The Arrow-verse has a habit of killing off its heroes, and more often than not, those heroes come back not too long after their “deaths.” Oliver Queen has seemingly bit the dust enough times that seasoned fans know to take reports of his end with a grain of salt, but Arrow star Stephen Amell decided to troll fans about Oliver’s fate while he was on vacation in Mexico. Amell shared the prank in a post on social media:
What’s a trip to Mexico without trying to convince drunk people that your work persona has been killed off? Apparently, Stephen Amell’s response to being recognized while on vacation was not just to smile and politely wave. Judging by his tweet, Amell hadn’t yet dropped the fake bombshell about Oliver’s death, but his intent was clear.
My question is whether the fans believed him. If they remember how Oliver is as a spry as ever despite being run through with a sword and tossed off a cliff back in Season 3, they might have their doubts that the original Green Arrow is permanently down for the count.
I’m still seriously considering the possibility that Oliver will be really, truly, 100% capital-D DEAD after the “Crisis On Earth-X” crossover next fall. If that does happen, I imagine Stephen Amell won’t be tweeting jokes about Oliver’s death on social media while having fun on vacation. Then again, why not? Most sober folks probably wouldn’t believe him if they’ve been watching the show all along. I do have to wonder why Amell got an unexpected vacation. Are we in for a stretch of episodes without much Oliver?
For once, the absence of Oliver Queen from Arrow doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of the Green Arrow. Another character has donned the green hood and picked up the bow in Season 7, and she’s even a member of Oliver’s family: his half-sister, Emiko Queen.
She’s a formidable fighter in her own right, and although she didn’t warm up to Oliver right away after how their father treated her and her mother, signs point toward a thaw between the siblings. Emiko does have a moment in the trailer for the next episode that indicates she’s looking out for him. That episode will be the 150th, and the format will be something the Arrow-verse has never attempted before. And Kelsey Grammer will be on board!
Next week’s episode will also introduce a significant new character, and showrunner Beth Schwartz’s comments about the newcomer lead me to believe that it’s not the new villain that appeared in the trailer. Unfortunately, Stephen Amell does not seem to have shared any secrets about the 150th episode with any drunk fans who felt like spilling details on social media.
Tune in to new episodes of Arrow on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW to see whether Oliver Queen is or is not killed off. My money is definitively on not, at least until next December. More Arrow-verse action can be found on The CW with Supergirl and The Flash, with Legends of Tomorrow returning later this year rather than as part of the midseason lineup.
.
