Arrow #2: A Hero Is Made - Page 47

Executive producer Andrew Kriesberg said that the beginning of season two was the hardest thing he had ever had to write because of the pressure he had put on himself and the show. However, some of the show's biggest twists like that fact that Sarah wasn't actually dead and that Oliver would wake up in Hong Kong at the end of season two were discussed when writing the original pilot. Because season one ended on a low note with the death of Tommy, Kriesberg and the writers figured a happy ending to the second season would be the biggest surprise for fans. But don't get too happy. "The minute you give your character happiness, you have to yank it away from him," Kriesberg said, quoting Joss Whedon.

Star Stephen Amell said that when the show premiered back in 2012, he felt just as much responsibility (if not more) for its success as his character does for Starling City. "I remember sitting in this ballroom [two years ago] and making a promise to the people who were here that we were going to work really hard and the show wasn't going to suck. It sounds simple but that's what drives us everyday." And then someone yelled for him to take off his shirt. He didn't. He did later recite the show's opening though and only needed help with a couple of words from producers.

Willa Holland also needed help from the producers with what information she was allowed to share about her character's Thea's future and now that it was revealed she is actually Malcom's daughter, is there evil in her too? All she could share was that Thea was coming back a completely different girl and that the actress has been hitting the gym a little bit and that was all she was allowed to hint towards. The producers did say that they will flashback to the scene where Willa is seen entering a limo with Malcolm from season two and play out what had happened for the audience to know.

John Barrowman, who will return as a series regular in season three as Malcom Merlyn, learned from his time on Dr. Who that sometimes "you have to go away a little bit so you can come back better" as Kriesberg put it. However, Barrowman has been working a lot in London and hasn't actually read all of season three yet but he has read the entire D.C. Comics encyclopedia that sits on his bedside table.

The producers already announced that Brandon Routh would be joining the show this season as The Atom and the reason behind his casting seems to make perfect sense. "We were looking to add a lighter hero, someone a little more fun, a little bit Superman - so we got Superman." Routh's character will also have start a love triangle with Oliver and Felicity.

Also already announced was the episode 8 crossover episodes of The Flash and Arrow but when asked which actor on the show he most wants to work with, Amell answered Jesse L. Martin, quickly forgetting that his own cousin Robbie Amell is on the show. As for other teases, Colin Donnell will return for episode two in a flashback scene of an unknown encounter between Oliver and Tommy. But don't expect many more island flashbacks, which made Amell very happy, calling the location where they film those scenes "cold and rainy and wet, no matter what time of year."

And yes, Stephen Amell can actually shoot an arrow and would absolutely beat Katniss Everdeen in any competition. Hand's down.

Arrow returns for season 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.

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