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wolfyx7 · 6 years

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Understanding Oliver Queen

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

A psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood.

Depression: a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.

So most people on this site know fully well the way I feel about Oliver Queen as a person and a character. If you don’t, this post will be pretty self explanatory. I wanted to take a moment and talk about a serious condition that has affected Oliver for nearly 9 years of his life and is something he is still struggling with. Most people in The Flash fandom don’t even watch Arrow, have never even seen a single episode of that series except for maybe the crossover episodes. But even then that is still not enough to build up a strong criticism towards the character which is something fans have seem to have been doing the moment he stepped into Central City. I get it, Flash fans don’t have to like and or watch Arrow, they don’t even have to like Oliver himself however dissing severe mental conditions such as PTSD or Depression is something I refuse to take lightly of. Young fans don’t know any better BUT adult writers/showrunners who helped bring this character to life do.

There is a reason I gravitated to Oliver Queen the moment I got into Arrow. I related to him and what he’s suffered; not on the same level but enough to understand why he is the way he is. I don’t know much about PTSD but I have suffered from depression for most of my life, a disorder that I continue to be at war with today. So when I see someone like this hero who is as vulnerable and human as I am, it gives me a sense of optimism and even a little courage that maybe I can get through this. Oliver Queen is me. He’s a dark and stormy rain cloud. We love the shadows and despise places that are too bright and sunny. We’re a couple of lost souls browsing through a graveyard of personal tragedies and endless pain because that’s all we know. Afraid to get too close to or trust people because nothing is worse than being hurt anymore than we already are. And the worst part about this condition is the misunderstandings; people don’t often see our good points and so we’re judged unfairly.

Its no secret that recently The Flash writers have been using Oliver Queen as their own personal punching bag for jokes. Almost EVERYONE on Team Flash has made a snippet or two at his expense.

Cisco [and even Caitlin] has especially taken a few douchey shots at Oliver…

…and Barry which is exactly the reason I lost all respect for his character. I don’t hate him but I no longer like him. Congratulations Flash writers you’ve successfully made Cisco Ramon unlikable in my eyes. But Cisco isn’t the only issue that’s got me all rallied up this year.

Joe West. I’ve tried to be patient with this man. I tried to understand his side of things. I get it he’s a by-the-book-over-protective-cop but he’s also the world’s biggest hypocrite. Now he isn’t a killer but he also has no moral high ground to stand above Oliver Queen. This is the same man who lied to his daughter for the past 20 years about her mother’s whereabouts and he didn’t even go after his wife. He also lied again to Iris about Barry’s secret identity, not to mention forced Barry to refrain from ever telling her. He wasn’t supportive of Iris’s relationship with Eddie [who was his former partner] which is specifically why he continuously meddled in her affairs [its no wonder she hid that relationship from him at first]. And lets talk about him maliciously criticizing Oliver but yet giving Barry and Patty a free pass..

Does Joe have a short memory or did he forget about last year when Barry went CRAZY and nearly killed Eddie, could’ve killed Iris and almost killed Oliver WHO WAS TRYING TO SAVE HIM?! I love Barry and he clearly had no full control over his actions BUT he did get himself into this situation when he went after the meta-human, who infected him. alone. If Oliver hadn’t been there to stop him, there would’ve been an endless body count of corpses weighing down on Barry’s conscience. Would Joe simply turn his back on the man he raised if that had happened and call him a crazy killer the way he’s been doing to Oliver every damn time? Remember he wrote off Henry Allen as the murderer of his wife instead of trusting Barry when he told him his father was innocent. Last year Barry was about 2 seconds away from crossing a line he’d never be able to come back from and its because of Oliver Queen HIS GOOD FRIEND for saving him and preventing that outcome. Joe seems to have missed the part about the Green Arrow being the good guy.

Or how about the time Joe’s new partner/Barry’s squeeze sweet good-girl cop Patty Spivot stalked and stormed in after Earth2 Harrison Wells [without calling backup], accusing him of crimes committed but was never convicted of by fake!Wells [aka Eobard Thawne] then shot this unarmed man point blank. And not just shot, she shot him in the damn chest. He wasn’t armed, he didn’t even threaten her and she shot him in the heart. Instead of wounding him and cuffing him like a normal cop, Patty shot to kill. She meant it too and JOE DIDN’T REPORT IT! Barry doesn’t even know what happened because his friggin so-called team is keeping him in the dark! And then right after this incident, Patty goes attempted murderer on a meta-human criminal and if Barry hadn’t been there she would’ve killed that guy in cold blood. I wonder if Joe realizes yet how reckless and mentally unstable his partner is because she’s not only a danger to herself but also to others. And since he didn’t report her last episode with Wells, its technically canon that he’s protecting her from getting in trouble which goes against everything about being a good cop. Hiding these incidences is as bad as pulling the trigger.

