Characterization In season one, Oliver is not afraid to kill criminals when he deems it necessary. Pilot episode director
David Nutter believes that, following the time on the island, Oliver returns to Starling City with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and this contributes to his willingness to kill. Amell stated, "Killing people is gonna start to weigh on Oliver. He can't [complete his mission] by himself. He's gonna have to lean on somebody." Amell describes Oliver as having to battle himself in season one. Similarly identifying Oliver as having PTSD, Amell sees the character as a "damaged individual" who is a "ticking time bomb"; Oliver is not only doing good things, but falling along the way. For Amell, the character's damaged nature will weigh on him throughout season one, because he must hide his new self from his family, and masquerade as the "entitled jerk" that he once was.
Relationships Originally framed as a 'billionaire playboy', the character was involved in multiple romantic pairings over the course of the series first two seasons. However, from season three onwards his principal romantic relationship is with the character Felicity Smoak, who was originally slated to appear in one episode of season one, but went on to become a main character. The dynamic was developed between the pair in season two, with Stephen Amell stating "she's the woman at the moment who knows me better than anybody". Speaking to
TVLine before the season three premiere, when asked whether or not "there is a place on
Arrow for a great love", Amell stated "I think that both Laurel and Sara, for Oliver, were loves that were principally from the past, from before the boat. And any other sort of brief relationship that he's had has been flawed. Felicity has clearly, over the course of two-plus seasons, grown into that love for him." Talking about the development of the relationship in 2018, he stated that "in our show, it was Oliver and Felicity, and it was going to be them no matter what". Actress Emily Bett Rickards, who portrays Felicity, believes she and Oliver and are soul mates, a sentiment echoed by Amell. Showrunner and executive producer
Wendy Mericle described the emotional journey Oliver goes through during the
2017 Arrowverse crossover, in which he and Felicity marry, as one where he "explores the question of true love". Talking about the relationship in the latter half of season seven, showrunner
Beth Schwartz commented "They're definitely on track. They're back to, in a sense, being normal between each other. There's no friction between the relationship. They have a lot of obstacles in their way, but they'll be a team. It won't separate them. ... They'll be a force to reckon with." Oliver also has connections with the other characters on the show. Amell sees the relationship between Oliver and his mother, upon his return from the island, as almost adversarial. To him, the Queen family has many skeletons in their closets, which helped them to amass their wealth, and his return is a threat to that way of life. Oliver's relationship with his younger sister Thea changes once he returns from the island as well. Amell notes that Thea looks up to Oliver before he went missing, but it was an Oliver that was immature and a jerk. When he returns, Thea has taken over that role and Oliver has to recognize that his behaviors before impeded his ability to get through to Thea in season one.
Costume in the season two episode "
Three Ghosts". The producers wanted something that felt as though it could have been part of the costume from the beginning. The realistic approach to the series included the costume design for Oliver's vigilante persona, created by
Colleen Atwood. According to Amell, it was important for the suit to be functional, and the best way that he knew for that was if he could put the costume on by himself: "If I can put it on by myself, I think that people will buy it. And that was our idea. That's our world." In the second half of season two, Oliver replaces his "painted" mask with a
domino mask gifted to him by Barry, similar to one worn by the character in the comics. The change is addressed on-screen, with Kreisberg saying, "He doesn't just put on a mask. It's actually a big plot point in an episode, and there really is a story behind, not only the need for the mask but also who provides him with it." On adding the mask now, Kreisberg stated that, "Conceptually, it was something we wanted to do because Oliver himself is evolving as the Arrow—from vigilante to hero, sort of from Arrow to Green Arrow—and we wanted to see that progression in his costume as well. As Oliver is embracing being a hero, being a hero means stepping out of the dark and being more of a symbol, so he has to take steps to conceal his identity more." He added that it will "allow the Arrow to interact with people who don't know his identity in a much more organic way than having him constantly keep his head down." Costume designer Maya Mani put together roughly 50 mask options for the producers. Various designs reminded the creative team of something
Joel Schumacher would create. Kreisberg said, "What's so wonderful about the design that Maya came up with is that it really is very simple, and it feels as if it's been part of his costume since the beginning...once we finally had this mask and put it on Stephen [Amell], even Stephen was like, 'This is the right one. In season four, Oliver acquires a new costume. Designed by Mani at the end of season three, the costume originally had full sleeves. After input from producer Greg Berlanti and Amell, Mani redesigned the costume to show off the character's biceps, and be more reflective of the comic book counterpart. According to Mani, "I wanted it to be tactical, so the shoulders are a little tougher [...] I also wanted him to be able to remove a layer or be in the layer and still be the Arrow, but not have the full fig on." == Reception ==