Warning: This contains spoilers from the Sunday, December 8, episode of Supergirl.
It’s the end of an era. The Arrowverse knew the death of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was imminent — but no one expected it would happen during part 1 of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
While fighting on Earth-38, Oliver proved — again — that his stubborn ways had not faded with time. Although ordered to, Oliver refused to leave until the planet was destroyed. He fought until he was out of arrows and ultimately was critically wounded by the shadow army.
He returned to Earth-1’s bunker barely being able to speak, but before taking his last breath, he told his daughter, Mia (Katherine McNamara), to tell his family how much he loves them.
Needless to say, the death was a shock to the fans of the franchise; while it was previously revealed the death was coming, it still came as a shock to happen in the crossover — especially in part 1. However, the surprise was the point.
“The dilemma that we presented to our own selves was that we spoiled our own story. So if Oliver dying isn’t the surprise, what is the surprise? The timing of him dying, because we figured the audience is expecting that Oliver would die in the climax in the fifth hour,” showrunner Marc Guggenheim told reporters at a recent screening. “So if we went in the exact opposite direction and killed him off at the end of Hour 1, we accomplish two things: Hopefully, we do surprise the audience — that’s absolutely the intention — but we also really establish the stakes, that going into the next four hours, ‘Wow, if Oliver Queen can die, then no one is safe.’”
Meanwhile, McNamara, 24, who will lead the Arrow spinoff next year, had mixed emotions on set. “That was a historic moment in many ways for me personally. It was my first day on set with everyone in the suits. It was my first day wearing my suit on set, so I was so excited,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “Then I get to set and I realize, ‘Oh I have to cry over my dying father. Let me reframe my entire headspace.’ … It was so wonderful, and Stephen killed it. Everybody really came together because Stephen, in a sense, was the beginning of this entire universe.”
Amell, 38, was excited when he read the script because he was actually surprised.
“I thought of all the different scenarios that we would sort of end Oliver’s journey,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “We had, frankly, promised people that we were going to end it. I feel like people were looking for a twist because we’ve been so straightforward about the fact that Oliver does not survive Crisis, but we were just telling the truth. So, from that standpoint, I was excited.”
The crossover continues on The CW during Batwoman Monday, December 9, at 8 p.m. ET.
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