‘Arrow’ Season 7 Premiere Photos Show a Pink-Haired and Injured Felicity

The CW has released new photos from “Inmate 4587”, next month’s season premiere episode of Arrow.

The photos, which you can check out below, showcase the “new normal” that some of Team Arrow will be undergoing in Season 7, now that Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is in prison. Most notably, Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) will be taking on a new aesthetic, sporting bright pink hair and various fake piercings.

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While it’s still a little too early to tell, there’s a chance Felicity’s new hair could be some sort of disguise, as a way to protect herself now that Oliver is in prison and Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo) is still controlling Star City. But as fans saw for a split second in a recent promo, that might not go well, as Felicity was seen fighting off someone using a pan of pasta sauce, and she can be seen with an injury on her forehead while talking to Oliver in a visit to the jail.

“The idea now is: If Oliver’s in prison, is he actually more protected than the team?” Rickards explained in an interview earlier this year. “The rest of the team is all going to be in danger as well. Where that puts Felicity and William, I mean, we can only do so much to protect them.”

Felicity’s new situation – and new hair color – will surely take some fans by surprise, but it looks like it’s a larger part of Arrow‘s M.O. in Season 7.

“[The writers] have a very clear vision of what they want season seven to be, and what I asked them to do – and it’s not up to me – but what I asked of them is to not just assume that we have an eighth season.” Amell said in a previous interview. “I wanted them to write like, ‘If you have a good idea, and you have something you’ve always wanted to do or see on the show, then just do it! Do it right now!’”

“I think that’s one of the things I’m getting out of what they’ve planned for season seven – we’re not writing like we’re guaranteed something beyond this, because we’re not; nobody is.” Amell continued. “I want them to really push forward and take the fact we have a certain license and a certain respect from the fans to take some chances.”

What do you think of Felicity’s new look? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The season seven premiere of Arrow, “Inmate 4587”, will debut on Monday, October 15th, at 8/7c on The CW.