Stephen Amell & Emily Bett Rickards Tease Arrow’s Thanksgiving Episode

The CW is doubling down on its Thanksgiving-themed Arrow episode this year and actually airing it on Thanksgiving Day. Bold move, CW. Bold move.

Den of Geek was part of a group of reporters who chatted with Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards on their Vancouver set earlier this month. Here’s what they teased about the Thanksgiving episode, what it’s like working with the young actor who plays William, and what we can expect from Oliver and Felicity moving forward.

“It works like every other holiday or moment that should be fun,” teased Amell of the Thanksgiving episode, “which is to say that it goes to shit almost immediately, like in Act One. But, it ends on a relatively happy note.”

Not even Arrow could upset us too much on Thanksgiving. Does Oliver fail the turkey? “No,” said Amell. “He doesn’t fail his meals.”

Amell added that this was his first really busy episode, filming-wise, since Episode 2. Arrow Season 6 has seen a noticeably lighter work load for the Arrow star, giving more narrative time to the rest of the ensemble cast.

“Thanksgiving” will see Felicity spending time with Oliver and William on the holiday. Speaking more generally about the family until Arrow has given Oliver this season, and how William has changed the Oliver/Felicity relationship, Amell said:

I like [Felicity] being part of this dynamic. I think William’s character is at a nice age, so that we’re not getting into, ‘Okay, who is going to change a diaper at 3 a.m. in the morning?’ It’s more like he’s a young adult, he’s mature, he’s having his moments, but he’s adjusting well and she’s helping with that. That’s been great.

Jack Moore plays Oliver’s son, William. What has it been like for Amell and Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity) to share screen time with the young actor?

“Some of my stuff with Jack this year has been some of my favorite stuff to play,” said Amell. “Really, really good actor.”

Amell said that the Arrow writers have given he and Moore the freedom to work on the scenes and dialogue for their father-son moments a bit.

We get in and work on the scenes together because I feel like they are written like he’s a couple of years younger than he is. I think that’s just the nature of …. I guess maybe the writers remember him as that kid that we saw in season four. Now, all of a sudden, he’s 14 years old and not a kid. So, a young man.

“Jack is awesome, first of all,” said Rickards. “He is really, really cool. He lives far out of town too, so he drives like 3 hours in every time for set. His parents are really great and supportive and he is always super game and takes direction really well. Like a professional, who is just shorter than me.”

As someone who thinks “Thanksgiving should be at least four times a year,” Rickards said she is excited that they get to do a Thanksgiving episode on Arrow, though she’s holding out for Halloween.

I think the holiday we always miss is Halloween, which is a real unfortunate event because putting on more costumes in this show would be great.

What might be next for Oliver and Felicity, now that they’ve seemingly moved past the issues that had previously kept them apart? Might they move back in together?

“Yeah, I think that’s a pretty safe bet,” said Amell, adding that William will always be part of the equation for Oliver moving forward.

“I do think that Oliver’s relationship with William, it has changed things forever,” said Amell. “I don’t know where it ends up, but it’s not like we are going to erase him having a son. It’s now part of what we are doing.”

And, don’t worry. If and when Felicity moves back in, Raisa will still be around, said Amell. Phew.