Amell and Kreisberg Tease ARROW Season 2

I know, I know, Season 1 of the CW series Arrow just ended and here we are already looking ahead to Season 2.

Last night's season finale "Sacrifice" featured non-stop action and some unexpected twists as (SPOILER WARNING) the Glades district of Starling City suffered significant destruction and Colin Donnell's character Tommy Merlyn died from a severe case of rebar poisoning.  So what happens next?  Zap2it offered up a few clues last night with some quotes from Arrow star Stephen Amell and executive producer Andrew Kreisberg.

The assassin Deadshot is slated to return once again, following up on the subplot of John Diggle's vendetta against the man who killed his brother Andy.  "Diggle's pursuit of Deadshot is going to be a big part of Season 2," said Kreisberg.  "The finale was already bigger and crazier and more nuts than we ever envisioned, so it's not like we dropped the ball with that story.  It was just a story we knew could live on into Season 2.  Don't worry, it is far from dropped."

This could also include some flashbacks to Diggle's past.  "The producers have done a really good job this year of really molding the rest of our cast into people that can carry episodes at a time," said Amell. "I don't think any part of the fan base would complain if all the sudden we announced we were going to have a Diggle-centric episode.  David [Ramsey] has earned the right and I hope he gets it."  Kreisberg chimed in on the subject as well, adding, "Doing flashback episodes to Diggle's life -- whether it's in Afghanistan, or when his brother was alive -- we're definitely interested in that.  We have this amazing table of actors.  Certainly David Ramsey could be the lead of his own show if he wanted to, so we'd love to see more of him."

Meanwhile, future Team Arrow member Roy Harper will continue looking for Green Arrow The Hood.  "We'll definitely find out how Oliver feels about taking Roy on as part of the team in Season 2," Kreisberg remarked.  "Oliver Queen and Roy Harper will have a long and storied career together.  As with all of these things, especially stuff that's derived from the comic books, we've tried to both satisfy fans' expectations, and turn them on their head.  I think that Roy's desire to be under the Arrow and Oliver's desire to be as private a person as possible are going to collide."

Fans can also expect more island flashbacks on Lian Yu.  Amell remarked, "I think the story on the Island is really mapped out.  If you talked with Andrew and Marc [Guggenheim], they would say that this year in Epsiode 5 when we introduced Edward Fyres and faux-Deathstroke, that was when they really discovered what the Island can be.  I think they have a really cool idea and really have it mapped out for what the Island will be in Season 2."

In addition, Oliver's sister Thea Queen will have her character developed further.  "Nobody is ending this season the way they started," said Kreisberg.  "She really underwent an evolution this season, and in Season 2 when the characters pick up, we'll see a Thea who has really internalized her experience, one who has really grown a great deal.  That's exciting for Willa [Holland] and it's exciting for us as writers."  Amell, meanwhile, wants to see Oliver and Thea on more of an equal footing.  "Willa continues to impress," he said.  "I think it's really fantastic because Willa is such a wonderful actor and I feel like she is just sitting there just waiting to be really utilized.  I think it would be very exciting in coming seasons to put them more on an adult level relationship because [Willa] is so capable and is going to be a huge asset to the show."

Lastly, with the arrest of Oliver's mother Moira Queen in the season finale, there will be some changes at the Queen Mansion.  "We had a line we had to cut out of episode 22, which was Felicity saying, 'Man, Thanksgiving at the Queen house is really going to suck this year,'" said Kreisberg.  "If ever there was a hero who could understand what Moira has done, it's Oliver.  Oliver made a lot of difficult decisions himself those five years on the island, and not all of them were the right decision.  He can understand how she can find herself in the place that she did."  As for Amell, he just wants Oliver to finally move out on his own.  "God, I hope so," he said.  "I mean, he's like thirty years old!  He needs to get his own apartment.  Quote me on that one."

Arrow Season 2 begins later this year, probably around September.