In March, Stephen Amell shocked fans of ‘Arrow’ by declaring that the foundation series for all of The CW’s DC Comics-inspired shows would end this fall, after a shorter 10-episode eighth season. But perhaps even more stunning, less than a month later, co-star Emily Bett Rickards announced that she would not return for those final episodes and instead, her character– the show’s female lead– Felicity Smoak would be written out at the end of the seventh.
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But it seems like it would be the right thing to do for fans, for Felicity to resurface for the show’s finale at the very least, but alas, that will not happen. While speaking with Collider, to promote her new film ‘Funny Story’ (filmed between ‘Arrow’ Seasons 4 and 5), Rickards states that she and Felicity have bid Star City adieu for good.
“I feel like Felicity has done her time. I don’t know if anybody is going to like what I’m saying, but I feel like Felicity has done her time. We knew this was coming for awhile – for over a year – so the whole thing is exactly what we wanted to happen. I trust the writers, and that’s in their hands.”
Though it was kept secret, it appears that Rickards and ‘Arrow’s creators and writers planned to have Felicity leave at the end of Season 7 for over a year, before Amell decided that he also did not wish to return. So regardless of whether or not the show continued, it would do so without Felicity, and Rickards doesn’t feel compelled to return just because it was decided that ‘Arrow’ would end.
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It does sound as though, perhaps if ‘Arrow’ had gone on for a few more years, that she might have been more open to returning for the end, but for now, it seems she has had her fill of television.
Instead, she will be taking to the stage, appearing in ‘Reborning’ at the Soho Playhouse from July 5th through August 3rd.
“I think I’m going to take a break for a while, and do a little bit of theater, coming up in New York. And then, after that, I’m hoping to continue doing theater for a little bit longer. My friends are a bunch of creative geniuses, so no matter what, that’s the way I’m going right now. I’ll never say no to doing TV again. For now, life has changed dramatically, already.”
So ‘Arrow’ fans, are you upset that Rickards isn’t open to returning for ‘Arrow’s grand finale? Or are you okay with how the character was written out?
