Arrow - The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak - Review

Arrow, “The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak,” was written by the team of Ben Sokolowski and Brian Ford Sullivan and directed by Michael Schultz. While Sokolowski and Schultz should be familiar names, this is the only entry on Sullivan’s IMDb page! Great start, dude! This is really the first Felicity-centric episode of the show and Emily Bett Rickards steps up in a big way. She also did double duty last week appearing on The Flash. It was great to have more of her backstory filled in. And who knew Felicity would be so hot as a Goth!

I loved the opening montage of this episode. We see Oliver (Stephen Amell) sparring with Roy (Colton Haynes), Laurel (Katie Cassidy) sparring with Grant (JR Ramirez), Thea (Willa Holland) sparring with Malcolm (John Barrowman), and Felicity struggling through 10 sit ups. Felicity answers Thea’s question about how “normal” people start their day. Of course, we know that Felicity isn’t really “normal” either! But appearances can be deceiving, and one thing that this episode shows us is that even Felicity can be a chameleon and has a past.

The theme of the episode is articulated by Thea, who tells Oliver that “family is pretty precious, and love in spite of everything is what makes it precious.” It was nice to see Oliver and Thea come back together. I like the new loft set – though part of me will always miss the mansion. Oliver warns Thea not to take Malcolm’s “blood money” but she firmly tells him he’s her brother but he doesn’t get to make those kinds of decisions for her. I love this new Thea – strong and forceful, but she doesn’t lose her temper. She invites Oliver to move in with her after he brings her popcorn as a peace offering – meeting her halfway. She promises to give away Malcolm’s money once the club starts turning a profit. I wonder if she actually means this though. Regardless, we see Malcolm watching the two in the apartment, and he does not seem happy at all. Malcolm is Thea’s family now too, and I’m betting she is going to try to make each accept the other.

The preciousness of family is also at the heart of Laurel’s journey. She is angry over Sara’s death and unable to talk to Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) because she’s still trying to protect him. Laurel makes a huge mistake as acting DA by sending in the riot squad – but really? It was a riot – what else should she have done to protect the bank? A quick aside for some love for the Roy/Oliver side by side shooting. Regardless, Quentin does chew her out, and then tells her to talk to someone, pointing out that secrets can hurt more than the truth – and do we need more proof of how angry he’s going to be with her when he does eventually find out about Sara? Regardless, Laurel does confide in Grant, who then sensibly tells her to train for herself. I’m not totally sold on Ramirez yet, but this is a good start for the character.

The episode centers on an incident from Felicity’s past that comes back to haunt her in the present. We also get to meet her Mom, Donna, played by the ever wonderful Charlotte Ross. We’ve heard Felicity speak really highly of how her mother sacrificed for her when she was growing up, so I was a little taken aback by how upset Felicity was when Donna just showed up on her doorstep. I also felt like the characterization was a bit inconsistent. Is Donna selfish and un-thinking or is she generous and hard working? Is she simply trashy and a bit stupid? I really felt like they made a caricature of her by how they dressed her – just a bit over the top for me.

However, much like Oliver’s own flashbacks, this one shows Felicity’s first attempt to become a hero. I loved the flashback scenes with her boyfriend Cooper (Nolan Funk). The scene in the prison when he tells her he’s going to take the blame and that he loves her is terrific and both give terrific performances. Felicity is sure that Brother Eye can’t be Cooper, and it’s heartbreaking when she tells Oliver that he hung himself before sentencing.

It was nice to see some context in Felicity’s development. We see her wearing the “mask” of a Goth as a hacktivist in her past. As an aside, anyone also watching Scorpion? I thought it interesting that both shows focused on hacktivists this week… After that attempt at being a hero fails, she changes to the preppy-nerdy look we saw in the first season. She’s hiding as a corporate lapdog – much as Myron (Matthew McLellan) – the roommate – is now. Can we draw a parallel to Oliver’s new look in the flashbacks in which he’s now part of the ARGUS system? Maybe.

