build-up. There are plenty of us that yearn to see married couples taking on the world, kicking ass, saving their city, and being the ultimate team.
There was a certain beauty in the fact that this crossover event started with Barry telling Oliver they could both, in fact, get the girl, in rebuttal of Oliver’s first crossover advice, only to end with both Barry and Oliver marrying their girls.
Started here:
“Guys like us don’t get the girl.”
Look where we ended up:
Obviously there are some fans that are upset with the double wedding to end the crossover event. And that’s understandable because you could argue that both Oliver & Felicity and Barry & Iris deserved their own wedding moment.
And that point is valid until Iris says that they don’t really need a ceremony. They already had that. The only thing they wanted to do at this point was make it legal. This wasn’t about being flashy (pun not intended). This was about being bound by the laws of marriage. This isn’t about anyone else. They’re doing this for them.
Barry and Iris were nothing but happy for Oliver and Felicity. They didn’t look flustered or bothered by Felicity’s eager proposal, given how she’d almost died and lost the love of her life. Life doesn’t promise tomorrow. You have to live in the moment. And Felicity didn’t want to waste another second not being married to Oliver. Once again, this wasn’t a wedding ceremony that was interrupted. This was a legal proceeding.
Given Barry and Iris’ constant support of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship throughout the crossover event, it actually felt quite appropriate to have the two most powerful couples on DC Television get married side-by-side as they’re supporting one another and supporting themselves.
But there will always be people that want to complain. This isn’t a time to complain. This is a time for celebration! So let’s celebrate both of these beautiful, happy newly wedded couples!
Oliver & Felicity
When it comes to OTPs, Olicity owns a permanent spot at the No. 1 spot on my list. That’s not to say that I don’t have OTPs that I absolutely swoon over — I do, and they are plentiful, especially in the DCTV universe (hello Karamel and Westallen!) But Olicity is just one of those ships that personally affected me — both the couple and the friendships and opportunities I have been afforded.
Oliver and Felicity were never the plan. Hell, Felicity was meant to be a one-off character in the third episode of Arrow before fading away into oblivion. But then the unexpected happened. Emily Bett Rickards brought Felicity Smoak to life. And her presence forever altered the course of the series. In the best way.
Lightning in a bottle isn’t easy to capture. But that’s exactly what Arrow managed to capture with Stephen Amell and Rickards’ electrifying chemistry, which was immediate and noticeable from fans to cast to crew all the way up the CW president. They knew they had something special. And they were not going to waste it.
Thus began Oliver and Felicity’s wonderful journey, which started as acquaintances, which morphed into partners, which morphed into friends, which morphed into romantic partners. It’s been six years of story; six years of ups and downs; six years of love; six years of the Olicity fandom waiting for the moment these two loveable idiots tied the knot.
But Olicity fans have been there before with the couple’s first engagement in season 4. It was beautiful and felt earned even in the short time we’d seen them on-screen as a couple, from the end of season 3 to the midseason finale in season 4. But during that time we saw how these two partners were an even stronger team together. They were able to fight crime, save the city, and bring us sizzling personal moments that made them the complete package. Hell, they even had a discussion about the importance of marriage and how that meant being a team for life, which showed us what we want to see: These characters talking about the big issues and working through them.
But then Arrow got stupid. Or bored. Because who wants to watch a happy, married couple fighting crime and being a team? Certainly not us. (sarcasm alert) Baby mama drama ensued, which was later followed by a breakup, which was later followed by a season mostly OOC for these two characters.
But Arrow learned the error of their ways and began to rebuild Olicity’s relationship from the ground up in season 6, which brought us some of the stuff we’d been missing and bringing us new surprises. It feels like Arrow again.
In a lot of ways, this crossover event felt like it was bringing Oliver and Felicity closer together. Every episode acted as progression for them in their current state. In the first episode, Barry encouraged Oliver that he can have his happy ending with Felicity, like Barry is having with Iris. There’s nothing like a wedding to inspire you to shout your love. While Oliver indeed wants to marry Felicity, he always believed it wasn’t the right time, what with the FBI investigation, the dangerous stakes. But if he looked at it that way, it’d never be the right time. It’s not about the right time. It’s about the right person.
So when Oliver subtly popped the question to Felicity at Westallen’s rehearsal dinner, this was the moment we’d been waiting for. Until Felicity said no. At first it was like, “Did I hear wrong?” But as this episode and the second episode progressed, we began to understand Felicity’s reasoning.
The last time she had been engaged to Oliver — on top of the world — she was shot, paralyzed, and discovered Oliver had been keeping his son a secret from her. It was, as Felicity said, “the beginning of the end.” Now that they’ve worked back to a good place, she doesn’t want to “tempt fate” or risk losing Oliver, which is her greatest fear.
