Felicity Smoak: Bitch With Wifi

[Betweenthisandthat]

It's interesting that you see her as a "cute girl Friday"

 

I don't think anything's wrong with being a cute girl Friday and she doesn't need to be tortured or anything to be layered.  I like her a lot but not yet with a passion.  She's not a character I analyze when she's offscreen.  She's not someone yet who sticks with me.  Diggle on the other hand, they've created a life for aside from Oliver, and perhaps that's why I still see her in a narrow context and not him.  From the beginning he's been more than whatever his relationship to Oliver was based on his backstory, his brother and sister-in-law, and now his new family life. Even his interactions with Oliver and how they've become partners.  There's a since of equality I get from Oliver and Diggle that I'm not yet feeling with Felicity and Oliver.  She was initially resistant to joining the team, and that seemed to have resolved itself quickly in comparison to the back and forth Oliver and Diggle have had.  The disagreements Oliver and Felicity have had haven't lasted in the same way either.

 

I love what they've done with Diggle and would love to see more of him; we've seen his flashbacks and his lovelife and if they treat Felicity with the same care, that would be great. She's courageous in her own way and just as kick ass as the rest of the team, but I'm only seeing her in the context OF the team and Oliver, and I need to see her removed from that to understand her more.  I don't need suffering or big mistakes or any other flash.  Maybe I phrased my first post wrong. What I hope and need to see is more of Felicity's world, outside of Oliver and the team. Who is she beyond Team Arrow? Every other character has had that opportunity, and hopefully her storylines this season give me a little more to work with personally. 

Edited September 21, 2014 by Betweenthisandthat

[Velocity23]

 

Go Emily :) 

[Morrigan2575]

@Velocity23 - do you know where the image came from?

[Velocity23]

 

@Velocity23 - do you know where the image came from?

 

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/400750/Arrow-Season-three-spoilers

 

Daily Star video at 1:15 

Edited September 22, 2014 by Velocity23

[Morrigan2575]

Awesome, thanks

[olicityfan25]

I absolutely adore her. 

[ban1o]

Off topic but That interview is actually hilarious lol 

Edited September 22, 2014 by ban1o

[TanyaKay]

Oh god, Colton and Emily are a riot and they want to date Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith respectively. This interview is hilarious.

[BkWurm1]

It's interesting that you see her as a "cute girl Friday" because I've never seen her that way, any more than I see Diggle as the "black driver".  I believe both terms were used tongue-in-cheek on the show because they are the exact opposite of what these two are.  They were their cover stories for a world that doesn't know who the Arrow is, but the truth, as the audience knows, is quite different.

 

I actually agreed with everything the poster I'm quoting said after this point, but I have to disagree about the definition of being Oliver's girl Friday, because I think that she is but that's not a bad thing at least as far as I take it to mean from the movie of the same name.  Cary Grant's Girl Friday was the best and smartest person at her job and her former editor counted on her to follow her instincts and put work first. Isn't that Felicity? 

 

When in Time of Death Felicity says she thought she would always be Oliver's girl (not girl but his girl) I've always thought this to mean his go to girl, the one he always relies on to take care of everything.  So when did being a Girl Friday become a bad thing???

[wonderwall]

I know what you mean @BkWurm1, I think some people need to rewatch that movie because Hildy was pretty much the most competent person in that movie, even moreso than Walter. Hildy is smart, driven, independent, doesn't take anyone's crap... That to me seems a lot like Felicity. Hell, even Walter, we saw, counted  and relied on Hildy both professionally (come on, she's his best news reporter!) and personally:

I wish you hadn't done that, Hildy...Divorce me. Makes a fellow lose all faith in himself...Almost gives him a feeling he wasn't wanted.

Come to think of it, I can easily see the dynamic between Oliver/Felicity/Ray be a lot like Bruce/Hildy/Walter.

Edited September 23, 2014 by wonderwall

[Ceylon5]

I actually agreed with everything the poster I'm quoting said after this point, but I have to disagree about the definition of being Oliver's girl Friday, because I think that she is but that's not a bad thing at least as far as I take it to mean from the movie of the same name.  Cary Grant's Girl Friday was the best and smartest person at her job and her former editor counted on her to follow her instincts and put work first. Isn't that Felicity? 

