Season 6 of Arrow has come to an end, and the finale concluded on a game-changer that means a very different status quo when the show returns for Season 7 in the fall. Oliver was outed as the Green Arrow and hauled away to prison, leaving Felicity behind to care for his son and pick up the pieces. Not a whole lot is known about Season 7 at this point, but Arrow leading lady Emily Bett Rickards spoke to CinemaBlend about the kind of stories she'd like to see more of in the Arrow-verse, saying this:
I'd love to have more female-based episodes. Juliana [Harkavy] and I and Katie Cassidy is around as well. But she's around other shows too. Juliana and I are sort of holding down the women fort on that team, and it would be nice to get all the women over there and have a solid episodic storyline with all of us. That'd be really cool.
Emily Bett Rickards crossed over to The Flash this past season for an episode fittingly called "Girls Night Out." That episode saw Felicity journey to Central City for Iris' bachelorette party, only for the festivities to be disrupted by the arrival of metahuman villainess Amunet, played by Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica fame. Felicity teamed up with Iris, Cecile, and Caitlin/Killer Frost to battle Amunet while the Flash boys were busy with Barry's bachelor party. "Girls Night Out" gave viewers a look at how much fun episodes can be when the focus is on the ladies of the Arrow-verse, and Rickards would like to see some female-based episodes on Arrow in the future.
Of the Arrow-verse shows (including Supergirl over on Earth-38), Arrow is arguably the one with the smallest presence of female main characters. The departure of Willa Holland in Season 6 meant the absence of Thea, and Black Siren's status as a villain who occasionally dabbles in less dastardly deeds doesn't exactly qualify her for a place on Team Arrow. As Emily Bett Rickards said, she and Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake are the two big female presences remaining on the show.
A female-centric episode of Arrow could borrow characters from the other Arrow-verse series for a crossover that could be a lot of fun and give the women a chance to shine in a new way. The closest thing Arrow has delivered to a female-centric episode was arguably "Birds of Prey" back in Season 2; surely the time has come for more women to come together for a bigger story! Felicity and Dinah would probably welcome some help from other Arrow-verse heroines.
When I asked about her dream cast for a female-centric episode of Arrow, Emily Bett Rickards told me this:
All the ladies! We could get Caity Lotz back in there, obviously Katrina Law... Danielle Nicolet, Candice [Patton], Katie Cassidy. I would have everybody on that show. I'd just be like, 'Everyone who's a lady, you come here!' And then I'd make them all stay forever on our show, forever and ever and ever. And ever.
All the women of the Arrow-verse are welcome on Arrow, if Emily Bett Rickards has anything to say about it! Candice Patton and Danielle Nicolet worked with Rickards in "Girls Night Out" on The Flash along with Danielle Panabaker and Katee Sackhoff. If any/all of these actresses dropped by, perhaps we could have an Arrow sequel to "Girls Night Out." Caity Lotz returned to Arrow in the Season 6 finale as Sara, and she always fits in. Katrina Law also appeared in Season 6 as Nyssa, and Arrow left the door open for her to return as well, perhaps with Thea in tow. Katie Cassidy is around the entire Arrow-verse. There are plenty of women who could fill out a killer cast for a female-centric episode of Arrow. Who knows? Maybe The Flash's Mystery Girl could even appear!
We'll have to wait and see if Emily Bett Rickards gets her wish for more female-based episodes in the future. Stephen Amell has teased a new approach to Arrow in Season 7. Unfortunately, we have a while to wait, as all four Arrow-verse shows won't kick off their new seasons until the fall. A few of the series will change their time slots next season, so be sure to swing by The CW's 2018-2019 fall schedule to figure out what to watch and when to watch it. You can find your more immediate viewing options on our summer TV premiere guide.
