FELICITY SMOAK
LUCIANA MANGAS: Like I said before, Felicity is the heart and soul of ARROW. She is the glue that keeps the show together and her character brings humor and light and love to the otherwise very gloomy world of Star City. Her development throughout the four seasons of the show has been nothing short of remarkable and that is, of course, due to the writing, but mostly, due to Emily Bett Rickards’ amazing performance. The young actress basically turned this show on its head and scored the role of leading lady of ARROW solely on her talent and charisma. Also, the chemistry she has with Stephen Amell is just absolutely incredible to watch and they make sparks fly on my screen. As my friend and fellow fan Meredith once said, Rickards has chemistry even with a brick wall and she manages to bring the best out of every single cast member in a scene.
I know Felicity can be a sore subject for some fans, but there is no denying that she brought something incredible to ARROW. I admit I am half excited and half scared to death for what they have planned for her, but I know Rickards will knock it out of the park, as she always does.
MELISSA SMITH: This is where I probably differ from a lot of viewers. Having read comic books for so many years, the Felicity/Oliver relationship is a huge change. Green Arrow and Black Canary have been a couple for as long as I can remember. Yes, I adore Emily Bett Rickards, and they make a great couple, and I definitely could live with it if they rode off into the sunset together… but Green Arrow and Black Canary have been a couple for decades, and Olicity practically has wiped that relationship out of existence.I understand that the TV division can do things that change the history of the comic books. LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN married off Lois and Clark and DC Comics followed suit. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a huge change.
How would I resolve the difference between Felicity/Oliver vs. Laurel/Oliver? I’d pull Felicity out of that limousine as a paraplegic. There’s a hole in the DC-verse where Oracle belongs… a computer genius who happens to be in a wheelchair. Oracle was the identity of Batgirl when she was paralyzed by The Joker and solved crimes with her computer skills as a member of the Birds of Prey. She since has had an experimental surgery that restored her ability to walk.
Rickards is a pleasure to watch, and I think that she could pull off her own BIRDS OF PREY spinoff. Pair her with Huntress, Batgirl, Katana (remember Maseo’s wife…that’s Katana.) Throw in a semi-reformed Catwoman and my favorite crazy girl, Harley Quinn, and that’s a show that I’d love to see! Then, Green Arrow and Black Canary could spar happily ever after, just like they do in the comics, with the added bonus of letting Katie Cassidy be funny.
SHANA LIEBERMAN: Felicity is the heart and soul of this series. She brings a light into the darkness and maintains her own sense of super without being one of the people in the big fight scenes. There are more ways than one to be a hero; and Felicity is the embodiment of that. Bonus: She’s a giant nerd, but that’s shown in a totally loving way so that the nerdiness is actually embraced, rather than portrayed as something negative. (For a reference, see also: the SAVED BY THE BELL variety of nerd.) That’s a good message to send to the rest of us nerdy girls out in the real world.
All gushing aside, rough times are clearly ahead for Felicity. I can’t wait to see what Emily Bett Rickards does with this material, even if it means there’s going to be even more chocolate than usual being consumed in my apartment. I don’t have much in the way of speculation on what’s going to happen with Felicity, although it’s obvious from recent spoilers that it’s going to be a bumpy road. I do, however, have one hope: May her injuries and the reactions to them be handled in a way that is honest and respectful. That’s all I ask.
MEREDITH ZYLBERBERG: I have so many Felicity thoughts. The overarching one is – I’m excited! I’m so excited for Felicity to have this huge, deep, meaningful, juicy storyline that’s about her. So many things have been teased: her injuries from the shooting, possibly a father storyline (remember all that talk of daughters?), the fallout from the Baby Mama Drama. It is looking a lot like the back half of the season is going to feature Felicity Smoak prominently, and I can not wait. I hope that however all these pieces play out and come together, we get to see Felicity feel things. We maybe get to see her get a little bit angry, a little down, pulling away from people only to realize (with help and support from her loved ones, of course) that she can rely on others. I want to see her adjust to a possible new way of life with grace and class. I want to see her deal with who her father has become. And I want to see her have her chance to be hurt and upset and mad at Oliver for this lie he’s told her, for this huge thing he’s kept from her.
And then I want them to kiss and make up and get married.
Next (last) page: Expectations for the rest of the season…