 

When in Time of Death Felicity says she thought she would always be Oliver's girl (not girl but his girl) I've always thought this to mean his go to girl, the one he always relies on to take care of everything.  So when did being a Girl Friday become a bad thing???

 

I always strongly objected to Oliver making Felicity his PA (or girl Friday), not only because she strongly objected to it, but also because that's not what she trained to be.  The phrase 'girl Friday' is just the feminine version of 'man Friday' from Robinson Crusoe's faithful servant Friday from the book of that name.  While the phrase has morphed a bit from 'servant' to 'assistant', it still means exactly that, an assistant, who, however competent she/he may be, is still just an assistant to someone with a more important job, someone 'in charge'.  I haven't seen the particular movie you mention, but however that specific character might have been portrayed, the term 'girl Friday' has now come to describe (at least where I live) a low-level office position that someone without qualifications can do (often someone straight out of high school), which involves making coffee, answering phones and so on. Felicity can be loyal and competent without needing to be reduced to an 'assistant to the big man' role.  Felicity is not someone who should be fetching Oliver coffee, answering his phone and making his appointments.  She's a computer genius, not a secretary.  She can be Oliver's go-to girl in all things requiring her particular gifts, without being his assistant or his sidekick, just the way he's her go-to guy when someone's holding her hostage.

 

I also don't think that either Diggle or Felicity are Oliver's sidekicks.  Felicity and Diggle are already competent in the fields that are needed for Team Arrow to function best - Diggle in security and war, and Felicity in all things computer related.  Their skills complement each other's and Oliver's and they are all equally needed for the team to work properly.  (Roy, as someone in training with Oliver, with skills that duplicate Oliver's skills, is a sidekick.  He wasn't brought in because he already had vital experience and skills that the team needed, the way the others were, but is being trained to be like Oliver.)  Oliver asked Felicity to join him because he needed HER specifically - not just any-old-body who could work a coffee machine, but Felicity Smoak, hacker extraordinaire, already in possession of some pretty spectacular and useful skills that he relies on.

 

So, yeah, I feel pretty strongly that calling Felicity an 'assistant' or 'girl Friday' or calling either Felicity or Diggle a 'sidekick' diminishes them and their unique abilities and contributions to Team Arrow.  There is nothing wrong with being a girl Friday, obviously, but that's just not what Felicity is.  As she pointed out, she didn't go to MIT to study the secretarial arts!

 

FYI -  here are the descriptions given in the first 3 ads from the local job ads that I quickly googled for Girl Friday to give you an idea as to why this annoys me (again, this specific meaning for the phrase may be a purely local thing, but it's what I think of when I hear this phrase):

 

1) ...looking for a Girl Friday to assist with filing, typing and general admin duties;

2) Girl Friday is needed to be responsible for office work. Will be taking notes, answering calls and calling clients

3) Girl Friday required for a busy company. Duties : Very good typing skills, filing, taking orders and general office duties.

 

That really doesn't describe Felicity's role on Team Arrow to me at all!!

Edited September 23, 2014 by Ceylon5

[Chaser]

I enjoyed 'His Girl Friday' but it was mistitled. I can see similiarities between Felicity Smoak and Hildy Johson.  Neither one of them are a Girl Friday.

Edited September 23, 2014 by 10Eleven12

[Password]

Considering the skill both Hildy and Felicity have, it's kind of an insult. But I guess that's what Oliver needed for the job.

You know considering EBR upped the ante on her work out regime, her arms may be bigger than that now. Like how toned they looked in the kiss.

Edited September 23, 2014 by ArrowLimbo

[Chaser]

Pop culture has been throwing 'Girl Friday' at any smart female friend of the male protangist for years (media loved to call Chloe Clark's Girl Friday, which was so stupid). Oliver probably heard this term and thought it was a compliant. I highly doubt Oliver even knows what it means. It would have played a lot better if Oliver had just asked her to take the position and explained his reasons. It should have been her choice. I hope that gets brought up. Not holding my breathe, but I hope.

