doesntworkonwood

I've not seen him in anything yet, but I am glad that they chose him. For a while, I was worried that they would go down the Barry Allen route (because of Felicity), but I feel as though they've got a guy who does look like he could be good competition for Oliver.

Replied to in the Hopes and Fears thread

From the Team Arrow thread I understand being really worried about Diggle getting less screentime because of Oliver/Felicity. Diggle's one of my favourite characters, and I've loved him since the beginning, but I feel that just because Oliver/Felicity are a thing, doesn't automatically mean that Diggle has to be sidelined. I suppose that it really plays in how the writers right it. They could amp up the drama, make the focus of storylines about Oliver/Felicity. They could write in arguments, and misunderstandings. They could choose to focus on how things, like Olivers kid, affect Oliver/Felicity. Or, they could portray Oliver/Felicity as the mostly drama free relationship it is, meaning that the Team Arrow dynamic wont be changed, and Diggle will get ample screentime (because, you know, he is Oliver's best friend.) I, for one, hope that they go for the second route. That way, Diggle wont be demoted and will still play an important role, in regards to the team and his friendship with Oliver. And also, by not sidelining Diggle, there will be more of a chance to explore Felicity and Diggle's friendship, which is one of my favourite parts of the show.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but it seems the arrow facebook page is making #FelicityFriday a thing, which I think is really cute :D

Oh, totally. The producers really struck a gold mine with EBR. She may not get the best scenes or lines, and she may not be technically the best actor on the show, but she brings so much to each of her scenes. Felicity Smoak would not be Felicity Smoak if EBR hadn't played her. I think that EBR really does understand Felicity though. It's so obvious from her interviews how much she cares for and how deeply she considers Felicity. It's wonderful to see such a connect between her and her character.

I was talking to my sister, and she's not the biggest fan of Arrow. She doesn't like any of the characters at all, except for Felicity. We both agreed that Felicity is a really good role model, and she's really easy for the female fans of this show to identify with. I mean, the show isn't some really highbrow art documentary, but I think it's safe to say that it is watched by a lot of intelligent women, specifically nerdy women. Intelligent women will (most of the time) identify with other intelligent women, that's just how it works. I myself have an interest in maths, and one of the reasons I like Felicity is because of her interest in maths and computing. That said, it's not just her obvious characteristics that make her such a role model. We've seen her as a kind person, we've seen her as a loyal person. She's brave, we've seen her conquer some fears. These are all good qualities, and qualities that a lot of people would like to see in themselves. Of course, this isn't to say that people who don't like Felicity aren't intelligent, or don't want to be good people. You don't like a character, you don't like a character. But for the people who do like her, I certainly think that her 'everywoman' persona certainly helped.

The thing is, if a piece of media has to depend on another piece of media to make sense, it's not very good. If the only way you could understand Game of Thrones was if you had read ASOIAF, then GOT would be rubbish. If the only way you could understand any of the Marvel movies was if you had read the comics, then the movies would suck. If the only way you can understand Arrow is by reading the comics, then it's a crap show. But you don't have to read the comics to understand Arrow, except, apparently, when it comes to Laurel. And when the most popular parts of Arrow aren't comic book compliant (Oliver, Moira, Thea, Diggle, Felicity, Tommy, Olivers relationship with Slade and Shado, pretty much everything else on the show), 'Comics' becomes such a weak excuse to fall back on. Even the main character, Oliver Queen, is nothing like his comic book counterpart, so why should Laurel be like hers? KC needs to look at Laurel outside of the comic books (that she admits she hasn't read). Maybe then Laurel will become an interesting character, who doesn't feel like she's just there to serve the plot, so her character doesn't go through all of those weird inconsistencies.

