'Arrow' Season 4 Preview [SPOILERS]: Felicity Smoak, Flashbacks, Olicity

One of the biggest complains about season 3 of Arrow was the change in Felicity's (Emily Bett Rickards) character, as she went from a ray of light and hope to a human water fountain who cried in every episode. But fear not, as a new preview for season 4 reveals that the happy Felicity we all fell in love with will return! We also have information on "Olicity" and the flashbacks for this year.[SPOILERS to follow]

Marc Guggenheim spoke to TVLine and assured fans that the original Felicity will be back this season.

“The show got really, really dark last year, and I think she reacted accordingly,” Guggenheim admitted. “Certainly no one was more tired of the crying than Emily, but right behind Emily was the rest of us.” But season 4 will pick up five months after the events of the finale, and Felicity now has her love in Oliver, so expect to see the “strong, capable, funny Felicity…we know and love,” he said.

As for the relationship known as "Olicity," Guggenheim notes that Arrow will not be shoving it down our throats.

“The show is still the show,” he stated, and added that scenes will often use “body language” in lieu of other public displays of affection. “Like, when Oliver and Felicity are together at her workstation, now he’s got his hand on her shoulder,” he described. “It’s a difference of degrees. Basically, we’re treating them like two coworkers who started dating.”

Another complaint about season 3 was the flashbacks to Hong Kong, which some fans felt were not as strong as the flashbacks to Oliver's time on the island. In some cases, it seemed like the writers tried to force a connection between the flashbacks and the present day, and Guggenheim admitted as much to TVLine.

“I’ll be honest. The episodic connection, week to week...that cart started to drag the horse for me a bit,” he said. “So toward the end of last year I said to the writers, ‘What we really need to do is not worry so much about the connection between present and past and just tell a really amazing story in the past.'”

TVLine also notes that the season 4 flashbacks start in Coast City and then move to an unknown location.

What do you make of this news? Let us know in the comments section.