[No Spoilers] The Fern Rises

Bad apples in every bunch. I've never seen it and I'm very involved.

So, you haven't seen the petition, posted by a very active BNF in your fandom, which basically demands the removal of the "Wack Canary" from the show, and the return to the so-called "Original Team Arrow"?

http://stilettoroyalty.tumblr.com/post/110778970374/save-original-team-arrow-because-apparently-every

This manifesto for the return of the "original trio" has been doing the rounds on social media, and if you are as involved in the Olicity fandom as you claim, you ought to know the people behind it. Those are not any isolated "bad apples", they are the very ones who organize the trends and other Olicity happenings, and some of them are well-known (and even notorius) outside the Olicity fanbase.

This is just one example of a pretty well-organized organized campaign to marginalize Laurel/Black Canary's role on the show, and ultimately in Oliver's life, because as long as she is present their dream of a continued O/F romance and possible endgame is threatened.

I don't know how representative these people are of the whole fandom. However, my impression is that the fanon idea of a so-called "core team" or "real team Arrow" is still very much alive among many Olicity shippers. For them "Arrow" is about Olicity and Diggle working together to fight crime and Big Bads, and Laurel has no place in that "original trio".

I am not implying or saying that you agree with these exclusionary notions, and the Internet campaigning devoted to spreading these ideas. You should however be aware of them, because this very apparent push to persuade/push the showrunners to write a show that conforms to the preferences of a certain fanbase is what has given the Olicity fandom such a bad name.

From this perspective, the fact that Marc Guggenheim chooses to interact so much with the members of the Olicity fandom, and seems to give them so much weight, is a bit worrying. They got their Olicity romance, but some fans doesn't seem to be content until they have turned a comic book show about Green Arrow into the "Original Team Arrow" show.

/r/arrow Thread Parent Link - youtube.com