A Hero's Journey

               What makes a hero?  We associate great courage and noble qualities with a  hero.  Oliver certainly has those.  Arrow,  for me, is like the Greek myths and legends of  old.  Oliver Queen reminds  me  of Odysseus.  Odysseus was the hero  of the Trojan war, whom Calypso holds captive.  Odysseus is  basically the story of   a man  who  wanted to go home.  Oliver has been on a homeward journey himself.  In the first five years, he wanted to go home to Star  City  and  his family.  When he meets Felicity, doesn't think he can be the hero Star City  needs and  have the family he  so  longs for.  Felicity finally convinces  him that he can have both worlds that of being a hero in the light while  at the same time having  a family.

Another aspect of a  hero's  journey  is  there is usually a  Christ-like figure in the  story.  One who sacrifices  himself for the salvation of others. We have seen  Oliver do that this season.  He  turned himself  in so that all the others on his team, his  friends  and his family, could be saved.

So how  does the hero's  journey end?  We are all wondering that now.  It could end  with the hero's death, and  the legacy he  leaves behind, the values he fought for, are carried  on by those left behind Felicity, William, Mia, the Team, they will all carry on because  of the legacy he leaves behind, however this seems to the viewer  so  tragic.  The  hero didn't get the happy ending.

I don't think that is how this story will end.  Odysseus gets home to his wife and his son.  He saves the day and  he has  survived.  I know in  Elseworlds and the deal made with the Monitor  seems hopeless, but I think the writers patterned Oliver after Odysseus, and he  will be able to go  home to his family.  Wasn't the Monitor a type of Time Lord?  Oliver will show himself the true  hero by offering himself  to  save his friends.   What if the John Diggle as the Green Lantern, restores life to Oliver  and the Monitor, who controls time, changes the current time?  I know Beth has  said that the  future is fixed.  It is certainly fixed  in this current time, but if the  Monitor changes the fixed time, then Oliver goes  home, to a different Star City.  He goes home to his  wife, son, and daughter. He can lay down his  bow, the City is safe, and  he can have the life he has fought eight years to get.  That is the  hero's journey that I would like to see, and I have  hope that the writers can do this, or something  like this.

There is always hope.  Hope is being able to see the light despite all of the darkness, and  hasn't that been Arrow's journey all along?