by Gema Luna, Assistant Editor
After a morning filled with press events at SDCC 2013, it was finally time to meet with the cast and crew of one of my favorite new shows: Arrow. The cast flooded into the room and were asked to sit at an empty table while the organizers figured out the progression of the round tables interviews. Mr. Oliver Queen, played by Stephen Amell (Heartland), posed for pictures for David Ramsey (Blue Bloods), who plays John Diggle, on the floor next to the Comic-Con background drape pretending to be exhausted. Yes, TV stars do funny things just like us mere mortals.
Executive Producer Greg Berlanti joined our table and discussed the basic overview of the season: “This year is very much about making that turn from vigilante to something more hopeful, which is, I think, what the city needs in the wake of what happened.” But the evolution of the hood from vigilante to a source of hope to Starling City is solid based on the last thoughts of Tommy, played by Colin Donnell (Pan Am), before he died. Stephen Amell added “the lasting imprint on this season, and the lasting season of what we do is Tommy’s death and what Tommy thought of Oliver when he died, and that informs every single decision that Oliver makes going through”. Yes, sadly it is proclaimed that Tommy is indeed dead, however the producers were not as sure if Malcom, played by John Barrowman (Doctor Who), Tommy’s father, was going to stay that way as well.
This season there are going to be some big name guests hanging out in Starling City. The first is Geek-Goddess Summer Glau (Firefly) who joins the cast as Isabel Rochev. Executive Producers Andre Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim call her an “Arrow worthy villain”. However the question remains: is she a villain for Oliver or The Hood? Also joining the cast this season will be Kevin Alejandro (True Blood), he will be portraying Brother Blood, a villain that has appeared in Teen Titans. This Brother Blood will be a member of the Suicide Squad which will be developed through the season. Also we will have the appearance of the long awaited Black Canary. Who will play her it is still unknown, and it’s a big hush-hush secret among the producers and cast. The other big question raised: who will truly become Speedy? Will it be Oliver’s sister Thea, Willa Holland (The OC) or her rogue boyfriend Ray Harper, played by Colton Hayes (Teen Wolf)? Unfortunately, we still didn’t get an answer and will just have to wait and see.
The Island was also a topic of conversation, as we learned that Oliver is not the only one who is in present day and on the Island at the same time. Katie Cassidy (Gossip Girl), who plays Laurel Lance was very hushed about how much action she has been up to in the latest episodes. She did reveal that even though Laurel and Oliver are good, Laurel and The Hood are a different story. Emily Bett Rickards (Soldiers of the Apocalypse), who plays Felicity Smoak, was very excited that her character is going to be growing this season, and we will find out more a lot about her. Emily said that she is more in the middle of the action this time around and called her character this season “Felicity 2.0”.
Stephen was asked what character would you want most to see on the show, and his answer was simple: “The Flash. I think the Flash can be done in a cool way.” Well it looks like Stephen will get his wish since it was announced that The Flash joining the series in multiple episodes this season!
Arrow returns on Wednesday October 9th at 8pm on The CW.
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