On Arrow Season 7 Episode 8, viewers finally got their first look at Shadowhunters star, Katherine McNamara, in the role of Blackstar.

It's never cool when your favorite series is shown the door, but there is some serious faith placed in McNamara to get the mysterious role on Arrow.

Surely many fans recall the days when she was under severe fire for her lack of fighting skills as Clary in her starring role as a Shadowhunter, right?

My, how times have changed.

McNamara jumped head first into a cage match on the same show that also once panned Katie Cassidy for her supposed lack of skills (it's called acting people!) as Laurel Lance first hit the streets as Black Canary and sent any naysayers packing as Blackstar looked killer in that cage.

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Is it me, or did Arrow also ensure Maya had a little bit of The 100 mixed into her genes? She looks a bit like Clarke Griffin and could handle herself well during one of their many, many fight scenes. 

It's no surprise that Blackstar has a direct connection with Felicity in her future badass mode. And hey, Felicity has a current badass mode, too!

That's a mode that Oliver does not like one bit, mind you.

Oliver has had a nasty habit over the years of making decisions that affect a lot of people without bothering to discuss them in advance.

When you do that in a marriage, there are bound to be repercussions.

One of the consequences of Oliver turning himself over to authorities and forcing Felicity to fend for herself or suffer an eternity cut off from friends and family in witness protection was that she doubled down on her idea of self-defense.

Oliver may have had years of island survival to learn about the harsh realities of cracking skulls and twisting necks while he was studying under some of the most skilled killers in the world, but Felicity's options to handle living with the constant threat of Diaz were a bit more limited.

When there is a crafty criminal who has a pack of creeps trailing him everywhere he goes, you get a gun. No, the world doesn't like guns, but the odds on your average individual learning ninja tactics, arrow skills, or calling the authorities in time for them to be of service when dealing with someone like Diaz are pretty bad.

Props to Felicity for doing what she needed to do to feel safe and secure in a world where her husband left her to fight for herself. She managed quite well, and other than her new attitude was no worse for the wear.

Related: Arrow Season 7 Episode 8 Review: Unmasked

That circles right back around to Blackstar and the future of our gal Felicity who is supposedly dead as her friends and stepson track her down.

No, Felicity won't be dead in the future. In this story, Felicity and Oliver will live until the bitter end. Pretty much how I expect the glorious color of Dinah's hair to thrive by a six-week cut-n-dye. That gray garbage was the worst aging I've seen quite some time!

We've talked about odds already. What are they that Oliver and Felicity had their row about her new, more formidable mindset at the same time the group caught up with Blackstar? Also pretty low, I'd say.

Blackstar has a reputation in the future of being a badass, a lot like the newly minted perspective of Felicity and very in tune with the long-standing position of Oliver Queen.

Could Felicity be pregnant? It's not easy to hide nine months and a child from your significant other, but it's also possible on comic shows where everything is conceivable.

Blackstar has very limited scope in the DC universe, and her existence in the future seems to allow for all kinds of hypothetical situations.

The blonde hair and the introduction on the same day the couple saw each other in a new light is very difficult to overlook, but if she's not the prodigy of Felicity and Oliver, could she be another relative?

There is another trigger, of course, in her moniker -- Blackstar. It's reminiscent of Black Canary and Black Siren. I'm spelling it Blackstar, but is it Black Star?

If so, she could be closer to Laurel Lance, a much easier child to have hidden for 20 years, and it would make the burgeoning friendship between Felicity and Laurel II much more significant.

That's another new addition to Felicity's life that Oliver doesn't like and a reason for Felicity to keep the association hidden from not only her husband, but anyone else she trusted before befriending Laurel.

Felicity never had skills as a fighter, but two Earth One Lance sisters who wore the Black Canary mantle had them, and Laurel Lance II uses a lot more than her sonic scream to get her through her more perilous moments.

If Maya is Blackstar because of a familial connection to Laurel and she loses her person in the future (we already know Arrow isn't afraid to kill off a Lance or two or three), Felicity ensuring Maya's safety and aiding whatever causes she champions makes great sense.

It would also be terrific for the future of Arrow knowing there is more to come between Emily Bett Rickards and Katie Cassidy, as it was one of the most consequential oversights of earlier seasons to forego a friendship between Felicity and Laurel OG.

Why the writers' room saw a blank slate when the looked at Cassidy's Black Canary has remained a mystery, especially when faced with the simplicity of the missed opportunity of female friendships. 

Watching Blackstar spitting at her opponent and wrapping her thighs around his neck, there is plenty of evidence in her actions alone that she might come from a long string of Lance women across the 38 and counting Earths we've learned about so far.

It's too bad all the blonde badasses can't be corralled into one place at one time for a multi-generational and earth-encompassing chat.

Whoever she is, her connection to the present and that day spent arguing between Oliver and Felicity seems meaningful, but it could also indicate a path that will take another 20 years for Felicity to travel, culminating in a relationship with the young Maya for reasons that we have to be patient to uncover.

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I've never been one for patience, and theorizing is one of the best reasons to watch TV. My best theories are presented above. While I was initially on board with Felicity and Oliver having a daughter out there someday, the Lance option seems viable, too. What's your theory?

What did you think of McNamara's entrance into the Arroverse? The biggest disappointment here is its nature as a flashforward. Might there be a spinoff down the road of the future of Arrow?

If they get a good enough story going outside of the main cast, it would be a unique way to tie the two shows together until Arrow slings his last projectile.

Hit the comments and let me know what you think and watch Arrow online any time via TV Fanatic.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.