[statsgirl]

The original stage play was called The Front Page, and Hildy Johnson was a man.  The movie remade Hildy into a woman and Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant, and changed the title to His Girl Friday. There are two stories  about why the role was changed to a woman, either that Howard Hawks was reading the script out loud during a dinner party and asked a female guest to read the role of Hildy, or that a secretary was reading Hildy's lines while auditioning Walter (I think the former is more likely because a number of actresses like Jean Arthur, Carole Lombard and Ginger Rogers were offered the part) and Hawks decided that it sounded better as a woman.   I guess after that the term got into popular culture, but Hildy Johnson was no "girl Friday" either, she was a crack shot reporter that editor Walter Burns didn't want to lose either as a reporter or as a wife.  So in that way, I guess it mirrors what Felicity does for Oliver. 

 

It was voted #10 in the 100 Greatest Movies of all time (2005) and worth seeing.  One of the first, if not the first, to use overlapping dialogue which Robert Altman used in so many of his films.

 

I can see Brandon Routh as more the Cary Grant type, and Oliver as Bruce Baldwin, played by Ralph Bellamy, the humorless insurance agent Hildy wants to marry so she can settle down to be a wife and mother.  

Edited September 23, 2014 by statsgirl

[Morrigan2575]

Total Aside: I love His Girl Friday....love it, it's in my Top 3 of Cary Grant Films, right up there with Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby.

[foreverevolving]

The original stage play was called The Front Page, and Hildy Johnson was a man.  The movie remade Hildy into a woman and Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant, and changed the title to His Girl Friday. There are two stories  about why the role was changed to a woman, either that Howard Hawks was reading the script out loud during a dinner party and asked a female guest to read the role of Hildy, or that a secretary was reading Hildy's lines while auditioning Walter (I think the former is more likely because a number of actresses like Jean Arthur, Carole Lombard and Ginger Rogers were offered the part) and Hawks decided that it sounded better as a woman.   I guess after that the term got into popular culture, but Hildy Johnson was no "girl Friday" either, she was a crack shot reporter that editor Walter Burns didn't want to lose either as a reporter or as a wife.  So in that way, I guess it mirrors what Felicity does for Oliver. 

 

It was voted #10 in the 100 Greatest Movies of all time (2005) and worth seeing.  One of the first, if not the first, to use overlapping dialogue which Robert Altman used in so many of his films.

 

I can see Brandon Routh as more the Cary Grant type, and Oliver as Bruce Baldwin, played by Ralph Bellamy, the humorless insurance agent Hildy wants to marry so she can settle down to be a wife and mother.  

Can we just point out how sad it is that, Hildey came out awesome because the role was originally written as a man- especially when you consider other female roles of that time?

the saddest part is that we still see it happening today in female roles..

[BkWurm1]

enjoyed 'His Girl Friday' but it was mistitled. I can see similiarities between Felicity Smoak and Hildy Johson.  Neither one of them are a Girl Friday.

 

It's always been my understanding that the movie is what made "girl Friday" a common term.  Very sad that it's been watered down to such an extent.  I've only known this definition:

 

A 'go to' girl; a female who will help you get things taken care of; a female you can rely on when you are in need of extra assistance; a female who acts as a 'jack of all trades' and is capable of doing almost anything; a girl you can count on when you are overwhelmed with your own chores and the duties must be done; a girl who does most of the leg work on a project, but never takes (or gets) credit.

(which I copied from the Urban Dictionary)

 

I have to believe that most of the time if people refer to Felicity as Oliver's Girl Friday they mean it as a compliment and not in a dismissive manner though now at least I understand why there would be confusion. 

I can see Brandon Routh as more the Cary Grant type, and Oliver as Bruce Baldwin, played by Ralph Bellamy, the humorless insurance agent Hildy wants to marry so she can settle down to be a wife and mother.

 

Hey, be nicer to Oliver!  Lol.  Sure Bruce also had a scary mother but Oliver cut the apron strings a looong time ago.  Sadly Oliver just wasn't in this movie. 

[KenyaJ]

I have to believe that most of the time if people refer to Felicity as Oliver's Girl Friday they mean it as a compliment and not in a dismissive manner though now at least I understand why there would be confusion. 

 

Besides, she's his Girl Wednesday. That has nothing but positive connotations to me, LOL.