But now we have Felicity dressing much more boldly – not showing quite as much cleavage as her mother, but her wardrobe has been criticized by some fans as becoming too sexy. Is this her embracing that strength she says she gets from her mother? I would say yes. She’s stronger and more settled in who she really is. Felicity is a hero now, along with the rest of the team. She apologizes to Oliver and says he was right to press about Cooper, but she’d been so sure he was dead. Oliver quietly tells her that he has some experience with the dead coming back to life – LOL! Malcolm? Slade? Yep. But more importantly, he accepts her past, mistakes and all, because those are the experiences that have made her what she is today.

In the end, Donna does have some redeeming qualities. She comes to find Felicity, angry that she’s being ignored, but really, she is simply terrified that she is losing her daughter – that she’s leaving her. She does, after all, try to defend Felicity against Cooper – who is not dead, but had been recruited by the NSA to become a hacker for cyber-espionage. That was my favorite Charlotte Ross moment, when she tells him that she worked 60 hours a week in 6 inch heels to support her daughter! I want fierce Charlotte Ross!

So, as much as I am a fan of Felicity, and I loved this glimpse into her past, and I think there were some great performances in the episode, I have a lot of things that really bothered me about this episode. First and foremost is disappearing baby Sara. I loved the scene in which Felicity has to introduce her mom to Oliver and Diggle and then Oliver admits he just doesn’t want a baby in the Lair. However, why would Felicity bring her mother or Diggle bring Sara to the Foundry in the first place. I loved Donna cooing over Sara, but they left the two of them in the Foundry? Really? There’s nothing even to sit on there. Then they’ve magically disappeared before Thea arrives. And as owner of a building, you’d just accept that there’s a door you can’t go through? Then Donna comes to Felicity at work without the baby, but it’s not until Felicity gets home that she asks where the baby is. That’s also the point where Donna finally reveals she won a free flight? That wouldn’t have been the first thing she said when she surprised Felicity?

I though Brother Eye was a little on the nose – or at least not exceptionally original. Of course, the fact that it’s basically the image and voice effect of the eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings is perfect for the kind of gaming nerd that we know Cooper to be. (fyi that isn’t meant to be a derogatory stereotype, either from myself or on the part of the writers – I think we recognize it because we live it – ie I’d put myself in the same category). And if we also consider that Cooper is meant to be as clever as Felicity, this actually fits pretty well into what he’d be likely to come up with. I also thought it smacked an awful lot like Eyes Only from Dark Angel – also shot in Vancouver…

When they are trapped by Cooper, Donna’s alarm goes off – as it does every hour – but the time on the watch is 8:43! Oliver is trapped in the laser sites of several machine guns – which almost never miss – yet none of them hit him? Maybe if he’d moved immediately… Although a couple of quick positives for the final confrontation. Colton Haynes shoots his bow perfectly! Diggle is finally at least wearing a balaclava!

       In the end, Felicity saves herself and her Mom by disarming and pistol whipping Cooper. That scene totally started out as damsel in distress, so thank you very much writers for not taking it to its logical conclusion!

My final complaint is that Felicity is a terrible employee and Ray (Brandon Routh) is the best boss ever – though coming to your home before work hours to start work is a bit intrusive. In the end, that may be the only way he gets any work out of Felicity!

We also see the cause of Roy’s tiredness. He’s having nightmares that he killed Sara (Caity Lotz). I can’t imagine he actually did, and I’m really, really hoping that this is going to be some ridiculous side effect of the mirakuru or how his guilt from what he did do under the mirakuru is manifesting.

        While I do seem to have a lot of complaints about this episode, I did very much enjoy it because who doesn't love Felicity? It was great to have more of her story and Emily Bett Rickards certainly stepped up to the plate, proving she can carry an episode. What did you think of the episode? Did any of my tiny complaints bug you too? Did you love Felicity’s backstory? What did you think of Donna? Do you think Malcolm is going to be really angry at Thea’s choice of roommate? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.