The CW’s Arrow: DC Comics’ Geoff Johns On Tonight’s ‘Shock Moments’ & Big Emotions

This week’s episode of “Arrow” on The CW is so big, the writer of it believes fans might drop a curse word — or two — while watching it.

“Gosh, at the very least you’ll say, ‘holy s***,’ at least twice,” DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, who wrote the episode (called “Dead to Rights”), told AccessHollywood.com when we asked how huge it is. “But, I do think that my favorite moments aren’t the shock moments. Mine are the emotional moments.”

The action may involve the return of Deadshot and China White, but there are some heavy emotional punches, one of the biggest delivered by John Barrowman, who plays Malcolm Merlyn.

Fans will get to understand a little more about how the death of Tommy’s mom (and Malcolm’s wife) affected the elder Merlyn, who finally attempts to repair the father and son’s relationship that fractured even further earlier this season after Malcolm cut Tommy off financially.

“She was a very altruistic person and more altruistic and honest, I think, than every other character that we have on our show, right now. She was on her own mission to help Starling and [her death]… I think it jarred something loose for Malcolm,” Geoff said, hinting at more of the back story that John’s character will open up about in this week’s episode.

Geoff said this week fans will get to understand that “Malcolm has a point of view” in the tragedy, and he and Tommy will finally discuss the death.

“They’ve never talked about it and you see them actually open up a little bit and connect,” Geoff said.

There will also be flashbacks to the island with Slade Wilson and the not-yet-Arrow Oliver Queen, something fun for Geoff to pen since the Deathstroke mask in Episode 1 was his idea.

“This way early on when we were still casting and David [Nutter, an ‘Arrow’ executive producer] said, ‘We want to make the island a really mysterious place. We need something that’s going to tell a story just visually.’ And there’s nothing more I like than the Green Arrow/Deathstroke rivalry, so I said, ‘What if we throw Deathstroke’s mask, almost like on a totem, almost as a warning to anyone who comes on that beach, if they’re associated with Deathstroke, like this is what he did. And there’s an arrow through the eye?’” Geoff recounted. “And they really liked it and it’s in there and it’s cool because it’s like in the first 30 seconds of the show. For a DC Comics fan, you open this thing up to a whole world beyond Green Arrow, and the mileage we’ve gotten out of that with Slade and Oliver, I think has been really fantastic.”

“Arrow” kicks off at 8/7c on Wednesday night on The CW.

Jolie Lash

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