Okay, this is where things get a little confusing so just bare with me. They started to do future forwards in the seventh season as opposed to flashbacks which were led by an adult version of William (and the Smoak-Queens' other kid, but we'll get to her in a minute). You're probably thinking that it would start to get really confusing having two Williams in the show at once, but current time William (the younger one) wasn't actually in too many episodes in the season.

But don't get me wrong, the few episodes he was in were very good!

So, we start out the season with discovering that Felicity has taken up a few odd jobs to support herself and William, most notably at a coffee shop. We get a nice bonding moment between the mother-son pair where she promises that no matter what happens with Oliver in prison, at least they'll always have each other (cue the awws!). This scene makes what comes next in the episode even harder to watch.

Later the next morning, they are attacked in their home by Diaz which ultimately forces Felicity to decide what's best for William. She has to send him away to a boarding school where Diaz can't hurt him, despite how much it will hurt them both to be away from one another. Jack Moore and Emily Rickards' performances in this scene just reminds the viewer how much we'll miss seeing these two together. And that's the last we see of younger William until about midway through the season. Luckily, we still have plenty of ground to cover with future William in the meantime.

When viewers first see William, he's traveling back to Lian Yu via boat (kinda foreboding there, don't you think?). He soon runs into an old friend of his dad's, Roy Harper, who's fully equipped with a thick gray beard and even grumpier attitude than usual. Before long, they recognize one another and Roy invites William into the small campsite he's made for himself on the deserted island.

William explains why he came to the island in the first place which happens to be because an old item from his parents' past (specifically, a hozen passed down through generations of the Queens) sent coordinates to the island's location. Or rather, to Roy's location because Felicity still believed he was a good person. Roy's very reluctant at first to come back to Star City with William considering he's been isolated on a remote island for years, but he eventually agrees to go back after hearing the awful things that have taken hold of Star City.

I would have never imagined a pairing like William and Roy to be brought into the show, although I couldn't be happier that it was! I mean, just the scene alone on Lian Yu where the two discuss their past mistakes (or should I say, William discusses his and his parents' past mistakes while Roy stares off, brooding) over a campfire was enough to get me hooked on the whole future forward thing by itself.

Over the course of the next few episodes, we see William and Roy head back to Star City where the hosen leads them to Felicity's old business, Smoak Technologies. This is also the place where we meet two more of our Future Team Arrow members, Dinah Drake and Zoe Ramirez (Rene's daughter). The two canaries explain some of what's been going on with the city such as how the Glades overran the rest of the city's people and built a wall around their community.

I personally think this story device is a very ingenious way of pointing out how the tides of power can change so easily in a community if we don't treat everyone with respect and kindness. It also symbolizes how riches and popularity can quickly go to our heads if we're not careful enough. Sadly, we also discover that Felicity is dead in the future which completely broke my heart (even though I didn't really believe it was true).

I wasn't the only one who didn't believe the story, though. William immediately protested that there was no way Felicity was actually dead, but the others mostly just chalked up his theory to the pain he was feeling. The next hint Future Team Arrow got as to where to go was from one of Felicity's maps they found at one of her old hideouts (because of course she had more than one).

They soon uncover a shocking truth, Felicity was working with some of the city officials (including Rene who has apparently become mayor, I might add) to create three bombs that would level half of the city, leaving only the Glades remaining.

I just felt so bad for William at this point, having to learn that Felicity not only never visited him while he was growing up, but also used to be a criminal and was dead? I mean, talk about parents hiding secrets (Moira and Robert are still much worse).

William suggests that they find Felicity's last known contact who goes only by the name, Blackstar, in hopes of getting to the bottom of what she really did for all those years.

Of course, this is Star City so the contact they've tracked down competes in fighting-style cage matches for money. Blackstar gives them nothing more than sarcastic jabs, leaving William feeling even more lost than before.

At this point, he's honestly willing to give up any hope of figuring out what happened to Felicity until Dinah reminds him of who his father is, Oliver Queen. The one person William knew who never backed down from a fight, no matter how many odds were stacked against him (just another small side note, but Dinah really does give some of the best speeches in this show).