[BkWurm1]

Besides, she's his Girl Wednesday

 

Very good point and while Oliver at that moment was disguising Felicity as his EA, when he asked her to be his Girl Wednesday, I can't believe that he was thinking of the definition that would reduce her to nothing more than a no brain paper pusher or  hive worker.  I truly think he was begging her to be his right hand, not his servant. 

Edited September 24, 2014 by BkWurm1

[statsgirl]

The fiance of a friend of mine was in divinity school and studying the Bible, and told us that when God made Eve to help Adam, in the original language it wasn't 'help' as in a servant but 'help' among equals, as the fellow general of an army.

 

 

Can we just point out how sad it is that, Hildey came out awesome because the role was originally written as a man- especially when you consider other female roles of that time?

the saddest part is that we still see it happening today in female roles..

There was an original The Front Page movie and Hawks was doing a remake.  The role was originally written for a man but he gets cheers for seeing that it could work for a woman too.

 

I think weak women roles happens today more than it did in those earlier years. In the thirties and forties, there was a string of awesome women in movies. Ginger Rogers won her Oscar for Kitty Foyle, not for being Fred Astaire's dance partner.  Bette Davis in Now, Voyager is the definition of inner strength, and Katherine Hepburn is many movies ruled the show.  Joan Crawford in just about anything.  (Granted, I'm not too fond of Olivia De Havilland's Maid Marian.)  Later in the fifties and sixties, woman became 'the little woman' to the extent that when Lucille Ball finally hung up the ditsy red-head role, she became an executive at Paramount who green-lighted the original Star Trek.

 

Back to Felicity ..... I was listening to one of the British interviews she and CH did, and the interviewer said that when she said she was going to interview them and  asked on her FB page for questions, what she got was most people saying that Felicity is their favorite character on the show.  I haven't done a survey but I think that's very unusual, for women to say that their favourite is a woman.  I'm more used to favourites being the men, or if it's a woman, like Ziva on NCIS, equal numbers seem to love and to hate her.

 

Maybe it's because Felicity is so relatable, maybe it's because of the way EBR plays her, I just thought that was an interesting thing.

[foreverevolving]

part of me feels the reason Felicity is well liked is because she is not a cynical - obvious though - character (like Ziva and many other females on TV right now- at least network TV) nor is she 100% obvious nerd. she can be intimidating but it's not a physically obvious type of intimidation. alot of that is parts writing and alot of parts due to EBR.

no doubt if this was a regular drama, or comedy felicity would not have been so well liked, and would have probably served in the half/half category you mentioned. a part of if might also be the lack of interest/hate sparked by Laurel in most viewers. Laurel and Felicity are literal obvious in many ways (ways i am far too sick right now to name- i think wonderwall wrote a post about it a few pages ago).

Felicity is, in many ways, the cutesy, geeky, attractive girl next door- and almost everyone likes the girl next door.

[Password]

That's interesting. The reason I liked Felicity in season 1 was because she was funny, spunky and didn't take ish. The whole girl next door thing wasn't something I thought of. She had a bit of kick in her and that's what drew me to her.

And in comparison we had Laurel who was obviously the intended OTP and I'd already resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't like the lead female. Felicity was refreshing.

[Morrigan2575]

Back to Felicity ..... I was listening to one of the British interviews she and CH did, and the interviewer said that when she said she was going to interview them and  asked on her FB page for questions, what she got was most people saying that Felicity is their favorite character on the show.  I haven't done a survey but I think that's very unusual, for women to say that their favourite is a woman.  I'm more used to favourites being the men, or if it's a woman, like Ziva on NCIS, equal numbers seem to love and to hate her.

 

I hated Ziva, she was OK when she started out but then she became a caricature, she was the bestest fighter eva, the closest person to Gibbs, the will they/won't they love interest of Tony, etc, etc.  

 

It's interesting that you would think most females would prefer list male characters as their favorite.  Perhaps it's the type of shows I watch but it's almost universally a female that is my favorite character.  Although, there are occasions where there's a male counterpart (I have 2 favs) and I think it's 100% the case where it's never the lead character...LOL

 

Arrow - Felicity

NCIS - Abby (when I watched)

Smallville - Chloe

Sleepy Hollow - Jenny

Vampire Diaries - Caroline

Walking Dead - Andrea S1/S2 and Carol S3/S4 although Daryl was probably my co-favorite character in S2/S3,

Criminal Minds - Garcia and Spencer

Farscape - Chiana 

Doctor Who - Donna and later River Song

Buffy/Angel - Cordelia Chase

BSG - Dee and Gaeta

 

The only shows where the female character wasn't my favorite are shows where there's limited options in the female department (Stargate SG-1 - Daniel not Sam and I hated Vala), Supernatural (Dean, hands down but there are no females on the show).

