When it comes to the subject of cliffhangers, Arrow can most certainly lay claim to playing host to some memorable ones. Heck, I’m still reminded of the midseason finale that its third year boasted, with Ra’s al Ghul impaling Oliver Queen and tossing him off a cliff. Suffice it to say, that was the most literal of “cliffhangers” I’ve seen on television.
So, with a seventh season on the way, it’s only natural that the producers think up new ways of making the Emerald Archer’s life difficult, while simultaneously providing reasons for viewers to return for another round. Of course, a key element in this is just how the story will leave off in this May’s finale.
According to executive producer Marc Guggenheim, “it’s a very unusual kind of finale,” as he elaborated in a recent sit-down with Entertainment Weekly, which reads like the “Who’s on First?” of cliffhanger discussions:
“It definitely has a cliffhanger, but not a traditional cliffhanger. Last year’s finale was a traditional cliffhanger. It was very much an ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen?’ This is a different kind of cliffhanger. I would say it’s somewhere on the spectrum of the cliffhanger of season 1, which was like, ‘How is Oliver gonna go forward?’ and the cliffhanger of season 5, which was more of a traditional cliffhanger. This, I think, falls somewhere in the middle.”
Did you follow that?
Since he’s likening this year’s concluding episode to that of what season 1 had to offer, it’s very possible that a major death or two awaits. If you’ll recall, Tommy Merlyn bit the dust at the tail end of the show’s freshman run, so that’s one easy parallel to draw.
Here’s a little more of what Guggenheim had to tease:
“We have a few surprises up our sleeves. There’s a couple of twists, there’s a couple of things that we’re doing that are not only very unexpected, but also unprecedented not just for Arrow, but for the other DC superhero shows as well.”
After reading that, we’re forced to play the Tommy Merlyn card yet again because actor Colin Donnell has been photographed recently visiting the set. Since his season 1 departure, he’s returned via flashbacks and hallucinations, with his Earth-X counterpart rearing its head in last fall’s crossover event. Only time will tell if Earth-1’s Tommy will return to the land of the living, but we’ll certainly have fun enjoying the ride.
Arrow airs on Thursday nights on The CW.