Yes, I think that it is important to know that there is a line between rival and enemy. I think that just because 'Daniel' is a rival, doesn't mean that he'll be an enemy. People compete with their friends all of the time, and there is nothing wrong with having a bit of friendly competition. And even if that isn't the dynamic between Oliver and 'Daniel', that doesn't necessarily mean that they are enemy's. That said, I'm really not sure how they are going to portray Daniel, and the way that Daniel is portrayed will totally effect how Felicity's relationship with him is portrayed.

Yeah, if you have the chance you should totally scroll down the John Diggle tag on tumblr. There are some amazing scenes that have been amazingly giffed, and a lot of really lovely memories that come with them :D

If we're talking memes, this gifset is quite good. There was also another one, where the characters got #smoaked and it was awesome, but I can't find it now...

I love Felicity and Diggle's relationship, it's probably one of my favourite platonic relationships in the show. I love how they sort of understand each other and seem to look out for each other. Their friendship is honestly beautiful and I hope that we get more Felicity/Diggle scenes in the show. I also liked season one Oliver/Slade. I think that the growth of their brotherhood was wonderfully presented and we got to see some really great scenes from the both of them.

I really think that they need to clear up what exactly Felicity knew before hand. Most of the focus on that scene was on the 'I love you.' I do think that it changes the scene a lot more depending on whether or not Felicity knew before hand. I think if she didn't, then (IMO) that doesn't look good on Oliver, and if she did it fits with what we know of Felicity. For me, anything that could have hurt Felicity (and putting her in the hands of Slade could have gone a whole lot worse) would need a full 'I want to stab him with a needle' as far as consent goes. And from what we've seen of Felicity, if she knew about the plan, she would have said that. That said, I think that the fact the Oliver waited to get to the mansion to give her the syringe was mostly a stylistic choice (or one made to make us question if the 'I love you' was real or not.)

Yes, I think that it's important to note that Felicity didn't feel intimidated by Sara because of Oliver, she felt intimidated because she was worried they wouldn't need her on the team anymore. And I don't think she felt intimidated with Isabel, she wasn't a fan of her from the beginning so I can see why she wouldn't understand a relationship between them. Sara can be compared to Laurel in a few ways (as a romantic pairing for Oliver). They both knew Oliver before the Island, they both have complicated relationships with him. They're also both considered 'strong' women (or were meant to be considered 'strong' women). Sara has more on top of that, in terms of compatibility to Oliver, in that she knows more than most what went on on the Island, she's physically strong and has shown herself to be really strong. And yet, Felicity wasn't intimidated by Sara, so there is no reason for her to be when it comes to Laurel (unless it magically turns out that Laurel is super amazing with computers). One thing that I do worry about is Felicity and Diggle being used to prop Laurel, despite them showing that Felicity and Diggle do not like her. Instead of changing Laurel to be a nice person, they could change Felicity and Diggle so that they magically like her.

Oh yeah, there was definitely a sense of agency, but for me it didn't make sense that he drove all the way to the Mansion and waited until the last moment to tell her about it, but I think that was more a stylistic choice than anything else. I was just disappointed because up until then we had Felicity very overtly take control of the things that she had done and the trouble that she gets into. She even stated once 'It's my life, it's my choice', so I thought it was a bit off not seeing that. But you're absolutely right, it is one of those 'your mileage may vary' things. As far as that scene goes, I think that Oliver trusting Felicity to partake in such an important job shows us a lot more about their relationship and how far they've grown than any 'I love you', whether it was real or fake.

I read that, it was a really interesting comparison actually. The tumblr post also made a lot of comparisons about fan reaction to the two couples, so I think it's great to see the parallels as well. Here is the link if anyone wants to read it.

Yeah, I think that the fake kiss would have been really awful. The scene worked fabulously as it was, and the way it was put together. Literally, the only thing that I would have changed about it was making it more clear about whether or not Felicity knew about the ruse or not (but that's more of a Felicity having agency thing). I think it would have been horrible for the kiss to happen, and as a fan of their relationship, I'd have been sorely disappointed to know that their first kiss was a ruse.

