My favourite fictional friendships

Laurel Lance and Felicity Smoak

Arrow

Katie Cassidy and Emily Bett Rickards

I really liked Laurel during the first season, and still find her a fascinating character. I know that there are constant wars between some Laurel fans and Felicity fans, but I think that there are more similarities than differences in the two.

Wait! Hear me out.

When we first meet Laurel, she's buried herself in her work, her determination to help others leading her to take on the corrupt regardless of the financial complications. She's clearly very intelligent, seeing as she has managed to become a lawyer. She has a defensive streak, protecting herself by maintaining a distance from others, due to something painful in her past. She is working for a pro bono lawyer firm, when she could potentially be earning a good deal of money. 

Felicity's introduced a couple of episodes later, but she has also buried herself in her work. She's doing something below her intelligence and ability level, just like Laurel. She clearly doesn't like being underestimated, letting loose when Walter calls her into his office, her outrage mirrored by Laurel when Laurel defeats Max's thugs who are beating Oliver and Tommy. 

Admittedly it's not exactly the best start for their friendship when the two first meet on screen it's a blink and you miss it moment. Laurel meets Felicity. Felicity interrupts a conversation between Oliver and Laurel, and I don't think the two meet again until season two. 

It is not until season three when Laurel has been given the story line of becoming the Black Canary, that the two of them start developing a real friendship. I think it's because Sara, the one that Laurel has the strongest connection with, amongst the female characters, is killed off during the season three premiere. Both Felicity and Laurel spent a good deal of time with Sara, and Sara was the only female friend that we had seen Felicity have on screen, certainly during the second season. 

The writers needed to develop the friendship between Laurel and Felicity, especially given the fact that the two characters would be spending a lot of time together, as Laurel became a solid part of Team Arrow. 

The scene after Laurel has been fighting what she thinks is her sister, while hallucinating is a particularly touching one. Felicity comforts her, and gives her a new reason to wear the Black Canary mask. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cor9P_VLiRY


The friendship is cemented during the fourth season, and Laurel is a sounding board for both Oliver and Felicity about their romantic issues, after the exposure of Oliver's son, and Felicity's shooting by Damian Dhark. 

I enjoyed seeing Felicity and Laurel interact, as their relationship was different to the relationships between Nyssa and Laurel, as well as the one between Sara and Felicity. Those seemed to be more about Nyssa and Sara training the other girls, but Laurel and Felicity together alone supported each other in a different way. 

The actresses apparently enjoyed their scenes together as much as I enjoyed watching them, Emily Bett Rickards and Katie Cassidy at Paley Fest 2015

I'm not the only viewer who enjoyed their scenes together, as there are a number of fan videos featuring the pair. Here are a couple I found: 

Laurel and Felicity- Stand by You by jdmalone95

felicity & laurel | the nicest thing (3x13) by nedlovesyou

Amy Pond: Doctor Who

Amy Pond

Doctor Who

Karen Gillan

It took me a while to warm properly to Amy. I liked her well enough, in her first few episodes as she followed the trend of the modern era Doctor Who of having the companions initially be people who weren't quite sure of where their life was heading. She was clearly wanting to have something more exciting to do, than living in such a small place, and working as a kissogram.

She was funny, sure, and clearly quite forthright. She didn't seem to be nervous about showing her attraction to the Doctor, and it provided a few comedic moments particularly in her first episode.

It was the episode with Vincent Van Gogh that I really connected with her, though. Gillan portrayed Amy's confusion over the fact that she was sad, about Rory's loss, even though she didn't remember why, brilliantly. The connection that was developed between her and Van Gogh, the two confused redheads was brilliantly played and written, and the scene in the art gallery was wonderful uploaded by Doctor Who

I liked the fact that Amy is, so far, the first companion to travel alongside her husband, and the Dinosaur on the Spaceship episode showcased all three members of the Pond-Williams family to be seen on screen very well. It showed Amy's forthright nature and the fact that she refused to allow the big game hunter to dismiss her, simply because of her being a young woman.

She remained strong-willed throughout her character arc, but like Rose before her slowly came to realise that she needed to allow others in a bit more. It became clear throughout her tenure as a companion, just how important Rory was in Amy's life, and I loved the fact that the two of them travelled as a married couple. I think that it might be the first time that the series has had a married couple travelling together with the Doctor. The final moment before they decide to jump and remain in the past was incredibly emotionally affecting, both Darvill and Gillan were remarkable in the scene, uploaded by Doctor Who

It's her sarcastic nature and her ability to empathise with people that really won me over, and that's the reason that she is one of my favourite characters.

Fan Videos

Background song: Katy Perry's Roar. created by redhairandbowties1

Background song: The Power of Love created by Annie The Fan Girl

My inspirations

Audrey Hepburn

May 4 1929-  Jan 20 1993

For me Audrey Hepburn was the epitome of elegance, both in her choice of clothing and the way that she carried herself in public. I’m not sure when exactly she became one of my heroes, or when I first watched her in a film, but I do know that after seeing her in Roman Holiday, her fun and excitement over life, seemingly crossing the line between fiction and truth, I wanted to see something else that she was in.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was the next film of hers that I got my hands on, and I loved it as well. Despite the terrible and utterly racist depiction of her neighbour, the rest of it was a lot of fun, and I admired the fact that Holly wasn’t wholly likable. She possesses a lot of good qualities, but the confusion that she feels, makes her treat Paul Varjack, in a not entirely pleasant way.

She wasn’t scared to take roles that challenged her, taking roles as diverse as a teacher accused of being a lesbian (Children’s Hour 1961), a chauffeur’s daughter who becomes a chef (Sabrina 1954) and Maid Marian late in her life (Robin and Marian 1976).

It reveals how strong her power and charisma was, as despite the fact that she stopped taking lead roles regularly in the sixties, and has been dead since 1993, that she still has the power to sell merchandise, and is still idolised by people across the world.