Felicity Smoak: Bitch With Wifi

[apinknightmare]

My thoughts exactly. It seems like the same situation, regardless of whether or not Felicity is Ray's EA. She'd be once again sleeping with the boss. I really want to see how they handle this particular love interest and whether or not they address this time what people's opinions would be of Felicity.

 

IF she is the EA and works for Ray, the only way I fear the sleeping with the boss thing would come up is if Oliver mentioned it to discourage her from dating him. Then she'd reply with something like, "It never bothered you when people thought that about us."

 

I would bet actual money on it happening just like that.

[Password]

I think sleeping with the boss is distasteful overall, regardless of being an EA. Being Ray's EA would just make it cliched. It's tricky like that.

[KirkB]

Has there been anything to suggest she WILL be Ray's EA though? We know he's going to take over QC and have some sort of connection, perhaps romantic, to Felicity. Do we actually know she's going back to work at QC? And even if she does, maybe Ray's going to hire her in the IT department or something. If she has no direct link to him other than working for his company, sleeping with the boss shouldn't be as much of an issue.

Edited July 22, 2014 by stacey
spoiler tag

[statsgirl]

Coming from someone with a technical background I'd find it pretty much to be a demotion and well beneath me to be an EA to a CEO...I wouldn't even care about the pay because it's not even remotely close to what I know I can do, nor something I would enjoy doing.  Not to mention the fact that I just know (In my bones) that these producers thought it would be funny...and never would have considered making Felix the Male IT Genius Oliver's EA.  That wouldn't have been as funny as the pretty blonde girl getting accused of wearing too short skirts and sleeping with her boss.

 

Plus...everything @Ceylon5 mentioned.

When I was just starting out, a man and I were applying for a junior writer position in an ad agency.  I was coming off a science degree and two years in TV and radio as a story producer, I don't know what his background was other than he'd never had a job as a writer before. He got the writer job and they hired me as department secretary, because you know, filing and taking phone calls was in my chromosomes.  

 

The writers probably thought it was a great joke to force her to be Oliver's EA but it's offensive to both Felicity's sex and to those people who have studied and worked to be EAs.  But what really bothers me beyond Oliver deciding for her like that (because he's self-centered that way) is that he brushed off the knowledge that people thought she'd slept her way into the job.  In the business world, that's death to her career path.

 

 

I suppose the one silver lining is that, were she still working in the IT Dept., it would have ended up becoming a very very unpleasant work enviroment for her once the gossip and rumours really took hold. At least as Oliver's EA she didn't have to deal with snarky/hostile colleagues her entire work day.

I disagree.  Yes, it might have been a bit unpleasant is people were snarking at her for sleeping with the CEO but at least everyone would know that she had got her job on the basis of her abilities because she'd been doing the job for 3 years already.  Moving into the EA position opened up the door that she was incompetent and only there because she was sleeping with her boss, something that would dog her for years if she stayed at QC or even whenever she needed QC as a reference for another job..

And going forward in the coming year, he presumably can't expect her not to have a job or earn a pay-check, just so she can be at his beck and call 24/7!

Since he's not earning a paycheque, she's got to live off something.

 

I'd really like it if they'd write Felicity having her own IT consulting company. It would fit with the comics and maybe take the bad tasted of the EA role out of my mouth.

 

ETA:

 

 

Has there been anything to suggest she WILL be Ray's EA though? We know he's going to take over QC and have some sort of connection, perhaps romantic, to Felicity. Do we actually know she's going back to work at QC? And even if she does, maybe Ray's going to hire her in the IT department or something. If she has no direct link to him other than working for his company, sleeping with the boss shouldn't be as much of an issue. 

Whether she's Ray's EA or not, whether she's in the IT department, or even if she's just an independent consultant to the company, if she sleeps with Ray, it's going to dog her that she sleeps with the boss to get the job.  Women will look down on her and men will think she's an easy lay.

