Starling City's savior is back.
Oliver (Stephen Amell) is finally coming home – and it’s going to be brutal.
Arrow’s titular hero returns to Starling City in tonight’s all-new episode, “Uprising,” after dying at the hand of Ra’s al Ghul and miraculously coming back to life. And since Oliver’s absence, things in Starling have gone to hell in a hand basket: Crime has surged to an all-time high as the town’s poison take advantage of a city seeking a leader.
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The remaining members of Team Arrow – Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), Arsenal (Colton Haynes), Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) – aren’t faring much better as they attempt to adjust to their new normal. But blackmailing mobster Danny “Brick” Brickwell (Galavant’s Vinnie Jones) is about to spark a bigger war that may just be too much for the remaining crusaders to handle, leading them to bring in the Dark Archer (John Barrowman).
“He was waiting for a chink in the armor and it all came together,” Jones tells ETonline. “He got all the villains in jail, got them on his side and they can’t say no to him so he’s got his crew. It’s a great time to do it without the Arrow on the scene, but I can tell you it’s going to be a bit tougher [fight] for Brick.”
With Oliver’s impending arrival, Brick may be in for an unpleasant surprise – one even he couldn’t plan for. Having been out of the fight for an extended length of time and seeing Starling in literal shambles, the Arrow may be taking this one personally.
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“The fans know that the Arrow is coming back and his first job is to take on Brick,” Jones teases. “[Oliver]’s going to feel like he’s let everyone down because he’s been away, and he didn’t realize that with him being out of the way, that’s going to let a bad force take over the city.”
“It’s going to be a big task for him with the crew that Brick’s got to gain control. It’s 50-50 whether he does take control or not,” the actor adds.
But does this mean Oliver is back at full strength? If we were betting, we’d say no, though Jones has an interesting answer.
“I don’t think he’d want to fight Brick if he wasn’t at 100 percent,” he says. “He’s going to learn from the rest of his crew what a bad situation they’re in right now. He has to be at all strength.”
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It all ultimately comes down to what Jones deems “the biggest showdown of the show so far.” A pretty tall statement, if you ask us. “It’s going to be pretty epic,” he hints, sharing that the sequence called for dozens and dozens of stuntmen and extras to heighten the stakes.
But that’s not all! Brick may also be responsible for – SPOILER ALERT! – killing Malcolm Merlyn’s wife Rebecca, a lingering question left unanswered from season one.
“There’s a big confrontation between Malcolm and Brick, and it’s a great scene in the episode,” Jones says.
One thing’s for certain: “There’s going to be surprises along the way,” Jones promises, “and one hell of a finale.”
Count us in.
Are you looking forward to Oliver’s return to Starling City? Tell us your thoughts by tweeting Philiana Ng at @insidethetube, and don’t forget that #ETnow hashtag!
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.