Disappointing that Oliver's legacy is to fail Star City?

[Haggard01]

Like everything Oliver has lived through on saving his city is all for nothing in the end as Star City is worse off than ever with both his kids having to pick up the mantel to save the city.

It seriously ticks me off for Oliver’s legacy is going to be nothing but a failure.

Given you know it’s a fixed future and all according to the showrunners. Marc Guggenheim and Wendy have Olicty on their heads but making Oliver’s crusade for nothing is on Beth.

They might have a time travel fix but with all the talk of Oliver back to it’s original roots I highly doubt it. Like sure they could always change their minds but eh I’m not holding my breath.

Given Arrow coming to an end there I no reason they can't have Oliver finale succeeded in saving his city.

What are your guys thoughts on this?

[President_Luthor]

I'm of the opinion very little is set in stone now, thanks to Elseworlds and whatever happens in Crisis in the fall. I think the odds are high that the future we are now seeing will, in part, be altered. The changes could be minor or major, but likely more impactful than either Flashpoint or Vandal Savage's timeline scheming.

The future we're seeing looks bad re: the GA legacy -- if nothing changes at all -- but I think whatever Oliver cooked up with the Monitor is going to play a big part in what will ultimately be Oliver's final legacy.

They love TDK trilogy, so I wouldn't be surprised if they allude to a TDKR-style ending, where Bruce passes on the Batman legacy and gets a "normal" life. In Arrow's case, there's no lack of successors to carry on Oliver's mission should he retire. Or, if he gets a more canonical, comic book death and glory finale.

[costas22]

The funny thing is that it's nothing new. Up until season 5, it was a recurring theme that Oliver was failing in most aspects of his life: He lost his family's company, the constant on-off with Felicity was blamed on him, his vendettas caused a lot of people their lives (Tommy, Moira, Laurel, William's mother), he created villains like Prometheus and he was an underperfoming mayor during season 5 (has that changed in seasons 6-7?). Obviously Oliver has defeated a lot of bad guys and has protected the city repeatedly, but if you look back over the last 7 years you can't help but notice that he was flawed in many ways and that he changed many people's lives not necessarily for the better (Thea and William for example).

Anyway, my take on Haggard's comment (given my limited knowledge of the show's current storylines) is that the flash forwards won't be retconned. We are not talking about one episode with an alternate timeline (like The Flash's Out of Time episode in Season 1). We are talking about a season-long storyline. If they undo it, it will be rendered as a complete waste of time (plus, these flash forward could always lead to a spin-off). Whatever deal Oliver makes with the Monitor, I assume, will be about changing the immediate future and saving the world from a catastrophe (or just merging the multiverse, FINALLY bringing Supergirl to Earth 1).

So where does that leave Oliver? Two scenarios, I feel:
a) Arrow ends with Oliver saving Star City and leaving it in a good place. And the dystopian future we see in the flash forwards will be blamed on Oliver's absence due to his death. That's a pretty good way to salvage Oliver's legacy.
b) Oliver dies having failed to "save" Star City. However, the show will make the point that Oliver's lasting legacy will be that he inspired the kids who would go on to save Star City: William, Mia, John Jr, Roy, etc.