ADDENDUM #7 TO SUMMARY OF S5 SPOILERS BY TOPIC
S5 Generally (513 Ramifications)
-- On whether we'll see 513's new gun control laws come into conflict with Team Arrow, MG: "Not the regulations specifically." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and TVLine articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On what kind of middle ground was reached by 513's new gun control regulations, MG: "We left that intentionally vague... My first gig in the business was on a show called The Practice. [Creator David E. Kelley] always said, ‘I’m not interested in the verdict. I’m just interested in both sides in the case having equal arguments.’ Very intentionally, we didn’t want to provide [an] answer to the problem of gun violence. We wanted to leave that open to the audience as almost like a Rorschach test.” (Feb. 15, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether we know the specifics of 513's gun control regulations or whether we are going to find out what they are, MG: " No, actually we left that intentionally vague... We didn't want to provide the answer to the audience to the problem of gun violence. We wanted to leave that open to the audience, almost like a Rorschach test. One of the goals obviously to be - I'm sorry this phrase has been corrupted - as fair and balanced to the issue as possible. I think once you put a fine point on, 'OK, this is what the regulations should be,' then you end up taking a side. If we're going to take any side, I'd like to err on the side of, just because there's gun legislation doesn't mean the second amendment is being infringed. There's a way to have the second amendment and still have some reasonable limitations on gun ownership. I think last week Congress voted to remove mental health issues as being a thing that could prevent you from owning a gun. Why? Who does that possibly benefit? There's things that we all should be able to get together on. And the idea is that these regulations in a general way represented that, 'OK there have got to be a few things that we all agree on,' gun owners and gun control advocates alike." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
S5 Flashbacks
-- On whether we'll get flashback origin stories for any of the other recruits (other than Wild Dog), WM: "I don't know. That's a good question." MG: "I think we still have a lot of ground to cover with Russia. Let's put it that way." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how Oliver will end up back on the island this season, MG: "I can tease that it will either be by boat or plane... I can also tease he won’t be going back alone.” (Feb. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 54 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how Oliver ends up back on the island at the end of this season, SA: "How it ends, I think, is going to be surprising, which is odd because we pick up what happens right at the beginning of pilot. I actually don’t know a ton about what’s going to happen when he gets back to the island. I just know that one of the things that I’ve been pitching in terms of just a logistical thing is going to actually be something that we utilize." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
New Team Arrow
-- SA: "I’ve actually been thinking a lot about the team in general and everybody — this is not to say that they haven’t gone through some aspects of tragedy, but Diggle was in a federal prison and is now at the very least seeming happier and on the path to redemption. We’re moving into a very interesting arc for Felicity and a purpose for her that exists outside the team, which I think is incredibly important. Curtis is in a better spot despite the fact that he’s having some marital issues. Rene was kind of a directionless individual until he found the team. Same goes for Dina[h] in terms of she was someone who was on a murder spree and then became lost because she didn’t have a purpose anymore, and now she’s finding it on the team. Even Quentin seems to be on the road back a little bit. Obviously the main exception there is Thea, and I think that there’s a significant worry for the state of his sister, but in general, I feel like there is a bit of a sense of accomplishment. Again, it’s not without tragedy, because that’s the nature of our show." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Original Team Arrow ("OTA")
-- On whether there''ll be more OTA moments coming up, now that Diggle's back with the team, DR: "Thank god, right? Yeah. The team has been broken a little bit because of Diggle's absence and now we have new team members, and one of the team members betrayed the team, so there's been a lot of story to tell. But the original team is the backbone of this show and the writers are definitely getting back to it." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether we will get some OTA moments in upcoming episodes, DR: "That is the plan. We hadn’t seen much of that this season in general, and much of that is because we have new team members, and those stories facilitate the Big Bad more so than anything else. But now that John is out of jail, thankfully, you’ll see more OTA." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On the return of more OTA scenes, DR: "A lot of people are asking that. I don’t think it’s too much to say that has really been the backbone of the show and it has been for 5 seasons. There’s a big story to tell this season, there are lots of new characters and a lot of moving parts. A lot of new faces were brought in and everyone has a story, so you’re trying to do all these characters justice. But thankfully - Yes. I can say yes, we will get back to OTA, to the backbone of the show. Those three particularly, watch each other’s backs like no other team members can and you’ll see how Diggle particularly helps Felicity in the coming episodes. Yes, a lot of the coming episodes will have OTA scenes." (Feb. 8, 2017 Watchtivist article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Oliver & Felicity ("Olicity")
-- On Season 4, MG: "I'm definitely not a fan of how we we dismounted off the Oliver/Felicity relationship. That felt very rushed." (Feb. 5, 2017 Collider video of MG interview, page 1342 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- When asked for a Billy Joel song to describe Olicity, MG tweeted: "'Until You Come To Me' (sorry, it's not an album track)" and "You really have to listen to it. The opening notes were the proto-version of Piano Man." (Feb. 25, 2017 MG tweets, page 54 of Spoilers thread and page 1384 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On whether Oliver will find out what’s really going on with Felicity soon, per EW's Natalie Abrams: "Not for several episodes, but you may be surprised by his reaction." SA: "He knows that she’s into something, and he knows that she doesn’t want to tell him about it, so he’s dealing with that in his own way, ... For Felicity, it’s not something that she and Oliver discuss until they have what is actually an adult conversation about it in [a future episode]." (Feb. 10, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how Oliver will feel about Felicity returning to her hacktivist ways and forging her own path, SA: "I like the way that we handled it. He knows that she’s into something, and he’s bothered right now — not that she might have a new venture, but by a certain response that she gives when Oliver catches John doing something [in the Russia episode]. That episode is a lot about me knowing that something is going on with both of their characters, and they’re just not telling me. Now, there is some resolution for John toward the end of that episode, but for Felicity’s character, it’s not something that she and Oliver discuss until they have what I think is actually quite an adult conversation about it. But he knows that she’s into something, and he knows that she doesn’t want to tell him about it, so he’s dealing with that in his own way." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether he thinks Oliver & Felicity can ever get back to where they were in terms of a solid working relationship, SA: "I mean, there was a distance in the early part of the year. And I never want to sail over something as traumatic and significant as the fact that Oliver was tricked into killing Detective Malone and everything that that’s putting Felicity through. I do think that there are a lot of unanswered questions in terms of how did they get from where they were at the end of season 4 to where we found them in season 5, and I am positive that we answer those questions." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether he thinks Oliver & Felicity can ever could be a couple again, SA: "Sure. Of course. We know what came between them; it was a lack of trust. Felicity walked away, and Oliver let her. I mean, we live in a television world. Fences can always be mended." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow
-- MG: "One of the things we went into Season 5 with the mindset of is Oliver's mayor, so without it turning into The West Wing, how are we going to find ways to have Oliver be active as mayor, and to everyone's surprise, be a good mayor, end up being a good mayor. And you'll start to see, actually - and this is true in next week's episode, in Episode 14 - Thea's gonna make a good case to Oliver, of all people, for all the things he's accomplished as mayor, and you start to see like, oh wait, in the first 13 episodes, he actually kind of did some stuff. And he's not done yet. Obviously, the season's not done yet. But we definitely went into the season with the goal of showing that Oliver is actually much better at this job than you might expect." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread, and Feb. 15, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 1360 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- MG: "I think one of the things you’ll see in the second half of Season 5 is the gray area becomes a lot more gray. We’re really delving into the complexities of Oliver being a killer in a way that we’ve never done on the show before. Like, I think, a lot more nuance and a lot more - in the past, it was like 'I’m a killer or I’m not a killer.' It was very binary. This year is - like you said, it’s super gray, and it’s really messy, and this is a component of it. This is a piece of it for sure. On the walk over here, Wendy and I were just talking about a storyline that, again, continues to make those waters muddier because it is a complex, moral decision, and in many ways, Oliver killing is the seminal moral quandary of the show. ... That was something I think that spoke to us as writers and spoke to the audience back in Season 1. Like 'this guy kills people.' There’s a big part of the original pitch. We said 'at the end of Act Two, he’s going to break someone’s neck.' One of the things we are doing in the back half of Season 5 is really getting underneath that and what that means, not just in terms of morality but in terms of psychology -- specifically Oliver’s psychology. There’s things about Oliver’s killing that you have yet to learn." (Feb. 15, 2017 IGN and TVLine articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- WM: "Oliver's decision to kill or not to kill has huge moral implications, not just for him but for the team and the people who work with him. The rest of the season will definitely be exploring the ramifications of that decision - not necessarily with respect to the gun control laws and whether or not they exist and what that means for the team when they're out in the field, but definitely with respect to Felicity and to some extent to Curtis as well, what they're going through and do they square their own circles morally with the actions they've taken?" (Feb. 15, 2017 TVLine and TVGuide articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- As Oliver keeps exploring what his legacy is, on whether we will see him more as the hero, WM: "I think so, mostly just because it's different and the show has to evolve. I liked that. It's one of my favorite parts... It's a very powerful thing. And given that yeah, he has this other place where he can do this, this role as the mayor, where he can take that stand and have an impact, I don't see why we wouldn't go in that direction." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Oliver is going to finally have made the city a better place at the end of this season, WM: "I think so." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On what Oliver is facing both as Green Arrow, but also as mayor, SA: "Well, it’s interesting what we have coming up. Oliver gets put into a situation where we’re effectively vilifying the Green Arrow with a lot of things that I’m not entirely sure that we can unpack, in terms of what people are accusing him of, what the mayor’s backing up and saying he did, because he doesn’t have a choice, and it’s a lot for Oliver to deal with as mayor. We actually get to focus on the task of governing Star City, and I’ve really been enjoying it. We’ve actually had multiple episodes where in one episode I’m simply not in the Arrow suit and then multiple episodes where I’m in it for a very, very short period of time, which is a departure for us. A lot of things that we’re doing this year feel like a departure for us, and I know that that has created certain elements of angst in the fan base. People like certain things, but you just have to do it. You have to constantly try new things as a television show." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Arrow going pretty dark in the last couple episodes, and whether he feels like the show’s going back to that S1 feel, SA: "Well, it has to. One of the biggest revelations that we have this year is Oliver learning something about the person that he was in season 1, and more importantly, the person that we’re seeing in the flashbacks. He’s unchained in Russia in terms of responsibilities, and it has gone really dark in the flashbacks, but to me, that doesn’t negate the growth that Oliver has experienced. Obviously [between] season 1 and season 2, there was a very profound difference. His ability to not kill Slade at the end of season 2 was important, and his ability to walk away at the end of season 3 was important, and his ability to not view the world completely in black and white at the end of season 4 and killing Damien Darhk again was important because it really showcased that it really is about protecting the people who are closest to him. That’s going to force him into morally questionable decisions; to always take the moral high ground is just not a luxury that he has." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Oliver feels at fault for everything that’s happened because it all stems from his choices in the past, SA: "That’s a trope that we lean on a lot in the show, but I actually don’t feel as though Oliver has done that. Obviously, he’s responsible for the death of Detective Malone, and we even reference in an upcoming episode that that’s something that he’s going to live with for the rest of his life, but I feel as though Oliver has really moved past the past where he might have been a little bit mopey." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Felicity Smoak AKA Overwatch
-- On how deep Felicity is going to get into the hacking and darkness, WM: "We really started the season wanting to have her go through some version of her own island in some way. I would say it’s going to get very interesting, and the team, they’re definitely going to have very strong opinions about it. We really wanted to take her to place where she would sort of understand Oliver in a more profound way. Without giving too much away, that’s what I would say about her and Helix." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and IGN articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- Per WM, Felicity's darker turn into hacktivism/Helix will help Felicity "understand Oliver in a more profound way." As WM explained though, this conflict has been a long time coming for Felicity: "We really started the season wanting to have her go through some version of her own island in some way... I would say it’s going to get very interesting -- and the team, they’re definitely going to have very strong opinions about it." (Feb. 17, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- WM: "The rest of the season will definitely be exploring the ramifications of [Oliver's decision to kill or not to kill] - not necessarily with respect to the gun control laws and whether or not they exist and what that means for the team when they're out in the field, but definitely with respect to Felicity and to some extent to Curtis as well, what they're going through and do they square their own circles morally with the actions they've taken?" (Feb. 15, 2017 TVLine and TVGuide articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- Per MG, when Felicity at one point begs Curtis and Rene to stop debating in 513, she was speaking for “the segment of the population who considers talking about politics to be impolitic, something you’re not supposed to [do] in polite company. When did that happen?... Whether you voted for Trump or not, I think maybe the only thing we can agree on as Americans is that the country is as fractured now as it’s ever been since the Civil War... And my point of view and suggestion as a writer is it happened because we all stopped talking to each other.” Also MG: "Felicity being the one to say, 'Stop talking about this,' came out in the writing. In the first half, before Trump got elected, it was me trying to keep the show from descending into this back-and-forth debate. As a writer, it was helpful to have a character going, 'Stop debating!' But then, once Trump got elected, I realized that her saying, 'Stop debating!,' was speaking for another segment of the population, which is the segment that considers talking about politics to be impolitic. It’s not something you’re supposed to discuss in polite company. When did that happen? The thesis statement of that scene she has with Curtis is that, whether you voted for Trump or not, the only thing we can agree on, as Americans, is that the country is as fractured now as it’s ever been, since the Civil War. My point of view and suggestion, as a writer, is that it happened because we stopped talking to each other."(Feb. 14, 2017 TVLine article and Feb. 15, 2017 Collider article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- SA: "We’re moving into a very interesting arc for Felicity and a purpose for her that exists outside the team, which I think is incredibly important." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 19, 2017, fan(?) tweeted: "Emily is in LA this week. Hopefully it means she's gonna do some interviews as well." and "not sure the whole week but they wrap up 5x18 Tuesday." (LuluLemonLime83 tweets, page 1369 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
Billy Malone
-- When asked if he named Detective Malone after Billy Joel, MG tweeted: "No. I named him after a friend of mine." (Feb. 25, 2017 MG tweet, page 532 of Social Media thread)
Felicity and Diggle
-- DR: "[F]or this episode [512] particularly there’s a crisis in terms of what Felicity is doing. Diggle will call Felicity out on where she’s going, emotionally and morally." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Diggle calling out Felicity on the Dark Net and her new Helix buddies, DR: "That’s correct. Who are they? Who are these people? Obviously that’s a running theme on our show, the team members helping others who can’t see through the fog. We have 'blinders,' as Felicity called them when Oliver was helping Black Siren, trying to find redemption. That theme is repeated with Diggle and Felicity, as she taps into her dark side, the way John did last season, the way Oliver does every Wednesday, to try to find a way of gaining an edge for the team. Diggle is the one that calls her out on that, for good reason." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "There are other things we’re going to play with in this next episode [512], and Diggle’s going to really serve as… he’s kind of always been the moral compass, if you will, for the team. There are some dark places that Felicity goes to with this new, somewhat nefarious group that’s giving her this shit. Diggle’s going to be the one to call her out on it." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "He sees that Felicity is compromised, and he calls her on it immediately. Before he gets back out on the field — which he does! — we’ll see him kind of getting back to service, of being a help, which is in the best possible way I could say that… but the moral help, I should say. The moral compass. And the team needs it. When he comes back, the team needs it. Dinah needs it, and Felicity particularly needs it." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "He's a man on a mission to help the team find Prometheus. There are some things going on with Felicity that he's going to be very helpful with." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "Those three [OTA} particularly, watch each other’s backs like no other team members can and you’ll see how Diggle particularly helps Felicity in the coming episodes." (Feb. 8, 2017 Watchtivist article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
John Diggle AKA Spartan
-- SA: "Diggle was in a federal prison and is now at the very least seeming happier and on the path to redemption." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Diggle and General Walker cross paths again this season, DR: "I think you’ll see that final chapter. Diggle’s done with putting bullets in people, and I think he wants to see real justice done to Walker." Also DR: "I wouldn’t say soon, but you’ll be seeing him. We’re going to play that out to its finality. I think Diggle’s probably done putting bullets in people for now, but I think you’ll see General Walker prosecuted to the full extent. We’re going to see that to the end for sure, but — for now, right after his immediate release — I think he’s man enough to get back to some sense of normalcy. Oliver said, 'You’re free. You can go home to your wife and child,' and I think he wants to get back to that kind of quickly, figure out who Prometheus is." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR and Variety articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Diggle wanting to deliver what is due to General Walker, DR: "I think so. And not just that, but he’s full throttle with the team now. We’ve seen 'internal, sad Diggle' for long enough - but for good reason. It isn’t every day that your dead brother comes back to life, who you then kill! Also, there’s a direct line between his choice to trust Andy and the death of the Canary. Theres a straight line there, so his grief and guilt was well-placed. But I think he’s on the other side of that now. Now it’s time to get back to business, and he does. It’s about getting Prometheus." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Diggle is out of danger as far as Walker is concerned, DR: "For now! For now, yes. He’s legitimately a free man now. In terms of using the law to get back at Diggle, there’s not really anything that Walker can use, but there are other places and other ways — by force. So we’ll see how that all plays itself off. But yes, for the immediate time, he’s out of danger." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Diggle is officially a free man and has put his trouble with the law behind him, DR: "Yes, he is legitimately free, finally. No more Diggle in jail, so that means no more Diggle on the outskirts. Hopefully that means we'll see more of Diggle in the field because I always love that. I love it most when I'm playing Spartan and seeing his relationships with the new team members out in the field. But mostly I'm excited for what that means personally, with his wife and his new son. I love seeing Diggle's personal life and family life." Also DR: "Yes, I think that’s a chapter that’s behind him. We’ve seen him for most of this season being incredibly introspective — especially earlier in the season when he was willing to stay in jail to continue this penance he felt he had to pay for killing his brother — but I think he’s gone through enough of this emotional repayment." (Feb. 8. 2017 Variety and Mashable articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread and page 1348 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On whether Diggle's time behind bars changed him at all, DR: "I think so. Diggle wore his emotions on his sleeve last season with his brother coming back to life, betraying him, causing Laurel's death and then Dig killing him. There's been enough baggage for Diggle that's very internal and introspective, so that's what you've been seeing this season. That's why he chose to stay in jail as his own penance. ... But now that he's out, some of that has been rectified. He's a man on a mission to help the team find Prometheus." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On the dilemma before Diggle, DR: "Well, Diggle is a highly moral character, right. And I think he’s done putting bullets in people as a way of delivering justice. He’s learned from that with his brother. So, he will see it to the end, doing whatever he can to see this man behind bars, by the letter of the law. That’s who Diggle is at this point. There’s also a new member of our team, in Dinah, and Diggle is the one that really welcomes her. He brings her into the fold and helps her get a job, get a place, with training. It’s Diggle who takes her by the hand; that’s where he is right now." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how Diggle is feeling as a free man, DR: "Now it’s back down to business, and back down to what he does well — which is seeing the blindspots on the team. Before he went back to prison he was helping and bonding with Rene, and you’ll see that same thing happen with Dinah Drake. He’ll serve as a bit of a welcoming committee." (Feb. 8. 2017 Variety article, page 53 of Spoilers thread and page 1348 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- DR: "[O]ne thing about Team Arrow is there is always one person who has the blinders on, and there is someone who calls that person on it. I think that Diggle often serves in that capacity." (Feb. 8. 2017 Variety article, page 53 of Spoilers thread and page 1348 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- DR: "He came to know somewhat the new team members when he was in hiding, he served as a kind of mentor to Rene and I think you’ll see him serve in that same capacity with Dinah... Diggle is really the one who rolls out the welcome mat for her and that’s a part of Diggle’s strength too. Even in these strange situations, when he’s in jail, he’s overseas or away from the team, when he’s talking to Oliver, it will inevitably always go back to in the conversation to something about Felicity, or getting back to some sense of normalcy in Oliver’s life - because Diggle has made that transition. He can be a vigilante, a husband, a father, a tax-paying contributor to society. He’s made that jump. He joined the team and told Oliver that Oliver needs him whether he knows it or not and how killing takes a little piece of your soul off. Diggle is the one who reminds everyone of their humanity and you’ll see that with Dinah in the first few episodes. He helps the new team make adjustments." (Feb. 8, 2017 Watchtivist article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On why Diggle assumes that “welcome committee” role for new team members like Dinah and Wild Dog, DR: "It’s a place that he wants to go, needs to go. I don’t think it’s any secret, most people feel this way, that Diggle is the most evolved in the group. He’s had his demons, he’s fought in several wars, many tours. He’s been a civilian, he’s been a soldier, he’s been married, twice, to the same woman, he has a child. The only time we’ve seen Diggle at a place of true compromise was when he was faced with the 'rebirth' of his brother, and his brother’s brainwashing." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how he sees Dinah, DR: "Diggle, like he saw with Rene, sees someone in agony. There are similarities that come about, and I think he is kindred spirits with both Rene and Dinah. He trusts her, and gains her trust fairly quickly. She’s looking for a sense of normalcy, and that’s what Diggle brings." (Feb. 8. 2017 Variety article, page 53 of Spoilers thread and page 1348 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- DR: "We’ll see Diggle trying to heal. I call Diggle, for the first part of the season, “Dark Diggle” because he’s been so introspective and then kind of in mourning, really, because of the deaths that happened in Season 4: the death of Canary, which he blames himself for, and — for good reason — the death of his brother. So now he’s coming out of that, and part of coming out of that is helping. That’s who he is! He’s a serviceman. He’s a soldier. He’s the guy who lays on a grenade. So that’s what he immediately gets to. He gets to helping Dinah. He gets back to helping the team. He sees that Felicity is compromised, and he calls her on it immediately. Before he gets back out on the field — which he does! — we’ll see him kind of getting back to service, of being a help, which is in the best possible way I could say that… but the moral help, I should say. The moral compass. And the team needs it. When he comes back, the team needs it. Dinah needs it, and Felicity particularly needs it." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Diggle and Adrian Chase, DR: "They will be getting closer, you’ll see more of that." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether we'll see Diggle and Chase interact again, DR: "You are going to see it, and — obviously — people in our stories are built up just to be brought down, and brought down just to be built up. No one in our stories stays in our good graces for too long. But, for now, Adrian Chase is his hero! He has a lot of respect. He has major points with Diggle. So we’ll see where that goes, how that plays out. But, for now, he is very highly regarded in Diggle’s eyes." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Diggle and Prometheus, DR: "There’s a nice little moment between John Diggle and Prometheus, in terms of a fight." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Diggle will take a role in Mayor Queen's office, DR: "No, he won’t. He’s best in the field. So, again, Diggle’s a soldier and he’s best at Oliver’s side, in the field as Spartan. That’s where he serves the best. In those moments of looking at the big picture, he’s that guy, again — that soldier mentality of being able to see all sides. So that’s his strength. I don’t think he’ll be taking a role in the administration. He’ll be getting back to his duties as Spartan quickly." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Lyla Michaels AKA Harbinger and John Jr.
-- On whether we'll see more of Diggle's wife and son moving forward, DR: "I would like to see that. I think that's something we're going to explore in the latter part of the season as well as seeing him get acclimated to being back out in the field and being on this new team. That was kind of put on hold when Prometheus pulled the rug out from everyone and laid this trap, putting Dig in prison. ... But now that he's out, I would really like to get back to that. I mean, his relationship with Lyla, that's almost like a whole five-episode arc itself. This Mr. and Mrs. Smith, leader of ARGUS and second-in-command of Team Arrow... I want to see what goes on at that dinner table." Also DR: "That’s a six-episode arc right there, isn’t it? The 'new Amanda Waller' of ARGUS and the second in command of Team Arrow, married. With a child that they found out used to be a girl through Flashpoint. His wife, who has her finger on the pulse of the Suicide Squad. I mean, what does that dinner look like? For me, that’s a story." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable and TVLine articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Diggle and Lyla, DR: "That's a dynamic that really has a story arc waiting for it... She's the leader of ARGUS, he's the leader of Team Arrow when Oliver's out -- and they have two different philosophies altogether....What do you talk about at dinnertime with that?...They're bringing that back, and it's a big, long season, so we'll see how it plays out. ... Audrey's working on Training Day right now, so getting her is part of the issue. But I like seeing them together, I like the dynamic. I like that she's a badass, that she's capable in the field, that she's smart, that she has a child. The couple has evolved. They're Felicity and Oliver in five years." (Feb. 7, 2017 ComicBook article, page 52 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "Diggle is always such a high moral character. He constantly has to compromise about what he does or doesn’t — and most times he doesn’t. ... How he gets around that is the interesting part of Diggle’s psyche. I think we’ll see more of what that means with Lyla. Lyla is the leader of A.R.G.U.S. and another group that walks that line of light and dark, good and bad. And he’s married to her! He’s married to the new Amanda Waller, so to speak. It’d be interesting to see what that relationship is like. He’s very introspective; he’s killed his brother. He’s lost his best friend in the Canary because of his own choices. So what does that mean, to be married to a woman who has her finger on the Suicide Squad? What does that mean to him? So it’ll be interesting how those relationships, particularly that one, play out." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "I can say that we have all the elements. Part of what John Diggle brings to the team is his relationship with ARGUS through his wife Lyla. We're waiting to see how that plays itself out. Diggle was freed last week, and Oliver said to him 'You can go home and hug your wife and son.' So that's a real viable part of Diggle that we have always seen on camera, but it would be nice to see more because he's married to the leader of the Suicide Squad. What does that play out? How does that look? What are those conversations like? We have all the elements of it... I think we have the makings of it. ARGUS is a real viable part of our whole universe, of Legends, Flash, and Arrow. And Diggle just so happens to be married to the leader of ARGUS, so it's right there ready for the picking." (Feb. 13, 2017 CinemaBlend article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Thea Queen AKA Speedy
