'Arrow': Mia's Backstory Hints at Grim Fate for Oliver in "Brothers & Sisters"

When Arrow fans last saw the Star City 2040 timeline they were hit with a huge reveal: the street fighter Blackstar is actually Mia Smoak, daughter of Oliver and Felicity, thus making her William's half-sister something that came as a complete surprise to, well, everyone. Tonight, fans got a bit more insight on how Mia's identity could come as such a shock and it paints something of a grim picture of Oliver and Felicity's future.

Spoilers for tonight's episode of Arrow, "Brothers & Sisters", below.

In the 2040 flash forwards after Mia declares her identity as Mia Smoak, everyone is skeptical in addition to being shocked. Both of those emotions and reactions stem from the fact that it turns out no one on Team Arrow was even aware Oliver and Felicity had a child. Mia's very existence was hidden from everyone, save for Diggle who in turn told his son, Connor, to watch out for her.

If that bit of Mia's history is difficult, it really only gets bleaker from there. William and Mia don't exactly get off to the best start with one another. William is instantly resentful of the fact that his parents appear to have simply written him off when he went to live with his grandparents and instead "replaced" him with a new child. Mia, however, sets William straight: her childhood wasn't great by any stretch and, from the way Mia explains things, it sounds like Oliver wasn't around for her childhood.

And when we say he wasn't around, we don't mean that Oliver and Felicity break up and he's an absent father. Instead, the exchange makes it sound like Oliver wasn't around because he was dead with Felicity left to tell her daughter that Oliver was a hero, even if there is "nothing in this city" to support it. If Oliver really is gone and therefore not part of Mia's life growing up, it certainly supports the theory that Oliver will die in "Crisis on Infinite Earths", likely as a part of the deal he made with The Monitor in "Elseworlds" to save the lives of The Flash and Supergirl.

Of course, even with Mia's childhood seeming to have a darkness to it, it's not all sadness for the little family Queen. Felicity officially tells Oliver that she's expecting in tonight's episode, a revelation that is met with happiness by the hero.

What do you think about Mia's explanation of her childhood? Let us know in the comments below.

Arrow airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.