Over the course of the past few seasons, Arrow has had no shortage of femme fatales and, not surprisingly, it will add yet another to its number in early 2017. What may come as a shock, however, is who that character is: Talia al Ghul.
You may wonder why the inclusion of such a prominent character would come as such a surprise – despite her recently having appeared as a child on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow – but that’s because her sister, Nyssa (Katrina Law), was such a vital cog in seasons 2-4.
See, Nyssa was a pretty obscure character from the comics until recently and her inclusion on Arrow was likely due to Talia being off limits after having just been portrayed by Marion Cotillard in The Dark Knight Rises. But, with Superman now able to have a guest role on Supergirl, it seems as though all bets are off with red tape between WB’s motion picture and television divisions being thinner than ever.
[wgtc_youtube video_id=”jwxVku4vN5A”]Set to be played by Lexa Doig (Stargate SG-1, V), Talia is described as follows:
“The daughter of Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) and the half-sister of Nyssa (Katrina Law). Worldly and cultured, Talia is an elite warrior who doesn’t pick sides but rather creates her own. She will initially appear in episode 510 and appear in multiple episodes.”
I find it to be particularly interesting that her first appearance will be in the tenth episode of this season, not only because it serves as the midseason premiere, but also because that particular installment marks the return of Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance. Needless to say, fan theories are about to start running wild.
As to what her inclusion specifically entails, that remains unclear at this point. With Ra’s al Ghul being dead and Katrina Law now occupied with her shooting schedule for Training Day, involving Talia may be the only viable way to tell stories involving that bloodline for the immediate future.
Arrow airs on Wednesday nights on The CW.