[Spoilers Ahead] The midseason finale for "Arrow" Season 5 had several twists including the return of Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) and the sudden death of Detective Billy Malone (Tyler Ritter). Showrunner Wendy Mericle has addressed how Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) will deal with her boyfriend's passing.
During the midseason finale, Oliver aka Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) came across who believed to be the villain Prometheus. Following a chase Oliver managed to fire several arrows into the opponent but when he lifted the mask he discovered it was Billy, gagged and forced to wear the villain's garbs.
"Felicity has set her sights on Prometheus," Mericle told TV Line. "This season we have said we're going to take her to a darker place, and you're seeing the genesis of the reason why, right here."
She also explained that Felicity was not going to put the blame on Oliver Queen. Felicity will understand that Oliver was tricked into killing Billy and that all of the events were orchestrated carefully by Prometheus.
Mericle teases that Felicity's new goal of vengeance is going to push her to meet new acquaintances, some of who have ties to her past and others connected to the goal she is driving for. These people are stated to make her step away from Team Arrow and take morally questionable choices.
It is further explained that Felicity, as the vigilante Overwatch, is going to go down a much darker path. The showrunner stated they were aware of this side of Felicity but did not have the right plot until now to bring out this darker angle to the character.
However, this doesn't mean Felicity and Oliver won't get into an argument over what happened, Screen Rant reported. The show won't merely forget that Oliver was the one that fired arrows into Billy's chest but the show won't drag the conflict between Oliver and Felicity for too long.
"Arrow" Season 5 will continue in early 2017.