Season 6 of Arrow is still going on The CW, and the second half of the season has gone in some wild directions that split Team Arrow in ways that seem pretty permanent. That said, a lot can change in not a lot of time on Arrow, and it's difficult to predict exactly where Season 6 will end for Oliver Queen and Co. Fortunately for fans who are already anxious to know what comes next now that Arrow officially scored the renewal for Season 7, star Stephen Amell dropped an interesting hint. Here's what he had to say:
I think that we will do what we typically do, which is we do a basic time cut, so if we wrap up season six in May, where we find our characters we will be in October. I know where Oliver begins the year, but I know that it is something on the show, more so than anything that we've ever done, more so than blowing up the island, it is something on the show that we can never undo, if that makes sense. And if it doesn't make sense, even better.
Season finales on Arrow tend to be crazy affairs that end on cliffhangers, and Stephen Amell was never going to drop any details about what's in store for the final episode of Season 6. That said, his comments at the recent Heroes & Villains Fan Fest (via ComicBook.com) are surprisingly telling. Something will happen at the end of Season 6 so drastic that Season 7 won't be able to return to the status quo we've come to know in Star City. Apparently, it will be something the characters will have been dealing with throughout the months of the time jump between seasons.
In past seasons, the simple promise that things will never be the same might be so vague as to be utterly unhelpful. With Season 6, however, Arrow has already set the stage for a number of ways that the status quo could be altered permanently. Oliver has spent most of the season under investigation from FBI Agent Samanda Watson, who believes him to be the Green Arrow and wants to lock him up. The change Stephen Amell referred to likely isn't just Oliver being sent to prison, as that is something that could easily be undone.
What could result from the investigation (as well as the numerous people who seem to be poking holes in his defense that he's nothing more than a father and the mayor) is Oliver's secret coming out in such a way that nobody else could take the heat for it. Whether would be because Oliver pulls a Tony Stark circa Iron Man or somebody outs him, it would change the series -- and the Arrow-verse -- forever.
Another way Arrow could be changed forever is if one of the major characters was to bite the dust. Felicity is probably safe, and surely Arrow wouldn't kill off William, but we may want to worry about Diggle and Thea. Arrow went pretty far to drive a wedge between Oliver and Diggle, although I know my fingers are crossed that it was temporary and Spartan will be back on Team Arrow sooner rather than later. Thea's fate is in question due to reveal that Colton Haynes is returning to Arrow as a regular in Season 7.
Colton Haynes returned for a guest arc in Season 4 that saw him run off into the Lazarus Pit-filled sunset with Thea; could his return full-time next season mean that something awful happened to Thea? Hopefully not, but we can only wait and see. Who knows? Maybe Oliver will lose his arm like the Oliver in that terrible Legends of Tomorrow future and that will be the change.
Tune in to The CW on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Arrow. Swing by our rundown of 2017-2018 TV finale dates to help plan your viewing schedule, and take a look at our midseason TV premiere guide and summer TV premiere schedule.
