If you're still reeling from last week's Arrow and The Flash crossover episode, I don't blame you. Both shows delivered two jam-packed hours of non-stop action on a physical as well as emotional level. I mean, for a solid 20-seconds there everybody had pretty much died. But thanks to Barry's time traveling capabilities, that grim outcome was able to be rewritten (at least for now). However, there was one plot development that remained constant in both timelines: Oliver was finally introduced to his son, William. And while this storyline has been in the works for a few years now, we still know very little about where this is all headed. Will Oliver's son become a metahuman? Is he already one? Will he eventually join Team Arrow or is he the one to end up in that flash forward grave?
These are all questions that the show will hopefully explore in the coming months, but as of right now, William's destiny could go in many different directions, especially now that we know his name is William Clayton and not Connor Hawke, like had originally been predicted. For those unfamiliar with the name, Connor Hawke was Oliver's son in the DC Comics universe and eventually became the second Green Arrow. Clearly, this is not the trajectory the showrunners have in mind for William, but that doesn't mean he won't end up playing a fundamental role on the series — possibly even in a meta-sense.
Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg recently shared with Entertainment Weekly that he intentionally opted to make Connor and William two different entities in order to give "leeway to still have Connor Hawke be part of the universe." So maybe we'll see another son of Oliver's come out of the woodwork eventually? Or maybe they won't have Connor be any relation to Oliver at all. Either way, though, this more than likely won't be William's destiny, which leaves the character shrouded in mystery. His journey could go in any direction at this point, which is kind of exciting.
We know that he'll eventually cause some serious problems between Oliver and Felicity since Oliver has decided to hide his existence from her entirely. (Not the best call you've ever made, Ollie.) But I'm hoping his character will serve as more than just an Olicity obstacle. It'd be nice to see this character get flushed out and grow into a pivotal player in the Arrow universe. I mean, he does live in Central City, after all, which is practically overflowing with metahuman activity. Perhaps William will eventually be in the wrong place at the wrong time and develop his own supernatural abilities. The only question would be — would he choose to use them for good or for evil.
Children are easily manipulated, so if any of Oliver's enemies were to discover William's existence, they could attempt to use him against Oliver, or better yet, turn him against Oliver. The way I see it is, Oliver's son could either become his greatest asset or his greatest weakness. Knowing Oliver, he'll want to keep William as far away from his vigilante life as possible, but we all know by now that nothing ever really goes according to plan. So maybe someday — with the help of a time jump — we'll see both father and son wearing green garb and fighting the good fight alongside each other as a unite. It would certainly take the concept of father-son bonding to a whole new level.
Images: Katie Yu/ The CW; oliver-and-felicity/Tumblr
