Arrow season 6, and celebrating the Slade Wilson story ahead
First, there is the news that Bennett will be appearing as Slade Wilson in the premiere episode of the show, one where you will see him in the immediate aftermath of what happened on Liam Yu. He said in the season 5 finale that the effects of the mirakuru are long gone, and after proving valuable in the defeat of Prometheus, Oliver may have a certain level of trust once more. Can the original Oliver – Slade dynamic ever return? It’s hard to imagine so, given that they are such different people who have been through such different — but also powerful — stories since they first met on the island. There’s also the teensy issue of Deathstroke murdering Moira Queen back in season 2. Hard to come back from that.
The second bit of news is perhaps even more significant: Per executive producer Marc Guggenheim, there will be a two-part episode coming that focuses heavily on Slade’s character, and in that, you’re going to get a great opportunity to see a series of flashbacks. These looks back are going to be of a standalone nature this time around — they won’t appear in every episode, but there is an interest in diving more into where these characters come from. We like the idea of this, given that this could have an effect akin to Lost where the entire ensemble is built up. May we remind you that the Wild Dog centric “Spectre of the Gun” was one of the best episodes from season 5? That was the moment where we really fell in love with that character. This means that the serialized flashbacks are a thing of the past, which may turn out fine since the last time they were truly great was when both Slade and Sara Lance were around.
With Slade, there’s a tremendous amount to explore in between the time before he was on the island, what it was like for him spending all of those years in prison, or even what he was up to in those years between Liam Yu and when he showed up in what was then called Starling City. This is a guy with a lot of unexplored backstory, there is, of course, a part of us that wonders if there’s a chance that we could get another Summer Glau appearance while we’re at it. Remember Isabel Rochev’s storyline in season 2? She had quite a role to play.
We’ve been clamoring for a Deathstroke spin-off given that he’s one of the most compelling characters within the modern DC Comics universe. If we’re not going to have that, then we’re certainly going to be thrilled to have a chance to dive into this character further in another interesting way.
What do you want to see in terms of a Slade Wilson flashback story? Sound off below!
Oh, and be sure to read the MICHAEL FREAKING EMERSON news from yesterday if you haven’t already. (Photo: The CW, video via Flicks and the City.)