'Arrow' Season 4 SPOILERS: Will Emily Bett Rickard's Felicity Smoak Live or Die

Arrow ended its final Season 4 episode of 2015 on a cliffhanger, as Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) was hit with one, or possibly multiple, bullets. So what's next for the character when the show returns in 2016? Will she live or die?  Maybe there are other options?  We've got our top five possibilities outlined below.

As a quick refresher, Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) nearly killed Felicity, Diggle (David Ramsey) and Thea (Willa Holland), but some intervention by Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) and Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) helped turn the tide and everyone escaped.

Just when it seemed like all was quiet, Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity were in a car when multiple gunmen arrived and loaded the car full of bullets. Oliver managed to get them away, but when he went to check on his fiance, he found her unconscious and covered in blood.

One last piece of evidence to keep in mind: Thea tells Oliver in the trailer for the next episode that the doctors "didn't say what was wrong" with Felicity following surgery.

So let's run down the possible plots for Ms. Smoak as we head into 2016.

1) She's dead.

Ever since the flash forward in the pilot that showed Oliver's grieving over a grave with a name we couldn't see, fans have been speculating about the identity of the deceased, and that speculation has produced Felicity as the top candidate. After all, Barry Allen aka The Flash (Grant Gustin) also showed up to mourn, and Oliver was clearly torn to pieces over this death, so Felicity makes sense.

But there are a few reasons why she's not dead from this attack. For starters, the preview for the next episode showed that she's still fighting for her life. Of course, she could die by the end of the episode or even a few episodes later, but we know she's not a goner just yet.

Bear in mind also that the timeline with the flash forward doesn't match up. The scene said "six months later," while the end of the latest episode occurred only about three to four months after the Season 4 premiere.

2) She's paralyzed.

Fans who view Oliver Queen as a stand-in for Bruce Wayne/Batman have often theorized that Felicity could or should become Oracle, who is actually Barbara Gordon in the Batman universe. So if she were to be paralyzed from this attack, which would bring her one major step closer to becoming a character just like Oracle.

3) She's in a coma.

This would be kind of a soap opera-ish way to go, but Arrow could keep Felicity on the shelf indefinitely by placing her in a coma for a few episodes. This limits their storytelling options, but it's also a more realistic possibility than a sudden recovery.

4) She's perfectly fine!

Maybe Felicity is a metahuman who can shrug off gunshot wounds like nobody's business! Or maybe the writers just need a way to get her back in action sooner rather than later.

5) She contains the key to stopping Damien Darhk.

Analysis of Felicity's blood shows that she has some sort of latent ability that would help stop Darhk once and for all. Or...not.

What do you think will happen to Felicity when Arrow returns in 2016? Let us know in the comments section below.