Will Arrow Season 8 Take Place After "Crisis on Infinite Earths"?

It's season finale week for most of The CW's Arrowverse shows and for the show that kicked it all off, Arrow, it's episode on Monday was truly game-changing. With the series ending next season, Monday's Season 7 finale tied up quite a few storylines as well as kicked the door wide open for the upcoming "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event. Things were so significant, particularly in the episode's last few minutes with The Monitor coming to collect on Oliver Queen's "Elseworlds" bargain that many fans have begun to wonder if Arrow's final season will, in fact, be "Crisis" at a minimum or a lead up of Oliver's adventures with The Monitor that brings it to Earth.

But what if neither of those are true? What if instead of being the actual "Crisis" event or a prelude to it, Arrow Season 8 ends up taking place after "Crisis" has come and gone? Since we don't really know a whole lot about how Arrow's final season will play out or how "Crisis on Infinite Earths" will happen -- though, thanks to last night's The Flash finale, we know it's coming sooner than the Arrowverse thought it would -- anything is possible, but here are is why it's possible that Arrow Season 8 may be more about the fallout of "Crisis" than anything else.

The biggest reason is how Arrow's Season 7 ended. After preventing Emiko and the Ninth Circle from carrying out their plan to destroy Star City, Oliver and Felicity ended up leaving town. The Ninth Circle knew about Felicity's pregnancy so retirement to a safe, quiet location, only made sense and for a while their quiet life was a happy one. However, while Mia is still a baby, The Monitor comes to collect, informing Oliver that he will die and also that he is needed to help save the multiverse. Oliver leaves, Mia grows up without her father, and in the future after saving Star City and the world, an older Felicity herself goes off with The Monitor while Mia has finally become a hero in her own right. It's a setup the feels primed for telling Mia's story -- especially with The Monitor noting how much the world will need Mia.

Also, while The Monitor arriving could be seen as a big clue that Season 8 would lead up "Crisis", realistically having 10 episodes of Oliver and The Monitor dealing with the various threats in the multiverse honestly feels a little implausible. There's an awful lot of story and character introductions to make in that time frame that might not work out particularly well. In theory it could still be done, but it just feels a little much.

Having Arrow Season 8 be "Crisis" also seems a little problematic. While Oliver is clearly going to have a very significant role, "Crisis" has always been presented as The Flash's story. The very first hints of "Crisis" came from the pilot episode of The Flash. It's The Flash that revealed the existence of the Arrowverse's multiverse with the introduction of Earth-2 and it's ultimately The Flash that is bringing "Crisis" calling early as the events of Tuesday's Season 5 finale -- specifically Thawne's escape from prison and Nora's death -- pushing things up by five years. It would stand to reason then, that when "Crisis" happens, The Flash will play a large role. Having Arrow's final season be the epic event would almost feel like it was dismissing the importance of all of the work building to the event.

If Arrow's final season does end up happening after "Crisis" it would allow the show to wrap up the stories of the other primary characters, namely that of John Diggle. It would also allow for the show to set up for a possible spin-off series, one that could focus on the future of the Arrowverse. The future -- particularly the 2040s -- has been an area of interest visited by not only Arrow but The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow as well. With Mia Smoak being an established character who just became a hero herself, picking up her story would be a good way to continue the Arrowverse in a fresh, new way, especially in the wake of "Crisis".

What do you think? Will Arrow's final season be a post-"Crisis" affair, or will we see it leading up to the big multiverse-changing event? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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