User blog comment:Lonearch/Lonearch's Investigation into the Arrow/@comment-3221148-20160530092631

It's really a paradox. Fans criticize Marc Guggenheim for caring too much about Felicity and neglecting the team member they all love, Laurel.

BUT, Guggenheim was the one to MAKE Laurel into that lovable character, compared to the hated dramatic character of the early seasons.

I guess it's more of a principle of how the character is written when they are a love interest. The only love interest so far to be more or less easygoing in the future arc was Sara (whose drama was all in flashbacks). When Laurel was Oliver's main love interest, their relationship HAD to be about drama and sadness, while Felicity was a side character with quirks, quips and a cute crush on the MC. When Felicity became Oliver's main love interest, their relationship ALSO HAD to be about drama and sadness, while Laurel, now a secondary character, was allowed to develop with a hero arc of her own.

Maybe it's a CW requirement for the writers to turn all relationships into tearful dramas, I don't know. :) The fact is, it hurts Felicity's character and thus her credibility as a character, as the fans, annoyed by her "OldLaurel-like" persona, start hating things that would be applauded had they been introduced earlier, like characters' family members being actual people. Maybe it's the fact that Felicity doesn't have much leg to stand on to be as dramatic and demanding as OldLaurel was, if only because Laurel's life WAS kind of ruined by the cheating Oliver Queen, so we could sympathize with her side of the debacle much more than with Felicity's, whose only concerned about the trust issue (even though this season started with HER breaking Oliver's trust by working with Team Arrow despite his wishes).