“We’ve all seen the evil reporter,” Amell tells EW. “I thought that it was much more interesting that we see the evil reporter who takes advantage of someone and takes advantage of a mayor who she thinks, possibly rightly so, is unqualified, then gets to know him better, begins to appreciate his love for the city and has a change of heart. I always thought that that was way more interesting than just she’s out to get him, she’s keeping close proximity for the simple reason of eventually outing him and destroying his life.”Still, Oliver believes Susan truly isn’t out to get him, even though he’s basically lied to her from the start. “He’s never been the best at confiding in people and to say that he’s trusting her and letting her in, I don’t really know how he’s doing that,” Amell says. “He tells her half-truths all the time, and despite the fact that she might know a little bit more than he realizes, I feel like they hit it off a little bit. Oliver putting his trust in Susan Williams, he’s proven right over the course of these episodes because she came into some information, and he even says to Thea, ‘She won’t do that to me,’ in terms of ousting me as the Green Arrow.”
However, Amell understands it’s only natural for long-time fans of Arrow to distrust anyone new who comes into Oliver’s life as the Berlanti-verse shows tend to instill a sense of wariness. “That’s right,” Amell says. “So maybe Susan is the exception to that rule.”