Zoe and Dinah gain the access codes to Felicity's old program called Archer, though it does little at the current time to help locate the bombs. Which leaves William and the team with only one option, they have to go back to the old Arrow Cave and look for any clues they can.

I gotta say, I just love Ben Lewis' acting throughout the entire thirteenth episode. It was just pure nostalgia when he said how much he admired his dad's old base when he first saw it as a kid. I also noticed by this point in the season that one of the actor's favorite tools to use in his

arsenal (pun intended) is body movements to indicate how he's feeling such as nodding his head or throwing his arms out which I think is very interesting because it's actually the same approach that Jack Moore took when playing the character in prior episodes.

Upon arrival, the team is captured by none other than Blackstar who has apparently been following the same lead as William. And let's just say, she's not pleased to have company. Of course, the team gets free and a fight ensues between the two sides (Blackstar being backed up by her partner, Conner Hawke) until William points a gun at Blackstar's head. Quite frankly, I think there's mostly no denying that this has to be one of the first times poor William has ever held a gun.

Which is when we get the big discovery that Oliver and Felicity did in fact have another kid named Mia who goes by the codename (you guessed it), Blackstar.

And of course, that's where the episode ends. Regarding the whole shock factor of the Smoak-Queen parents having a second kid, I can't really judge because that unfortunately got spoiled for me long in advance of me viewing the episode. But from that very moment, I could already tell how amazing William and Mia's sibling bond was going to be.

Now, it's time to do a little jump backwards in time because younger William actually guest-starred for two episodes while all of that other drama was going on in the future. He came back to live with Oliver and Felicity shortly after his father was released from slabside prison. And things were rocky between the Smoak-Queens, to say the least.

Over the course of the few months that spanned during Oliver's imprisonment, William felt lonely while at the boarding school (offscreen). He was more of the sweet, but shy kid which meant making friends wasn't exactly easy for him. And it most certainly didn't help that he entered the school year feeling that pain towards his parents leaving him, rather than looking for new chances to grow.

The entirety of that episode (being eleven, that is) was spent with Felicity trying to help William adjust back to life in Star City while Oliver worked on a Vigilante documentary showcasing how much good they'd done for the city. William mostly just gave Felicity the cold-shoulder during the episode (you know that your kid's truly becoming a teenager when they yell at you over an accidental lock-out of their electronics) until towards the very end of the episode when she discovers that he was lying to her about boarding school.

They don't fully explain why William gets expelled from his new school, but with information implied during a sweet talk between him and Zoe (they really are such cute friends, especially as kids!), we are led to believe it's because of his sexuality. As a kid, William was always too afraid to open up about being gay with his parents so, he never tells them what really happened during that time in his life.

Unfortunately, this is another topic taken off of real life experiences that is truly heartbreaking to fully see the scope of, but the show does a very good job executing the storyline.

So, basically one of the main premises of the family's next outing is Oliver trying to get William to open up about why he's really upset. Honestly, these scenes between the two of them are some of my favorite ones because I can genuinely say that the way he reacts to his dad's attempts at talking is exactly how I act with my parents sometimes, too. Moody and sometimes silent because I don't really know how to describe how I'm feeling. Eventually, Oliver is able to get his son to open up, but the result isn't really the prettiest thing to watch.

William yells at Oliver, telling him how he felt abandoned by the one person who said that they'd always care for him. His dad takes it like a champ (of course, he's Oliver so he still yells, but nobody's perfect) and even offers to let his son move back to Central City, if that's where he'd be happier (this conversation does take place after Oliver's old enemy from prison, Stanley Dover breaks into their apartment, showing him how dangerous his son's life really is in Star City). William apologizes to his father for his attitude and accepts his offer. We end their section of the episode by watching him give each of his parents (I mean, Felicity has to be counted as his mom at this point, right?) a heartfelt hug before leaving Star City.

This is the last point we see young William until the finale of the show so, I'm just going to give a few notes on how I felt about this particular part of the story.

I really loved the entire idea of giving Oliver a kid in the first place, someone he has to learn to take care of and put above everything else in his life. Younger William also gave me a character in the show to really connect with (all of the characters are great, but until his arrival, I didn't really feel connected on a personal level) because we have a lot of the same personality traits that lead to similar problems. The only critique I have with it is just that it seemed like a little too rushed of a story element introduced mostly as an outlet to get rid of one version of William since they already had a main story running with Future William. But overall, an enjoyable arc I'd always be willing to revisit.

For most of the rest of this tribute, I'll be focusing on Future William's character development so, let's just dive right back in!

The next two episodes worth of future forwards are spent focusing mainly on William and Mia's relationship. At first, Mia doesn't want to accept her older brother's help finding Felicity because she doesn't trust him. Opening up isn't really her strong suit either, but luckily for her, William has some experience dealing with people like that (cough, cough, Oliver).

He convinces her that even though they didn't get to know each other when they were growing up thanks to their parents' decision to separate them, that doesn't mean that they can't help each other now. I just have to say that I love the direct contrast in personalities between the two Smoak-Queen kids because it really allows Ben Lewis and Katherine McNamara to bounce off one another so easily!

The two siblings tackle a marketplace where they go looking for a cassette player to play a tape their mom left for them right before her disappearance. Lots of funny things ensue during these relatively short scenes including William stealthily paying for the cassette before having it immediately stolen by a stranger on the street and Mia punching a guy straight in the face for

doubting her fighting ability. But the true moment of heart in this episode comes during the last scene where William and Mia (they take a hilariously long time trying to figure it out) play Felicity's tape.

In this scene, we discover that Felicity is still alive, but captured by the corrupt company known as Galaxy One that found out about her days working with the Vigilantes. And despite what she insists against in her message, William and Mia immediately agree to save their mother, together. I honestly believe that this scene might be the first one in the season where Mia has finally accepted that having a sibling might not be as bad of a thing as she first thought.

After scouting out the area a day prior, William and Mia disguise themselves as Galaxy One employees in order to infiltrate what hopefully will be where their mom is being held. I literally burst out laughing when Mia refused to pretend to be William's assistant, especially considering the fact that if she really knew him, then she'd know that he'd never force someone to work for him. And with the help of Team Arrow (and Mia's old friend/boyfriend, Conner), they rescue Felicity.

And wow, is the moment where William runs into Felicity's open arms just the sweetest thing ever. I mean, even after being abandoned by his own mother (at least in his eyes), he still cares about her more than anything else in the world. I especially love the general displayal of love William shows towards both his mother and sister during this episode because Ben was able to make his emotions feel so raw and moving that I literally found myself happy-crying during those scenes.

By the end of this episode, Future Team Arrow is able to deactivate the bombs in the city and save the day. Only there's still one problem, Archer is now being used by the man that runs Galaxy One (Keven Dale) to launch terminator-like machines made specifically to kill Vigilantes.

The next few episodes have some great future forward moments, though none that William are in so they are not really necessary to this tribute until the pen-ultimate episode.

This is where things take a turn for the worse (in William and Felicity's relationship specifically).

After years of feeling like he was abandoned by his parents, William is finally able to express how he really feels to Felicity, but she's so focused on dealing with their current problems regarding Archer that she essentially calls him a little kid before turning back to her work.

Don't get me wrong, Felicity has always been one of my favorite characters in this show, but the way she treated her son after decades of not seeing him was just wrong and even Mia pointed that out to her.

So, after feeling like he was once again left alone, William decides to go back to Galaxy One and try to deactivate the Terminators from there in an attempt to prove to his mom that he isn't just some lost little kid who needs protecting. Unfortunately, this plan doesn't end so well when Dale discovers not only his identity, but also Rene's who's been working as a double agent ever since he saw the true means behind Dale's plan.

But just as they are about to be locked up, Zoe swoops in and saves both her best friend and father (she's definitely what you'd call, awesome). The three reunited teammates quickly head back to their secret base where the rest of the group are waiting for them after having some technical difficulties of their own in the form of killer robots. While discussing their plan of action, Mia suggests that they take down the wall dividing the city which in turn, will destroy the tower that controls the Archer program. Only problem with this plan is that all of the team is now recognized as vigilantes by the public eye. Well except for the kids.

