'Arrow' Boss Teases Olicity Parallels in Season 7

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The CW

'Arrow's central couple may start the season apart, but they're fighting for the same thing.

Times are tough in Arrow's upcoming seventh season, but have no fear, Olicity shippers, your favorite couple is more than ready to weather the storm! 

The new season, which premieres on Monday, kicks off with Oliver (Stephen Amell) behind bars in Slabside Maximum Security Prison, and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) in witness protection with his son, William (Jack Moore), on the run from the evils that have started to reemerge in Star City.

"They are not adapting well [to life in witness protection]," Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz recently told reporters of Felicity and William's life on the run. "They're both pretty miserable. Felicity's away from her husband, William's away from his father, and their family and their city and their real lives. It's not going well."

However, true to heroic form, the couple won't be backing down from any battles headed their way. Schwartz admitted that Felicity's storyline is one of her favorites of the upcoming season, noting that "we played her pretty parallel to Oliver."

"[We thought] in terms of storytelling, it would be great if both of them are fighting for the same thing," she explained. "So even if we don't physically see them together... their goals are the same. They connect without physically connecting, which I think is really cool, because they're both fighting for their families, so you don't need to see them together to get that connection."

However, there will certainly be some tension between the two as the season goes on -- stemming from the constant threats to their lives from big bads like Diaz (Kirk Acevedo, who was upped to a series regular for the new season) and the Longbow Hunters, as well as Oliver's unilateral decision to go to prison in order to grant immunity to the rest of the team.

"It's definitely going to affect his marriage," Schwartz said of Oliver's sacrifice. "That's definitely going to be brought up. [Felicity] didn't like that too much."

Arrow returns Monday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.  See more on the CW's super series in the video below.

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