Should they bring back Roy ?

[acer15]

I say yes.

[Amarice]

1. If Colton Haynes wanted to be back in the show he would already be there.
2. At this point Rene fills in pretty much the same part as Roy and despite all my sympathy to the character - Rick Gonzales is simply better actor than Haynes (sorry not sorry).
3. So it's a real shame that Roy's story was cut short in season 3. Not sure how big was his part in 4x12 as I've never came around to watch that episode - but haven't it offer a closure of sorts?

This way or another it's simply too late to bring back Roy. Unless, of course, all characters who were unfortunate enough to find themselves on the island were blown up to hell, and Oliver will need to recruit Roy, Ragman and Cupid, as they would be the only of his supporters left alive.

[President_Luthor]

The biggest problem is that Roy was "unmasked" and arrested as the Hood/Arrow and fake shivved in prison. So he took the fall for Oliver's Hood/Arrow misdeeds aka the killings etc. The world thinks he is the Hood/Arrow and that he is dead, and GA is a whole other guy. It was Roy's sacrifice, in my books one of the most profound in the series, that allowed Oliver to shed the public baggage of the Hood/Arrow and become GA with a clean slate. The current GA is only known to the public since S4, while they believe Roy was Hood/Arrow and dead since late S3

In theory, Roy could still return --- but only under an alias. Roy Harper is dead in the public's eyes, along with the Hood/Arrow's sins (symbolically). Faking his own death was the best hand he could play re: affecting Oliver's destiny. It was a mic-droppjng move that he could never top. Bringing Roy back for buzz or hype would be a waste considering how much impact his exit had on Oliver and the show. I feel Roy's story ended with his sacrifice.

I also agree that the team is already big and adding another body wouldn't help. They actually need to be leaner (smaller) as a team.

Would it be nice to see Roy again? Sure it would. Should Roy return to Arrow? No he shouldn't. I don't see the point of bringing him back without addressing the elephant in the room: Roy's "death" bought Oliver a clean slate as a vigilante and gave him the chance to take on a less sullied GA persona..

Unless everyone gets amnesia, Roy could never return as himself without undercutting what he accomplished in public, claiming HoodArrow's sins as his own.

[Shelby Kent]

My first instinctive response is: yeah, bring Roy back! But that's b/c I just really liked the character. Roy could just stand around in a room doing nothing on the show and I'd be happy to have him back!

However, both Amarice & P_L provide excellent reasons, for the greater good of the show, for why he should NOT come back.

So, I guess I have to override my emotions (short-term, immediate gratification-based ones, that is) and agree: No.

It's like, I'd really like to eat only chocolate for my meals three times/day, but in the long run that wouldn't be good for me.

IMO I as viewer shouldn't ALWAYS get what I want (or think I want). Because what I want, above all, is a generally well-written show that maintains a certain kind of narrative integrity, a consistency in characterization, and plots that make sense, as well as characters that I like and/or am invested in (I need not "like" a character to find myself invested in him/her. See: King Joffrey GoT!). And sometimes that means making sacrifices along the way (for instance, putting up with some really evil characters in GoT for longer than I think I'd like, writhing in agony, overwhelmed by waves of hate every time they show up on screen; for instance having to spend some episodes hurling invectives at Carrie in Homeland for how she treats others around her; for instance the death of characters I've become attached to etc etc etc) in order to achieve the greater long-term goal of what I want.

Sorry, Roy.

[Backward Galaxy]

They could always rip his arm off and call him Arsenal. Maybe we find out he's the one who really killed Dante and CIVIL WAR!

Haha. No, but I like the actor well enough. Wouldn't mind seieng him again.

[evaba]

Because what I want, above all, is a generally well-written show that maintains a certain kind of narrative integrity, a consistency in characterization, and plots that make sense, as well as characters that I like and/or am invested in (I need not "like" a character to find myself invested in him/her. See: King Joffrey GoT!). And sometimes that means making sacrifices along the way (for instance, putting up with some really evil characters in GoT for longer than I think I'd like, writhing in agony, overwhelmed by waves of hate every time they show up on screen; for instance having to spend some episodes hurling invectives at Carrie in Homeland for how she treats others around her; for instance the death of characters I've become attached to etc etc etc) in order to achieve the greater long-term goal of what I want.