Edited July 21, 2014 by statsgirl

[BkWurm1]

I understood why it made sense for Felicity to play/be Oliver's EA and I get why she was upset that she was forced to do a job she wasn't trained for or had any interest in doing, but now that Oliver is NOT CEO and can't employ Felicity, it makes sense for Felicity to go back to what she was most comfortable doing.   
 
I'm on the please don't let her be Ray's EA band wagon because the secretary sleeping with the boss is a bad place to start a relationship.  The balance of power is off, perception is scathing, and it add in the rumors for her time with Oliver just shreds Felicity's reputation.  I just don't want to see Felicity treated so shabbily.  We don't know that she would be Ray's EA but we don't know that she would not be, hence the worry. 

 

The picture of Felicity looking absolutely infuriated and Ray looking cool and charge did little to make me feel that Felicity would not be in a job that makes her feel powerless and frustrated.  I'm just hoping that she isn't working right underneath Ray when she is feeling this frustration. 

Otherwise I don't have anything against someone working as an EA.

[Password]

I'd really like it if they'd write Felicity having her own IT consulting company. It would fit with the comics and maybe take the bad tasted of the EA role out of my mouth.

 

ETA:

 

Whether she's Ray's EA or not, whether she's in the IT department, or even if she's just an independent consultant to the company, if she sleeps with Ray, it's going to dog her that she sleeps with the boss to get the job.  Women will look down on her and men will think she's an easy lay.

 

I dislike the EA position, even though it makes sense for the story, because she has so much potential to be explored in the R&D department. At the end of the day, she's exceptional in the area of IT and beyond that Computer Sciences, so she could make all sorts of fun technology to help Oliver in his crime banishing ways.

 

And the sleeping with Ray thing is just getting more and more off putting to me. It's just how things are in the real world. EA or not, sleeping with a boss is a no go for a professional woman because it follows you everywhere. And now it'd be she slept with Oliver and Ray (which we know is not true). To me it seems damned if you do (be Ray's EA) and damned if you don't (work in some other capacity but still under him).

[JenMD]

Well real world I can guarantee I make MUCH more than the Head of the IT Department, so in terms of monetary compensation, I could see Felicity's appointment as EA to CEO as a promotion.

 

But as some in this forum have pointed out,  I think it also made logistical sense for her to fill that role while Oliver was CEO.   There were cases where they rushed FROM the office out to wherever, an example being when they went to the QC Storage Facility and met Barry.   What would an IT associate be doing there with the CEO?

 

I don't know, I just get why Oliver thought it would be a good idea and I get why Felicity made her displeasure known but ultimately acquiesed. 

 

Yeah, it never really bothered me when the writers made Felicity Oliver's EA because I think it made the most sense writing wise to keep Felicity in the mix.  Did they do a great job at executing it?  Like everything else, hit or miss, but I get why the writers chose that path.  Sure she could have stayed in IT and been reachable by phone/email, but I imagine it would make for very boring TV.  The alternative, Oliver popping down 18 floors, would raise more eyebrows than when he was free to come and go in S1.  Leaving Felicity in IT, means Oliver has to deal with keeping his secret from yet another person, someone who needs to keep track of him pretty closely (not to mention it means hiring an actress or actor in a recurring role for the part of the EA). 

 

In IT, Felicity would have had no reason to be at the QC function where she realized the Canary was following Laurel; no excuse to go Russia; no reason to be at Applied Sciences and meet Barry.  I don't think the writers did it because they thought it would be funny, although I think they did have some fun with it (Felicity getting snarky about the coffee, as well as Oliver having the ability to make his own reservations), but I think it was mostly just the logistics of dealing with making Oliver CEO, therefore much more static than he was in S1 (theoretically, and at least until the season went pear-shaped in the middle and they kind of forgot QC existed until they needed it as a plot point again at the end). 

 

For me, it's kind of like Felicity's wardrobe, I guess, doesn't bother me because we're dealing with tv logic, which is ruled by what the writers need, not what would necessarily make the most sense (or in her wadrobe's case, what looks cutest, not what a real corporate EA might wear). 

