SPOILERS for those not caught up on Arrow ahead.
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A new set photo from season 6 of Arrow teases a flashback of Oliver’s best friend, Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), who was killed in the season 1 finale. So far, season 6 has been rather light on flashbacks, now that Oliver’s five years on the island have already been explored in the show’s first five seasons.
Season 6 has been hard on Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell). After his battle with Prometheus on Lian Yu, Oliver’s sister Thea (Willa Holland) was put in a coma and the mother of Oliver’s son was killed in the explosion. In the following months, Oliver’s secret identity was threatened, his team fell apart, and Thea left the series. Now Oliver’s longstanding bromance with Diggle (David Ramsay) is being threatened by Diggle’s desire to resume his role as the Green Arrow. Diggle wouldn’t be the first friend Oliver lost over wearing the hood. Oliver and Tommy were best friends until Tommy discovered that Oliver was secretly a vigilante.
Stephen Amell tweeted a photo from the Arrow set that shows Colin Donnell’s character will return for an upcoming episode. Amell’s tweet implies that Tommy will appear in a flashback sequence.
After Tommy died saving Laurel (Katie Cassidy) in the season 1 finale, the character has returned sporadically in the form of flashbacks. His most recent return was in the Arrowverse crossover, “Crisis on Earth-X”, when the Earth-X version of Prometheus was revealed to be Tommy Merlyn in a shocking twist. The Earth-X Tommy killed himself after being captured.
It’s unclear what the context will be for Tommy’s return in a flashback. As stated by Amell, Oliver has yet to have a single flashback in season 6, as opposed to seasons 1 through 5, which focused heavily on the character’s past. Arrow showrunner and Marc Guggenheim and Amell himself have said all along that following the end of season 5, Arrow would only include occasional flashbacks.
It’s possible that there could be some connection between Tommy and the synopsis for the 18th episode, which will see Oliver encounter a “ghost from his past”. After feeling that he has failed at everything, Oliver will descend into “his darkest place yet”. Though Tommy would fit this criteria, the scenario is unlikely to occur, considering that Amell’s tweet seems to be a reference to the 22nd episode, “The Ties That Bind”.
More: Thea’s Departure Should Be The Beginning Of The End for Arrow
Arrow continues Thursday, April 5 with “Brothers in Arms” at 9pm ET on The CW.
Source: Stephen Amell
