Diggle’s first episode as Green Arrow was a tad overshadowed by a moment Olicity fans have been either craving for a long time, or hoping to never see again. Oliver showed up at Felicity's apartment late at night with a gift for helping William get an A on his math test. He explained both he and William would be happier with her around and handed her a key to his apartment.
“They are back together,” Amell confirmed to Entertainment Weekly, “but I don’t know [what’s next].”
Felicity was just as surprised as fans when Oliver whipped out the key. Just a few episodes ago, the pair decided it was best to put the relationship on hold so William could properly grieve his mother's death. But even considering their rocky romantic history, Emily Bett Rickards said Olicity’s relationship won’t take a step backward.
“I don’t think they can,” Rickards said. “I just don’t think you can with anyone you have history with and someone you really, really care for. It’s usually one to 100. They do really love each other and they’ve hopefully solidified their friendship and hopefully can grow off the base of that.”
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Oliver and Felicity reconnected while locked in the bunker toward the end of Season 5, but it was a long road to do so. Earlier in the season, Prometheus tricked Oliver into mistakenly killing Felicity's new boyfriend, Detective Malone. But somehow, someway, we are back to a world where Olicity is still on the table. How did we get here, and can the writers do the relationship justice this time around? Let’s go back to Olicity’s origins.
"Slade took Laurel because he wants to kill the woman I love. So he took the wrong woman" - Oliver in the Season 2 finale.
Oliver and Felicity officially became an item in Season 3. After years of flirting, suggestive dialogue and romantic chemistry, Oliver finally asked Felicity to dinner in the premiere. But the season proved dating a vigilante wasn’t that simple. Oliver went back and forth trying to decide if he could be both Green Arrow and Oliver Queen, a dynamic that was damaging the possibility of a romance with Felicity. He wasn't being fair to her, and her character development suffered as the writers forced their relationship into the spotlight.
Fans began to dislike Felicity because the core values of her character changed when her story arc revolved exclusively around a man. She briefly became a romantic interest of Barry Allen, sharing a kiss with him on a train back from Central City. She also dated Ray Palmer. We lost the nerdy, awkward, genius woman who confidently spoke in fragmented sentences.
In Arrow Seasons 1 and 2, fans looked forward to Oliver and Felicity's scenes more than any other character interactions. The positive outlook on Felicity early on was partially do to fans’ negative reception of Oliver’s chemistry with Laurel Lance, his romantic interest in the comics. But the on again, off again nature of Felicity trying to find a man during Season 3 drastically changed her role in the show. With Laurel demoted to just a friend, and Felicity promoted to a romantic interest for multiple characters, their roles switched. Laurel became more well-liked and Felicity well, was almost universally hated in Arrow Season 4 as Laurel Lance officially became a member of Team Arrow, adopting the Black Canary alter-ego.
When Olicity actually got together between Seasons 3 and 4, their relationship felt very out of place. Then, a moment when Oliver first becomes mayor in Season 4 changed everything. A car accident left Felicity paralyzed, and that was the beginning of the end of their relationship.
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During Felicity and Oliver’s engagement party, Curtis brought her a cure to her paralysis. She eventually manages to walk again, and literally minutes after she stands for the first time, she breaks up with Oliver, citing him lying to her about William as the reason.
The showrunners clearly have a lot of confidence bringing these two back together, especially knowing how hard fans are judging. But even if you are on the fence or hate the idea, you have to admit, that scene where Oliver gives Felicity a key was so adorable. Watching her tutor William felt genuine and natural. Oliver had tears in his eyes asking Felicity to move forward with their relationship once again. And as tough at it is for haters to admit, this show is built on Felicity just as much as it is Diggle and Oliver. Generally speaking, more Felicity means better Arrow, if done correctly.
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The key is to build Felicity’s story arc as an individual, rather than building the Olicity story arc. Hopefully, the writers have learned their lesson that fan service and fan fiction doesn’t make good TV. Felicity doesn’t need to be with Oliver to be a main character on Arrow. As long as the writers keep that as a core character value, they may be able to get Olicity right this time around.
Are you excited that Olicity is officially back together? Let us know in the comments. Arrow airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.