 

I think Felicity appeals to me because in S1 she wasn't a main character, she didn't have the baggage that the leads get weighted down with.  She's not an angsty character, in fact she's generally the character that adds levity to a somewhat every dreary show.  I don't care if I'm watching a drama or action show, I need just a little bit of humor to get me through the scenes.  When Felicity was brought on to Team Arrow (and Shado onto Team Island) everything just seemed to click, both females added balance to the duo and gave the male characters a different character to interact with/play off of and act differently.

 

I think for me that's why Felicity works, her interactions with Diggle, Oliver, Roy (I'm seriously hoping for a snarky relationship between Felicity/Roy in S3) can be sweet, dramatic, intense, romantic, fun and humorous.  (IMO) Felicity more so than Diggle provides a connection to the audience, she's relate-able to those of us that aren't ex-soldiers, super heroes, street punks, etc.  While she has a genius IQ which, takes her away from normal/average, she has a ton of flaws which make her very relate-able.  She's scared of a lot of things (but also faces/conquers her fears as needed), she's awkward, overlooked/easily dismissed by others, she's emotionally vulernable which many people (in/out of the show) view as a weakness, she's constantly put down, rather than elevated (by characters in the show)...etc

Edited September 24, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[BkWurm1]

(

Stargate SG-1 - Daniel not Sam and I hated Vala),

 

Daniel was always my one true character but I also LOVED Vala.  Oh, the conversations you and I could have!  Lol.

 

I was pondering the favorite character question too and for the most part I think I tend to split fairly evenly between male and female.

 

On Arrow it is Felicity and on Smallville is most certainly was Chloe but on Castle it's Rick Caste and on Bones it was Booth and going way back on Remington Steel it was Remington Steele though also in the way back machine, on Scarecrow and Mrs. King, I liked Mrs. King more than Scarecrow. 

 

On Friends- it was Chandler but Chandler AND Monica wasn't a hard transition.

On BSG I had a real hard time picking a favorite but I guess it was Helo and later Madame Presitdent with a heaping side of Admiral Adama. (I never quite forgave poor Dee for what she did to Billy - even though it was the actor that played Billy that walked away from the show)

Dr Who is a hard one since of course I loved the Doctor so it was a mater of favorite companions (Donna and River top my list as well but the smiling Captain Jack refuses to be ignored)

 

 

Looking at my list of characters, I tend to gravitate toward the most identifiable with character unless I get my head turned by charm.  

 

I think Felicity filled both qualities.  She is the IMO most easily relatable character but she is also just bubbling with charm.  Hers is more quirky than knee weakening but having that extra spark of charisma (whatever shape it takes) combined with being easily relatable has to have upped her overall popularity. 

Edited September 24, 2014 by BkWurm1

[foreverevolving]

 

Dr Who is a hard one since of course I loved the Doctor so it was a mater of favorite companions (Donna and River top my list as well but the smiling Captain Jack refuses to be ignored)

 

Marry me?, lol. I knew there was a reason i liked you, you pretty much listed my favorite three companions on the NuWho.

[TanyaKay]

 

She may be a bitch with wifi but she is the cutest cupcake ever. That nod after the yes!

[statsgirl]

I tend to get into shows through a female character.  I like men but I don't find male/male bonding as interesting as when there is a woman in the mix.  I got into NCIS only after Ziva arrived (come to think of it, Catelyn seems a lot like Laurel) and wasn't really interested in the Boys Club when she left.  (Why is it that on many shows, the male:female ratio is 1:3 or 1:4? Hawaii 5-0, Burn Notice, NCIS... now we're getting that in the Arrow lair with Oliver, Diggle, Roy and then Felicity.  Fortunately that's balanced with Sara, Nyssa, Thea and Moira.  Okay, and Laurel.)

