Arrow is one of my favorite TV shows. Okay, let me rephrase that; Arrow seasons 1 and 2 were one of my favorite TV shows and now I watch it so I’m not lost during the crossover with Legends of Tomorrow and the other Arrowverse shows and in hopes that it will improve, especially after the departure of showrunners Wendy Mericle and Marc Guggenheim, who have overseen the less-than-stellar later seasons of the show.
Ever since Beth Schwartz was announced as the new showrunner and Colton Haynes announced his character Roy Harper would be returning as a series regular, fans have been clamoring for details and hoping they point in a new and better direction for the CW’s former top dog. Over the weekend some rumors about season 7 appeared on the Arrow Reddit, and previous plot details to emerge there have proved surprisingly accurate, so they’re worth looking at.
Oliver in prison for only 3 episodes
I’m really well over storylines that revolve around superheroes being in prison or on the run from the authorities. Well, aside from The Gifted, The X-Men have always been at odds with the government, it’s in the DNA of the title. For shows like Flash and Arrow, it’s just a distraction, and not a particularly good one. Flash’s arc which put Barry Allen in prison for a crime he didn’t commit last season dragged on and didn’t serve the plot well at all. I’m really hoping this rumor is true, I’m already over the storyline and the season hasn’t even started.
Felicity will have an arc outside the team
Felicity Smoak was a breakout character on Arrow who went from one-time guest to series regular by the end of season 1, mostly on the appeal and comic timing of Emily Bett Rickards. But the show has failed to properly utilize Felicity since her season 3 romance with Ray Palmer. Without having anything for her to do, too many plots have revolved around Felicity needing to come up with some piece of tech or having to sneak into a hostile area to use a computer. Giving Felicity a good storyline probably won’t make fans love her like they did in the show’s early days, but it would give writers some room to breathe and write action scenes without her.
Court of Owls will be introduced in the crossover
The Court of Owls are a relatively new group of villains in Batman comics, having debuted in 2011. It makes sense that the crossover, confirmed to be set in Gotham City and to feature the introduction of Batwoman into the Arrowverse, would use a powerful villain from Batman’s stable, even though it isn’t the first time Arrow has used a villain associated with Batman, as season 3 featured Ra’s al Ghul and his league of assassins.
New love interest for Dinah that will cause trouble in the team
This is almost exactly the storyline Dinah had last season, as her boyfriend caused trouble for the team. Now that Katie Cassidy is back as a series regular playing Black Siren, the Laurel Lance from Earth-2, do we really need Dinah Drake around as well? They were the same character in the comics, and Drake only showed up to replace Cassidy. They’ve clearly run out of ideas for her character, since they’re repeating the only one they had, so why keep her now-redundant character around?
Diaz isn’t the main villain but will help introduce whoever it is
My money is on The Longbow Hunters, whom Diaz said he hired to kill Green Arrow at the end of last season. Diaz’s story was never that interesting and it’s basically run its course. The Longbow Hunters were allies of Diaz in the comics, and the name references a famously dark Green Arrow limited series by Mike Grell. It seems unlikely Arrow would drop the name and not have it pay off.
E2 Tommy Merlyn set to make an appearance
Colin Donnell loves the cast and crew of Arrow so much that last season he flew to Canada after a full day of filming Chicago Med to film a brief appearance as the evil Nazi version of Tommy Merlyn from Earth-X, then immediately flew back to set for Chicago Med by the next morning. He also made a full guest appearance as The Human Target imitating his character later in the season. Donnell was a big part of the cast of Arrow in season 1 and it’s always good when the writers can find an excuse to bring him back.
Andrew Lees confirmed that he has auditioned for an upcoming role on Arrow
There have been rumors for months that Arrow was finally introducing Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, after six years of dropping the name of Kord Industries into conversation. Brandon Routh was slated to play Kord during season 3 of Arrow, but a conflict with the movie division caused his character to be reworked into Ray Palmer. Is his the character Lees auditioned for? It seems likely; he does fit the mold.
While we don’t know for sure if any of these rumors will come to pass right now, a lot of rumors that have found their way to the various Arrowverse Reddit communities have turned out to be true. Whatever happens on Arrow next season, let’s just hope it work out now that Guggenheim isn’t there to screw it up.