Arrow EP Teases Oliver's Reaction To Felicity's New Boyfriend

When Arrow returned for its fifth season, fans were promptly introduced to Felicity Smoak's new boyfriend. Rumors about the character's love interest took off after the fourth season's finale, prompting the cast and crew of Arrow to confirm the juicy spoiler. And, now, the show's executive producer is hinting at how Oliver Queen will react to his ex moving on.

According to Entertainment Weekly, fans will see how Oliver feels about Felicity's boyfriend sooner rather than later. Marc Guggenheim said, "I don't think I'm spoiling anything to say that pretty much every secret on this show eventually [comes out]. Felicity's boyfriend is certainly no exception."

The executive producer continued, stressing that Felicity isn't keeping her boyfriend a secret from Oliver; It just so happens he isn't aware of her taken status at the start of the fifth season.

If you haven't seen the premiere episode of Arrow's fifth season, then here's the lowdown on Felicity's beau. The man is a member of the Star City Police Department named Detective Malone. Played by Tyler Ritter, the character is so far a mysterious one which fans know little about. Audiences met Detective Malone as he gave a loving massage to Felicity, but that tells fans little about his actual character.

So far, viewers believe the man isn't necessarily a corrupt cop but one that might eventually clash with Oliver Queen who is acting as the city's mayor. After all, Detective Malone does not reside on Quentin Lance's list of good cops, so there's a definite possibility that Green Arrow will come in conflict with Felicity's boyfriend in one way or another.

Before Arrow returned for its new season, Stephen Amell talked about his character's reaction to his ex's lover. "I think he'll be fine," the actor joked. "I think he'll be fine. He will hug a pillow, much like I'm hugging a pillow right now, but he'll do it in private."

Amell continued, joking about the Green Arrow killing Detective Malone. "He got shot with an arrow in the head? Don't look at me," he said. Of course, there's always a chance that might actually happen in Arrow - fans never know what might come out of Oliver's quiver.

Felicity's relationship status isn't the only thing that the show plans to focus on this season. According to Guggenheim, Arrow has big things in store for the technology whiz.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Marc Guggenheim promised Felicity will be dealing with the consequences of last season's deadly encounters. "In the first five episodes, we face head-on the decision that Felicity made," he said. "We are most definitely not ignoring it."

"We're positioning her to do something in the second half of the year that is really, really key, and that isn't about her relationship with Oliver or even necessarily her father or her mother," Guggenheim continued. "It's really new territory for her, and we've very excited about it. Some big things are going to happen with Felicity."

As for whether those big things will include a reconciliation between Oliver and Felicity, fans will have to wait and see. Showrunner Wendy Mericle did reference the couple's hiatus in a recent interview and said the characters are both in "crisis mode."

"Oliver's got two really big jobs, and [Felicity] is spinning out about Havenrock," Wendy said. "Until they've gotten some clarity for themselves, there's not much room for the relationship side of things."

Arrow aires on The CW on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.

[H/T] Entertainment Weekly