 

I think that because there aren't enough female characters on shows other than soap (nighttime as well as daytime), we expect a lot from the female characters we get.  I remember a lot of female viewers hated Abby, and on  House M.D., both Cuddy and Cameron came in for a lot of hate.  Ironically, it seemed to me that younger viewers didn't like Cameron because she wasn't good enough and loved Cuddy, while older women with more work experience liked Cameron and not Cuddy.   That makes me wonder if sometimes we expect too much from the female characters,, maybe because there are so few of them on TV.  

 

That's one of the things that is so good about Felicity, that she crossed those lines and is a general favourite beyond being one of a specific group of viewers.

 

Daniel was always my one true character but I also LOVED Vala.  Oh, the conversations you and I could have!  Lol.

I like Sam, but we named our cat after Vala because she was very loathe to trust (rescue cat) and when she grabbed hold of something, she wouldn't let go.

 

Claudia Black was aware of the dislike of Vala.  At the Polaris fan convention a few years ago, she apologized for having been an uppopular character.

Edited September 25, 2014 by statsgirl

[BkWurm1]

Why is it that on many shows, the male:female ratio is 1:3 or 1:4? Hawaii 5-0, Burn Notice, NCIS..

 

Ii think the issue starts with programing aimed at young kids.  Studies have proved that girls will watch primarily "boy" shows with a girl add but your not going to get boys to watch "girl" shows with a boy character added so they typically play up to the boy and toss in the token girl character.

 

Now they studies also said that the imbalance was supposed to shift later on since more women are invested in programing than men when they grow up and yet the same ratio of lots of guys and one token woman often still emerge.  Personally I blame the lack of enough female writers. 

 

Claude Black was aware of the dislike of Vala.  At the Polaris fan convention a few years ago, she apologized for having been an uppopular character.

 

Vala seemed to be a very polarizing character.  Part of the reason was the character (you had to see where the character was going to really love her IMO- kind of like with Oliver) but I think Vala also got the blame for the seeming sidelining of original cast members when of course it had more to do with maternity leaves and immediate story lines. 

 

I wish again and again that the show runners had been allowed in season 9 to rename the show like they had originally planned.  (Stargate Command or something like that.)  Then maybe people wouldn't have complained about the changes so much. 

 

One of the things that SG-1 did right was they never tried to pit Sam and Vala against each other.  They let them develop a genuine friendship on their own.  Arrow on the other hand has managed to create tension between almost all of the female relationships.  Sin and Thea and Sin and Sara are the exception.  The tension might not last like with Felicity and Sara or it might be implicit rather than overt like with Laurel toward Felicity but there is this underlying tension to start with. 

[Ceylon5]

If I have a favourite character on a show (which I don't always), it's almost always a woman/girl.  As for Arrow, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have stuck with the show if Felicity had never been introduced.  I had one foot out the door for the first half of season 1, and only her brief, sporadic appearances kept me from just dropping it entirely.

 

I was just reading an article about a study done on recent movies and the percentages that have female protagonists or pass the Bechdel Test (i.e. it has at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man), and the figures they got were pathetically low.  Interestingly, though, the ones that do pass the test tend to make a lot more money than the ones that don't.

 

I like that on this show, they not only saw the immediate potential in Felicity as a character, but also weren't afraid to grow her role to the point where in the second season she had the second most lines after Oliver.  The male/female ratio, as has been pointed out, is still uneven (more guys than girls on Team Arrow), and Felicity rarely gets to talk to other women on the show, but even so, they've done a good job with her.  I like that Emily has said in interviews how much she enjoys playing such a strong, intelligent woman, and that she hopes there will be many more such roles on TV in the future, because there aren't enough of them now.  Although a lot of actresses have been saying that TV is the place to be at the moment because there are so many more really good female roles available on TV compared to movies, the playing field is nevertheless definitely still not even.  You'd think that TPTB would have realised that more women than men watch scripted TV, and that women like watching shows with strong women characters and female friendships, and catered accordingly, but they mostly don't seem to be too bright (I'm still annoyed that they ruined Alicia & Kalinda's delightful friendship on The Good Wife - such a pointless, stupid thing to do!).

