EDITORIAL: Arrow S3 Predictions and Clarification *SPOILERS*
Part 1: The Road From Now Until Seasons End?!?
To start this argument I would actually like to look ahead till the end of the season, or the end of the League of Assassins being a conflict storyline. Now I honestly ask everyone...had do they expect it to pan out...Ra's isn't a villain they can just kill (both because of a certain Pit mentioned later on and because he is just that big of a villain) and for the same reason...he can't just be imprisoned either....Ra's needs to be left to run the League...and the only way those two goals can be accomplished:
1) End League conflict with Thea/in Star(ling)
2) Leave Ra's as the League's head and cancel all debts
Is to have, what is depicted below come to fruition...Oliver needs to, whether Batman fans complain or not, fight and beat Ra's Al Ghul...and Ra's... theoretically would then use the Pit to heal himself/bring himself back.
With that being said, I already hear people saying "But Oliver can come back to life in secret, Ra's doesn't have to know"...but I ask you how is that actually possible? You want Oliver to return to Starling City, resume his exploits as (Green) Arrow, and become a hero...without Ra's noticing he's back?...Simply an impossible outcome.
And here is where the big shock will come for some people reading this...seeing as this is one of the few ways to close the big storylines of this season...I do NOT think Oliver will be "brought back" using the Lazarus Pit.
As I scroll Facebook all I see is "oh Lazarus Pit" ... "Lazarus Pit!!!!" ... and I ask of you to listen to what I have just said...seeing as this is the only true way to end League debts and close to big LoA (League of Assassins) storyline, I think it is highly repetitive to use the Lazarus Pit two time in one season. Or even two times at all...
Quite honestly, no... I wouldn't be disappointed if Oliver used the (a) Lazarus Pit to return to life (if he is dead...) but again...it seems all to obvious and would become all to repetitive..."Oh Oliver fights Ra's and dies...Ra's is associated with the Pit...clearly thats how Oliver returns".
Amell, after reposting a beautifully done fan-photo (see above) of himself emerging from a Lazarus Pit with the tagline "we have clever fans", felt the need to then post a clarifying status that said, in essence, "Do you honestly think I would spoil the mid-season finale two days after it airs...I was merely saying the art was good"...clearly he could be using this as a diversion to the fact that they are using the Pit...but it just as easily serves as a deterrent. Using the Lazarus Pit more than once really begins to negate death on Arrow which takes away from the shows realism...I mean...
Seeing "Oliver is dead" and "Ra's is 'dead'" is fine...but we may also see "Katana is dead" as well....and then there are the fans who want the "Tommy is dead" thing to happen :/....
Part 2: How Mr. Queen Could Return
I would like to start this section by clarifying how the Lazarus Pit actually works and what it's effects are... I see people posting and say the Pit could drive Oliver insane and something would have to happen that changes that and makes him realize the error of his ways...or that Tommy could return (again...SUPER repetitive given the few ways to tie up this storyline...) and he could serve as the "Red Hood" of the Arrowverse.
Firstly, in his initial return, pictured above, Jason Todd rose out of his grave after Superboy-Prime shatter reality and brought him back to life...he was then brought to the Lazarus Pit to CURE him of his insanity after a yearlong coma.
It wasn't until the Batman movie "Under the Red Hood" that the rebirth of Jason Todd began to change due to the fact that acknowledging Superboy-Prime and his reality shattering punch in a 1.5hour movie about Batman was a little ridiculous; and so the rebirth was simplified, and this simplification has since been added to DC's New 52 as Jason's origin as Red Hood.
Jason Todd, as seen in the movie was revived and drive TEMPORARILY insane by the longevity of his death in conjunction with the Pit's natural effects...the bulk of who he is...isn't insanity...nor is it the Pit's fault...it is a logical conclusion for one to draw in those circumstances..."I died...the man who I viewed a father let the man who kill me live...now I become what he wasn't"
1) The Pit is known to drive all who use it temporarily insane...an effect that wears off after time
2) The Pit is known to restore the sanity of insane people, such as a delusional Jason Todd (old rebirth story), and even temporarily the Joker's own insanity.
P.S. If you didn't know by now...the Lazarus Pit heals people and has been shown...on few occasions to be able to bring people back to life
Ok...now we are semi clarified...here is how I think Oliver Queen could return...yes...I will be acknowledging the Lazarus Theory despite my previous inclinations because as I said...it's still quite possible...but is easily over used.
