Scene Stealers: Felicity Smoak of “Arrow”

For those of you who have been watching “Arrow” on CW, you are no doubt familiar with the character of Felicity Smoak, portrayed magnificently by relative newcomer Emily Bett Rickards. Though Felicity’s character was initially camouflaged among a cast chosen more for their looks than their acting portfolios (not uncommon for CW), she has established herself as one of the primary reasons to watch the comic book-inspired show.  More on Felicity after the jump.

Felicity Smoak is originally introduced as a computer geek who works for Queen Consolidated. In most of her scenes, Felicity sports the typical ‘glasses and pony tail’ look to disguise the fact that she’s just as gorgeous as everyone else on the show. This forced illusion could have become tiresome very quickly, but rather than her character’s storyline getting caught up in “just how beautiful is she without glasses?” territory, we learn that Felicity has a lot more to offer. She’s smart, she’s witty and soon she becomes an integral part of Arrow’s team, hacking into databases and posing undercover in order to keep Starling City safe.

Felicity is confident in some areas (computers) and not so much in others (romantic relationships). She clearly has feelings for her boss, Oliver Queen (aka Arrow), but she doesn’t let it get in the way of being true to herself and her beliefs. In fact, Felicity is the only one on the show that’s consistently willing to question Oliver, which not only helps to keep the show grounded, but also establishes a special connection between her and our hooded hero.

What really distinguishes Felicity as a “scene stealer”, however, are her words. My personal favorite is her talent for off-the-cuff sarcasm. Felicity has a tendency to ‘say it like it is’, regardless of who she’s talking to. She also adds humor to the show with her inability to prevent awkward statements from leaving her mouth. Some of Felicity’s best quotes have occurred when she’s talking to Oliver, and if you watch the show you’re sure to remember these lines:

“It feels really good having you inside me. And by you I mean your voice, and by me I mean my ear. I’m gonna stop talking. Right now.”

“Did you know I went to M.I.T.? Guess what I majored in? Hint – Not the secretarial arts.”

While everyone else on Arrow appears to be interested in being either a superhero or villain, Felicity Smoak is simply content being the good-hearted ‘girl next door’ who wants to help. Sure, she’s beautiful and smart as a whip, but at the end of the day, she’s normal, which is a welcome concept in today’s often over-the-top comic book storylines.

If you’re new to “Arrow,” you can now watch Season 1 on Netflix. As for Season 2, you can watch the most recent 4-5 episodes on Hulu, but you might have to purchase the first part of Season 2 on Amazon.