 

Anyway, here's to hoping that, love-interest status aside, Felicity will continue to be developed well as an individual.  I think the writers really like this character and have been careful with her thus far (with the odd misstep), and I hope that they do a good job developing her personal storyline outside of Oliver.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Ceylon5

[pootlus]

Hmm, I split more or less evenly and my tastes are all over the place (Giles on Buffy, Aeryn on Farscape, Starbuck on BSG, Lionel then Oliver on Smallville).  I do seem to prefer the 'ass-kicking' female stereotype though which is why I'm surprised how much I like Felicity.  I think much of that is down to EBR's sheer charm and charisma.  I don't want to 'be' Felicity (although dear God I wish I had her body/face but I am twenty years older than her!) but I certainly enjoy watching her actions, and her reactions to everything everyone else does.  EBR never switches off even when the camera/focus isn't on her and it's great.

[TanyaKay]

 EBR never switches off even when the camera/focus isn't on her and it's great.

 

You are so right, even when she is in the background, I notice her and that is amazing because she is such a small person and still commands attention because she is so good at what she does.

[DrSpaceman10]

Felicity may not be a physical ass-kicker but she still kicks ass. Felicity's strength actually reminds me a bit of Buffy in "Helpless", where you realize that Buffy's strength comes from inside her and not just from her Slayer powers. 

[fantique]

This reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend about the most popular Jane Austen heroines. We both lamented the fact that there seems to be this confusion af what is a "strong female" character and what is a strong "female character". The first is the embodiment of that stereotype that says that a woman is not interesting or complex unless she is strong. The second is the emphasis on the female character being strongly written. To me a strong character is a well written character. Yes human being are resilient but it's a lie to say that any group is not being accurately represented unless they are strong. Being weak is human.

 

That's what I like about Felicity and it's actually lucky that she wasn't a main character to begin with because they didn't have to shove down our throats how "strong" she is. They just showed she is a person with a tendency to be introverted and overlooked (outside of professional/intellectual boundaries) that summons their strength when needed and when they believe in something but are not posturing all the time or worrying about being seen as strong or weak.

[KenyaJ]

I don't want to 'be' Felicity (although dear God I wish I had her body/face but I am twenty years older than her!) but I certainly enjoy watching her actions, and her reactions to everything everyone else does. 

 

Speaking of, you could write an entire story based on just this one gif:

 

[Sakura12]

I loved Chloe on Smallville, so I had no problems transferring that love to Felicity. I always liked the snarky intelligent computer hackers, Mac from Veronica Mars is another favorite character of mine.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Sakura12

[TanyaKay]

Speaking of, you could write an entire story based on just this one gif:

 

 

Spot on.

And that subtle hint of a smile is all kinds of wonderful.

[SmallScreenDiva]

Someone actually did write a fic based on that GIF ;) I'll post the link in the Clocktower thread.

[wonderwall]

http://instagram.com/p/tYUMTSiKf-/

 

It's nice to see EBR remember that Felicity's Jewish! I say this because the only time it was mentioned was so long ago and it was just one measly sentence. 

 

I love how much she cares about her character :') 

 

EDIT: Nvm. This has nothing to do with Felicity :p

Edited September 26, 2014 by wonderwall

[TanyaKay]

her Jewish background was mentioned on two Christmas/December episodes. In season one when she told Oliver that she is Jewish and in season 2 when she mentioned that she will be lighting het menorah.

I think that is okay, I mean no other character talks about their religion so why should she? It is not Grey's Anatomy or Modern Family where things like this are discussed.

[wingster55]

It's nice to see EBR remember that Felicity's Jewish!

 

I'm sorry but...what makes you think that has anything to do with Felicity? 

[wonderwall]

I'm sorry but...what makes you think that has anything to do with Felicity? 

Just an assumption. It could definitely not have anything to do with her. :) 

[wingster55]

Gotcha :)

[statsgirl]

This reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend about the most popular Jane Austen heroines. We both lamented the fact that there seems to be this confusion af what is a "strong female" character and what is a strong "female character". The first is the embodiment of that stereotype that says that a woman is not interesting or complex unless she is strong. The second is the emphasis on the female character being strongly written. To me a strong character is a well written character. Yes human being are resilient but it's a lie to say that any group is not being accurately represented unless they are strong. Being weak is human.

