‘Arrow’ Season 4 — Felicity Shot, But Not Becoming Oracle | TVLine 

‘s Felicity following her being shot in the fall finale has itself been shot down.

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In the wake of a recent Stateside promo that teased a dire diagnosis for Oliver’s fiancée (played by Emily Bett Rickards), some speculated that she would wind up at least temporally paralyzed and eventually become Oracle, the wheelchair-using, tech-savvy alter ego typically assigned to DC Comics’ Barbara Gordon. (Remember, Season 3’s Felicity-centric backstory episode was originally titled “Oracle,” then later changed.)

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But despite what fate befalls Felicity, executive producer Wendy Mericle says that assuming the Oracle identity is “off the table.”

“That’s something we definitely talked about [doing] with Felicity in the beginning…. But yeah, it will not be Oracle, sadly,” Mericle told TVLine. “People have to tune in to see what happens.”

promo floating around on the Internet. If you “need” to mention it in Comments, please give people the courtesy of a SPOILER WARNING.

“Sadly” is not the word I’d have used. Cool that they aren’t using the name, Felicity needs something original.

“Sadly” might refer to her actual fate… and that gives me pause.

I think she just meant they really wanted to use Oracle so they are sad she is off the table. I for one am glad she’s not becoming Oracle. She’s already an awesome superhero with her own superhero story. She never needed an existing comic book hero’s story pasted onto her. So relieved and exicted they will continue to tell just her story! Felicity Smoak is the best!

Hope so and yes that’s a reasonable interpretation. Just Arrow does go dark a fair bit…..

“Advisory: There is a terribly spoilery Australian Arrow promo floating around on the Internet. ” President Luthor, ruler of Australia, gets the last laugh.

Thank you, I googled and found it. But that makes this article even more confusing!

She’ll most likely be Oracle in concept if not name.

she served the same purpose. other than walking there’s no real difference

Barbara was also still a skilled fighter even in the wheelchair, and she had tactical experience. Having someone who’s sole focus is being the tech guru of the team just makes sense for storytelling purposes these days.

Who knows what they are going for? I mean its Donna who says it to Oliver in the promo in question maybe she misunderstood.

I don’t like that type of plots cause they are telenovela alike.

There are behind the scenes pics of the episode currently being filmed (4.14) that show Felicity in the same situation as in the Australian promo. It’s real, and it’s going to last for at least 4-8 episodes. These writers just ADORE writing misery.

I know I saw them all. I’m bit pissed with the way they are going to handle this. But I’ll swallow this cause the season so far was very satisfying.

It will be interesting to see what they have in store for Felicty. Not being Oracle isn’t the worst news… Given the popularity of EBR’s portrayal of her, I expect she will be around for a long time. I’m just hoping her being shot is a temporary hurdle in her storyline and that no matter the capacity, she remains the strong, awesome character we know her as. Just don’t change her personality, I say.

Everything else that can happen – is just going to make her stronger.

i think there’s a chance she’s going to be Artemis (the girl on Young Justice),

Well, I’m not sure about that… I mean, the only thing Speedy and Artemis have in common is that they’re both girls using a bow. Anyway, I just want to see Felicity with a good storyline, I’m waiting for that since season 2.

They did say that her code name started with an A.So you might be right.

Yes and the girl looks like Felicity too (just a little more badass). I have a feeling that after what happened with Darhk, Felicity will want to learn how to protect herself or at least stop being just the IT girl.

I believe Guggenheim said her code name had an A in the word.

All that was shot down was that she won’t be called Oracle. Her being paralyzed (temporarily or otherwise), is still on the table.

But without the need to parallel or get slammed for deviating off the comic books in detail for a named character a bit of a further stretch perhaps?

I’m so very happy that they won’t be giving her that name. She deserves something of her own.

