Arrow Conversations: Oliver vs Felicity, “Blast Radius” 

It was pretty obvious when Barry (aka The Flash) showed up in Starling City that Oliver was less than thrilled about his presence. But even now that Barry has left, he still seems to be a thorn in Ollie’s side. Early on in this episode, we learn that Felicity has been spending a fair amount of time in Central City with Barry, where he’s comatose as a result of his flash-tastic incident. And while it’s clear that Oliver isn’t too happy about that, whether he’s jealous or just doesn’t like to be without his tech-saavy sidekick isn’t yet clear. Nevertheless, Oliver (who has been especially grumpy the past few episodes) makes no attempt to hide his feelings after a chase in the streets goes wrong.

Felicity: If you have something to say to me Oliver, say it.

Oliver: People are dying. So I would like you to pull your head out of Central City and get back in the game.

Felicity: Sure, right after you get yours out of your ass.

Oliver: Excuse me?

Diggle: All right, maybe we should just take a breath here.

Felicity: No, wait, I want to know what exactly that crack about Central City was meant to imply.

Oliver: When the first bomb went off, you weren’t here. When the second bomb went off, you sent me the wrong way.

Felicity: After you didn’t catch him in the first place.

Oliver: Don’t blame me because you didn’t have it tonight.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I love seeing Felicity stand up to Oliver. Sure, her awkward flirtations and accidental slips of the tongue are adorable, but I like that that isn’t all of who she is. She’s also strong and smart and doesn’t stand for bullsh*t. I think that’s part of what makes her such a compelling character. The love-struck assistant cliché could get real old, real fast, which is why this element of boldness gives her depth and keeps her interesting. She challenges Ollie and forces him to see outside of himself, which is not only commendable, but necessary. Anyways, I really enjoyed this face-off…but only because Oliver realized the error of his ways before the episode ended.

Oliver: I’m sorry.

Felicity: Were you apologizing to me or were you talking to your quiver?

Oliver: I didn’t snap at my quiver.

Felicity: You kind of more than snapped.

Oliver: I know and I’m sorry.

Felicity: I understand that this Mirakuru thing has you freaked out. And I have been in Central City a lot.

Oliver: Felicity, it’s not that. When you are there, it just made me realize how much I need you here. In the beginning, I was going to do all of this by myself. And now with you and Diggle, I rely on you.

Felicity: Does that mean I have a shot…at employee of the month?

Oliver: No, because you’re not my employee, you’re my partner.

Aww, yes, his apology was sweet and heartfelt, but I still can’t help but feel that he’s being a little stubborn. Whether its because he’s jealous of her relationship with Barry (which I’m not yet convinced is the case) or if it’s just because he never learned how to share and wants his sidekicks all to himself, the fact that he recognizes how foolish he was acting is a good start. That being said, he did end the episode by saying Felicity will be there when Barry wakes from his coma, but he never addressed the issue of what he’ll do next time he needs Felicity and she is off on boy-friend duty. I’m assuming we won’t see much of this, as I can’t imagine the writers wanting to rehash this problem, but I also hope Felicity doesn’t give up on Barry just to please Ollie. Like I said, his apology was a good start and I am really enjoying how Felicity is handling all of his mood swings and doing her best to keep him in line. Regardless if they are fighting or friends, these two have an awesome dynamic and as with any real friendship, they are doing a great jobs of pushing the limits without breaking that bond.

Arrow airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on the CW.