ARROW: Emily Bett Rickards Teases Felicity’s New Mission in ‘The Odyssey’

Last week, things got a bit tense for ARROW’s Oliver Queen as he confronted his mother (while dressed up in his vigilante outfit) for possibly misleading him and being responsible for his stepfather’s disappearance. Unfortunately, things don’t go so well for Oliver, and he turns to a familiar face for some help.

“[Felicity] is quite shocked to find Oliver in the back of her car, and she was extremely worried [to see him in that condition],” Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity) told me. “But when she finds out, he’s revealed to her [as being this vigilante], everything starts to make sense to her. Everything to do with the ‘energy drinks’ and the arrow and all that good stuff he laid on her in the previous episodes. It’s an exciting journey. It’s called ‘The Odyssey,’ and it’s a very long journey for her, Diggle, and Oliver in tomorrow night’s episode.”

Since Felicity is only the second outsider to be drawn into Oliver’s secret life, Rickards had a little bit of a split mind when she discovered her character would be looped in to this dangerous world.

“Well, reading [the script] as Felicity, I was like, ‘Oh, no,'” she laughed. “Reading it as myself, I was like, ‘This is awesome!’ When we did the table read with John [Behring,] who directed, and the rest of the cast, it was a super exciting table read for all of us. I think Felicity sees herself getting in danger and she has Oliver pretty much dying in the backseat of her car, and she’s never seen anybody die before. That’s number one concern: to save his life. So I think she goes into survival mode for him.”

Equally invested in keeping Oliver alive is Diggle, who until now, was the sole person responsible for the weight of Oliver’s secret.

“That was one of my favorite turns: her and Diggle’s relationship,” Rickards noted. “They start to open up to each other; they have a common ground. They’re both getting to know Oliver, and Oliver’s boundaries, because I think a big part of the show is Oliver’s boundaries and him dealing with them post-island. That’s something they need to talk about and how they can relate to one another, too, so in tomorrow night’s episode, when they’re talking, they’re sharing and they start to trust each other a little more, bit by bit, being in the same relationship with Oliver, which is cool.”

It was during one of Rickards’ scenes with David Ramsey (Diggle) that she actually got to experience one of her favorite moments of the episode.

“My favorite part [of the episode], because I had never shot with a camera with a birds eye view, and I had seen a little bit of it, but working with Diggle, we had this sort of dance [that required that shot,]” she said. “That scene [where we used that angle] was like choreography; I think it’s going to be beautiful. We’re working with an amazing director, so I’m excited to see that. Working with David and having Stephen [Amell (Oliver)] on the counter, trying to figure out where everything is, it was very technical, and emotional and like I said, survival mode. Everything was about survival for Oliver. I’m excited to see how that all turns out.”

Adding to the excitement is the just-announced season 2 pickup for the series.

“We’re really excited,” Rickards gushed. “I got so many texts yesterday from all the cast. Everyone’s really pumped. It’s awesome…I think it’s just a really great compliment to everyone who works on the show — the cast and the crew — and it means a lot to all of us. It puts a really big smile on our faces and gives us confidence for the next season. It’s just proof of what we’re doing, it’s in the right direction and everyone loves what they do on the show. Everyone’s really happy. It’s just nice to have that confidence to keep going.”

And yes, fans can expect to see more of Rickards when the show returns for its second season next year.

“Yes, [I] become a regular,” she confirmed. “That’s going to be very exciting for Felicity — she’s going to get into some trouble, I think.”

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ARROW airs Wednesdays at 8 PM on The CW.

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