In case you missed it, the second season finale of “Arrow” was bananas, down to the final few seconds that literally no one could see coming. And with all these cliffhangers come many, many burning questions.
Lucky for you, we were able to catch up with the cast of the show the morning after the finale aired, at the CW Upfront in New York — and asked them all the pressing questions you need to know, now.
Hey, it may not make the wait for the third season premiere shorter, but it will certainly help you kill time until then. And, of course, spoilers ahead:
Wait, Are They Really Going To Hong Kong?
The big season ending twist was that Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who we thought spent “five years trapped on a hellish island,” actually spent at least part of one of those years in Hong Kong. The last shot showed the possibly evil, possibly good Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) welcoming Queen to the city — and to season three, metaphorically speaking.
But they’re not really going to Hong Kong, right? In real life?
“We are actually hoping to get to Hong Kong,” Amell told us. “He’s not on the island anymore, he’s in Hong Kong. It’s exciting, it’s a twist.”So are they going to have to amend the opening narration to say, “I spent four hellish years on an island, and then one in Hong Kong?” According to Amell, probably not.
“I feel like there’s not going to be a lot about Hong Kong that’s better than the island,” Amell added.
Can Oliver Seriously, Possibly Not Know How Felicity Feels About Him?
The most scream-worthy moment for #Olicity fans was when Oliver tells Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) that he loves her… Only for it to turn out he’s just trying to fake out the big bad guy Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett).
And then once everything is hunky dory, Felicity recalls the moment, saying, “Boy, wouldn’t it be funny if we really loved each other?” To which he responds by basically not saying anything and then walking out of the shot.So come on, let’s be honest: Oliver can’t be that dumb, right? He has to know Felicity really loves him by now… Right?
“Oliver knows,” Amell said. “I don’t think he’s playing. He was put in a position where he had to do the unthinkable. He had to put her in jeopardy. Whether or not he’s telling the truth about her, that will be resolved pretty soon on the show.”Emily Bett Rickards agreed, saying, “No, he knows. I think he knows. Everybody knows. Moira knew, Sara knew, people knew. She’s not ashamed people know, but her beauty and strength come from, ‘I want you to be happy.’ She realizes he’s not the only man on the planet.
“But there’s such a strong love there, and they’ve been in a lot of life or death situations together, and being able to call each other out on each other’s s–t… Not everybody does that for you. When he says, ‘I love you,’ to her, I think it came from a really honest place. That’s his question now, that’s his battle.”Yeah, but come on: just walking away without saying anything? To quote Stephanie Tanner, “How rude!:
“It’s a little rude, but at the same time, what is he gonna– she’s the one who says, ‘Let’s go home,’ there’s nothing more to be said,” Rickards added. “They just locked Slade in Purgatory, so is our relationship really next on your mind? It’s always there, but…”
Okay, fine. Harumph.
Will Quentin Be Spitting Up Blood All Next Season?
No, we couldn’t predict the Hong Kong twist. But we really couldn’t have foreseen that Quentin Lance’s (Paul Blackthorne) final moments of season two would be spitting up blood due to surprise internal injuries, cradled by his screaming daughter.
“It’s tough being an adult in Starling City, the internal injuries will get you every time,” Blackthorne joked. “We’ll see what happens next season.”
Katie Cassidy, who plays Quentin’s daughter Laurel was ever so slightly more forthcoming on the issue.
“It would be devastating for Laurel to lose her father,” Cassidy said. “He is the closest thing to her, they’re so much alike, and a lot of what Laurel has, the strength comes from Quentin so it would obviously be devastating to lose him.”
Then again, she has had a lot of people die in her life on the show, so maybe Laurel is tough enough to take it? As Cassidy said, “she’s lost a lot of people before, so I think she can handle anything.”
Is Sara Gone For Good?
Right before the whole “spitting up blood” thing, Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) leaves on a boat for parts unknown, now a member of The League of Assassins. Despite Sara having previously been thought dead for five years, Quentin seemed remarkable okay with the prospect.
So is there more going on here?
“Of course he’s conflicted, he doesn’t want to see her go,” Blackthorne said. “But at the same time he knows what she’s like, you can’t pin a good girl down. She’s off. He’s just resigned to this, these daughters of his… They have their will, and off they go.”Is Laurel The New Black Canary?
…And right before Sara leaves, she hands Laurel her Black Canary jacket. “It fits,” says Laurel, who in the comics takes on the mantle of the character. “Don’t get any ideas,” Quentin quips back.
But yeah, she’s totally going to be the Black Canary, right? When we asked Cassidy the question bluntly, she laughed right in our little faces.
“I don’t know, am I?” Cassidy asked. “Well, I put a jacket on last night, and it fit, so we’ll see.”
If she does take on the moniker, however, Cassidy sees it as a natural progression for the character from her season two arc.
“Season two was Laurel’s quote unquote island,” Cassidy said. “Everything that’s happened there, [they found] if they’re going to become a hero they have to earn it. For Laurel, [her island] was season two. Season three she puts on the jacket, she’s already been fighting and kicking some ass, she’s going to embrace the whole situation and want to be a part of Team Arrow and get as much involved as she can, and…”
Cassidy paused, before bashfully adding with a laugh, “I’ve started working out.”
Blackthorne, meanwhile, thinks that Quentin would not be a fan of having another superhero in the family.
“Quentin will be sticking his head in the sand about another daughter becoming a superhero, he definitely doesn’t want to see it happen,” Blackthorne said.
For Cassidy, though, the prospect is extremely enticing.
“Wouldn’t that be awesome?” Cassidy mused. “Lawyer by day, superhero by night, I like the sound of that. You never know.”
Is Thea Queen Next Season’s Big Bad?
After finding out that her father was the vicious villain Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), Thea Queen (Willa Holland) rejected her life in Starling City, and left with Merlyn for parts unknown.
So is she about to become Thea Merlyn?
“Well, she’s daughter, of course she’s going to be– I’m saying this, they’re going to be, ‘don’t say this, don’t say anything,’ but I’d love it,” Barrowman said when we asked about the name change. “I’d love her to be Thea Merlyn. She could be Thea Queen-Merlyn, so she’s queen of the Merlyns.”Those wondering if we’ll see any sweet Malcolm/Thea training sequences in season three? Worry not, as Barrowman has been bumped up to series regular status.
“The exciting part is that Merlyn has someone he can mold,” Barrowman continued. “If Malcolm had his way, he would have wanted Oliver as a son. But Thea, he’s going to try and get to Thea mentally and physically to make sure she’s molded to perfection, so they can rule together.”
Malcolm, as viewers know, has been both businessman and trained assassin. So given Barrowman’s statements, are we going to see Thea learnin’ in the boardroom, or in the streets?
“Well, this is what I think, nothing has been said yet, so let’s just make that clear, nothing has been put down on paper,” Barrowman said. “As Malcolm Merlyn, I want to teach her, businesswise, I want to teach her physically how to defend herself, how to overpower people. I want to create this beautiful, female powerhouse, that I can sit back and go, ‘Mwaaa ha ha.’”
We’re looking forward to a full season of that mustache twirling.
“Arrow” returns this fall to The CW.
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