Tonight’s episode of Arrow is called “The Return,” which, like most Arrow titles, represents many different things: There is the return of Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke. There is a return to the island of Lian Yu for Oliver. In the flashbacks, there is a return for Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn and a return to Starling City for Oliver Queen.
For Quentin Lance, the character played so well on the series by Paul Blackthorne, there is a return to sadness, as his character recently learned that he has lost his beloved daughter Sara once again. Her death, which happened in the Arrow season premiere, had been kept secret from Lance for most of the season, and now, the character is going to have to push forward.
We spoke with Paul Blackthorne about what’s going on for his character, both in the past and the future of the show… and, of course, he offered some teases for tonight’s show. Enjoy:
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: Quentin figured out that Roy was Arsenal pretty easily, he knows Laurel is the new Canary… does he still not have a clue as to who Oliver is?
PAUL BLACKTHORNE: It doesn’t matter who him who Oliver is, because Oliver is Oliver, but as far as the Arrow is concerned at this point, the Arrow’s been doing good things. And while he’s doing good things for the city, he doesn’t need to know who it is. But of course, as things change in his relationship with the Arrow – because, of course, it wasn’t just Laurel who didn’t tell him about Sara’s death… it was the Arrow too. That’s the first step towards breaking up their relationship. There are other things coming down the line that could break down their relationship too, at which point, he’ll be a lot more interested as to who the Arrow really is.
How is Quentin going to deal with Sara’s death, now that he knows?
That is what was so difficult for him on receipt of the news, what he knows what a terrible effect it had [when it happened] before. On his life, his family, his marriage… it devastated every aspect of his life, and I think that compounded the situation for him. It’s not just the news of her death, but “oh my gosh, I’ve been through this before and it wasn’t pretty.”
This time, of course, he’s sober. There is no more marriage to break up. And on top of that, his relationship with Laurel is going to be seriously affected. He’s kind of on his own on this one, and quite frankly, he’s dreaded how this is going to feel. But at the same time, he’s a stronger man than he was before, and he is desperate to get through it unscathed, and to grow from this, and not be taken down. He’s going to do the best he can. He’s going to resist that bottle, I promise.
There are some flashbacks in tonight’s episode of the show. Can you talk about what goes on there, and did you have to wear a wig?
Yeah, I wore a wig. Everybody wears a wig at some point on this show, don’t they, and it was my turn.
What we flash back to is the first time that Lance was dealing with Sara’s death, so there’s a certain symmetry in terms of him dealing with it in the present day and how he was dealing with it rather poorly in the past, and the effects it has on his relationship with Laurel both times.
It was a lot of fun, actually. It was interesting going back to Angry Lance. It’s been a while since I’ve been there; since Season 1, but Angry Lance is back – he gets the hair on – and it was a lot of fun. That’s what it’s all about; how we were dealing with it then, and how we’re dealing with it now.
Can you talk about having scenes with Colin Donnell in the episode?
Yes, I yell at Colin! Angry Lance has a good yell at everybody, and Colin was one of the recipients of that. It was nice to see Colin back on set, for sure.
This is only the start of the interview! Navigate below for some more from Mr. Blackthorne, including details of a Flash crossover, Quentin’s dream lady, and more: