Paul Blackthorne, the actor who played Quentin Lance for many seasons on Arrow, returns for one last episode. The actor joined a greatest hits cast of actors who have been on the show that are returning for the last season.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Actor Paul Blackthorne returned recently for a special episode of Arrow but many fans were wondering how the show was going to pull this off. If you recall, Quentin Lance was killed in the season 6 finale after taking a bullet for his daughter, Laurel Lance. Ricardo Diaz was the one who pulled the trigger.
For many people on the show, it was very sad to say goodbye to Blackthorne but the show runners were grateful for his graciousness as he exited the show. Arrow showrunner Marc Guggenheim had this to say about Blackthorne:
“He’s terrific… a total class act. When [we] sat down with him to give him the news, he couldn’t have been more gracious about it. I think his performance in the [Season 6] finale is among the best he’s ever given on the show. It is a very beautiful, poignant exit for this character.”
Second Life In American Acting
Blackthorne returns in an episode titled “Reset”, that is directed by fellow Arrow actor Dave Ramsey. The episode finds Oliver Queen in an alternate reality where Quentin Lance is still alive.
Actor/director Ramsey is a full of praise with regards to Blackthorne’s performance on the episode. He has this to say:
“I think he steals scenes, man. I think Paul [Blackthorne] was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant in this episode. There are things he had to do and create — a character to not only service his own arc but also the larger arc of Oliver’s — and he did it just brilliantly. I thought he was incredibly in this episode.”
As for the episode itself, Ramsey was very excited to work on it. He stated:
“I can’t speak for Stephen, but I think much of it is: Number one, it’s just a different type of episode than Arrow has ever had. [Second], a lot of times for Oliver’s arc, it doesn’t begin at the beginning of the show and end at the end of the episode. It begins at the beginning of the episode and ends a season later, or the end of that season, or six episodes later. There’s a long arc. This was Oliver going from one emotional moment and it went kind of 360. He went all the way around and he was in a totally different emotional place by the time it ended. I think that’s fun for an actor because you’re going through a full arc in the episode as opposed to leaving that arc hanging at the end and now we’re going to go someplace else.”
Getting Ready For A Crisis
If you haven’t had a chance to catch up with the new season, it’s just getting started. Plus you have to get ready for the Crisis crossover coming very soon.
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