‘Arrow’ season 3, episode 18 preview: Will the show ‘never be the same’?

Hyperbole is a dangerous, dangerous thing. You want to get your fans excited about your product, but at the same time you run into many precarious risks. One of the largest ones is that you spend an extensive amount of time promoting something as the next big thing that will blow your mind, and then for some reason it doesn’t end up producing the reaction from fans that you originally hoped that it would. This is something that “Arrow” is certainly in the process of running into as we get set for “Public Enemy,” which is the 18th episode of the season airing on The CW Wednesday night.

The only reason why this could happen is because repeatedly in the video below almost like it is some sort of chant, executive producer Marc Guggenheim stresses that “the show will never be the same” once this airs in full. Why could this be? Let us count the possibilities.

1. There is a big character death. Clearly, we’re worried right now about Captain Lance. How can you not be? He wants the Arrow’s head on a pole, and he does not seem altogether intent on listening to Laurel.

2. Ra’s al Ghul manages to lure Oliver away. It feels like if Oliver is leading the League of Assassins, then yea, the show probably will “never be the same.” It also would be less of an underdog story.

3. Someone makes a life-changing decision. Maybe Oliver tells Captain Lance who he really is finally, or Thea decides that she wants to be more of an active crimefighter. Maybe Diggle decides that he wants a cooler costume than a leather jacket.

The possibilities here are not necessarily endless, but there are still a few that could be considered. We just hope that this is not one of those scenarios where hype = over hype, and we come up against an episode that really does not impress us as much as we’d hoped.

For more on the show and the upcoming spin-off, head over to the link here for some more casting news! Also, you can sign up to get some further scoop on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: The CW.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huHBs-iPXl8