 

I am definitely on the Just Say No to her being an EA, or working for, Ray (unless it's undercover). 

Edited July 21, 2014 by JenMD

[quarks]

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that the decision to make Felicity Oliver's EA was entirely based on set costs. During the second season they shut down two regular sets (Big Belly and Felicity's IT area) and closed down part of another (Laurel's apartment - watch the camera angles). They also shut down the CRNI set, and if you pay attention, the police station, the DA's office and Sebastian's campaign quarters are all the same set. This was at about the same time that the showrunners announced that their budget for the second season had been massively cut.

This also meant that they needed to end all of the extras milling around in the executive office in the first season, but that's a huge, empty space without people in the background.

So making Felicity the EA served several show budget purposes - also, they didn't have to hire anyone to be Oliver's receptionist.

To cover up WHY they were doing this, it was played for laughs. I suspect someone then told them that an EA to a CEO can earn a LOT more money than someone in IT (depending, of course, but it can be very well paid), thus the comment from Isabel about Oliver and Felicity sleeping together. Isabel was probably also genuinely fishing for information there, trying to figure out why someone from IT moved into that position.

[wonderwall]

It would have been a lot better to be thought of as Oliver's "secret" girlfriend, surely, than to be thought of as having slept her way into a job promotion?

 

Even if she never works for/with Oliver again, for as long as she's at QC, that's going to hang over her.  It could even follow her to other jobs at other companies.  And there will surely be questions about her odd resume.  This would have long-term affects in the real world; hopefully in the story it will be quickly resolved and she'll be given a job more in keeping with her skills and interests.

 

The problem with this scenario is that this robs Felicity of  a possible private life (should she choose to have one), gone are the days flirting with guys like Barry Allen and the possibility of a new relationship. Felicity's feelings would probably be even more tangled up if this were the case. Oliver and Felicity would also have to keep up appearances by having intimate interactions in public to show that they are a couple which would make it worse... IMO I think the whole EA thing is better than the whole fake relationship trope. With Felicity as his EA she still has that privacy she looks for in her personal life, it's not too complicated. 

[Ceylon5]

Is the hacker version of Facebook to be a member of Anonymous?  I can totally see Felicity joining Anonymous as a teenager, and wreaking her own brand of hacker justice on the world as she saw fit.  I bring this up because, in thinking about Felicity needing some of her own friends, I have developed an irrational need for Felicity have occasional get-togethers with Hardison from Leverage and Birkhoff from Nikita, where they can exchange ideas and talk genius-geek gobbledegook with each other.   I think Felicity and Hardison in particular would get on like a house on fire.  "Age of the geek, baby, age of the geek!"

[KirkB]

If Felicity were to start hanging out with Hardison, I would expect Parker to show up at some point and taze Laurel. Not for any reason in particular, just because she was there.

 

I do hope whatever Felicity's back story turns out to be, assuming we see any of it this season, that it's not too connected to Oliver. Unless it turns out Felicity was a plant at QC it would be awfully coincidental that the random IT person both Walter and Oliver picked out of what I imagine is a substantial pool of IT techs just happens to be a member of (or related to) someone at Argus or HIVE or the seasons bad guy.

[Morrigan2575]

I don't really need or want some complex backstory.  All I want is for them to round the character out, bring in some family/friends, maybe someone she knew at MIT gets mixed up in something bad in Starling.  Or maybe she has to go undercover in a casino again and this one is run by someone who knew her in Vegas.  Something that gives her some depth outside of Team Arrow.

 

I don't want her father to be a big bad, I don't want her to have connections to HIVE or ARGUS (unless Waller tries to recruit her...because that could be fun).  I just want something that adds depth to the character before she ends up becoming a caricature..