Felicity is very unsure she wants to go with this idea (what good mother would want to send her kids into the most heavily guarded station without backup), but Mia and William reassure her that they have been training for this all their lives and it's finally time for them to show what they've learned from their parents. Of course, this sweet reassurance is enough to win over both Felicity's and the viewers' minds over whether the four kids should go into the field (just to be clear, the fourth kid is Conner who happens to be the adopted son of John and Lyla Diggle. In case, you haven't watched this show fully yet).

So, the four kids head into another undercover mission. It continues with relatively no issues as they make their way through the train station until Dale and his robots track them down in the crowd and confront them. Another unnecessary note, but I found it really funny how even twenty years in the future, villains are still making jokes about how dumb Oliver is (in this case, comparing William to his idiotic father). I mean, jeez, the guy died protecting the city, the least you could do is knock it off with the dumb jokes, right?

Luckily, William's already prepared for the interruption and is immediately able to hack into the robots' mainframe and deactivate them before they can attack while Mia punches Dale once, knocking him unconscious. And if you're wondering what Zoe and Conner did during this encounter, it's mostly just watching the Smoak-Queen duo take down the villains. Well, they wouldn't wanna ruin their friends' fun, right?

That's when they learn the bad news that the tower's codes have to be manually deactivated and whoever they choose could very easily explode with it.

Mia is obviously the best choice for the job considering she's been training her whole life for this very type of situation so, she climbs up the tower using a pulling arrow, fights her way through several guards and deactivates the tower.

I need to take a quick pause just to explain one specific part of this scene. As Mia deactivates the device, she asks William to take care of Felicity for her through teary eyes as she's finally grown into the hero her mother always knew she could be. William then responds back with an even sweeter quote, "I just got used to having a sister, I'm not losing her now," as he actively stalls the bomb's activation timer to save his little sister!

This entire scene was by far the best scene we got from future forwards during this season because it really showed both of their characters' development perfectly.

Throughout the season, William longed for connection with true friends and (in the case of his family, reconnection). All of Team Arrow filled that gap in his life, not only giving him a purpose, but also, a real home. Mia was not only able to reconcile with Felicity, but also learn what it meant to be a good sister and most importantly, a good hero.

You'd think this would be the time for celebrations amongst the team which it is, but it's also sort of a goodbye to the older generation of heroes. Once the kids get back from their mission, Felicity, Roy, and Dinah break the news to them that they have to go back into hiding because someone has to take the fall for the destruction of the Glades' wall. Plus, the kids have to be the ones who take over their legacy. Felicity even states that any sacrifice is worth doing if it means William and Mia get to live the lives they deserve.

Honestly, this particular scene was the one that brought back the Felicity I know and love.

It showed that even losing her husband couldn't stop her from being the kind-hearted person she always was. Her family would always mean more to her than anything, including her own life.

We get some last goodbyes from the team (I was especially sad to see Roy go, but luckily, there was a bit of a surprise for me in store with the character next season) before the three Smoak-Queens depart from the group for their very last scene in the season. Felicity admits to her kids that she isn't just leaving Star City, she's leaving for good because she promised Oliver that she'd protect them until they grew up, but now that that job's done, it's finally time for her to join him.

What makes this scene so special in my opinion is the sheer love shared by the family. It doesn't matter how many mistakes any of them make or who they become, they'll always be there for each other because that's what real love means. And that includes Oliver who's watching over his family from the grave and beyond.

Okay, so that wraps up the seventh season of Arrow. William had so many good character moments this season, I can't possibly choose one. I'd already found Moore's version of the character to be super relatable in so many ways. Most notably, his shyness and maturity beyond his years, but Lewis added a whole new layer to the character. He still retained that shyness and maturity, only now we got to witness some of his other attributes such as his more humorous and optimistic sides.

So, that leaves us with only one season left to discuss, season eight.