-- MG: "There’s a whole system of actors and availability. Everyone is like, 'Where’s Thea?!' Well, Willa [Holland] is 14 out of 23 episodes, this season. She’s not in all 23. That’s not her contract, so we’ve had to write around that. Joe [Dinicol] isn’t a series regular, so just like with Katie Cassidy, we’ve gotta go to Joe and make sure that he’s available. All of these network seasons coincide with pilot season, and people are busy doing pilots. It’s actually one of the reasons we make the kind of deals we make. Part of it is money, but part of it is also making sure certain actors are available to us. It’s complicated. We try to make the process invisible, in terms of our storytelling, but there are just human realities and contractual realities that not only tie our hands, but tie the hands of everyone running a show, these days. Unless you’re Game of Thrones and you can literally afford to hold people for an entire year, for ungodly sums of money." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and Collider articles, and Feb. 13, 2017 ScreenerTV, TVLine and GreenArrowTV articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- WM: "[Thea's] headed in a direction that’s very similar to where her mother was before she was killed in Season 2... I’m actually really excited about her storyline, because we’re taking her to a place where she’s been dealing with all of these issues the same way Oliver has, with her bloodlust and with other elements of her past, and this season’s going to find her in a similar place, but for very different reasons. There’s gonna be a great scene coming up between Oliver and Thea that’s one of my favorites on the show.” (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article and Feb. 17, 2017 Entertainment Weekly and TVLine articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- SA: "Obviously the main exception there is Thea, and I think that there’s a significant worry for the state of his sister, but in general, I feel like there is a bit of a sense of accomplishment." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- Per YonkouProductions, Thea's in 513: "Thea returns to Arrow in 5x13. They didn't forget about her." and "In 5x12 she's looking into some initiatives." (Feb. 7, 2017 YonkouProd tweets, page 52 of Spoilers thread, and YonkouProdutiona post, page 1341 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- Per MG, Thea's in 514: "There's some really terrific Oliver/Thea scenes in next week's episode and beyond. It's been so much fun to have her in the mayor's office and we've really been enjoying writing for them." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article and Feb. 17, TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Curtis Holt AKA Mr. Terrific
-- WM: "The rest of the season will definitely be exploring the ramifications of [Oliver's decision to kill or not to kill] - not necessarily with respect to the gun control laws and whether or not they exist and what that means for the team when they're out in the field, but definitely with respect to Felicity and to some extent to Curtis as well, what they're going through and do they square their own circles morally with the actions they've taken?" (Feb. 15, 2017 TVLine and TVGuide articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- SA: "Curtis is in a better spot despite the fact that he’s having some marital issues." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Curtis' future, EK: “I think you’ll see Curtis kind of getting into his own groove, mixing in some more of his technology aspects with his physical prowess, and that will help him be a good asset to the team. With his husband, that is to be determined, but he will definitely try!” (Feb. 9, 2017 TVSeriesHub article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Evelyn Sharp AKA Artemis
-- On whether we'll see Evelyn back to wrap up her story, MG: "You’ll see her again." WM: "But not in the way you think you’ll see her. It’s going to be a pretty fun reveal." MG: "We actually have some surprises up our sleeves." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide, IGN and Collider articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On when Evelyn is going to return, DR: "That's a great question, and honestly it's one I have for the producers as well. They haven't told us that. Usually I can get little hints about stories, but we don't know. How she plays into this whole big picture, I don't know. Prometheus all by himself is such a badass and is so formidable in terms of what he's been doing to the team and Oliver particularly, so Evelyn teaming up with him is just really bad. The next few episodes are all about Prometheus and what he wants to do to Oliver." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 10, 2017, in response to fan who asked when Artemis was returning, MMcL tweeted: "You won't have to wait long. @ARROWwriters really pushed it with this one. We're having so much fun with it ??." (MMcL tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 10, 2017, MMcL tweeted: "We're a family and I think that really translates on screen. And y'all...are you in love with @JulianaHarkavy yet because I AM ??." (MMcL tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Rene Ramirez AKA Wild Dog
-- On whether we'll see another Rene flashback this season, MG: "We know very specifically what each episode's flashback content is going to be and we're not going to see another Rene-specific flashback this year." WM: "Maybe Season 6." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On why it made sense to focus on Rene's story in an episode about gun violence [513], WM: "I think it was that he was someone whose background we really wanted to explore, and I think he's a natural proponent—and in my mind, he just is that—he carries a gun, he's a natural spokesman for that point of view." MG: "Rene felt like the right recruit at the right time for all the reasons Wendy was saying... He is a character whose whole superheroics revolve around guns." (Feb. 15, 2017 Eonline article and Feb. 14, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On what made Rene the right person to do the flashbacks with for 513, WM: "I think it was that he was someone whose background we really wanted to explore, and he carries a gun and is a natural spokesman for that point of view." MG: "We could have done it through any number of our characters. I think there was a real appetite for us and the writing staff to do flashbacks from the perspective of one of our recruits, so that we get to learn more about them. We know a lot about Curtis, obviously. Rory left the team in Episode 512. Evelyn had betrayed the team, and we already knew her backstory from Season 4. Rene felt like the right recruit at the right time. He’s a character whose whole superheroics revolve around guns." (Feb. 15, 2017 Collider article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- SA: "Rene was kind of a directionless individual until he found the team." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether Diggle and Rene will continue to train now that Diggle's a free man, DR: "Yes, you'll see more of that, but you're going to see that more with Dinah moving forward." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Rory Regan AKA Ragman
-- On whether we'll see Rory again, WM: "We’ve left the door open for him." MG: "We’ve talked about Rory coming back. There’s a whole system of actors and availability... Joe [Dinicol] isn’t a series regular, so just like with Katie Cassidy, we’ve gotta go to Joe and make sure that he’s available." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and Collider articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Quentin Lance
-- SA: "Even Quentin seems to be on the road back a little bit." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On 513, WM: "I feel like the clearest person who would be opposed is Lance. Police, as a rule, tend to not want criminals to have guns. They’re all for minimizing things. They’re a little more for gun control, as a cohesive group in society." (Feb. 15, 2017 Collider article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Prometheus