[KirkB]

I would like to see Felicity's dad being indirectly and unintentionally connected to Oliver so it feels like an organic part of the show. Like he's a gambler who comes to Starling to play in some backroom poker game at a casino the Arrow is trying to find and shut down because its connected to the mob or something. You get action, back story with Felicity but sticking with the main focus of the show, which is Oliver and his mission. In the end you could have the dad die, go to jail, or Felicity buys him a bus ticket and sends him on his way.

Edited July 22, 2014 by KirkB

[Morrigan2575]

Yes, that would work too, something that's tied to the Villain of the Week story-line.  I just don't want Felicity tied to "the Island" in some way.  Or some tragic back-story that ties her down.  I like that Felicity is the (relatively) normal one.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[SmallScreenDiva]

I have no problems if the show decides to make Felicity's dad a villain. I even look forward to the conflict that that could bring, just don't make it too angsty. But I too hope he won't have any connection to Oliver in the past. I like KirkB's scenario. Keep his ties only to Felicity but bring him into the main story by making him Team Arrow's target.

[wonderwall]

I'd actually prefer Felicity's dad to be a good guy/ hero who left the reason why Oliver remains an island (pun totally intended). I want Oliver to see the regret in his eyes for leaving Felicity and her mother and learn from Felicity's father's mistakes. This way, Felicity's story will still be connected to the main plot (of Oliver warring over whether he can have it all or not), and we get to learn more about her. But only if the writers still make this whole thing about Felicity. Oliver learning from her father's mistakes can be an extra bonus :)

Edited July 22, 2014 by wonderwall

[Sunshine]

Why is everyone assuming Felicity's backstory is about introducing her dad?  Is it because in 2x13 she said she didn't know who or what he was?  I guess I am half expecting it to be just about life with mom (no dad) and why she's not willing to just accept things as per her speech in 2x21.  Lack of dad contrasts with Diggle as new dad and Oliver as potential dad. You know, should he get involved with child's life? Does he want to? 

[wonderwall]

Because like Felicity, we all hate mysteries and they need to be solved :p I don't think we're assuming, more like speculating and what we'd like to see? I'd much rather see her father and be told about her mother not the other way around. 

[Starfish35]

Why is everyone assuming Felicity's backstory is about introducing her dad? Is it because in 2x13 she said she didn't know who or what he was? I guess I am half expecting it to be just about life with mom (no dad) and why she's not willing to just accept things as per her speech in 2x21. Lack of dad contrasts with Diggle as new dad and Oliver as potential dad. You know, should he get involved with child's life? Does he want to?

I think, at least for myself, when I thought it was all going to be part of a larger storyarc, I figured that her dad was more likely, because he's the big mystery here.

Now that it looks like it's just going to be a

one episode story,

I'm thinking mom is more likely. But I could see a scenario like KirkB suggested too, with her dad.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Starfish35

[TanyaKay]

If Felicity were to start hanging out with Hardison, I would expect Parker to show up at some point and taze Laurel. Not for any reason in particular, just because she was there.

 

Oh that cracked me up like anything.

I seriously would not be able to handle both Felicity and Parker in a frame because it would be oh so glorious.

I would love it if Parker transfers her love of tasers onto Felicity. The way she randomly tased everyone was the best part of Leverage and that was a very good show.

[statsgirl]

On this show, EBR is a chemistry-magnet -- in her scenes with just about everyone so far they've made each other look good.  Maybe that's why there's been no independent storyline for her, because whoever they put her in a scene with, it's good (unlike other characters who need their own story).  

 

When I thought Felicity's mother was going to be awesome, I wanted Amanda Tapping to play her.  Now it looks like she's going to be fairly dismissable and good for maybe an episode. If it's a choice between her father, who looks like he could be good for an arc if they tie him into the 'A' storyline (as a good guy, I hope, maybe a computer whiz working for the Justice League), or one episode with her mother, I choose the former.  