LOL! I find myself having the same feelings about Carrie in some episodes! However, most of the time I really like her, because there is often an explanation for her treatment of others. For example, after she rejected Peter Quinn (HOW COULD SHE DO THAT???) we got scenes with her long-lost mother where the dialogues revealed that Carrie was afraid to embark on a relationship with Peter because she thought he'd find it impossible to live with her due to her bi-polar illness (just like she thought her mother couldn't live with her Dad's illness). Of course, her mother left for other reasons, but when Carrie learned that, Peter was already gone on a mission. The other thing that makes her engaging and likeable despite everything is that people around her actually acknowledges her flaws (which is not the case with *cough* you-know-who *cough*) and that she most often suffers the consequences of her own misjudgements or self-centeredness (I would rather call it single-mindedness, actually). And then there is the fact that Claire Danes is a very good actress with a stellar supporting cast. As for plotting I'd say that "Homeland" has some of the most intricate plots on television....for example, who would have guessed that the Female President Elect would turn out to be a Bad Guy after her installation?

[President_Luthor]

It would be cool to see Roy again, but in terms of the series, so much has happened that he'd be just another body in the roster on a team that already needs some trimming re: size.

I do like Roy, but as a character, he grabbed the brass ring in leaving a legacy within the show by claiming the Hood mantle. (Oliver is still benefiting from what Roy did two seasons later.) His train, storywise, reached the terminal station at that point.

Good point about not always giving fans what they want. That may be why Malcolm Merlyn has outlasted others, long past his due date. Most fans love JB. (I do too, in general.) The Flarrowverse gives the fans JB -- without considering how or why Merlyn is still relevant or important to their universe. Malcolm's been treading water since at least S3, when Ra's or Oliver should have taken his head.

Looking back, Roy went out like a rockstar in the context of the series, while Malcolm checked out when he was barely running on fumes as a character, lingering two seasons later than he should have.

Carrie on Homeland. No doubt Danes has talent, but something about her or the characters she plays just rubs me the wrong way. A personal bias on my part. (It takes a special art/skill to tick off Oprah too, which she has actually done. As a teen, mind you, but still ).

[TyrantLord]

Here's something to consider though: Maybe Arrow's too "bloated" cast wise and circumstances are complicated, but what about giving Roy work on a different show?

My money/vote would be to give him a spot on Titans, should they decide to include this show in the realm of Arrowverse. In my eyes he'd probably be the more mentor type of character there for that team.

If not there, then there's definitely possibilities else were. At this point Arrowverse is so bloated with heroes that they could come out with two or three more Legends type of shows were its a team up of the lesser ranked but still cool as characters type of cast. Something like that could ALSO help trim down some of the bloated teams in the case of Team Arrow OR Team Flash.

Kate's already off on her own, so if they don't put her on a modern BOP spin off, she could join Roy on a new team. Do a redemption Arc for E-2 Laurel, have her go off on her own to eventually join Roy (again assuming there's no BOP 2.0 Spin off). Nyssa isn't doing much these days, right? Another team Roy candidate, as is Katana. Maybe Wilddog could also be a candidate and he seems kind of redundant on Team Arrow from what I hear, I think Oliver's team would be just fine with Arrow, Spartan, Canary 2.0, and Mr. Terrific.


*Shrugs* my point is there are other ways and point to consider if they want to use Arsenal again. But my guess is don't expect him to return for anything more than a single episode guest stint anytime soon.

[BkWurm1]

I loved Roy. I miss Roy. I still ship TheRoy. I do NOT consider Rene a fit replacement for Roy, but yeah, Roy has no reason to come back except really for Thea. And it wouldn't surprise me if/when Willa wants to leave, they'd send Thea to reunite with Roy wherever he is and then maybe we'll see him again for a final HEA. I'd still be happy to see him if he showed up for just about any reason, but I can't see it happening as things stand right now. Plus CH has another job already. Same with Nyssa's KL. And even the actress that plays Lyla. I'm just hoping we will still get occasional guest spots from them.