-- On how much longer before we get back to Prometheus' story, MG: "How’s next episode sound? ... You know, it’s funny. For me, 14 is this fulcrum where a lot of the little seeds that had been planted in the first half of the season start to come to fruition, and you start to realize that oh, Prometheus has been setting up a chess board and the episode ends, I think, with sort of the next key move in Prometheus’ grand plan." (Feb. 15, 2017 IGN article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how the reveals and real identities of Prometheus and Vigilante will affect the show, MG: "How do I answer that without spoiling? Obviously, I will say, I think anytime we do a reveal on the show, it’s always with the intention of not just surprising the audience, but also of resetting the board and resetting the characters’ perspectives, and the characters having a profound reaction to things. Hopefully, we’ll do that again. We always go into the season with a game plan, but we’ve certainly reached the point in the season where now our game plan is specific episode to episode to episode, as opposed to knowing what tentpoles we want to hit. I feel good about what our game plan is. We’re certainly reaching that point in the season where things probably just by happenstance become more controversial. So stay tuned." (Feb. 15, 2017 TV Guide and IGN articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- How much are the masked characters' identities are end-of-season reveals, and how much are those potentially going to happen sooner, MG: "I will say it happens later than we typically do it. How about that?" WM: "Some will happen much later than we typically do it." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether they knew who Prometheus was when they started the season, and whether that identity has changed since the beginning, MG: "Yes, we knew from the beginning. No, it hasn't changed. I think I've said this in a bunch of different ways over the last five years, but we always go in with a plan. We do tend to call audibles as we get inspired and get new ideas. A year is a long time. But general speaking, something that major, like the mystery of the identity of the Big Bad, we're pretty dialed into it from jump." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread, and Feb. 15, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 1360 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On Prometheus' tactics of using manipulative mental games to torment Oliver until he reaches his breaking point, WM: "Part of the fun of that is that you can draw on other sources of inspiration. ... One of the things we talked a lot about was 'American Psycho'... We talked about who are the big manipulators? People like Hannibal Lecter and Kevin Spacey's character in 'The Usual Suspects' and also in 'Seven.' We talked a lot about those types of villains, and how to bring that element into the series -- because we were looking for something different to do in Season 5, a way to change it up and make it different." (Feb. 25, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 54 of Spoilers thread)
-- With Prometheus teeing up his end game, whether Oliver worries that everyone around him either ends up dead or hurt, SA: "That’s one of the interesting things. To me, one of the interesting things about Prometheus is how little he cares about the people that surround Oliver. They are all simply pawns to take him down, which obviously does inherently put them in danger, but I think that one of the things that Oliver’s done over the course of this year is just learned to trust people and learned to accept that when someone says, 'I know the risks, I choose to be involved anyway,' that that’s their decision to make. I think Oliver worrying that everyone in his life that he touches somehow dies is hopefully something that he can get over, because that’s just the nature of the path that he chose." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "Prometheus is our 'big bad' this season and we aren’t done with that. We aren’t done with Slade Wilson. How Prometheus manipulates the team to slowly destroy and break down Oliver Queen is going to be every interesting and I hope people enjoy it." (Feb. 8, 2017 Watchtivist article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "The next few episodes are all about Prometheus and what he wants to do to Oliver." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "To that end, Prometheus has been able to reach all corners of Oliver’s life places everybody in a compromised position. So we’ll see how that plays itself off, because clearly Prometheus could touch any of us whenever he wants to." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "I think Prometheus is the clear and present danger. I think he is the one. Diggle sees Prometheus as number one on the list to get and to take down. Walker is still there, but I think the one that was able to manipulate the team to hurt Oliver is clearly the bigger threat this time, and I think Diggle absolutely sees that." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On what's coming up, DR: "There’s a nice little moment between John Diggle and Prometheus, in terms of a fight. [What’s ahead] is all about him, it’s all about finding out who this guy is and how he manipulates Oliver and the rest of the team, by showing Oliver that he doesn’t have to kill him, he can just take every piece of his life away. That’s a very interesting way that the story is told." On how this is in ways more painful that just whaling on a guy physically, DR: "Which he also does! It makes for an interesting storytelling, so I’m very interested to see how we stop this guy." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On what's coming up, EK: “You’ll see us really get into the game of Prometheus and what he’s doing there, finding out who that person is and the stakes will be high.” (Feb. 9, 2017 TVSeriesHub article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Adrian Chase
-- On whether Adrian Chase scored some points with Diggle, DR: "Without a doubt. Adrian Chase is incredibly sharp, and I think he’s earned the respect of Diggle, which isn’t easy. They will be getting closer, you’ll see more of that." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether we'll see Diggle and Chase interact again, DR: "You are going to see it, and — obviously — people in our stories are built up just to be brought down, and brought down just to be built up. No one in our stories stays in our good graces for too long. But, for now, Adrian Chase is his hero! He has a lot of respect. He has major points with Diggle. So we’ll see where that goes, how that plays out. But, for now, he is very highly regarded in Diggle’s eyes." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
The Vigilante
-- On whether Vigilante will come back into play with Oliver questioning where he is on the morality scale with regards to killing, MG: "You definitely haven’t seen the last of Vigilante. In the episode 'Vigilante,' I think we kind of pretty much told that story in terms of, how does Vigilante affect Oliver’s moral decision making. The role Vigilante has to play the next time we see him, it’s a little different than that. I don’t want to say too much." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and IGN articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how the reveals and real identities of Prometheus and Vigilante will affect the show, MG: "How do I answer that without spoiling? Obviously, I will say, I think anytime we do a reveal on the show, it’s always with the intention of not just surprising the audience, but also of resetting the board and resetting the characters’ perspectives, and the characters having a profound reaction to things. Hopefully, we’ll do that again. We always go into the season with a game plan, but we’ve certainly reached the point in the season where now our game plan is specific episode to episode to episode, as opposed to knowing what tentpoles we want to hit. I feel good about what our game plan is. We’re certainly reaching that point in the season where things probably just by happenstance become more controversial. So stay tuned." (Feb. 15, 2017 TV Guide and IGN articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- How much are the masked characters' identities are end-of-season reveals, and how much are those potentially going to happen sooner, MG: "I will say it happens later than we typically do it. How about that?" WM: "Some will happen much later than we typically do it." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Susan Williams
-- On how Oliver's ignorance of what his girlfriend Susan's doing will play into their future, MG: "I'll just say, based upon what little—I try to avoid online, but it's online, so it's impossible to completely avoid stuff—but it seems like the general prevailing theories about how we're going to play that subplot off are wrong. That's kind of my impression. Everyone's expecting something we're not doing, for better or for worse." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and IGN articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- In response to fan who questioned Oliver's intelligence in dating/sleeping with a reporter who's investigating him, SA replied: "Based off this season so far and what we know, Oliver has been wrong to trust Evelyn. And that's it so far." (Feb. 8, 2017 LuluLemonLime83 tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On the arrow-shaped mark on Susan's wrist, CPope tweeted: "ha! herein lies one VERY cheeky tattoo cover." (Feb. 9, 2017 CPope tweet, page 1352 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On Feb. 15, 2017, papp tweeted: "Great news, Carly Pope is back in Vancouver tomorrow for some more #Arrow filming good times." (pursuit23 tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 17, 2017, papp tweeted: "Also glad to report that Susan Williams is filming #Arrow today lol" and "She's filming Arrow with Arrow cast." (pursuit23 tweets, page 1366 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