I’m always kind of confused when I see expectations of something “original” for Felicity Smoak on Arrow. Nobody else on Arrow has an original name/code name or identity. I also don’t get the complaints over being called Oracle when everyone one the show (canon or not) has assumed the mantle of a comic book character. Thea gets to be Red Arrow/Speedy, Diggle was even going to be called “John Stewart Diggle” as a nod to the Green Lantern, and even Malcolm got to be Ra’s al Ghul and nobody blinks at any of that. So why not Felicity Smoak? If Felicity — should the Arrow execs choose to make her someone else from comics & reinterpret that identity — has every right to pick up that mantle and run with it, and Emily Bett Rickards will do amazing work with it. Of course, I noticed they said they won’t call her Oracle. That doesn’t mean they won’t blatantly borrow the same storyline and just call her something else.

Diggle was never called John Stewart….. I think they arent allowed to use the Oracle name because DC wont let them.

The thing is everyone on the show has assumed the mantle of a comic book character but they are that character already. Oliver Queen is GA. Laurel is BC etc… But Oracle is Barbara Gordon, not Felicity Smoak. Felicity deserves her own thing. I’m mainly glad she’s not Oracle so all the hardcore whiny comic fans won’t complain that she’s ‘stolen’ someone else’s origin.

For me the issue is that I think the reason both Felicity and Diggle have worked so well on the show is because they are not saddled with any comic book ‘destiny.’ This has allowed the writers to be freer in developing their stories, which has worked fairly well for those two. I mean, being hemmed into the Black Canary story didn’t do Laurel and Sara any favors. Felicity and Diggle being ‘original’ has allowed then to stand out from the other masks, IMO.

Yes, I think you nailed it. I think it’s good that the writers have some ability to do their own organic thing, too, like Olicity. I’d be perfectly content for them to be mostly on the back burner and happy together (since they are funny when they are happy), since romance is not the point of the show, but better it be organic that way and not forced like GA/BC, and being forced down those specific storylines. Not everything that works well in comics actually works well on screen with actors.

I’m THRILLED she’s not Oracle. I love Felicity so much and she’s an awesome original character. Why should she get another comic book character’s origins? She deserves her own path/destiny. Oracle belongs to Barbara and Felicity can have something of her own.

I hate that she’s going to be paralysed though. It just seems unnecessary and these writers won’t do a disabled character justice. They just won’t. So I hope whatever happens it’s not permeant. I have no interest in seeing my favourite character stuck in a wheelchair forever.

I think it’s going to be about Oliver’s manpain and giving him an “excuse” for not telling her about the baby mama drama. Just like Laurel with her BS excuse for not telling her father Sara was dead. Then it’ll come out and Felicity will dump him and be alone and paralyzed and it’s going to be extremely sad. (They’ll get back together, obviously, but for me the magic is already gone with him lying to her and proposing without mentioning she’d be a future stepmother.)

Yes, I think it’s partly going to be about Oliver’s man pain because the show is about him and he’s the main character but I do think this will be about Felicity too. This is a huge life changing storyline. Of course it’s going to be about Felicity.

I don’t know whether she’ll dump Oliver, maybe she will, maybe she won’t. Whatever happens I feel like they’ll be together by the end of the season again. You don’t set up the love story like they did and just end it.

Arrow has always been pretty depressing though, since the beginning. It’s just standard Arrow now.

She’s going to dump him. Baby Mama/kid are romantic stalls, nothing more. If she doesn’t dump him, nothing is stalled. They serve no purpose except a romantic stall, which is particularly apparent as neither of them are on the show (putting the lie to Amell’s blather about Oliver as dad…that lasted about 60 seconds). Re the spoiler, none of this reveals anything new about Felicity. We already know she’s resilient and brave, and since she’ll probably help come up with the fix, we already know she’s really smart. Nothing new. It’s all about Oliver, giving him more reason to brood, an “excuse” for not telling her about the kid, and then more sadz after she dumps him. (I also specifically said that they’ll obviously get back together…all this is tv 101.) I also disagree that the show has always been depressing. S1 only really had Tommy’s death as depressing. S2 only got depressing when Moira was murdered. The first half+ was mostly fairly cheerful. Then S3 was misery porn for 22.5 episodes, and that’s what they’re going back to now.

Never watch Buffy season 6 if you think season 3 of Arrow was misery porn.

