| "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" | |
|---|---|
| Arrow episode | |
 Emily Bett Rickards as a younger Felicity Smoak | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Michael Schultz |
| Written by | |
| Original air date | November 5, 2014 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" is the fifth episode of the third season, and fifty-first overall episode, of the American television series Arrow, originally broadcast on The CW. Based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, the series follows the story of billionaire vigilante Oliver Queen, portrayed by Canadian actor Stephen Amell, who returns home after five years supposedly stranded on a Pacific island, featuring flashback sequences to his time away. The series is part of the Arrowverse franchise, alongside spin-off shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman and other associated media. This episode is notable as the first Arrow episode to feature flashback sequences centered entirely on a character other than Oliver Queen, focusing instead on the backstory of the character Felicity Smoak, played by Emily Bett Rickards. The episode was written by Ben Sokolowski and Brian Ford Sullivan and directed by Michael Schultz. It premiered in the United States on The CW on November 5, 2014.
The episode flashbacks to the late 2000s, exploring Felicity's time as a rebellious goth and student at MIT alongside her then-boyfriend Cooper Seldon, portrayed by Nolan Gerard Funk, which has repercussions for her in the present day. It also features the first appearance of Charlotte Ross as Felicity's mother Donna Smoak and ends with the apparent revelation of the murderer of the character Sara Lance. The episode stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen alongside Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak with Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Colton Haynes as Roy Harper, John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn and Paul Blackthorne as Quentin Lance. Season three recurring stars Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer and J. R. Ramirez as Ted Grant also feature in the episode.
The episode was watched live by 2.73 million viewers on its first broadcast, achieving the fourth-highest ratings share of the show's third season. It was generally well received with critics' praising the performances of Rickards and Ross and the character development in the episode, but criticizing the more predictable elements of the plot. The episode holds a critics' approval rating of 100% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.