The current season of Arrow is firing on all cylinders and, based on what Stephen Amell has to say, it certainly won’t slow down in the near future.
In a recent conversation with IGN, the Green Arrow himself discussed many things, chief among which were a shocking revelation in this week’s episode, “Brotherhood,” the show’s evolution, and the upcoming crossover with The Flash.
Now, as for that “shocking revelation,” I won’t spoil it here, but fans that are up to date on the show’s happenings likely know what it is based on the most recent trailer. If you were surprised by what the trailer spoiled, you aren’t alone, because Amell is seemingly in the same boat.
[zerg]In the interview, he had a little bit to say regarding that topic, as well as the directorial debut of stunt choreographer James Bamford.
Jeez, I was actually surprised by how much the preview showed, so I’m not going to say anything more about the shocking revelation. But I will say that I do very much think that episode 407 is our strongest episode to date this year. James Bamford directed it, and he was one of the first guys that I met in Vancouver when I arrived for the pilot. On our second day of filming, I actually snapped his neck on the show, which was one of the first clips that was released. He’s a wonderful guy, and after 70-plus episodes choreographing the fights and coordinating the stunts, he got an opportunity to direct. All of the things that he has wanted to see on the show, from an action perspective, he puts into this episode. Really incredible. But even more so, he was incredibly deft, as a director, on the emotional aspects of this episode, of which there are many because of this “shocking revelation.” So I’m excited for everyone to see it. It has a different feel. I think fans are really going to enjoy it.
It’s also no secret that the show has evolved since its first season. What started out as a grounded, Dark Knight influenced superhero series eventually introduced superpowers and, more recently, magic. Amell talked about this new element and the importance of keeping things fresh.
Well, it has to. It has to. There has to be something new for me to do every year. There has to be something new for Katie and Willa and Emily and David and Paul. Paul Blackthorne and I have actually talked a lot this year about the relationship of Lance and Oliver and the quite possibly burgeoning relationship of Lance and Donna that gives him new things to do and new arenas to play in. Look, there has to be an element every year that you add to the show, otherwise it doesn’t distinguish itself. As much as we would like to look at it and go, “Alright, we had this one stretch in Season 1, or this was this great fight in 2. Let’s just try to replicate that,” that’s no fun. So it keeps it fresh for me. And of course the characters are changing so much too, not the least of which Oliver. So it’s remained fresh. I’m glad that our writers and producers are never satisfied.
As for the upcoming crossover with The Flash, he spoke about the “feel” of the event as well as how the story kicks off.
Well, Barry actually encounters this situation where he wants to go to Oliver and Team Arrow for help, and that’s our tipping point. The fight takes us from Central City to Star City to Central City to a farmhouse… It’s good, man. It’s just good. It does feel like an event, as a fan of television. And that’s how you can tell; Greg Berlanti is a fan of television, which is why he’s so prolific at it. One of his favorite things growing up, as he has said in interviews, was to see multiple heroes and villains from his favorite shows show up on his other favorite shows. So we’ve done a really good job of creating something, and I think it doesn’t feel like The Flash, doesn’t feel like Arrow; it feels like both.
The official synopsis for “Brotherhood” can be seen below:
Team Green Arrow’s ongoing battle with Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) is complicated by a shocking revelation. Thea’s (Willa Holland) bloodlust returns and she loses control in front of Alex (guest star Parker Young).
Arrow airs Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm EST on The CW.
