Marc Guggenheim Talks Arrow’s Workplace Romance, Felicity and Flashbacks

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Executive producer of Arrow Marc Guggenheim, speak with TVline on what the future holds for season 4 of The CW television series when it comes to the romance between Oliver and Felicity, funny Felicity returning and the flashbacks for the new season.

The Romance:

Whereas Vlada Gelman and I expressed the wish that the new Oliver/Felicity romance almost be “incidental” to the weekly goings-on inside the Arrowcave, Guggenheim used the word “organic” to describe the impact. “The show is still the show,” he maintained, adding that “body language” will more often than not take the place of more overt indicators. “Like, when Oliver and Felicity are together at her workstation, now he’s got his hand on her shoulder,” he shared as one example. “It’s a difference of degrees. Basically, we’re treating them like two coworkers who started dating.”

Felicity’s humor:

Over the course of investigating Sara’s brutal murder, coupled with Oliver’s own “death” and then his journey to become Ra’s al Ghul, Felicity’s spark had far fewer chances to shine in Season 3. “The show got really, really dark last year, and I think she reacted accordingly,” Guggenheim acknowledged. “Certainly no one was more tired of the crying than Emily [Bett Rickards], but right behind Emily was the rest of us.” But with love now in her life and picking up five months after the events of the finale, viewers can count on reuniting with the “strong, capable, funny Felicity… we know and love,” the EP assured.

The flashbacks:

On the issue of flashbacks — TVLine had pointed out that Oliver’s Hong Kong escapades weren’t nearly as compelling as his island or freighter adventures, nor did they strongly synch up with the present-day arc — Guggenheim met us halfway. “I’ll be honest: The episodic connection, week to week… that cart started to drag the horse for me a bit,” he admitted. “So toward the end of last year I said to the writers, ‘What we really need to do is not worry so much about the connection between present and past and just tell a really amazing story in the past.’” As a result, the Season 4 flashbacks, which kick off in Coast City but then head to a destination being kept under wraps, have Guggenheim “really happy.” As he raved, “I feel like we have our best flashback story ever.”

To read the full interview head over to TVline.

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