Dinah Drake (formerly Tina Boland) AKA New Black Canary
-- MG: "I think what's interesting to us about Dinah is that she kind of offers this fresh perspective to the team. In many ways, she's almost acting like our Greek chorus. She comes to the team without the burden of having been trained by Oliver or without the burden of having dealing with all of Oliver's secrets and in some cases lies and mishegas. She just has a nice, clean perspective that isn't so much where she's living, but is about what she's been through and her backstory. But her backstory is also not being someone who was a member of Team Arrow who comes to the team without the baggage of the past four seasons." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread, and Feb. 15, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 1360 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On what SA had to say about a potential Oliver/Dinah romance, EW's Natalie Abrams: "He had some interesting thoughts, a lot of which just have ties to, like, we expect that because of the comics. But Arrow's never been beholden to the comics... We have characters that did not exist whatsoever, um, so he - he has a great, great take on that." (Superhero Insider podcast in Feb. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 1381 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- SA: "Rene was kind of a directionless individual until he found the team. Same goes for Dina[h] in terms of she was someone who was on a murder spree and then became lost because she didn’t have a purpose anymore, and now she’s finding it on the team." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "Almost immediately, he has this bond with Dinah. Dinah is a new recruit on the team, and Diggle is really sort of rolling out the welcoming committee. He’s the first to really help her make the adjustment, very similar to what he was doing with Rene. Dinah’s been through a major tragedy, a major trauma. She’s a new meta with new powers. You know, Diggle’s the most evolved. He’s our normal guy, and so he’s the one that really helps Dinah kind of get a grasp on a sense of normalcy in the beginning. So that’s what we’ll see in terms of him getting back to work in that capacity." (Feb. 8, 2017 CBR article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "There’s also a new member of our team in Dinah, and Diggle is the one that really welcomes her. He brings her into the fold and helps her get a job, get a place, with training. It’s Diggle who takes her by the hand; that’s where he is right now." (Feb. 8, 2017 TVLine article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "Dinah is the newest outsider joining, so you'll see Diggle welcoming her as he did with Rene, but he's not just training her to be a part of the team. He's also going to help her with being a meta and what that does to her psyche." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Diggle helping Dinah, DR: "He's there for her to help her make an adjustment to try and live a normal life. I think that's Diggle's biggest strength: he's the most well-adjusted person on the team. He's had catharsis through tours of war. He's had people die on his command. He's been through two marriages to the same woman. He's had children. He's a soldier with a family. He's probably the most emotionally evolved, so he's he one who is best suited to help Dinah adjust to her new life." (Feb. 8, 2017 Mashable article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- DR: "Dinah is just now understanding how to put her powers to good use. She’s just been through a major trauma of having lost her lover/partner, she’s been tortured by a new meta. Diggle is really the one who rolls out the welcome mat for her and that’s a part of Diggle’s strength too... Diggle is the one who reminds everyone of their humanity and you’ll see that with Dinah in the first few episodes. He helps the new team make adjustments." (Feb. 8, 2017 Watchtivist article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how he sees Dinah, DR: "Diggle, like he saw with Rene, sees someone in agony. There are similarities that come about, and I think he is kindred spirits with both Rene and Dinah. He trusts her, and gains her trust fairly quickly. She’s looking for a sense of normalcy, and that’s what Diggle brings." (Feb. 8. 2017 Variety article, page 53 of Spoilers thread and page 1348 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- DR: "[Dinah's] been through a heck of an experience with losing her partner/lover and living with these powers for however long she's been living since the particle accelerator. So she's just now really adjusting, she's letting go of some of that pain, and reaching out with some of that pain." (Feb. 8, 2017 Cinemablend article, page 52 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Dinah's potential susceptibility to going rogue, DR: "Clearly she - if you want to call a weak link - is the weak link only by virtue of her being the newest link and kind of unsettled... So if there's anyone who could be the most influential under Prometheus' power, it would be her... But we'll have to wait and see how that plays out. We're not going to see that immediately, if it does happen. Her first step will be a sincere adjustment to the team." (Feb. 8, 2017 Cinemablend article, page 52 of Spoilers thread)
-- On how Dinah's relationship with Oliver and the gang is going to be different than Laurel’s, JHarkavy: "Again, it’s just that she comes from such a different background. She wasn’t trained by Oliver. She came from her own place and has her own history and her own separate world so she’s not going in with any knowledge of the team or any relationships that are pre-existing. She really has to build it herself." (Feb. 19, 2017 Culturess article, page 1368 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On whether there is anything Oliver will teach Dinah throughout the rest of this season, JHarkavy: "As a fighter, she’s super strong and very well-trained, and while she is going to be training with the team, what she gets from Oliver is more of an emotional thing. She’s going to learn how to be a normal person again and have friends again, and I think that a lot of lessons that Oliver teaches Dinah are lessons from the heart." (Feb. 19, 2017 Culturess article, page 1368 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- JHarkavy: "I definitely don’t want them to let go of the old Black Canary! I want them to experience what they need to experience. It’s a character that meant something to them. If they need to mourn that character that was lost, then I want to give them time. It takes time to get to know somebody so I don’t expect to come in brand new after 5 seasons and just be welcomed by everyone when they had attachments to previous characters. So I guess I just want them to know that I appreciate and respect their loyalty to their characters. Hopefully, with some time, they’ll get to know my character and learn to love her as well. I’m definitely not upset with anybody though for being upset about what happened." (Feb. 19, 2017 Culturess article, page 1368 of Spoiler Discussion thread)
-- On Feb. 20, 2017, YonkouProductions tweeted: ">You know you gotta get that new girl a codename. >Well, when she's ready I was considering Black Canary." (YonkouProd tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 21, 2017, JH posted pic of herself with new Arow script, with comment: "New week new adventure." (JH instagram post, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Talia al Ghul
-- On what Talia al Ghul actually wants from Oliver, and why Oliver does not make that connection when meeting Ra’s al Ghul and Nyssa al Ghul, SA: "Well, pay very close attention to whether or not she ever says her last name. A) She never says her last name, and B) I understand that this can get slightly confusing, but Oliver has never met, at this point in the story, Ra’s, has never met Nyssa, knows nothing of the fact that Sara is alive, is unaware that Malcolm was part of the League — he doesn’t know any of these things. It’s as simple as Talia is her own woman who sought Oliver out because she thought he had the capacity to do good in the world. It is something that we address in the show coming up pretty soon." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
Kojo Sledgehammer = "Alena"(?)