I’m sure you’re right. So she dumps him. So? Romantic stalls happen all the time. It can’t always be sunshine.

And we don’t know if we’ll learn anything new about Felicity yet. We haven’t seen the storyline. Wait and see before you judge so completely. You’re acting like your all-seeing and all-knowing about what’s going to happen. I can’t believe that Felicity will lose the ability to walk and won’t change somewhat.

I’ve never seen this show as cheerful, not once. Flashbacks have always been Oliver going through hell and in S1 Oliver was emotionally void and pushing everyone away. He was also a murderer. In what realm is that fairly cheerful?!! S3 was probably the most depressing because they lost the balance but I think this season has been pretty upbeat for the most part. This is not misery porn at all.

They’re not really ruling anything out here except her code name, which didn’t really mean much to me as a non-comic book reader anyway. Sounds like she’ll still be in a wheelchair — I’m hoping it’s just temporary, though. This tends to be the part of the season where things get really dark before they get better, so I’m strapping in for some misery.

Between this and her other upcoming storylines, it’s going to be a LOT of misery. I totally don’t get it. The writers always overdo the misery and then turn cheery for the last five minutes of the 23rd episode (other than the first season), and it always ends up feeling tacked-on.

Yup, between this and the baby mama drama that’s probably going to drop soon, Felicity is going to be stuck in angstville for a while. I think season 2 balanced darkness with hope well, but after season 3 I don’t really trust the writers with these kinds of heavy plots anymore. We’ll see.

The quote seems to imply that they wanted to make her Oracle but that someone, probably DC squashed it….. still think the Bat characters are off the table for the Berlanti shows.

I hate Felicity and hope they kill her off. She’s a whiny, boy obsessed twit. She’s nothing like the character from season one.

That’s a filthy lie. She’s not obsessed with boys, she’s in love with a man who shares her mission of fighting crime. She’s not whiny, she’s actually talking through issues with him. And last I checked, she was still adorkable and friendly – how exactly is that nothing like her Season One appearances?

I actually kindof agree with you…. I hate what they have done with her and Oliver since they got together…shippers ruined the show.

Well, the show is doing pretty well in the ratings so I doubt very much that shippers ruined anything. Everyone roots for a pairing on a show. It’s probably just not the one you want.

Not “everyone” roots for a pairing… some of us just root for compelling characters and storylines…. and putting this pairing together made the characters less interesting and the show less compelling… Oliver should be dark and brooding and Felicity was more fun before hand also.

In your opinion. Personally I’ve enjoyed what Oliver and Felicity bring out in each other. Also I’ve heard time and time and time again that Oliver is supposed to be lighter like the comics and not a Batman rip-off and now he’s supposed to be dark and brooding? Make up your minds!

Depends on which version of the comics.. he’s always been a batman rip off.

@ Z There’s a difference between having a negative opinion about a character/storyline and then contradicting yourself because you have no solid argument to stand on.

“Oliver should be dark and broody” and then you go and mention the comics… Comics elitists are always talking about a more green arrow-y version of oliver, light, breezy and sarcastic and when it finally happens because he’s happy after 8+ years of misery thanks to Felicity, he’s out of character. There is no version of the comics in which he was as miserable as he was in S1 because his comics counterpart’s origin story doesn’t deal with PTSD. This one does because he’s human. If you don’t think healing from that is a compelling story because it doesn’t include punching bad guys, focus on the scenes where he does.

In response to Lizzie, it isn’t doing as well as flash though. That’s the bar they should be aiming for and the ratings are slipping. The show hasn’t been mentioned as must see TV by tvline (when it was on) since Constantine episode, and it’s not reviewed as much on others sites. The only reason they get pushed up ratings is cross over. It will be interesting to see how ratings compare to legends when it starts.

@ Anna. Arrow was already slightly up from last season before the crossovers happened from what I understood, or at the very least stable. It’s pointless to compare it to Flash when 1) Flash is barely in its second season while Arrow is it’s fourth 2) Less promotion for arrow, just take a look at the CW youtube page or turn on your tv, look at promotional posters where Barry is forefront and Oliver is barely visible, side by side with Ray Palmer… This is a superhero era, promotion is key and they’re not doing a very good job in favor of Arrow but it’s still solid.