I'd like to think that anything as important as a kiss wouldn't be cut out, but the look on EBR's face in that video (or the arm over her face) shows that maybe it was something quite intimate. The writers have already said that they did cut some lines with regard to Felicity, so it could also be to do with her dad. Colton mentions the scene at around 9:20

I think that if a fanbase is invested enough in a part of the show that they're writing fanfiction, making fanvideos and having deep conversations about that part of the show, then that can only really be taken as a positive. People reacting the way they do to aspects of shows is great for the people who made them, because it shows that fans have gained a deeper, more emotional attachment to that aspect of the show, which is what creators want. Olicity fans are just part of the fandom that is invested in that specific part of the show, and there is nothing wrong with that. Admittedly, the personal attacks are disgusting, but I don't think that all of the personal attacks have come from Olicity fans. All parts of the fandom have bad apples.

One person that I would not be happy to see Felicity be friends with is Laurel. I know that 'Laulicity' is going around but I don't think that it makes sense at all. They have shown little to no interest in each other, and they have absolutely nothing besides Oliver in common. I can see them being civil to each other, but I don't see them having heart to hearts or going out for lunch. But other than that, I wouldn't really mind Felicity being friends with anyone and everyone. I love her relationship with Diggle, I love how they are quite aware of the other. I'd really like to see that explored. Her relationship with Sara is an interesting one, and one that is really lovely to see, and I can see a relationship with Lyla growing to a point where, if not best friends, they grow to care about and respect the other. I'd quite like to meet Felicity's friends that have nothing to do with Oliver though, the ones that she met at MIT or fellow IT buddies. I think it would be nice to show her life outside of Oliver, especially as it is one of the main criticisms of her character.

See, I quite like how dressy she is. The first time we saw Felicity Smoak, she was in a pink shirt, a skirt, and those quite iconic now pink lips. I like how she slightly subverts the stereotype of geek, because she does seem to have a bit of an interest in fashion. And I don't really see a problem with her wearing heels. I like her heels, and I think that it fits with her daytime job. And I'm pretty sure that she goes straight to the foundry after work, I feel that really makes the most sense. Though, admittedly, I do think that they go a bit too impractical sometimes. I agree with you on the heels in the last three episodes.

She should totally know how to look after herself. We've seen the situations she gets into, it makes sense for her to learn self-defense. But I don't want that to mean that she's out on the field every night. I think that if she was going to fight someone, I'd prefer her to fight using her brains rather than brawn, so setting up booby traps in the arrow cave and more exploding phones would be fun, because that shows that you don't have to be physically strong or trained to be able to look after your self.

Yeah, I feel that learning some defense skills are necessary for her, but I much prefer her behind the computer screen. She helps out on the field when she needs to and it's wonderful to see, but they should keep Felicity as Felicity, whose strength lies in her intelligence.

In terms of Felicty's relationship with Oliver, I really don't see her pining over him. She's never verbalised her feelings for him, other people have verbalised them (Moira, Barry). And I get that she hasn't been shown to have many relationships outside of Team Arrow, and I'd love to see more don't get me wrong, but I don't think that means that she's pining over him. She was really open to a relationship with Barry, and that was after her feelings for Oliver became apparent. I'm sure that she's still open to them and not just waiting on Oliver (who she didn't even think liked her like that).

I think everyone saw the Sara/Oliver break up coming from a mile away. From what I saw online, people were speculating that it would be over their different approaches to killing. When I first watched the episode, the 'previously' bit showed Sara talking about it, and I knew that they were going to split up straight away. (Before that episode though, I thought that they might keep the relationship until the finale) The thing that didn't work for me for both Helena and Sara's relationship with Oliver was that at some point he said that he wanted to 'save' them both. I really don't think that a relationship can work if one of the parties need 'saving' because that sort of means that they're both not on the same level. That said, once they both are 'saved', I don't see why Oliver can't give it another go with either of them. (Except the sister swapping kind of grosses me out)