Arrow is due to end later this year with a shortened eighth season spanning just 10 episodes. Emily Bett Rickards, who has played Felicity Smoak over the course of the last seven seasons, has said that she will not return for the show’s final season. The actress confirmed this via this Instagram post:
Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Beth Schwartz put out this statement on Rickards’ exit from the series (courtesy of TVLine):
A post shared by Em Bett (@emilybett)
Felicity Smoak started out as a recurring character on Arrow before fan reaction led to Rickards becoming apart of the main cast. Since that time, Felicity Smoak has been one of the most featured characters in the series (which has become a polarizing topic of itself).
“And although we’re heartbroken to see both Emily and Felicity leave the show, we’re completely supportive of Emily and her future endeavors. She will always have a family at Arrow.”
Regardless of what you think of the character’s development in general, Rickards has always done the best she could with what she has been given. Arrow is a dark show with heavy dramatic beats (sometimes over-dramatic beats). Felicity has consistently been one of the main characters to bring a bit of levity to the series with her hilarious one-liners and remarks. With a shortened final season just a few months away, it is a little disappointing to hear that Rickards is leaving the series. Especially when you realize that many of Arrow’s original main cast is now gone.
(Spoilers for Arrow season 7 ahead)
Although it is disappointing to see that Rickards isn’t returning for Arrow season 8, it certainly makes sense from a storyline perspective. At this point in season 7, Felicity is pregnant with Mia Smoak. Sometime in the next few months, Oliver and Felicity begin raising Mia away from Star City. Why they do this is still unclear but you would have to think that it would be because of the Ninth Circle, who are the main antagonists of Arrow season 7. The series could just explain that Felicity is raising Mia at the cabin for the entirety of season 8. Again, this would be a lackluster way to end her character as the series is so close to nearing its end, but it is a logical explanation.