Thanks Z. I’m glad i’m not alone. Felicity was a cool girl before she became obsessed with Oliver.

She’s not obsessed with Oliver she’s in love with him,there’s a difference.She is a very strong character. She is the brains behind Team Arrow.

Well stated, Blbl. I’m not a comic junky. However, I have come to really enjoy most of the shows and movies, now airing and Arrow is definitely one of my favorites. I especially, love the fact that it includes a strong and intelligent woman like Felicity.

I wouldn’t exactly call Oliver a boy any more and he’s the only male she’s interested in.

Boy obsessed? Show me where she’s boy obsessed. Concerned about the person she’s in love with doesn’t equate boy obsessed. Just say you don’t like that she’s getting the focus she deserves and move on.

Hallelujah! I am so happy Felicity will not be Oracle. This is good news! It means they know she is an awesome superhero and doesn’t need someone else’s story tacked onto her. They are going to keep telling her incredible story and give her her own amazing destiny! Awesome! I know they will come up with an perfect codename worthy of the awesome superhero she is. Felicity Smoak is a badass superhero already! Love Felicity Smoak!

Felicity’s story doesn’t need to be some rehashed already been told recycled storyline from the comics that belonged to another character. The Arrow writers have proven that straying from comic book regurgitation while paying homage to the canon is the best for the show. The show is the only one on the CW to have higher ratings than last year and so far this season everything has been strong. Write an original, engaging true to character arch for Felicity that she deserves and fans will be happy.

Love her and I am happy to see an original code name to the queen. Now see if Arrow does this badass justice!

I can see why the EPs would want to use Oracle for her codename (“It’s just so cool!”) but I think I’m glad they’re not. I’d rather she got her own name than always being compared to Barbara Gordon.

Also, the thing that makes her more like Oracle will be only temporary I hope so why saddle her with a permanent nod to it in her name?

This just sounds to me like they are doing for Felicity what they did for Oliver last year, ie. lifting another character’s comic book storyline to use. Last year it was the Batman/R’as stuff and this year it’s Babs/Oracle. It’s dumb. You can’t just take a storyline for one character, slap it on another and have it make sense. For real, all I wanted was for these writers to give Felicity her own story and ‘destiny.’ I’m disappointed in the direction they seem to be going in.

Less of a burden for those such as myself who have no familiarity with the comic books.

It doesn’t matter if you know the comic book storyline or not. The whole point of the comic book storyline was directly tied to character it was written for, someone who was known for their physical abilities having that ability taken away from them and having to learn a new way to be a hero. It won’t be nearly as successful or effective to slap that storyline on a character who is already known for being the ONLY non-physical member of the group. And it turns it into nothing but a winky-wink comic book nod that ultimately won’t mean anything because it will be ‘fixed’ somehow by the end of the season. Or it will only be there to give Oliver the appropriate amount of man-pain required for the second-half of the season. I’d be more willing to trust the writers if I hadn’t sat through the crapfest that was the second-half of season 3, which was partly a mess because the writers lifted a Batman storyline for Oliver.

Stop using the term man pain. It’s annoying feminist drivel.

Wtf? I can’t refer to Oliver’s man-pain but you can say its ‘feminist drivel’?

“Feminist drivel.” Yup, thanks for reminding my why I usually avoid reading comments.

Sadly, the practice of hurting women, whether it’s in comic books or Game of Thrones, so that male characters can be emotionally hurt by the physical hurt done to women they care about continues unabated.

Last season we were promised a great arc for Thea, which ended up being about Malcolm and Ra’s instead, and Felicity being given a real choice in who to love, which ended up being not a choice at all because Oliver was never an option and Ray lied to her and manipulated her.

This arc is supposed to be about Felicity but many of us think it’s going to be about Oliver again instead.

Sure it matters. Without that I’ll judge the show on it’s ability to entertainingly execute their storyline as presented, without the outside, irrelevant (IMHO) Procrustean Bed of the comic book “canon”, as variable and contradictory as that is in any case.

