‘Arrow’ Season 5, Episode 8 Spoilers: “Invasion!” – Oliver Engaged to Laurel in Alternate Reality; Continuation of The CW’s ‘Heroes vs. Aliens’ Crossover

‘Arrow’ season 5’s episode 8, entitled “Invasion!”, will feature an alternate timeline where Oliver and Laurel are engaged. Despite this seemingly perfect life, Oliver will notice that something is amiss.

The synopsis for “Invasion!” posted on Cartermatt stated, “Oliver (Stephen Amell) wakes up to a life where he never got on The Queen’s Gambit.

Robert (guest star Jamey Sheridan) and Moira Queen (guest star Susanna Thompson) are alive and well. Laurel (guest star Katie Cassidy) is his loving fiancée and their wedding is imminent. Everything seems perfect, but Oliver starts to notice small imperfections that make him question this new reality.

Meanwhile, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and the recruits take on a new threat with help from The Flash (guest star Grant Gustin) and Supergirl (guest star Melissa Benoist).”

The incoming episode will be part of The CW’s ‘Heroes vs. Aliens’ crossover, which also features The Flash and Supergirl. It will also feature Oliver’s life in an alternate reality, where he never became the Green Arrow.

During an interview with TV Line, Amell teased that episode 8’s storyline will be quite different from its predecessors. He said, “It is such a radical departure from anything that we have ever done on the show… We utilize the fantastical elements that we bring in on The Flash and carry through to Legends of Tomorrow with the present-day storyline to create something… that is not a flashback [or] a flash-forward. It’s something else entirely.”

He continued, “There [is] a very therapeutic moment for my character towards the end [of the Arrow episode] where I get to say goodbye to people that I never got the chance to say goodbye to.”

Executive producer Marc Guggenheim praised Amell’s performance in the upcoming episode saying, “There’s one moment… that I think is probably Stephen’s finest performance to date. This one scene, that really has two moments within the one scene, will break your heart. It will take your heart, pull it out and stomp it on the floor. It’s very, very affecting. It’s all on Stephen’s back. It’s incredible.”

‘Arrow’ season 5’s episode 8, entitled “Invasion!”, will be the 100th episode of the action-crime television series based on DC comics’ character the Green Arrow. It is scheduled to air on The CW on November 30, 2016. It was directed by James Bamford with a story by Greg Berlanti and teleplay by Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle.

It will be followed by episode 9, entitled "What We Leave Behind”, scheduled for December 7.