Throughout the crossover event, Oliver and Felicity were separated, almost died, and never thought they’d see each other again. It’s those dire circumstances — when you realize that you may never see the love of your life again — that force you to reexamine life. To inspire you to live in the moment.
Oliver had been upset because he wanted to marry Felicity and she didn’t want to be married, which made him believe she didn’t love him as much as he loves her (which is preposterous.) Felicity was upset because Oliver couldn’t see this from her perspective and was still clinging to an idea that she wasn’t comfortable with. But when both were reunited after nearly losing each other, they realized that all of that stuff doesn’t matter. Whether they’re married or not married. The only thing that matters is that they’re together.
Oliver had proposed to Felicity five times. And the one time Felicity proposed to Oliver, it finally stuck. Everything that they had been through, everything they realized they could’ve lost, everything that they’re grateful for in having each other was realized in a moment of love: as Barry and Iris were about to make their marriage official.
And how fitting was it that John Diggle was the one to marry Oliver and Felicity? Perhaps Olicity’s biggest fictional shipper, Diggle was all smiles and satisfaction as his best friends said their “I Dos.”
The beautiful thing about Oliver and Felicity’s marriage is that it’s not an end, not even close. It’s a beginning. There’s so much that this couple gets to experience together on Arrow. We get what we’ve wanted for a long time: To watch this married couple (gah! They’re married!) work together to fight crime and save their city while also navigating the waters of life. Who says married couples are boring? I’d argue they’re more interesting.
Barry & Iris
For as long as they can remember, Barry and Iris have been a part of each other’s lives. It didn’t matter the extent of their relationship, whether they were friends or romantic partners. The one thing that never changed was their love for one another. Or the strength that they find within themselves because of the other.
Barry Allen and Iris West have a love that transcends time and space and even Earths. They’ve been fated from the beginning, but that never took away from their love story. Much like lightning in a bottle can be a blessing, something that’s meant to be from the start is also a blessing.
Barry and Iris were always going to end up together. They’re one of those iconic couples that not only worked on paper — in comics — but also worked on screen, which is perhaps the most important part. If I’ve learned anything in this DCTV universe it’s that what isn’t working won’t last. But Barry and Iris have always worked and have always been meant to last.
Barry and Iris’ love have inspired others. So much so that it was the focus of the crossover event. Barry and Iris’ wedding brought together nearly everyone from every CW superhero show, while also focusing on the inspiration of their love in Joe and Cecile, and Oliver and Felicity, who they actively were encouraging and inspiring throughout the entire event.
Because while Barry and Iris passionately believe in their own love, they also believe in others finding the same love and happiness that they have.
I’m a sucker for the classic best friends become romantic partners trope. It’s one of the tropes that I embrace because there’s something about that preexisting bond and natural progression of feelings that just feels so organic.
And that’s how it’s always felt with Barry and Iris. We met them as best friends, and we watched Barry’s longing from afar. Still there was always a sense that these two were going to find their way to each other. It was only a matter of when.
For so long, Barry and Iris just never managed to get on the same page at the same time. But when the pair finally got to that place, everything just fell into place. They embraced this new dynamic in their relationship, embraced their love for one another, and lived in the moment. Eventually, it brought them to a place where it felt natural to take the next step. So Barry proposed in the most musically beautiful way imaginable. And it seemed as if we’d gotten our happy ending.
But then Savitar threatened to rip their promising future from them, which certainly brought a certain “live in the moment” dynamic to their relationship. It made them realize, much like Olicity in this crossover event, that the only thing that matters is being with each other. It’s not about how much time you get, it’s about who you choose to spend your time with. And Westallen have chosen each other.
While Barry and Iris’ wedding was interrupted by Nazis, the most important part is that the Nazis couldn’t interrupt their love. While the beautiful ceremony is such an iconic part of what we were hoping for, it’s more important that Barry and Iris were able to declare their love the way they wanted. It wasn’t about the pretty ceremony. It was about having each other.
And there’s definitely a beauty in that. In not focusing on what could be considered the superficial part of the wedding process, but the important part of being. Though I’m not gonna lie, I wanted the whole wedding ceremony. I wanted the ceremony, the vows, more of Iris looking drop-dead gorgeous in that gown. As a fangirl, that’s what I wait for. Here’s to hoping we get a reception or renewal of vows down the line.
Barry and Iris have found inspiration within each other. And their love has inspired and will continue to inspire those around them. I can’t wait to see where their journey takes them.
Congrats to both Oliver & Felicity and Barry & Iris on getting their happy ending!