[Tangerine]

Regarding Felicity's wardrobe, I found a site that lists where you can get the clothes you see on Arrow and honestly, her style hasn't changed that much from season 1 to season 2. It's definitely a little bit more trendy, but back in season 1 she was still wearing colourful clothes, skirts and high heels. The cleavage window and backless dresses were the biggest departures for sure but everything else seemed fairly consistent. It's just that you occasionally saw her in jeans, flats and a sweater which we didn't really see at all in season 2. I think the straight hair was the biggest difference because not even her jewelry or make-up changed that much. 

 

I personally don't want Felicity's dad to be a villain or tied to Oliver because I just feel that it takes away some of Felicity's relateability. The Felicity I know and love is an ordinary, albeit remarkable girl that decided to join a crazy vigilante to save the city because she wanted to. Having her father tied to Oliver just makes it seem like Felicity joined Team Arrow because she was meant to because of who her father was, not because of who she is. 

 

That being said, Felicity said herself that she hates mysteries so I wonder if we'll see it be addressed why she never tried to track down her father? 

Edited July 23, 2014 by Tangerine

[Morrigan2575]

Worn on tv...I love that site. Only down side is that by the time the episode airs most of those outfits are sold out.

[Password]

That being said, Felicity said herself that she hates mysteries so I wonder if we'll see it be addressed why she never tried to track down her father?

My thoughts exactly. She certainly has the skills to find her dad so I wonder if she has.

[apinknightmare]

My thoughts exactly. She certainly has the skills to find her dad so I wonder if she has.

 

It wouldn't surprise me to find out that she's gone looking for him, and it also wouldn't surprise me if she never has. She seems like someone who has a lot of self-respect, and I wonder the sheer fact that her father ran out on her and her mother would make her completely write him off.

[Sakura12]

Maybe her dad is genius computer person too and that's why she can't find him. Every time she tries, he blocks her or sends her off on a wild goose chase. Daddy Smoak abandoning his family could be he had to go into hiding and didn't want his wife and daughter to have to uproot their lives for something he did or he did it to protect them. He doesn't necessarily have to be evil for leaving. 

[Password]

Or he could be just a dead beat dad. But perhaps that's not angsty enough for Arrow. The number his absence has done in relation to Felicity's abandonment issues is more angst than I can handle.

[statsgirl]

Maybe her dad is genius computer person too and that's why she can't find him. Every time she tries, he blocks her or sends her off on a wild goose chase. Daddy Smoak abandoning his family could be he had to go into hiding and didn't want his wife and daughter to have to uproot their lives for something he did or he did it to protect them. He doesn't necessarily have to be evil for leaving. 

He doesn't have to be evil for leaving but it does make him less than wonderful for walking out on his super smart daughter at a young age and leaving her with what appears to be a less-than-wonderful mother who didn't encourage to look beyond being a cocktail waitress.

 

But yeah, I'd rather have him as a computer genius than a dead beat dad or a gambler looking for a better score.  Although I can completely understand it if Felicity never went looking for him.

[somewhereother]

and if you pay attention, the police station, the DA's office and Sebastian's campaign quarters are all the same set. 

 

I also had the distinct feeling when watching the finale that the inside of Roy's apartment is also the police station with some fabric draped over the windows.

[Tangerine]

Worn on tv...I love that site. Only down side is that by the time the episode airs most of those outfits are sold out.

It's actually Arrow Fashion Blog, but I love Worn on TV too! http://arrowfashionblog.wordpress.com/

But yeah, I'd rather have him as a computer genius than a dead beat dad or a gambler looking for a better score. Although I can completely understand it if Felicity never went looking for him.

We do know that Felicity was old enough to remember him leaving and that it did hurt her quite a bit, so I can sort of see why she wouldn't want to go looking for him at the risk of getting hurt again. I don't want him to turn out to be a villain because that would be too cliched, but I kind of like the storyline possibility/parallel it could have with Thea's arc this season. Those are two characters I would like to see interact more often because I've always been curious as to what Thea thought of Felicity.

[Velocity23]

[Password]

It's kind of amazing how she looks nothing like Felicity.

