Heads up, .gif makers of the internet: the CW has just given us our first tease of Oliver’s first (almost) kiss with Felicity on Arrow. It comes in this new 20-second teaser for season 3, which in addition to the Oliver/Felicity teasing also gives us a glimpse of Thea training with Malcolm, another look at Peter Stormare’s new version of Count Vertigo, and some standard butt-kickin’ action. Plus, it opens with what I’m relatively certain is Oliver Queen’s new catchphrase, “There are still a few things that you don’t know about me.”
Somewhere Allison Mack is looking on, fuming that Felicity may eventually get to go with Oliver to places Smallville never let Chloe go with Clark. But what’s this now? Oliver and Felicity are going to be a couple this season? Wha-wha-what!
Eh, kind of. Oliver professed his love for Felicity in the season 2 finale, but it turned out to be a ruse to fool the season’s big bad. Now, in the season 3 premiere the two will go out on a date and have a frank discussion about their feelings for each other. It won’t go well, and Brandon Routh with quickly show up as Ray Palmer, who comic book fans know as the sub-atomic superhero The Atom but Oliver and Felicity will simply know as that guy trying to buy Queen Consolidated. There will be some definite sparkage between Ray and Felicity, and Oliver probably won’t like it.
You know, standard TV love triangle stuff.
Or so we think. If this show had always gone the routes we expected Oliver would be gearing up to finally commit to Laurel right about now. So, who knows how this thing will play out. Oliver usually has some woman in his life whose fate represents the cost of his heroic burden. This season, it may be Felicity’s turn.
Here’s the longer season 3 trailer from Comic-Con:
I should point out that obviously not everyone wants Oliver and Felicity together, and, in fact, the thought of watching them kiss feels like watching a brother and sister get way too incestuous. Let’s see if they have Oliver and Felicity ultimately feel the same way. They probably won’t, but we’ll get a better idea when season 3 of Arrow drops on Oct. 8th.
