Arrow’s Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards Give a Final Farewell to Fans at C2E2 2020

As the final episodes of Arrow fade into the sunset, Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards made a farewell tour at Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. They graciously came to the stage side by side, awaiting the last requests of the Olicity fandom while cuddling comfortably on the couch. The fans clamored in their seats clinging to their every word.

Dozens of ladies and gentlemen lined up at the microphone hoping to get a minute or two of the television couple’s time — prying into life behind the scenes and onscreen calamities.  

Many of these questions centered around favorite laughs, stunts, and castmates. Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards answered each fan to the best of their ability, often trailing off into side banter, eluding to the strength and bond of their real-life friendship.

As someone asked them when did they realize that Arrow was more than just a television show, Amell and Rickards took turns answering. “Right now — it’s always surreal,” Emily Bett Rickards said to the laughter of the audience. 

Although it came off as a bit of a joke, one can’t help but feel there was some truth in the statement.

Amell approached the question with a more serious demeanor. “I would say I started to realize it in the second season when I started seeing people who were fans of the show,” Amell replied.

“When I was asked a question in a panel, ‘what does it mean to be in a show that started so many other shows?’ I would say, ‘It is difficult to say because I’m in the weeds right now — we’re making it. I’ll probably have a little more perspective once we’re done.’ “

He continued, “That is starting to happen now because, for the first time, people are coming up and saying, ‘Thank you so much,’ and they are talking about the show in the past tense.”

Sometimes it takes other people to bring everything into perspective. Some things are given more importance when others show what it means to them.

Another fan brought up the topic of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. They wanted to understand how they created the special bond together that played so well onscreen. 

Stephen Amell explained it simply. “We had a good relationship because we get along with one another. Emily is a wonderful actor. Other than the occasional smooch or scene where we are getting out of bed, it’s the same relationship with Diggle.”

Emily Bett Rickards piped up, “All of those getting out of bed scenes and smooching with Diggle are in the bloopers.” 

Stephen Amell shared the laugh before continuing, “Working on a television show, you work so much, and it’s so many hours — it’s arduous. It’s not actual work — it’s acting — but you spend a lot of time with these people. You get along with them and cultivate a relationship.”

Their chemistry onstage together really shone the reality of his statement. Stolen smiles and inside jokes are hard to fake.

This topic leaned into the obvious question of what it was like not having Emily Bett Rickards on set for the final season. Amell admitted it was quite difficult. “It sucked,” he exclaimed.

“She was my best friend on the set. It was weird being there — it was very difficult actually,” he stated, but he also admitted that he did fully support the choice Emily Bett Rickards made in the situation.

The absence affected Rickards as well. “I have much fewer opportunities now to take photos and videos of Stephen when he is not aware. So there are less videos of you on my phone, and that is very sad.” 

At this point, the panel took a turn and centered on Emily Bett Rickards for a few moments. Fans wanted to know what it was like returning to the finale.

Rickard divulged, “It was sort of a surprise for me. Beth Schwartz called me and said, ‘I have a really weird idea, and I think you will love it. Can I send you the script?’ Then the script changed a lot over time.”

“A couple of weeks before the finale started shooting, it was all confirmed. As soon as I got to set it felt like a high school reunion,” she said with a large smile.

Audience members continued with Emily Bett Rickards, questioning her on what it is like to have her character be a STEM hero for young girls everywhere.

“I had no idea that that would be her journey and experience for other people, but it is the best thing I think. Even just today I got a woman coming up and saying, ‘This is for my daughter. She is 8, and she is really smart. Can you just write STEM rules on it?'” Rickards told the crowd with a sense of pride. 

Drifting back towards the show specifically for a bit, an audience member wondered aloud if any DC characters failed to make it to the show that was an unfortunate mishap or oversight.

After a few moments to think, Amell suggested, “Jensen Ackles as Batman,” causing the room to erupt into cheers.

This gave Stephen Amell a second to bunny trail off into a little unknown fact about the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. “I got to call Superman, Clark. That was not in the script. I was supposed to call him Superman, but I kept calling him Clark. The director goes, ‘Can we get one where we call him Superman?’ I said no.”

With the topic of the latest crossover on deck, fans wondered if Amell was present at Oliver’s funeral, and he admitted he was not. This gave Emily Bett Rickards a chance to explain what the funeral scene was actually like.

“You’ll see the photos of all the cast around the grave with big smiles. We all haven’t seen each other in what felt like a decade,” she confessed.

She then turned to Amell, “We’ve never all been on set without you. It was weird not having you there — you probably should have been there.” Stephen Amell shrugged without arguing the fact.

Just like the show, the panel wound down giving us only a few minutes of precious time left with the beloved stars. One of the final questions was rather suitable, centering in on their favorite scenes for the entirety of the series. Rickards focused on the beginning, while Amell leaped to the finale.

“There is a scene in Season 1 where Felicity gives Oliver the book,” Emily Bett Rickards stated to the cheers of Olicity fans. 

Surprised, Amell turns to her, “We filmed that scene at four o’clock in the morning on a Saturday. I was exhausted!” This in no way deterred her answer. “I’ll always remember that day,” she affirmed.

Thinking a little more about it, Amell reminisced, “Don’t you come into a diner or something? It was the Big Belly Burger. You were like, ‘what’s going on?’ Then things started to get serious.”

As for Amell’s favorite scene, he mentioned briefly his “death” scene in Season 3 Episode 9, but then settled on a more heartfelt moment. “We had our last scene together before our last scene together — the scene where we say goodbye to each other in the cabin.”

“Our director shot a master of the two of us. He shot one take on Emily, and one take on me and then wrapped us. The script supervisor was like, ‘Are you sure? Because Stephen is crying, and I couldn’t understand what he said,'” Amell concluded.

It is difficult to defy him on this answer — a scene so emotional has to be genuine to make it authentic. 

As Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards slowly leave the stage, it feels like watching the finale all over again. If their paths cross again on our television screens, it will never be too soon.

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The complete series of Arrow is now streaming on Netflix.

For more information on Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo visit here.

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