With the announcement that Arrow star Emily Bett Rickards would be leaving the series before the upcoming final season, her co-star Colton Haynes and the series' producers have made their own comments on her leaving. Now, series star Stephen Amell has made his own heartfelt statement about Rickards and their time together on the show.
On his Instagram account, Amell uploaded a photo himself and Rickards enjoying some drinks in a relaxed moment.
In the summary, Amell talks about how much fun he had working Rickards for the past seven years, while letting everyone else know how deeply he appreciated those years. Amell then ends by saying how the show wouldn't be the same without Rickards, and that he can't wait to see what she does next.
Since debuting in the third episode of the first season, "Lone Gunmen", Rickards' character of Felicity Smoak has gone through several changes over the course of the show, despite being originally planned as a one-off character. Starting off as a recurring ally and eventual teammate of Oliver Queen, Smoak went on to become Queen's love interest in the third season before marrying him and becoming the mother of his second child.
While its' not yet known how her character will be written out of the series before the show's final, shortened season, Amell's comments make it clear that Rickards left an impact on the show and her co-stars during her time in the Arrowverse.
Airing Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW, Arrow stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog, Juliana Harkavy as Black Canary, Colton Haynes as Arsenal, Kirk Acevedo as Diaz and Katie Cassidy as Black Siren.