'Arrow' premiere: Stars give scoop on what's next
So you’ve watched the premiere of Arrow. Intrigued? We sure are. So when we hit the set in Vancouver a few weeks ago, when they were in the middle of filming the seventh episode, we pressed the cast of CW’s latest hero tale for more on the season to come.
Here’s what we learned:
* The love triangle will be…very complicated. While Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was presumed dead, his best friend Tommy (Colin Donnell) ended up falling into bed with the girlfriend he left behind, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) — several times. Upon Oliver’s return, the pair are on less-than-awesome terms — likely (erm, definitely) due to the fact that Oliver was hooking up with Laurel’s sister before his boat sank. (Pun?) So what now? Exactly what you’d expect: a lot of relationship drama! “Tommy very much cares about Laurel,” says Donnell. “They took comfort in one another and solace in each other’s arms while trying to deal with the death of a friend and there are a lot of feelings that Tommy is not used to experiencing with women that are percolating there. Tommy is a good guy; I know it doesn’t seem like it right now.” But his different shades will begin to show, says Donnell. That, however, won’t make a difference to Laurel — at least for now, says Katie Cassidy. “I do think that Oliver is the love of her life,” she says. “I feel like with Oliver, it’s a lot more intense; there’s a lot of passion and fire and emotions, obviously. When she’s with Tommy, you just get to see more of a sexy, fun, wild side to Laurel.” Amell, meanwhile, has big hopes for the love triangle storyline overall. Beverly Hills, 90210-level hopes. “If we can get an eighth of the way toward Dylan-Kelly-Brenda…then that’s a good thing,” he jokes.
* Oliver’s secret will be revealed “sooner than [you] expect.” The question is: to whom? Regardless of the answer, Amell says this person will serve an important function. “One of the things that he’s dealing with is that he’s lonely,” he says. “There’s not a lot of people for him to talk to, save us introducing a volleyball into the show.”
* Will Thea shoot an arrow — with Green Arrow? With a nickname like “Speedy” — the same name of Green Arrow’s sidekick in the comics — can we assume Thea will soon be shooting arrows along with her big brother? Willa Holland was coy about her answer, but said the expectation is definitely present. “Fingers crossed and knock on some wood that I’m going to be slinging an arrow soon,” she says “I don’t want to indulge and spill out too much. you guys will find out for yourselves, week by week, slowly but surely.” That said, Holland thinks a healthy release is definitely needed for the troubled teen, who fell into rebellious ways while he brother was off on an island becoming awesome. “It would be a nice outlet to say the least — running around and kicking some ass,” she says.
* China White is a force to be reckoned with. Viewers will be introduced to the classic character in episode 2 — and it won’t be on the island, Amell teased. “China White is a fixture, [at] the moment, in Starling City,” he says, adding that of all the villains Green Arrow has faced seven episode into filming, she might be the fiercest. “If China White’s name was on the [Oliver’s] list, she would not have been crossed off yet.”
* On that note, there will NOT necessarily be a revenge-of-the-week format. After seeing Oliver’s list of corrupt people in the premiere, one might assume that he’ll chip off his list every week. And one would be wrong. “Names have been crossed off in Act I, names have been crossed off at the end of an episode, and names have been considered and not crossed off. And there have been episode where the book hasn’t even been opened,” says Amell. “I like that we’re not married to one idea because that makes it more interesting.”
* The Huntress’s debut will be awesome. In a short chat with Jessica de Gouw, who will first appear in the seventh episode, the actress said she couldn’t share much about how The Huntress/Helena Bertinelli comes into the picture, but promises it’s “with a punch.” “She comes in strong,” she says. “She’s a force of nature. And not only the Huntress — Helena is pretty sassy in her own right.” And once the kickass justice-seeker comes across her fellow fighter, de Gouw says they will learn a lot from one another. “He’s got a lot to learn from her and then likewise.”
* No more Salmon Ladder — for now. Disappointed? We were too. But: “We have sort of the inverse of the salmon ladder coming up in episode 8,” Amell says. Whew!
Related:
‘Arrow’: 6 things to know about tonight’s premiere