1) The Lazarus Pit: The Lazarus Pit seems to be the option everyone is grasping for considering Oliver died at the hands of Ra's Al Ghul... frequent user of said-Pit. As of now we do not know the extent of the Pit's abilities in the Arrowverse, but we do know that it does exist; "I haven't been challenged in 67 years" said Ra's, this should give some indication to its existence given the fact that Matt Nable's Ra's is clearly not older than 67. The main question that arises is... How does whoever saves Oliver (logic suggests Malcolm with Maseo in a close second) gain access to this Pit...seemingly it would be heavily guarded and only used by Ra's. However...depending on the approach they use, there may be multiple Pit's around the world.
*Cool thing about the Lazarus Pit approach...depending on how they do it...could no longer have his scars*
2) He didn't die: Considering Oliver was stabbed through the lower chest...and not the heart, he was then kicked off cliff but landed in snow...that could have not only slowed and given less impact to his fall, but also, depending on how long it takes to bring him back (to life...not Starling) slowed his death to the point that someone could heal him. However...I also find this unlikely considering that fact that a promo for 3x10 shows Malcolm returning to the Arrow Team's lair with the sword used to kill Oliver and claiming "Oliver Queen is dead".
*Just because he shows up with the sword...does not mean he is the one seen staggering towards Oliver in the promo...the sword wasn't in Oliver when he fell...despite this...we DO know Malcolm is on the Mountain Top sometime between Oliver's death and
3 DAYS following as confirmed by the synopsis...so there are only 3 missing days between the mid-season finale and the next episode.
3) The necklace?: Your probably thinking...what...are...you...talking...about?
Malcolm Merlyn's rebirth from the dead is a plot point Arrow has yet to discuss...heck...we don't even know if he actually died...but some people have begun to notice a certain pendent...or necklace...or vial...he carries around his neck. Whether this is taken from the Lazarus Pit and has minor healing abilities...we have yet to see, but it could easily be a good way to bring Oliver back without negating the use of the Pit.
4) Other...clearly...there are other ways to bring him back...but these are the ones that make the most sense in the over arching story and tying everything up.
Part 3: Other General Predictions
1) Oliver doesn't return to Starling right away: With all the change and character evolution coming in the next few episodes...Roy...Ray...Laurel. It may be best to have Oliver revived...yes...but possibly in a long term sedated or comatose state, as seen in the episode following him being shot in the chest. We know that we will still be getting Hong Kong flashbacks...and Arrow has NEVER given us an Oliver-only flashback without panning out from a living Oliver. They could approach this much like they did with episode 12 of Season 1 (I believe) where Moira shoots Oliver and Felicity and Diggle fight to save him...with the flashbacks occurring at each chance of life he gets. The same could be done if Oliver was not to return right away to Starling....we not only get a lot of character development from other heroes...but also the proper introduction to Oliver-centered flashbacks in Hong Kong.
2) Arsenal and Black Canary team-up: Do you remember this set photo?... With Oliver disappearing and Roy still in the vigilante/hero game I wouldn't be surprised if the dynamic shifted in the wake of Oliver's disappearance. Roy is relatively versed in being a vigilante...and I'm sure he and Laurel could team up and do some good...as we know they will be doing.
3) THIS is how fans will finally see the goatee: The ever-long fan claim that we need to see the "classic" Green Arrow goatee...which he not only doesn't have NOW but didn't have when he was FIRST introduced is one that is really only logical in a few ways, much like the boxing glove Arrow...which Arrow worked in beautifully, it simply isn't practical considering we KNOW people can see his lower face out of the bottom of the hood, it honestly makes for a worse disguise than Clark Kent...The ONLY way to introduce us to the goatee is either have him reveal his identity to the world...(...NO...NO...NO...NO...NO), or for him to grow it while in his "exile" from Starling City, only to shave it after his initial and triumphant return
*queue the Felicity making a joke about him looking good with a goatee and the fans laughing as they finally realize how impractical it is...*
Considering Amell left this comment on his Facebook...I wouldn't put this to far in your "not happening column"
As I said this could be their way of working in something classic...without showing how impractical it is in the show overall...just a quick glance...boom done...
4) It will be a joke: As we see the shift from gloomy and emotionally in the right Oliver...to the light-hearted Ollie we know (as producers have confirmed we will see), I can almost guarantee that down the line...Barry and Ollie will joke about how they were both dead at some point.
5) Yes I have a ton more predictions...but I will bore you with those another time...catch ya later!
*cough* Too soon to bring Tommy back to the present...if ever...negates death...way to much revival for one season *cough*