'Arrow' preview: Willa Holland teases Thea's 'major turning point'
On Wednesday night’s Arrow, Thea Queen (Willa Holland) is in the clutches of vengeful Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), and their time together will be anything but easy for the teen-turned-nightclub owner.
“This entire episode is really really intense for her,” says Holland. “It definitely gets to the point where you don’t know up until the last few scenes of the episode how bad Slade’s going to treat her…When I was reading it, I had no idea, and I was really afraid for my character and I still slightly am.”
What’s most troubling, adds Holland, is that Slade is keen to go for the slow torture of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) rather than, say, simply killing his sister. “His tactic is more along the lines of scaring the crap out of [Thea] and toying with Oliver and making Oliver think that the worst is happening at this moment and time,” says Holland.
Which is not to say bad things won’t happen to Thea. In fact, Holland says there’s at least one “major turning point” that will affect her in episodes to come. “I think the next few episodes really change Thea a lot,” she says. “I think pretty much change every character…Everything in all of our lives seems to be crumbling down in front of us.”
In last week’s episode, Thea’s relationship became among the ruins of the season. And while EP Marc Guggenheim has teased that Roy will carry some guilt over Thea’s capture, Queen says fans shouldn’t look for a quick relationship fix. “They love each other to death, but I think right now in their lives, there’s so much going on that this separation is almost healthy for them, but they don’t realize it,” she says. “I hope they get back together. I really have no idea what’s going to happen.”
One thing is for sure, however: Thea is currently the center of a storm of lies — the biggest two secrets being the identity of her real father (Malcolm Merlyn, played by John Barrowman) and her brother’s life as a vigilante hero. Will she figure things out soon? Holland wouldn’t spill the answer specifically, but she sees both having major “adverse reactions.” “I think when [her father’s identity is revealed], it will be a pretty giant bomb dropped on her, and I feel like her reaction’s going to be pretty justified,” she says. “I feel like I would want to separate from my family if I found out something like that — if I found out that my father wasn’t my father, which I’m very happy that my [actual] dad is my dad. I’m happy that we don’t have that in common.”
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.