-- In 512, Felicity got a text from "Alena" that said: "Don't stop with Walker. Pandora is much bigger." Felicity replied: "Don't plan to." (Feb. 8, 2017 Arrow 512 episode)
Return of Malcolm Merlyn and Damien Darhk
-- On Feb. 7, 2016, JBarrowman tweeted that he "filmed on #Arrow on Monday. More to come." (JBarrowman tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 12, 2017, JB said: "I'm doing Flash, Legends and Arrow all at the same time. I think I've just completed the Flash musical episode, which is gonna be awesome. You're gonna love it... I'm going to Los Angeles this afternoon. And then I fly back to Vancouver on Monday night to start work Tuesday. And I'm back on Legends on Tuesday. And then we have the final episode on Legends that starts - I think, starts Tuesday, and we go into that. And then I have some - a little time off. And then I'm going back into Arrow. So, I know a lot of people keep asking, 'so when can I see you on Arrow?' Remember, the stuff that we've shot, we've already shot this a little while ago, and you see them at a different time, cause, like, you know, you just got to be patient." (JBarrowman facebook video, page 256 of Mind Your Surroundings thread)
-- On Feb. 13, 2017, JB tweeted: "Heading back up to Vancouver from LA now." On whether he's going back to LoT or back on Arrow too, JB tweeted: "#LegendsOfTomorrow #arrow after that." and "On approach to land in Vancouver." (JBarrowman tweets, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On Feb. 24, 2017, JB said that he was finishing his last day of shooting LoT. He also said that he would be hopping on a plane home to Palm Springs and then headed to the Arrow set. (JB facebook video in Feb. 24, 2017 Bleeding Cool article, page 54 of Spoilers thread)
-- LoT: Malcolm (JB) and Darhk (NM) will appear on LoT's season finale, episode 217-Aruba. (Feb. 21, 2017 MG tweet, page 257 of Mind Your Surroundings thread)
Return of Laurel Lance
-- On Laurel's return, MG: “We have an idea for how to see [Katie] again, but we haven’t made a deal with her yet... She’s not a series regular anymore, so we have to make a contract with her, and she’s got to be available. We haven’t had those conversations. But we do have an idea. We know exactly what we do want to do. ... You now know more than Katie does in terms of her involvement at the end of the season." (Feb. 13, 2017 TVLine article, page 204 of Starling City Times thread, and Feb. 13, 2017 GreenArrowTV article, page 203 of Starling City Times thread)
-- MG: "There’s a whole system of actors and availability... Joe [Dinicol] isn’t a series regular, so just like with Katie Cassidy, we’ve gotta go to Joe and make sure that he’s available. All of these network seasons coincide with pilot season, and people are busy doing pilots. It’s actually one of the reasons we make the kind of deals we make. Part of it is money, but part of it is also making sure certain actors are available to us. It’s complicated. We try to make the process invisible, in terms of our storytelling, but there are just human realities and contractual realities that not only tie our hands, but tie the hands of everyone running a show, these days. Unless you’re Game of Thrones and you can literally afford to hold people for an entire year, for ungodly sums of money." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and Collider articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread, and Feb. 13, 2017 TVLine article, page 204 of Starling City Times thread)
-- On whether we'll see more of Oliver's belief that Black Siren can be redeemed by the end of this season, SA: "I don’t know if we see it before the end of the season, but I do like that idea, and I do take that as a sign of growth that he’s looking for that little kernel [of redemption] that maybe exists somewhere." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- LoT: Laurel (KC) will appear on LoT's season finale, episode 217-Aruba. (Feb. 21, 2017 MG tweet, page 257 of Mind Your Surroundings thread)
-- LoT: On Feb. 21, 2017, papp tweeted: "She filmed once scene on the 14th and that’s it. She’s done." (lemon_buzz tweet, page 260 of Mind Your Surroundings thread)
Not Returning or Debuting in S5
-- On the possibility of Constantine returning to live-action TV in the Arrowverse, Matt Ryan: "Fortunately, since I finished doing Arrow last time, I've been really busy... I don't know if [live-action] works out. I'm always up for reprising this [Constantine] character because I feel like there was some unfinished business with the TV show. I felt we were really getting somewhere in terms of the tone of it and the storylines we were exploring. So any other opportunity to explore him or flesh him out, I'm game for." (Feb. 7, 2017 Cosmic Book News article, page 254 of Mind Your Surroundings thread)
Looking Toward Season 6
-- On whether 513 was a testing ground for when Oliver’s flashbacks run out after S5, MG: "We’ve been doing the non-island flashbacks since Season 1, so we feel like we’ve done the testing ground, and we love those flashbacks." WM: "It was more of a testing ground for the [S5] recruits and whether we would be able to generate enough story and be interested in those stories, from the perspective of those characters. And going forward, given that we won’t have the island to go to and the flashbacks for Oliver, we know we can use it for other characters. It’s a device that’s well-established on this show, and we know we can go to that well when we need to." (Feb. 15, 2017 Collider article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether we'll see another Rene flashback this season, MG: "We know very specifically what each episode's flashback content is going to be and we're not going to see another Rene-specific flashback this year." WM: "Maybe Season 6." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On what the flashbacks ending mean for S6, and what he hopes to see moving forward, SA: "I am open and excited about any possible idea, whether that’s a simple flash-forward narrative that we carry through the season, which I think we did to varying degrees of success in season 4. If that means that simply the flashbacks do not exist anymore and it allows us to expand the universe in terms of focusing more on other people’s backstories, not even necessarily flashbacks of people’s home life, just their life outside of the Arrow cave, I think that’s interesting. We can do that because, quite simply, we have more time, we have more pages, we have more chance for dialogue. I know they’re kicking around some ideas, but truthfully I have no earthly idea if there is any sort of element that we will be bringing into season 6 or if we just simply acknowledge that we pitched the show as a five-year origin story and we got to do it, which I think in and of itself is an accomplishment. There’s not a ton left on television from new shows from 2012. Just the fact that we made it that far is worth patting ourselves on the back for, ever so briefly." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- On whether he would want to see a flash-forward to Oliver’s death, and whether it’s a flash-forward to a year from now, 10 years from now, whatever, if that is something that would ever interest him, SA: "Yeah. I think that the key to a story like that is that — look, Green Arrow was obviously pitched as a five-year origin story, but we’re breaking the flashback story as we go along. There’s always an overarching plan, but it generally has to go season to season. Like, I don’t think we knew at the beginning of the season that at the end of season 2, Oliver would end up in Hong Kong. We don’t necessarily know that stuff, and that’s just the nature of episodic television in 23 episodes a year. I think that the critical element, if we ever did something like a flash-forward, would be to make sure that we understood the precise beginning point and end point of that story and all the things that went into it, because I think that if we try to piecemeal it together, especially because it’s a flash-forward, that it just wouldn’t work. You know what I mean? We’d have to know the end game if we did something like that. I mean look, I’ve always had a very specific idea for how the series would end. It came to me at some point during season 1, and whether it’s through a flash-forward or whatever, I just hope that we end up getting to do that." (Feb. 21, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 53 of Spoilers thread)
-- Although not yet officially confirmed, there's a strong chance of seeing a true 4-way crossover with Supergirl, Flash, LoT and Arrow in S6. Andrew Kreisberg: “Next year, we’re hoping to do a true four-way crossover... The great thing about our dear friends at the CW and Mark Pedowitz picking the shows up as early as they did has allowed us to start building the schedules for next season.” Explaining that the shows continue filming other episodes while shooting the crossovers, AK: “One of the big things we learned from two years ago, which made the crossovers this year slightly easier, was building in shut-down days, where shows just went dark. The single hardest factor in doing the crossovers is actors’ availability because the shows keep going on. You’re basically juggling four shows worth of schedules. ... The thing that we didn’t really plan on — because we weren’t aware that we were going to switch Supergirl from CBS to CW and it was really going to be part of it — that was the one show that didn’t have built-in shut-down days, so all the other ones did... Melissa [Benoist] ended up being heavily in Flash and then in Arrow, so Supergirl was the one we needed to shut down the most and it was the one that we didn’t have any opportunity to. Now that we’ve gotten the early pickup and we’ve started designing the seasons, we’re building in those dark days, and actually more dark days on Supergirl than the other shows, to make it a little easier.” (Feb. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 259 of Mind Your Surroundings thread)
Remember Keto Shimizu? She used to be an Arrow writer, who is a big Black Canary fan. After Arrow S4 ended, she left Arrow and is now writing for LoT. Well, she recently retweeted the following article... Suddenly, Legends of Tomorrow Is DC's Best (and Most Fun) TV show Rob Bricken 1/25/17 2:00pm http://io9.gizmodo.com/suddenly-legends-of-tomorrow-is-dcs-best-and-most-fun-1791617787?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
