‘Arrow’ recap: Stephen Amell details season 1, photos, Deathstroke unmasked and Count Vertigo VIDEO
Stephen Amell has returned for the second half of season one of “Arrow,” the superhero inspired hit show on CW. Amell talks about the Green Arrow (not his name on the show) and his big return.
“It’s six weeks [after the 2012 finale] and we’re finding Oliver in a very different spot than he was before,” Amell told TVLine. “A very, very different spot.”
The emerald archer will “lack confidence” following his near-defeat at the hands of the Dark Archer / Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman).
“We learn a bit more about [Malcolm’s] character soon, about why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
“My hope is that all of the mysteries will be answered; at least all of the major ones,” states “Arrow” writer and producer Marc Guggenheim on the second half of this season,
Arrow must face Firefly in the first episode back, titled “Burned.” (see Clip below)
While talking to MTV, Amell explained, “There are a bunch of secrets in the pilot and one of them is going to start to unravel almost immediately when we come back on the air. I was really excited. I remember the writer showed me — I can’t tell you which episode — but he showed me the last log line and I was like, ‘Ohhhh this is great!’ I’m so excited.”
When asked about the character likely to discover his secret identity, Amell made his pick.
“Probably his sister. I think his mom has just accepted that he’s different. I don’t think Thea has accepted, “Oh he’s different, just let him do his thing,” I think there’s still [curiosity, mystery].”
Following the Firefly, Amell vigilante faces Count Vertigo (photo below) who uses a drug to control and wreak havoc on the show.
“I think everybody on the show is misunderstood,” Amell told TV Guide. “We don’t group together a bunch of people and say good guys, bad guys. Everybody is somewhere in the middle. Who’s to say the Dark Archer’s reason for doing what he’s doing isn’t as virtuous as the reason Oliver is doing what he’s doing, of which we still don’t know a great deal?”
(con’t below)
“What gets Oliver into The Count’s orbit and puts the two of them in conflict is actually a really personal motivation,” says Guggenheim. “Someone close to him is actually hurt by The Count. This is the first time the Arrow goes after someone purely out of revenge. There’s argument to be made that the Arrow’s general mission is one of vengeance, but this is very specific. This time, it’s personal.”
“You start to feel, in the second half of the season, that everything’s clicking in a really good way,” Guggenheim continues to explain. “The production value on the show just takes this huge leap forward; starting in episode 10 with all this fire and then in episode 11 we open with some amazing armored car sequences.”
The folowing episode is titled “Betrayal” (teaser below, synopsis at the bottom)
David Anders, best known for his work on shows like “Alias,” “Heroes” and “Once Upon a Time,” will be playing the villain Cyrus Vanch, and it looks like he will be Oliver Queen’s most dangerous enemy yet. The CW has released a new extended promo for “Betrayal” that gives fans a taste of Vanch.
Deathstroke also gets unmasked revealing Manu Bennett, star of “Spartacus”
“There’s a very different style to ‘Arrow’ than what there was to ‘Spartacus,'” he said. “I had a discussion with the writer, Andrew Kreisberg about what they wanted and they didn’t want Crixus [his ‘Spartacus’ character], that’s for sure. They wanted something original for the show and ‘Arrow’ is reality-based, it’s here in the now. It’s very fast moving action, it’s a whole new [fighting] technique that I’m learning with them. There’s some similarities [between Crixus and Wilson] in that I come onto the show against another strong character.”
Manu Bennett as Deathstroke – Slade Wilson
“Betrayal”: Cyrus Vanch (Anders), a nefarious criminal, is recently released from prison and intends to re-secure his position as leader of the underworld. His first step is to take down his biggest opponent in the city –- Arrow (Amell). Meanwhile, Oliver shows Moira (Susanna Thompson) his father’s notebook and questions her about the names on the list. Thea (Willa Holland) is miserable as she starts her internship with Laurel (Katie Cassidy) at the legal aid office and Detective Lance (Paul Blackthorne) makes a deadly mistake that puts Laurel in the crosshairs of Vanch. David Ramsey and Colin Donnell also star. Guy Bee directed the episode written by Lana Cho & Beth Schwartz
About the Author
Brandon Jones started blogging before it was called blogging back on Crazed Fanboy’s Pop Culture website before transitioning to several writing duties on Examiner.com. Comic Books, Superheros, Movies and all things Pop Culture are covered here on The Splash Page.
Oliver has faced several formidable adversaries since his confrontation with the Dark Archer and I hope that has helped build his confidence for the in evitable round two that is sure to come up. I was in my office at DISH when one of my coworkers stepped in for a sec and we were talking about Manu Bennett’s role in the series so far.
Good stuff
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