[Morrigan2575]

She looks really young

[tv echo]

EBR just turned 23 so she is really young.  

Maybe her dad is genius computer person too and that's why she can't find him. Every time she tries, he blocks her or sends her off on a wild goose chase. Daddy Smoak abandoning his family could be he had to go into hiding and didn't want his wife and daughter to have to uproot their lives for something he did or he did it to protect them. He doesn't necessarily have to be evil for leaving. 

This is a very plausible possibility.  I posted a comment in the Spoilers thread that speculated that

maybe Felicity's father is the first Oracle - referencing the spoiler that her back story episode is titled "Oracle".

[TwistedandBored]

Emily was soo adorable in tonight's panel. Soo like Felicity. 

[wingster55]

I thought she came off a bit poorly. I can chalk it up a bit to the fatigue but Caity Lotz was fine. 

[TwistedandBored]

Well, I thought she was awesome. She certainly seemed to have charmed everyone in the panel. 

[wingster55]

I can see it being one of those, if you were there things.

It was unintentionally humorous I'll admit. 

[AnalyzeAndCritique]

It seemed to me like EBR was having a Felicity moment. She meant something but the way she said it came out wrong. She realized she'd made a mistake and went to fix it only to dig herself in deeper. I saw it almost as she was playing off the non-shippers demand to make her a lesbian. She meant nothing against GG or SA. EBR seems to be one of the more aware of what the fandom is talking about. She always seems to go out of her way to say nice things about everyone. 

[Tallis]

Wait. There's a make-Felicity-a-lesbian faction in Arrow fandom? You learn something new every day...

[Password]

Wait. There's a make-Felicity-a-lesbian faction in Arrow fandom? You learn something new every day...

Omg.

[calliope1975]

Wait. There's a make-Felicity-a-lesbian faction in Arrow fandom? You learn something new every day...

 

There's some pretty good Smoaking Canary and Smoaking Assassin fic out there. Just saying.

[catrox14]

I thought EBR was her typically goofy, charming self.  I think she is the real deal and is young and misspeaks but then tries to make up for it and makes it worse.  She's certainly not being a jerk on purpose. 

[wingster55]

Never meant to imply it was malicious in any way. Just not her best moment.

[Password]

Never meant to imply it was malicious in any way. Just not her best moment.

I'm with you but Grant Huston's reaction was hilarious.

It was like what am I chopped liver?

Edited July 28, 2014 by ArrowLimbo

[wingster55]

Gustin. ;)

 

Yea his reaction was funny.

[Password]

Whoops Gustin. Auto incorrect.

[Tallis]

There's some pretty good Smoaking Canary and Smoaking Assassin fic out there. Just saying.

Yep. Read some of it :) Maybe that's what AnalyzeAndCritique was referencing but that wasn't how I read it.

[Sakura12]

Why does Felicity have to be a lesbian? Sara's not. She can be like her and just like good looking people. 

 

I thought EBR was great, she is like that in real life (I say that from my experience of meeting her one time where Stephen and David said "hey, how's it going?"  EBR, upon seeing my Game of Thrones shirt, said in a deep throaty voice "Targaryen blood". She also said it again when I met her later on for her autograph). I thought she came off as charming and funny. She wasn't intentionally making a joke, it just happened. And have you seen Brandon Routh? He does look like a man compared to Grant Gustin, with nothing against GG but he does have a baby face. I know how he feels, up until a few years ago I was getting carded for Rated R movies (I'm 31). 

Edited July 28, 2014 by Sakura12

[AnalyzeAndCritique]

Wait. There's a make-Felicity-a-lesbian faction in Arrow fandom? You learn something new every day...

Yeah, about a year ago when Felicity was the rage and some Laurel fans took exception. They were pushing for a lesbian character. It was either Felicity and Oliver were siblings as they had a sibling bond not romantic chemistry or Felicity was a lesbian. 

Edited July 28, 2014 by AnalyzeAndCritique