Whenever any actor exits a series, there’s the assumption their character will be killed off. In the case of Arrow, this practice held true for the likes of Colin Donnell, Susanna Thompson and – for, like, five minutes – Katie Cassidy, who soon came back as Black Siren, a doppelganger from a parallel universe.
Or, it’s entirely possible to leave the door open for fan favorites to return by leaving their onscreen counterparts alive. Manu Bennett, Colton Haynes and Willa Holland are all fine examples of this methodology, with Haynes actually set to return as a series regular for season 7, no less.
Most likely to the chagrin of a fair percentage of viewers, Paul Blackthorne’s Quentin Lance can now be filed under the former, as he bit the dust in last week’s season finale. In a recent interview, here’s what executive producer and outgoing co-showrunner Marc Guggenheim had to say about the shocker:
“Look, it’s always hard. Paul’s a wonderful actor and a wonderful human being. [Regarding] the decision to kill versus maim, this show has always been a show that has real consequences — even when we had the Lazarus Pit and and even with time travel and parallel Earths. Maiming always feels like a cop-out to me, especially on a show like this one. [Arrowverse executive producer] Greg Berlanti always says the show has a Game of Thrones element to it in that no one is ever really safe. And while I think while we could have maimed Lance and sent him off to live with Donna, like you said — and that was discussed — I don’t think it would have been true to the spirit of the show, which has never really done that as a general rule. But it was hard.”
To be frank, we wouldn’t rule out any guest appearance in the future to be made by Blackthorne, as he could one day play any variation of Lance from throughout the multiverse. Then again, he’s since landed a new gig over at NBC’s upcoming series, The InBetween – so who knows if he’ll have time.
As Guggenheim continued, he elaborated on Blackthorne’s professionalism:
“He’s terrific; by the way, a total class act. When [exiting co-showrunner] Wendy [Mericle] and I sat down with him to give him the news, he couldn’t have been more gracious about it. I think his performance in the finale is among the best he’s ever given on the show. It is a very beautiful, poignant exit for this character. He has a scene with Stephen [Amell] that is just next-level stuff. If you’re going to kill off a character, I do feel like this was the way to do it.”
Arrow returns for its seventh season on Monday nights this fall on The CW.