I always find it hard to write about “Arrow,” because I never remember if Stephen Amell spells his name with one “m” and two “l’s” or if it’s two “m’s” and one “l.” I’ve always had the same problem with Steve Carell. I can’t explain it.
Anyway, I’ve already live-blogged “Bates Motel,” “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries” today.
So… On to “Arrow.”
5:32 p.m. Are we ready for 45 minutes of Stephen Amell doing push-ups? Right?
5:34 p.m. Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim are on the panel with most of the show’s cast. Emily Bett Rickards got extra-loud applause. Team Felicity!
5:35 p.m. Clips from the new season suggest that Felicity is making some improvements in the lair and… Summer Glau! Summer Glau in a red dress at a boardroom table! And Oliver thinking about giving himself a new nickname. And some butt-kicking female figure with blonde hair and mask who’s making the crowd VERY happy. Nuf said on that part. I assume we’ll talk more about her in a few minutes.
5:37 p.m. The crowd also really likes Colton Haynes.
5:38 p.m. How different is this Comic-Con from that year? “Stephen, can you walk around this Comic-Con?” Katie Cassidy asks. Amell agrees that he cannot. He says last year everybody just wanted the show not to suck, but this year everybody is excited about the show being done right.
5:38 p.m. The title of Ep.1 is “City of Heroes” and that’s the theme of this season. And the clips we saw were only from four days of shooting. He’s going from the Arrow of S.1 to being Green Arrow, with the help of a couple of new heroes. “It’s epic, it’s big and we hope you guys like it,” Kreisberg says. Kreisberg says that this will be a season of redemption for Mona and that Oliver will have to take more business responsibilities. And Thea is going to be running Oliver’s nightclub for some reason.
5:41 p.m. Where is the city positioned after the finale? Well, it’s five months after that finale. “Some people have moved through their stuff, other people haven’t,” Kreisberg says, teasing that things are even worse in the city and Oliver has to go from crossing names off a list to being a hero.
5:42 p.m. It seems that Paul Blackthorne’s character has been busted down to beat cop?
5:42 p.m. Awww. Amell says that everything Oliver does going forward will be done in honor of the late Tommy.
5:44 p.m. “I definitely think she’s well on her own way,” Cassidy says, noting that Laurel is growing and evolving and “she starts to kick some butt.” Will she also mourn Tommy? “She’s done her mourning, she’s done her grieving and she’s trying to move forward as much as she can,” Cassidy says. She and Oliver aren’t quite in a relationship, though.
5:44 p.m. And that masked woman in the footage? “One of the things we’re doing this season is we’re telling the beginning of the Black Canary story,” Kreisberg says. The crowd roars. He suggests, however, that the first Black Canary may, in fact, not be Laurel. “This is the beginning of that story,” he repeats.
5:46 p.m. David Ramsey charts Diggle’s changing opinion about Oliver’s actions. Is Diggle heading towards becoming a superhero? “John Diggle’s character’s going to start appearing in the ‘Green Arrow’ comic book,” says Kreisberg. He’s very proud of this, that they’ve been able to influence the overall Green Arrow mythology and legacy.
5:48 p.m. Much whistling for Emily Bett Rickards, who went from nothing to star in Season 1. She’s had to learn many new things. “Shipping wasn’t in my vocabulary before,” Rickards says, insisting that she always had a big personality, even if the character was small. Is it time for Felicity to find love? The moderator suggests that there are sparks with Felicity and Diggle and everybody starts talking about “Figgle” and “Delicity.” But Ramsey notes that other people prefer Oliver/Felicity. And the crowd seems to agree. “Am I even allowed to play favorites at this point?” Rickards says.
Lots more on Page 2…
5:51 p.m. More cheering for Colton Haynes. “It’s less time in prosthetic makeup. I’m not allergic to red hoodies, which is good,” Haynes says of the transition from being reptilian on “Teen Wolf.” We know that eventually Haynes’ character is going to make the journey to being a sidekick, but the actor says that this season could be his equivalent of The Island. Somehow the conversation turns to whether or not Amell and Haynes are going to have a Salmon Ladder Off.
5:51 p.m. Any other faces from last year who may show up? Oh! Hi John Barrowman showing up at the panel. “I’ve been on the floor shopping,” says Barrowman, who’s wearing an “Arrow” t-shirt. He wants to get the whole cast to sign his shirt and he wants to sell it to buy a plane for his husband. Awww. Barrowman gives a 1989 Argentinean Green Arrow action figure to Amell. “I’m sorry that I stabbed you,” Amell says, by way of thanks.
5:55 p.m. Barrowman loved working on “Arrow” and makes sure to drop a Captain Jack reference for the crowd. He says he loved watching Amell become a leader on the show and a true hero. Awww.
5:56 p.m. Would Barrowman be open to coming back? “I would be more than happy to come into this family fold. And if I’m being invited back, then it’s more than the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who’s ever done,” Barrowman cracks. He observes that because flashbacks are important to the show, he could always come back.
5:58 p.m. Any new DC characters coming this season? Sebastian Blood, Brother Blood, from “New Teen Titans” is coming. He’ll be played by Kevin Alejandro. They’re having Deadshot back next season and he’s a member of The Suicide Squad, including Bronze Tiger, who will be played by Michael Jai White.
6:00 p.m. The stars are asked to describe the premiere script in one word. Haynes goes with “epic.” Cassidy says “unexpected.” Amell says “trees,” adding “when you see the premiere, that’ll make perfect sense. Rickards picks “daring.” Ramsey says, “Me?”
6:00 p.m. “They are natural-born leading men,” Berlanti says of the Amell family, since he’s also got Robbie in “The Tomorrow People.”
6:01 p.m. The first question comes from everybody’s favorite Make-a-Wish Kid Jonah. Barrowman remembers Jonah from a Con in Philadelphia. Awww. “Nothing on the show happens overnight. Everything happens in due time,” Amell tells Jonah about Oliver’s progression this season, mentioning again that everything is tied to him honoring Tommy’s legacy.
6:01 p.m. Which is tougher: The acting or the physical preparation? When he has to get his scars put on, it takes 75 minutes. The acting he says is easy because of the scripts. “How long does it take to put on the abs?” Barrowman asks Amell. “After hiatus, it took 30 days,” Amell replies.
6:05 p.m. What’s coming with Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson? And what form will Deathstroke take when he finally arrives? The opening moments of Season 2 will give us a big hint, Guggenheim teases.
And that’s all, folks… Some good teases there…