I think there is a big difference in whether the writing is by a man or a woman. (Not always, some men write women very well and Clark Gable got George Cukor taken off Gone With The Wind because he had a reputation of being a woman's director.)  Men often write Boys Own Adventures.

 

Jane Austen wrote some very strong women, ones who were trying to do the best they could against society's rules (kind of like Felicity, actually).  Men were writing adventure stories which barely had women in them at all, like Jules Verne various adventures and Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World because they thought women weren't interested in adventure or didn't matter while Lady Hester Stanhope travelled through the Middle East on her own.

 

You are so right, even when she is in the background, I notice her and that is amazing because she is such a small person and still commands attention because she is so good at what she does.

I'm always impressed at how hard she works in every scene that she's in, the little movements, the verbal hesitations, insisting on keeping Felicity's glasses and ponytail.   She doesn't just sit back and let things come to her, she's like a stage actor in that things are made more noticable and compelling. I wonder if that contributes to how popular her character is.

 

 

I'm sorry but...what makes you think that has anything to do with Felicity? 

EBR wrote "Getting my weekly Jewish lesson from @bschwartzla starting the year off sweet!"

 

Unless she's planning to convert, why would she get a weekly Jewish lesson?

[foreverevolving]

Considering that post was done 9 or so hours ago, the name of the person she tagged is very much jewish, and it's the jewish new year- my guess would be that it has something to do with that. she was probably invited for a Rosh Hashanah dinner. jews who don't live in Israel tend to celebrate the evening twice. The first night was on the 24th, the second was the 25th.

 

So I doubt this has anything to do with Felicity.

 

ETA: adding, when she says "weekly" my guess would be that this person is probably a friend whom she hangs out with on a regular basis so she gets to learn some jewish traditions through that friendship. kind of like how i learn other religions traditions when i hang around with my non jewish friends.

Edited September 26, 2014 by foreverevolving

[TanyaKay]

That woman is Beth Shwartz, one of the Arrow writers who are on set these days and they will soon be shooting episode 9 of the season where they do their annual 'Felicity's Judaism mention', hence people connected that to Felicity rather than EBR.

[olicityfan25]

I love that gif of her sitting at the table and waiting for Oliver. You can tell that she's nervous. She's doing something with her hands. Like wiping the palms of her hands on her dress. That conveys nervousness and as well how she spots him. Her facial expressions go from nerves to being a little more sure of herself.

[KenyaJ]

Someone actually did write a fic based on that GIF ;) I'll post the link in the Clocktower thread.

Thanks for sharing, SmallScreenDiva!

 

I love that gif of her sitting at the table and waiting for Oliver. You can tell that she's nervous. She's doing something with her hands. Like wiping the palms of her hands on her dress. That conveys nervousness and as well how she spots him. Her facial expressions go from nerves to being a little more sure of herself.

And then total heart eyes at the end. I love it.

[Shanna]

I haven't done a survey but I think that's very unusual, for women to say that their favourite is a woman....

Maybe it's because Felicity is so relatable, maybe it's because of the way EBR plays her, I just thought that was an interesting thing.

I think it's a combination of bad writing and acting. A lot of women on tv are either written to be too "sassy" or in other ways that don't fit I guess in an attempt to make them strong? (And combine that with some element of bad casting or casting solely on looks). A fair but of it is just bad writing for women I think.

Felicity comes across as very real to me. Yes they made her fantastically smart in her field but they haven't tried to make her perfect. She has realistic flaws and vulnerability. I think ebr does a great job as well of bringing a lot of layering to her character.

But then I love the main three (Diggle/arrow/feleocity). I like Sara mostly. I like Thea. So this show is doing a pretty good job with all the women except IMO laurel. Maybe if writers channel all the bad writing cliches onto one character and they can do a fine job with the rest.

I also love feleciity because she has natural easy chemistry with the other cast members. It didn't hurt that she was a bit sarcastic with Oliver without being mean.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Shanna

[Meredith Quill]

I have moved TWENTY+ posts out of here into the Hopes & Fears topic this morning; speculation does not belong in character threads. Any further posts that speculate in here will simply be deleted. We have asked numerous times now that you think about what you are posting and where you are posting it. With the premiere almost upon us, this was very disappointing to come in and find. To those who did express a realisation that you were posting in the wrong topic; thank you for that at least.

Please think before you post!