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And then there’s the flip side to that: when television producers cave to fan demands, and the much longed-for romance between ‘shipped’ characters simply doesn’t work. Step forward, Arrow and the terrible story of Olicity: Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak.
Felicity was only ever intended to be a small part for Emily Bett Rickards, an Easter Egg for comics fans (originally, Felicity Smoak was a supporting character in The Fury Of Firestorm) – but the producers loved her interpretation of the geeky, awkward computer genius, and Felicity gradually became an integral part of Team Arrow. That’s where the fans come in.
Convinced that Felicity was supposed to be with the show’s protagonist Oliver, aka the Hood, aka the Arrow (aka Green Arrow, by the time the show’s fourth season rolls up in October this year), fans seized on every scene between the two, every long take, every flustered instance of dialogue, as evidence that there was a spark between them. By season two, those moments weren’t delusion on the part of the more romantic of the show’s fans: they were being written into the show itself, culminating in a finale that seemed to pay off the relationship.
But fans would have to wait until season three to see ‘Olicity’ proper… and what a damp squib it’s been so far. Felicity’s feelings for Oliver led to tension of an entirely different sort between the two, and it’s become clear that Rickards’ gift for comedy doesn’t extend to a talent for more heavyweight acting: her ‘pent-up emotion voice’ was used as a one-stop-shop to convey sadness, anger, grief, and denial, making her scenes difficult to watch.
Added to that, in her new role as the person who tries to talk Oliver out of every decision that might place him in danger, Felicity becomes a downer in nearly every scene the two share, the bitter pill that poisons the mood. This is an action/adventure superhero show, after all – the show’s love story can’t act as a spoiler for that without curdling.
Here’s hoping that season four has the two of them having learned to work together more harmoniously, and that the Arrow crew have figured out how to write to Rickard’s strengths without revealing her weaknesses. If not, ‘Olicity’ may become a cautionary tale, a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’.