The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak
First Arrow episode with flashbacks centered on Felicity Smoak.
The fifth episode of Arrow’s third season (and the fifty-second overall) aired on The CW on November 5, 2014. Unlike prior episodes, its flashback sequences broke from the show’s usual focus on Oliver Queen to instead explore the past of Felicity Smoak, played by Emily Bett Rickards. The episode was written by Ben Sokolowski and Brian Ford Sullivan and directed by Michael Schultz.
The flashbacks take place in the late 2000s, when Felicity was a rebellious goth student at MIT. She and her then-boyfriend Cooper Seldon (Nolan Gerard Funk) considered themselves hacktivists. Felicity created a computer virus that let them access government systems, but she objected when Cooper planned to erase all student loan records. The FBI tracked the attempt, leading to Cooper’s arrest and imprisonment. After his apparent suicide in prison, Felicity changed her appearance, dyeing her hair blonde and abandoning her goth style.
In the present day, Felicity learns that cyber-attacks by a group called “Brother Eye” are using the code she wrote at MIT. She and her mother, Donna Smoak (introduced here, played by Charlotte Ross), are kidnapped by the group, which is led by a still-alive Cooper. He admits the NSA faked his death. When he threatens Donna, Felicity agrees to help him hack the Treasury Department but secretly contacts Oliver Queen, who rescues them.
- Episode number
- Season 3, Episode 5 (52nd overall)
- Original air date
- November 5, 2014
- Network
- The CW
- Writers
- Ben Sokolowski and Brian Ford Sullivan
- Director
- Michael Schultz
- Live viewers
- 2.73 million
- Rotten tomatoes approval
- 100%
Lore & Background
The episode flashbacks to the late 2000s, exploring Felicity's time as a rebellious goth and student at MIT alongside her then-boyfriend Cooper Seldon, portrayed by Nolan Gerard Funk. Felicity creates a computer virus that enables the trio to access government mainframes, but objects to Cooper's plan to wipe all records of student loans. Cooper is arrested and later apparently commits suicide in prison; following his apparent suicide, Felicity changes her image, dying her hair blonde and abandoning her goth style. In the present day, Felicity discovers cyber-attacks by a group called 'Brother Eye' using the code she developed. She and her mother, Donna, are kidnapped by the group, revealed to be led by an alive Cooper, who faked his suicide for the NSA. Felicity secretly contacts Oliver Queen, who rescues them.
Reader's Guide
The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak is significant as the first Arrow episode to devote its flashback sequences entirely to a character other than Oliver Queen, expanding the series' narrative structure. It introduces Felicity's mother Donna Smoak, played by Charlotte Ross, and explores Felicity's past at MIT, including her relationship with Cooper Seldon and her transformation from a goth hacktivist to the character seen in the present. The episode was generally well received, with critics praising the performances of Emily Bett Rickards and Charlotte Ross and the character development, though some criticized predictable plot elements. It holds a 100% critics' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The episode also features Easter egg references to DC Comics, including the character Myron Forrest and the group name 'Brother Eye', and extends the mystery of Sara Lance's murder.
Did You Know?
- The episode was originally titled 'Oracle' before being changed to 'The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak'.
- Filming took place between August 25 and September 4, 2014, in Vancouver, British Columbia, with exterior MIT scenes filmed outside Vancouver Public Library.
- The episode features the first appearance of Charlotte Ross as Felicity's mother Donna Smoak.
- Cooper's roommate Myron Forrest is a character from Jack Kirby's OMAC comic run from the 1970s.
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