Felicity EP Reveals the Real Story Behind Season 1’s Ben-Felicity-Noel Cliffhanger
When The WB’s Felicity closed out its first season, fans were left to wonder all summer about which love interest Keri Russell‘s title character had chosen to pursue.
And the show’s writers, it turns out, were just as clueless as the audience regarding Felicity’s momentous decision between Ben Covington (Scott Speedman) and Noel Crane (Scott Foley).
In a new episode of the retrospective podcast Dear Felicity (which features commentary from TVLine’s own Michael Ausiello), series creators J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, along with writer and executive producer Josh Reims, revealed that Felicity‘s writing staff had yet to make up its mind about who Felicity would pick by the time Season 1 wrapped; a decision wasn’t made until Season 2 scripts were written months later. The indecision came as a surprise to Reims, who joined Felicity‘s writers’ room ahead of Season 2 and was shocked to learn his colleagues hadn’t yet decided whether to pair Felicity with Noel or Ben.
“I came in assuming that they knew [the resolution] because they had been there for the first season,” Reims recalled with a laugh. “And when I got there, they were like, ‘All right, what are we going to do?’ We had endless discussions about who it should be, and we went back and forth and back and forth.” (At one point, Reims remembered, the writers seemed to have finally settled on Noel as the choice; by the time Abrams returned from a meeting later that day, they had flipped back to Ben.)
But even though Felicity’s romantic choice was a major storyline heading into Season 2, the writers knew they ultimately wanted the character to be single after a few episodes — and a relationship with bad boy Ben seemed much more likely to end quickly, Reims said.
“Noel was such a sweetheart and would treat her well,” he shared. “Thinking ahead, we were like, ‘Well, whoever she’s going with, she’s not going to be with them for the whole season. That’s not going to work.’ Part of the reason [we picked Ben] was, it’s probably harder to break up with Noel than it is with Ben. Ben can be a jerk immediately, and we can get her on her own.”
A majority of TVLine readers are in the Team Ben camp, though: In a September 2023 poll of TV’s most divisive love triangles, nearly 60% of voters championed Speedman’s character, while 40% were Team Felicity/Noel.
What say you, Felicity fans? Comment below!
I liked her with Ben and that logic for the choice makes sense.
I loved the chemistry between Felicity/Noel and Ben and Felicity. But come on. It was always going to be Ben. She followed him across the country. And I always found the fact that Noel was her RA and pursuing her a little creepy. And let’s not forget that Noel cheated on his girlfriend Hannah.
The series should have ended with Ben/Felicity’s wedding instead of Noel’s. An amazing show that still holds up today.
The fact that Felicity chased Ben across the country wasn’t creepy? A classmate she barely knew?
Nope because it was one of the school she was accepted to. It was a crazy thing to do but not creepy like an older RA, who is an authority figure trying to get with a freshman on his floor.
Noel knew how much she was in love with Ben but tried to sway her heart anyway. We all saw how that worked out for him. Then to throw in Ben’s face that they had sex—proved it was more important to best Ben to respect Felicity’s privacy.
Nope. She followed Ben. She applied to NY after she found out Ben was going there.
You’re wrong! She had already been accepted. That’s why after graduation we saw her rummaging through her many acceptance letters until she came across the one from NY. She then called them to accept and they let her in under late admissions. Go watch the pilot and you will see.
She should’ve ended up with Noel. He treated her better than Ben ever did and they had that spark together, you could tell they would stay married. I’m sorry, but Ben and Felicity were just boring together and had nothing in common to last a lifetime. I feel like those that were “Team Ben” just wanted her and Ben together because they were attracted to Scott Speedman.
Quite the assumption to make that it was just about looks. 🙄 She had a spark with Noel but it was a full on fire with Ben. He also forgave her for both cheating incidents (school and the frat boy). Ben made mistakes but Felicity was behaving like a high schooler at times.
How surprising that a J.J. Abrams series would set up major questions that the writers didn’t know the answers to (*cough-cough “Lost”*)!
Ben had too much emotional baggage, any woman with a clear head on her shoulders would have chosen Noel but when you’re younger and don’t have the wisdom that comes with experience mistakes get made. Even if Ben was picked in season two the show should have ended with Felicity and Noel.
Always preferred Noel for Felicity.
I remember my friend and I being in HS and we rewatched the scene where she got in the cab over and over (thanks VCRs) and tried to lip read what she said. Was it an address for a building or an airport? And in the end the writers didn’t even know! Sheesh. Frankly I was always on team Ben, but to hear they picked him simply because he would be enough of a jerk to break up with so quickly is kinda insulting to the character they created. He was a dumb kid at that point in his life sure, but he did grow up.
BEST. SHOW. EVER!
Yes!! Any show where people are still debating who the main character should end up with is a true testament to a show’s staying power!!
Always love reading about this show! Still one of my favorites with an incredible cast!! Probably watch it once a year. Brings back memories of a simpler time in some ways. And people don’t realize how funny the show was especially the 2nd season. The 2nd season got so much attention but for the wrong reasons – her hair!! But it was a really good season of the show.
I’m only just going thru and watching it for the first time, and I was SHOCKED that the hair thing happened early in Season 2… both because at the time, it felt like the show had already been in the zeitgeist longer that that, and because it seems bonkers that THAT much of a deal would’ve been made over the hair of someone for a show that had only barely been on more than one season! (That second part maybe influenced the first reason of feeling like it had been in the zeitgeist longer)
Even though I was a major Noel/Felicity stan at the time; I’ve come to realize that Felicity and Ben made more sense as a couple.
Team Dawson… Err Noel.
I always ship for the couples that don’t end up together lol.