Emily Bett Rickards talks pivotal 'I love you' scene in Arrow Season 2 finale

[WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FROM ARROW SEASON 2 FINALE BELOW]

Arrow aired its Season 2 finale Wednesday night and amid the chaos and the war against Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) came a quiet but powerful moment when Oliver (Stephen Amell) revealed to Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) that when Slade grabbed Laurel, "the women I love," he had taken the wrong woman.

"I love you," he tells Felicity.

The moment surprised many viewers, but Rickards told TVLine she "had sort of heard things" about the scene, which turned out to be a misdirection designed to get Felicity close to Slade with a syringe full of cure so she can inject it into him after he had kidnapped her.

So when Rickards saw the moment unfold, she anticipated the fans' reaction:

"It was like your heart is sinking, because we knew it was all a set-up, but it was sort of like, 'Oh my God, oh no...Ohhh, the fans...Everyone's going to cry.'"

So what did Rickards think when Felicity didn't answer Oliver's proclamation with one of her own?

"I was glad, actually, because for one, it's truthful, because it's so shocking...After all this time - 46 episodes, two years - she's not expecting it," she said. "I don't think anyone was. Like, 'Why are we in the middle of this house when the apocalypse is happening outside? We should be getting machetes! Where's my ninja sword?' I think [Felicity's reaction] was a very honest [unspoken] response like, 'Oh, no, wait... I love you too, but...."

The two characters got a second to talk on the island of Lian Yu and each noted how the other really sold the performance. But the look in Felicity's eyes and the words not spoken hinted that she might not have been acting as much as Oliver thought.

"I think that there'll be something explored there" in Season 3, Rickards said.

What did you think of the moment? Let us know in the comments below?