Over the course of Arrow‘s six seasons, we’ve seen Oliver Queen evolve generously – both as a hero and as a person. But now that he’s spent some time behind bars, it’s only expected that prison could change him. The Emerald Archer may have once called Lian Yu home, sure, but an extended stay at a Supermax penitentiary no doubt makes for a much different experience.
Speaking of which, Entertainment Weekly recently caught up with new showrunner Beth Schwartz, who not only touched on this idea, but also hinted that the show will return to the tone of its freshman year:
“I can’t swear though…Dark. It’s tonally similar to season one. We’re just going back to our roots, and there’s a lot of demons that are going to come out. That’s all I can say.”
Though it remains to be seen what kind of “demons” will rear their heads, lead actor Stephen Amell did say that his character will do something reprehensible once the saga resumes. In the past, he’d been forced to venture into morally grey areas, and it seems season 7 will see him doing the same.
From where I’m sitting, the next chapter looks to have a bit of an old school feel to it, especially now that Colton Haynes is back as Roy Harper. Of course, there’s been no guarantee of him suiting up as Arsenal yet again, but it’d be a major letdown if he doesn’t at some point. My theory of him being the new Green Arrow in town still stands, but I’ll forever think he looks better in red.
Arrow returns for its seventh season on Monday, October 15 on The CW.