After being with the show since season 1, Emily Bett Rickards left the regular cast of Arrow at the end of its seventh season, meaning she won’t be around for the final 10 episodes that’ll comprise season 8. However, just because Felicity Smoak won’t be on-screen doesn’t mean the character’s influence won’t still be keenly felt.
In TV Line’s latest Ask Ausiello column, Michael Ausiello answers the question of how Felicity will impact the storyline of season 8. He explains, along with quotes from Katherine “Mia Smoak” McNamara, that Oliver Queen’s wife won’t be far from her husband or her daughter’s thoughts across the run.
“While Oliver in the present timeline holds onto the hope that, as Felicity said, they will find each other again, Future Mia will struggle to do right by Mom. On top of learning how to be part of a team alongside Connor, Zoe et al (“Mia does not play well with others!”), Katherine McNamara points out that Mia “is not used to having to look out for anyone but herself, and she promised her mother that she would protect William. But she can’t fight for him, so that’s real fear, and it’s something she doesn’t know how to handle. It’s quite the learning curve!”
This fits with what Stephen Amell has said previously, promising fans that Felicity will be ever-present in Oliver’s thoughts in the last season. The recent trailer gave us a taste of that as well, as he was heard to tell someone, probably the Monitor: “The only way that this is bearable for me is if I am certain my sacrifice, my death, will protect the people I love.”
The Emerald Archer will be pressed into service for Mar Novu and separated from his beloved in season 8, but he’ll encounter a lot of his other friends and family along the way. Willa Holland will be back in a recurring role as Thea Queen, with even Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) and Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) returning from the dead in the season opener, “Starling City.”
As for whether Felicity could show up before the series’ end, Rickards is remaining tight-lipped, but it’s apparently all up to the writers. Regardless, Arrow season 8 looks set to be as good a final run as fans are hoping for and it kicks off Tuesday, October 15th on The CW.