While Felicity Smoak was never in the original plans for Arrow, the minor DC character became a bigger player instantly in the first season. What was meant to be a one-episode deal became a 7-year arc for her character. With Rickards’ performance and the reception from the fans, TPTB made the Firestorm-related character a full-time character by the time they got to season 2. Season 1 began incredibly dark when it was just Oliver and Diggle in the lair. Once Oliver began turning to Felicity, that’s when the series began to find some of its light.
From what started as a small role became one of the show’s biggest characters as Felicity became a major part of the team as well as becoming Oliver’s wife. For 7 seasons, Felicity went through a lot, both with the team and on her own. With Arrow over, there are a lot of big moments from Felicity’s journey throughout the show’s run. These are some of Felicity’s greatest moments and events during her time on the show.
The Day She Met Oliver
To get where she ended up at, it all began with her first episode in season 1. In the third episode, that’s when fans got to meet the obscure DC character as Oliver turned to the IT-expert. That episode introduced Deadshot as one of the first DC characters for Oliver to fight and it gets to a point where Oliver needs Felicity’s help.
But as special as that episode ended up being, that’s when it was made perfectly clear that Oliver was the worst at improvising lies. This became one of many instances where Felicity, hilariously, knew that Oliver was lying through his teeth.
Helping Save Oliver’s Life
The fourteenth episode was a pivotal one for Felicity’s journey within the series as this is when she learned that Oliver was the Hood. After Moira shoots the Hood, not knowing it was Oliver, the hero makes it to Felicity’s car where she finds him asking for help. Felicity ends up, with Diggle’s help, save Oliver which would happen more than once after this episode.
The Day She Met Barry
One of Felicity’s greatest relationships in the Arrowverse was with Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash. As Arrow used a few episodes in season 2 to set up its first spinoff series, Barry’s introduction in the series was one of the best things to come out of the Green Arrow drama. But a big surprise was the incredible dynamic that came to life between Barry and Felicity.
At that point, Oliver and Felicity hadn’t gotten to their romance just yet. While Barry and Felicity never got romantically involved, with the exception of their one kiss on The Flash, they became amazing friends. Their romance became one of the healthiest dynamics which is why whenever they got to share the screen together, it was always a lot of fun.
Confessing To Rory About Her Role In Havenrock
The final episodes of season 4 were big for Felicity as she tried to stop Damien Darhk from nuking Monument Point. As experienced as she is as a hacker, this became one of Felicity’s biggest challenges. While they saved millions of people, Felicity had to make a call that, unfortunately, cost thousands of lives. Through reprogramming the warhead’s GPS system, the new target became Havenrock that had only one survivor: Rory Regan a.k.a. Ragman (Joe Dinicol)
Rory would end up becoming a member of Team Arrow 2.0, but the tension rose as Felicity learned where he came from. It didn’t take long before she confessed to Rory the role she played in Havenrock’s destruction. Even though it was a complicated situation, it was still good of Felicity to tell him the truth this early on.
Embracing Laurel As Black Canary
Laurel Lance had a rough start when she joined the superhero business by becoming the Black Canary. Trying to do whatever she could to honor her sister’s legacy, the heroine still didn’t have it easy in the beginning. With several of the team being against the idea of Laurel becoming a hero, Felicity, however, wasn’t one of them.
During one of Laurel’s tougher moments as a rookie hero, Felicity gives her the best pep talk to begin overcoming her fears. Instead of trying to be Sara, Felicity inspires Laurel to be her own hero, which was a powerful moment for both of them.
Pushing Oliver To Reboot Team Arrow
After the events of the controversial fourth season, Oliver insisted on operating alone out on the field, with Felicity as his partner in the bunker. However, Felicity, like the viewers, knew that Oliver couldn’t do this alone while being the mayor of Star City and the Green Arrow. This is another instance where Felicity was the voice of reason by getting him to finally relaunch the team with new members.
Returning For Oliver’s Funeral
Despite having been with the series for 7 seasons, Rickards ended up leaving Arrow after the season 7 finale. Even though they left the door open for her return, Felicity was absent from eighth and final season for the majority until the series finale. The tenth episode dealt with the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths as Oliver had sacrificed himself and rebooted the universe.
But as emotionally heartbreaking as the episode was, Felicity ended up coming back to join her loved ones for Oliver’s funeral. Seeing her with the team one final team was important and appreciative as it would have been weird to not see Felicity for the final episode.
Joining Team Arrow
Saving Oliver wasn’t the only big moment for Felicity when she found out that he was Starling City’s mysterious guardian angel. The fourteenth episode also had Felicity become a member of the team, even though she had a different pitch at first. With Walter Steele still missing at that point, she agreed to help them find him, but that would be it. As fans of the series know at this point, Felicity wasn’t going anywhere after that.
Meeting Mia As A Grown-Up In 2020
The series finale was already filled with emotions by the time Felicity got to meet Mia as a grown-up. While it was only for a brief time, it was still a powerful moment to see Kat McNamara’s version of Oliver’s daughter getting to meet Felicity in the past. As they were both grieving the loss of Star City’s fallen hero, it was a big daughter/mother moment, to say the least.
Her Happy Ending With Oliver
As many great moments as Felicity had in Arrow’s run, nothing beats her final scene in the closing minutes of the finale. Picking up on her mysterious departure with the Monitor in 2040 in season 7, Felicity ends up in the afterlife with Oliver in the final scene of the series finale. While that became their only scene in the episode, it’s still powerful to know that they still got to have a happy ending together.
