According to a report from TVline, Arrow’s Echo Kellum (You’re the Worst) has been promoted to a series regular as of season five. The actor plays Curtis Holt on the show, a character that fans might identify as Mr. Terrific. Holt first appeared on the second episode of this most recent season as a Palmer Technologies employee. Holt has been a staple of the show this season in the tradition of other other Palmer Tech employees earning expanded roles on the show including Emily Bett Rickards’ (Brooklyn) Felicity Smoak who was quickly bumped into a season regular and Brandon Routh‘s Ray Palmer who remains in the CW Universe with DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Spoilers for Arrow season four.
In the most recent episode of Arrow, Holt joined the team, helping to take down a bee-based-baddy: Brie Larven. Holt served the role of watching over the I.T. aspects of Oliver’s Queen’s operation after Smoak terminated her romantic relationship with series protagonist Oliver Queen.
The Beat wrote about the role of women on the show and was stunned to see Felicity shot earlier this year. While her break-up with Queen may not be permanent, the show has taken multiple steps forward in giving Felicity back her legs and control over her own life. Instead of remaining in the key role of the protagonists’ lover and I.T. specialist, Felicity now has the remarkable opportunity to use the wealth and influence she amassed as the C.E.O. of Palmer Tech to help people by building prosthetic limbs for those in need.
Hopefully, Felicity will be able to stay in this position in the immediate future– as the writer’s room almost seems to have written the character the ending she deserves.
Holt could be replacing the fan-favorite character in the near future, shifting Felicity out for a subversive version of the underutilized and appreciated Curtis Holt. Arrow might be pointed in the right direction as the season winds down and shifts towards a confrontation between Oliver Queen and Damien Darhk.
Arrow airs on the CW Wednesday nights at 8 p.m..
Much as I like seeing Felicity be more than the girlfriend/IT gal, I can’t help thinking it would be harder for the writers to work her into the episodes if she’s not on Team Arrow. Team Arrow has been fairly even with Felicity, Thea, and Laurel representing women and Ollie and Diggle representing men. If you swap out Felicity for Curtis, the dynamic swings back to the guys. So I have mixed feelings about this, though I do want Curtis to become Mr. Terrific sooner rather than later.
On the one hand, I like Kellums’s Curtis Holt, so seeing more of him on the show is a good thing.
On the other hand – I assume given last week’s episode this means more “relationship problems” for the show – this time between Holt and his husband. Which, frankly, this show does not need. At all.
On the gripping hand – this might mean that they fridge his husband in order to give him something horrible to happen in his life. Which also this show does not need.
What this show needs more of is superheroes defeating robot bees with trick arrows.
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