Arrow Boss Teases Big Aftershocks, A Dark Road For Tommy... and Death?!?

Two episodes.

That’s all we have left on Arrow Season 1 and if we’re to believe Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim... we’re in for quite a ride.

Let’s dive right in with this exclusive Q&A that teases a lot (excuse me, pyrotechnics?!?) and should make us more than a little afraid for the future of some of our beloved characters...

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TV Fanatic: When we last left Ollie, he had found out that Moira is in cahoots with Malcolm. What’s next?
Marc Guggenheim: Basically, Oliver [is] going to learn everything [and] he’s going to learn the full extent of Moira’s involvement. Of course, that’s going to mean really big consequences and pyrotechnics, both from the literal and the metaphorical sense. Obviously, Oliver’s world was rocked in 21 and it turns out the aftershock is bigger than the initial earthquake.

TVF: So he’ll learn everything in 22 [tonight’s episode]?
MG: Pretty much everything. There’s still a couple of secrets that will be kept between Moira and Oliver that we save for the finale but 22 really builds upon the forward momentum between Oliver and his mother that comes to a head in 22 and continues to reverberate through 23.

TVF: I love that we flashbacked last week to Moira and Malcolm and understand them much more now. Is that relationship going to change now that everything is being revealed?
MG: Everything on the show will change in the wake of the season finale. One of the things that we always try to do on the show is not stay in stasis and never just tread water. Things are always moving forward in a big way and that will be the case with Malcolm and Moira. We’ve been talking about Season 2 and there’s plenty of stuff to play going into the future. One of the nice things about our show that we’ve established is that we don’t only take place in the present but in the past. Like 21 proved, there’s plenty of story to be told both looking backwards and going forwards.

TVF: Ollie has told Laurel that he’s still in love with her. Is that going to go the next step and how will it complicate things further with Tommy?
MG: The whole love triangle is turning the heat up even further into 22 and leading into the finale…in 21, Oliver dropped this bomb on Laurel that he’s still in love with her and Oliver has scenes with both and with Laurel separately in 22 which deals with that revelation.

TVF: We also saw Ollie kiss Shado on the island. Does that get more complicated?
MG: Yes, basically with the flashback stories, we’re driving to a finale much in the same way we are driving to the finale in the present day so 22, in terms of flashbacks, features a game changer that sets us you for the season finale.

TVF: Diggle obviously still wants his revenge for his brother’s death. Will he get some satisfaction in these last episodes?
MG: Unfortunately, that has to wait until Season Two. We’ve been in the writer’s room working on season two and we have a really great storyline worked out with Diggle dealing with Deadshot and his quest for revenge. We had so much going on in these last episodes of the season, we didn’t want to give it short shrift so it’s fully developed in season two.

TVF: Really loved seeing Felicity out in the field in 21. Can we expect more of that in these last episodes or at least in season two?
MG: We love it and, in fact, we were just talking with the network about how well Felicity works and you’ll see her in the field in episode 22. She’s terrific and it’s always fun to play the fish out of water by having Felicity be involved in the field. I think the sequence that she has out in the field in 22 provides the episode with some of its best moments.

TVF: Let’s talk Thea and Roy. Are they getting pulled into everything else going on with Malcolm or are they just following their own story track of finding ‘The Hood?’
MG: That’s a great question. They get pulled in. Episode 22 features the first meeting between Oliver and Roy. Obviously, ‘The Hood’ and Roy met in episode 18 but 22 is the first time Oliver and Roy are seen together. It’s really a great scene. Both actors really brought it and that scene has major consequences for Roy and Thea’s relationship.

TVF: I want to go back to Tommy. With everything going on with him, are we going to see him go down an even darker road? Just being Malcolm’s son is reason enough, perhaps.
MG: You are definitely going to want to check out episode 22.

TVF: Anything else you want to add there, Marc?
MG: I will say that the events of 22 really set up Tommy’s storyline in 23 and it’s all related to his dad and Laurel and Oliver. We’re not taking our foot off the gas and we’ll see episode 22 double down on what we’ve been doing with Tommy for the past couple of episodes. The very last shot of Tommy in 22, I think it’s really powerful….[Colin Donnell] totally sells everything with this really great, intense look so I think that everyone will be talking after his final scene in 22.

TVF: You have so many more characters on the slate going into season 2. Does that make your job more complicated or easier since you know these characters and their place?
MG: I think everything about this show is a blessing and a curse. The show has a lot of moving parts and we’re looking to do some more really focused storytelling in season 2. The one thing we always say is if you look at comic book storytelling, they have large casts of characters. It’s part of the scope and epic quality of the kind of story that we’re trying to tell so in many ways growing our cast is inevitable. Certainly, as a writer, having talented actors to write towards and write for always makes your life easier and just making sure that everyone is serviced. That’s always the tricky part.

TVF: Final question, does anyone die in the finale? At least characters we already know?
MG: Dangerously spoilery! I will say that you will know the answer to that question by the end of 22.

Jim Halterman is the West Coast Editor of TV Fanatic and the owner of JimHalterman.com. Follow him on Twitter.