Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen was let in on The Hood’s secret last week on The CW’s “Arrow,” while the original vigilante-obsessed fanboy — Colton Haynes’ Roy Harper — got (literally) the other end of the stick when he was shot in the leg by his hero.
But, Colton isn’t holding a grudge over how and to whom the information was distributed first.
“If I didn’t think Grant Gustin was like the coolest person in the world, I’d probably be upset,” Colton laughed when AccessHollywood.com asked him about Barry finding out Oliver Queen is the vigilante in last week’s cliffhanger. “It’s a lot more acceptable for him to find out.”
It was Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) who shared the news with Barry when she tranquilized him and brought him to The Arrow lair to try and save a barely-hanging-on Oliver.
Colton’s character didn’t find out Oliver’s truth, but he did make a discovery about something else in last week’s episode. Starling City’s street-level hero Roy learned that following a blood donation, one of Sin’s friends died with blood pouring from his eyes. And, chasing down that mystery on his own (don’t expect that arrow-in-the-leg to slow him down) could have serious consequences in tonight’s mid-season finale, as Colton told Access in a new interview.
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AccessHollywood.com: We’ve seen Roy getting into progressively more trouble all season. How bad do things get for him in this mid-season finale?
Colton Haynes: They’re just being so mean to Roy! I think Roy’s just really angry with everyone at this point (laughs). I think things are just going to continue to get worse with Roy too. I mean, it doesn’t stop here in the mid-season finale. But, you know, Roy is snooping around getting himself into some trouble and finds himself in a lair or dungeon somewhere and is being tortured in a way. … If you’ve seen some of the promotional images, he’s lightly injected with something that is gonna alter his life for a very long time in the future.
Access: Last we saw Roy, he had an arrow in his leg, courtesy of The Hood. How will this change their relationship?
Colton: Well, his idol is slowly becoming his nemesis, or someone he’s wanting to get back at. … He was shot in a leg. It was almost like a warning sign, saying, ‘You better quit what you’re doing. You better stay out of trouble and you’re getting involved in too many things that you aren’t aware of.’ So, in true Roy Harper fashion, he’s now going to want to unmask the Hood even harder, but also he’s going to need a little help and I have a feeling that his little crew that he’s assembled with Sin and Thea, they’re gonna have their own little team to go after The Hood.
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Access: Speaking of Thea, she’s been so different this season over last season. Do you think Roy’s been a positive influence on her?
Colton: I really do. I think that Roy’s been a positive influence, from what we’ve seen, but I think it’s also he’s been giving her this confidence and… they’re starting to fall in love. From what we’ve seen, he’s been helping her and making her feel better, but I think that could easily change because he’s starting to lead her down a path that I don’t think she’s ready for.
Access: There have been a lot of bombshells on this show. How do you think this [mid-season finale] episode stacks up against those big moments?
Colton: I think it exceeds it. There is a great moment between Arrow and Roy that resembles a scene in the finale… and there could be some possible returning characters.
Access: You Tweeted a photo of Roy being threatened by Brother Blood with a syringe, with the caption, ‘sad news for Roy Harper fans.’ Can you tell us anything more about that scene?
Colton: It’s very sad news for Roy Harper fans (laughs). That scene — it’s really cool because at the same time that that scene is going on… they’re having flashbacks [to] what’s happened on the island with Slade Wilson’s character and it resembles a lot of what’s actually going to happen and what’s been happening with Roy’s character. So, it’s fun to see different characters almost go through the same thing — not at the same at time — but with the flashbacks. And it’s also going to be really fun and interesting to see – ‘cause Roy doesn’t know who’s doing this to him because of the mask.
Access: Would you say that this episode is a game changer for the mythology of the show?
Colton: Oh yeah, definitely. This episode, you know, it is a mid-season finale, but this episode really … kind of puts a pin in a few storylines that could almost make it feel like it is the actual finale. So, it’s a game changer because the progression of a lot of the characters is quick and really a lot of story is added to a lot of characters that haven’t been progressing as much this season, so it’ll be fun to get more information on those characters.
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Access: Are you hoping they will officially make Roy one of The Hood’s ‘Scooby gang,’ where he knows everything and gets to be part of the team?
Colton: I think that’d be fun. I think that would be a really fun dynamic to see Roy with Diggle and Felicity. They’re now writing for Roy this season. Roy gets Felicity lines. He’s getting these quippy little like comedic lines with like, ‘as he rolls his eyes,’ so it’s kind of nice to see that. And we got to see a little bit of that with the Bose spots — Roy and Felicity got to work together. … I think he’d make a great addition to the team, but I don’t know how happy that would make The Arrow to have like a little Robin sidekick, so we’ll see how that plays out.
The “Arrow” mid-season finale concludes tonight at 8/7c on The CW.
— Jessica Chrysler & Jolie Lash
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