Arrow: Why Emily Bett Rickards' Felicity Left After Season 7 (2024)

Why did Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) leave Arrow after season 7? It was reported in the midst of the show’s seventh season that Rickards would not be returning for season 8. The actress did end up reprising her role as Felicity in the final episode, but she was no longer a part of the main cast.

The original Arrowverse series had a lot of big losses over the years, with numerous characters either leaving or dying. Arrow lost Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), Earth-1’s Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), and more. Easily one of the show’s biggest departures happened at the end of season 7 when Emily Bett Rickards walked away from the series. She was Oliver’s main love interest for several seasons, his wife since season 6, and the second person after John Diggle (David Ramsey) to join Oliver (Stephen Amell) in his mission. Oliver, Diggle, and the others had to complete Oliver’s final task without Felicity in season 8.

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Felicity’s surprising exit was a result of the actress’ decision to leave, rather than a creative one. Shortly after the season ended, Emily Bett Rickards talked about her decision and said that her plans didn’t involve a return to Arrow, as she intended to take a break from television to do work in the theater [via Collider]. Of course, in the end Rickards did indeed return to Arrow, but it was only limited to a few scenes in the Arrow series finale that brought together all of Oliver’s friends and family for his funeral and to properly wrap up Oliver’s story in the Arrowverse.

When it was revealed that Arrow would have to write out Oliver’s wife – a person who felt too integral to Oliver’s life for the show to do without unless she was tragically killed off – there was a lot of speculation over how the writers would handle the situation. Despite the obvious difficulties of finding a narrative way of separating Oliver from his wife, season 7 and season 8 did manage to make it work by explaining that Felicity needed to go into isolation so that she could raise their daughter, Mia. For that reason, it made sense for Oliver to have no contact with Felicity in season 8 and only rely on Diggle, Black Siren, and the other members of Team Arrow to help him save the multiverse from the Crisis.

Felicity didn’t play a role in Oliver’s final mission or in “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, but as a tech expert with no super powers, this wasn’t a real problem for the show or for the Arrowverse. Even so, it’s easy to see why it was important for Arrow to get her back for the last episode. The funeral, which was filled with familiar faces, wouldn’t have felt complete without her. Also, her prolonged absence made her reunion with Oliver in the afterlife feel even more meaningful.

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