They took some VERY loose inspiration. That Batman/Ra’s storyline was not that long and Batman never accepted Ra’s al Ghul’s offer ever. Ra’s has in fact asked others to take up his mantle.

And if they had bothered to create a storyline for OLIVER instead of lifting another character’s story for him maybe it wouldn’t have been such a mess.

Sadly? Are you freaking kidding me, what is wrong with these Arrow producers, at least someone at DC comics had sense to not give them access to Oracle. Felicity is not Oracle and would never be even close to being good enough to wear the title of Oracle. Such BS from Mericle, yet again. So what now they couldn’t use Oracle so we’ll rip her off anyway and call her something very similar – best thing for Felicity was to shot and killed, that way the story moves forward.and we get an Oliver Queen back instead of the wussified hero we have today.

The only reason Oliver Queen is a ‘wussified hero’ this season is because they’re taking away focus from his skills and giving it to Thea and Laurel. It has nothing to do with Felicity. If you want the better Green Arrow back, they should get rid of Laurel as she’s nothing but a waste of screen time.

Agreed. We need Felicity gone for arrow to become decent again…

You putting Oliver’s new way in Felicity? His the one who said that don’t wanna be dark anymore, that was the reason his left, Felicity never contest his old way…… even on first season when he killed a bunch of people. He stopped killiing because of Tommy.

My thought has been the alternate title for an Oracle like character who just doesn’t have Bat Girl in her future, but rather has another destiny in store and she just chooses a code name likely because of some confusion that develops with the Green Arrow being so very angry about what happens and she chooses Athena.

As long as Felicity as her own amazing storyline, I’m up for anything!! Well, obviously not her death…but anything else is golden!

Well Arrow like to go dark and then darker ..will we discover a new shade of dark.

“God, I don’t ask for much, but please, please, please let Felicity be dead.”

That’s not asking for much? Felicity is my favorite character on Arrow, with or without Oliver. Felicity and Oliver’s relationship does not need to provide drama for the show. They just need to be happy with each other as sort of a background thing.

Thank goodness. I don’t want them to make Felicity Oracle. That would just ruin the Oracle character if they simply gave it to Felicity. It would also add more to the fact of Arrow stealing Batman’s characters. Dodged a bullet with this one. Hopefully she’s the one in the grave, and arrow can become decent again.

So afraid to see what will happen to Felicity! All those seculations and spoliers…hard to deal with!! Upside: looking forward to see Oliver in full revenge mode ;)

I think she’s going to be Proxy but with her own original tech name starting with an “A” like Algorithm, Asset, or Auxiliary.

Spoilers: Wendy Harris is left paralyzed after an accident that also takes her brother’s life. She meets Barbara Gordon through a mutual friend who notices similarities between the two of them. Wendy becomes Barbara’s apprentice/sidekick after she and Barbara fight Wendy’s father Noah Kuttler/the Calculator. After some more adventures with Barbara, Wendy decides to become a substitute for Oracle in the event that Oracle can’t perform her duties and takes the name Proxy.

It makes sense. DC might not have let Arrow use Oracle’s story because of possible movie conflicts but there wouldn’t be any problems with Proxy.

DC and WB probably squashed it. On the upside, it probably means she’ll walk again in time for the wedding

Just so u know Felicity is dead , u see Berry warned Oliver about this , and she will definitely die and Oliver will go on blaming himself something like had they broke up she would be alive ….so……

I sure as heck hope her contract wasn’t dropped.:(

Maybe he was visiting his mom’s grave who knows but then barry comes in which doesnt really make sense or he could’ve called barry for advice

Thank you. I would have been even more pissed at her character. Please do not let her be Artemis either.

Honestly I think it would be a good dynamic to just kill her off. And any comic book reader would know that he’s supposed to end up with Black Canary. So there ya go.

Not people who read the current comics. GA and BC haven’t even met in the New 52.

Laurel is the perfect example of having a comic book persona/codename doesn’t mean you get good story. Felicity doesn’t need it. I’m happy she’s finally getting an arc that is more than one episode that can really shape and change her character. I’m here for it.

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