Joe West is supposed to be a good guy, not because he’s a cop but because of the man he raised Barry Allen to be; which is understanding, compassionate, honest, kind-hearted and able to see the good in people. All of these things DO NOT apply to Joe West when it comes to Oliver Queen. Every time the writers have him take jabs at Oliver like this he’s insulting a man who he knows absolutely NOTHING about. The only thing he does know of is certain crimes that were committed in the past. Joe doesn’t even know the kind of hell Oliver has been through. He doesn’t know half the sacrifices and losses he’s suffered. He doesn’t even know the extent of Oliver’s psychological damage that has affected his ability to function like any normal person and how hard he’s worked to get to a healthier state of mind. It really bothers me to see that Joe has this much disgust, hatred and ignorance towards a man who not only risked his life to save his a** but the life of his surrogate son as well as countless others. He has no compassion, no forgiveness and no respect for Oliver whatsoever.

I mean common even Iris wanted a Green Arrow doll which probably means Barry told her Oliver’s secret. She knows Oliver saved her life and probably knows how much he means to Barry and she barely knows the guy.

Oliver is a person who’s lost so much…including people he’s loved. He’s had to watch everyone from his parents, to his closest friends and even his own sister fall to their deaths [Thea so far has been the only one to survive]. This is exactly why its always been hard for him to get close to anyone because evey time he does…someone dies.

That includes himself. And btw I’m pretty sure dying a horrific death such as being stabbed in the chest and kicked off an 80 ft. mountain has probably left more than an mere psychological and emotionally damaged scar. I’m curious if Joe has ever come close to this kind of experience and hope to function somewhat normally afterward. Oliver is lucky he doesn’t need therapy.

So when Joe mocks Oliver’s PTSD and depression like this, he’s talking about all the other victims out there in the real world suffering from these mental disorders. He’s talking about me. He’s also talking about the man who Barry looks up to and admires greatly; a man who has become incredibly important to him. Every time Joe West maliciously dismisses and insults Oliver Queen’s character he’s insulting Barry Allen. Can you imagine how much it hurts Barry to see his father figure spout such ugliness towards a man he doesn’t even know personally? And Barry knows who Oliver is. He’s more than a hero and his partner…he’s his friend which is something Barry doesn’t have too many of.

Before Barry met Oliver he admired his Arrow alter ego from afar. His only friend at the time was Iris and the only male role model he had growing up was Joe because his father was in prison. Cisco is more like his scientist buddy and Ronnie was more of an acquaintance [they never actually bonded]. So Barry never actually had any male friends growing up, he was an outcast. He was as lonely as Oliver was which is probably why they began to really click as soon as they got to know each other. They’re polar opposites in personality but they have more in common with each other than they do with anyone else. Barry knows what Oliver has been through. He knows about the island of hell; acknowledges his sacrifices and losses because he’s also had his fair share of them [though not as extensively]. But above all Barry knows Oliver is a good person. He saw his light through all that darkness. He doesn’t see Oliver’s faults he sees his goodness. Barry sees Oliver as a hero not a killer. He doesn’t see him as damaged goods but rather a human being worthy of forgiveness and redemption; knows he can inspire and be better than what he believes. He has tremendous compassion for Oliver as does Oliver himself which is a quality Joe [who may be a self-righteous cop] lacks of.

Out of all of Oliver’s friends, Barry seems to be the only person who again and again needs to remind the audience that he shouldn’t be placed on such an unfair pedestal. Felicity may be the love of Oliver’s life and Diggle may somehow have occupied BFF status but these two spend way more time fighting against Oliver’s faults rather than understanding them and defending him when they know the pain he’s been through. Barry continuously defends Oliver when everyone else would rather berate and ridicule him. No one in the Flarrow-verse is perfect or above criticism. Oliver knows he’s made mistakes, fans like me know his mistakes and don’t excuse them however I’m able to understand why Oliver does the things he does whether its pushing people away or isolating himself. He’s a tortured soul, more importantly a human being who’s been through the worst kind of hell imaginable. Oliver has worked extremely hard to beat his demons and he’s achieved something he’d never thought he’d ever get…happiness. But even though he’s got his girl and is more in control of his life, that doesn’t mean Oliver has been cured of his PTSD. It’s a condition that’ll probably stay with him for as long as the island is with him in his heart.

The thing is Oliver Queen is a complicated person. He’s not easy to understand. He doesn’t always make the best decisions. I should know because people in my life don’t really understand me. We’re a hard thing to love but also an easy thing to love if given the chance. Joe doesn’t have to like Oliver but he should at least show him some respect and common courtesy for the sake of the son he raised; and given his past discretion with the law in terms of the sh*t he, Barry and Patty have done he’s in no position to ever judge Oliver Queen. I guess Joe believes kids would rather have Christmas dolls of criminal sociopaths like Captain Cold than the hero Green Arrow who saved his city and loved ones more than once. He should really think twice before insensitively labeling people crazy because he has known people crazier than Oliver. He owes Oliver more than he realizes. People in this fandom as well as the Flash writing staff should really think before sticking their foot in their mouths when it comes to severe mental disorders like depression and PTSD. I don’t appreciate seeing it as a joke nor do I appreciate seeing the Flash writers making light of the subject. Its not a fun condition to suffer from, its the worst thing to ever have.

And Oliver Queen doesn’t deserve this bullsh*t anymore.

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