After watching Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) debut on Wednesday it was pretty easy to see why executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said there would be as many "Barricity" fans as "Olicity fans.
The chemistry between Barry and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) was obviously there from the time they met to the time Barry's boss forced him to leave.
There were a few moments during this episode which probably hurt "Olicity" fans everywhere. The first came when Felicity and Barry were setting up Barry's equipment to analyze the evidence from the crime scene. Felicity made a comment about spending "every night" with Oliver leaving Barry to suspect Oliver and Felicity were together. She shut that down when she uttered the words "I don't like Oliver". Felicity followed it up by asking Barry to be her plus one to Oliver's "My mother's not in jail anymore" party. The second moment came when Oliver exposed Barry for not being a crime scene investigator but an assistant whose Boss didn't know he was in Starling City. Felicity believed to be disappointed in Oliver for exposing Barry rather than happy Oliver discovered the truth. The final moment came when Oliver invited Barry to his mother's party and Barry and Felicity slow danced.
Barry Allen's backstory made it very easy to like him. His mother was killed by a man who came in like a literal blur and wreaked havoc in his home. Also, when his father attempted to fight the man Barry magically ended up 20 blocks away from his home. It's a very tragic story which makes it difficult not to feel sympathy for Barry.
One factor I found interesting while watching this episode is how the dynamic between Oliver and Felicity changed. At first it appeared Oliver was acting like a jealous boyfriend, which is to be expected. However, it seemed Oliver went from jealous boyfriend to older brother by episodes end. I wonder if the writers foresaw this when this episode was formulated.
It will be fun to see how Barry responds to the truth about Oliver's identity as the vigilante. It will be even more fun to see how Oliver reacts when he learns Felicity revealed his secret identity to Barry.
What did you think of the young Barry Allen and "Barricity"? Leave your comments below.
"Arrow" airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Originals CW: Cami is No Longer Innocent or Compelled; Three Things to Anticipate After the Fall Finale
