Arrow: Oliver Will Return Sooner Than We Think and May Have a Suprising Dynamic with Ra's Al Ghul
Arrow's executive producer and Ra's himself reveal details on how soon Oliver will return and what we can expect from his relationship with Ra's.
16 JAN 2015 BY ROTH CORNET
We're going to be talking about the significant conclusion of the battle between Oliver Queen and
Ra's Al Ghul, here. So if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to be spoiled, you may want to head out and return when you've had the opportunity to catch up.
Still with us? Okay!
Arrow left off with a big cliffhanger - almost, but not quite, a literal one. With Oliver soundly -- almost humiliatingly -- defeated by Ra's Al Ghul and chucked off a cliff like so much refuse, the question became: What's to become of The Emerald Archer?
IGN had the opportunity to speak exclusively with Ra's himself, Matt Nable, at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, as well as follow-up with Arrow executive producer Andrew Kreisberg with a small group of reporters about when we can expect to see Oliver again and how the relationship between Ra's and the Arrow may evolve (assuming that Oliver makes it through...which we do).
When Will Oliver Return?
As
Eric Goldman said in our discussion about the mid-season finale, the show is called Arrow and Stephen Amell is the star. There hasn't been a contract dispute, so it's fairly safe to assume that he'll be back.
"He didn't have that much time off," Kreisberg confirmed when a reporter asked how long Amell had been away from production.
"That would suggest that he's not a part of these [upcoming] episodes. He is. I just think the way in which he is a part of them isn't quite what people are expecting."
Nable, for his part, is headed back to set next week. "[Ra's] obviously comes back in the mid-season finale in the battle with Stephen," the actor said when we asked when we might see the villain reappear. "So he'll be coming back and interacting with Arrow pretty quickly."
The Lazarus Pit
Now,
how Oliver will return is another question all together. Amell will likely appear in flashbacks -- at the very least -- when the show returns. Many fans are speculating that the series will be utilizing the
Lazarus Pit to justify Oliver's resurrection from the as-good-as-dead state we last saw him in.
"I think the key to Ra's's longevity will be explored," Kreisberg said when we asked if we'd be seeing the Pit. "But we want to keep surprises in store. We always say we make this show for two audiences: we make it for me and my wife. My wife doesn't know anything from anything -- as far as comic books are concerned. But it has to appeal to both audiences. We know there are going to be some comic book fans watching it, and they're going to be like, 'I know exactly where this is going.' Hopefully we flip it on its head enough to where they're challenged and there's enough mystery involved, and for the regular audiences they're just going along for the ride anyway."
As to Ra's longevity, when Nable was crafting his character, he had to incorporate the idea that he's centuries old and simply does not see the world as others might.
"He's immortal, and he's been around for such a long time," Nable reflected. "I think it's in the way he speaks, an economy of words. He's seen so much, and he doesn't get flustered. But for me as well, as opposed to some of the other interpretations, I like for him to have a physicality. If he's lived that long and he's this badass, then it's okay to be a bit scrappy around the edges. That's the way I see it. Look, I've only lived 42 years, and I'm tired. [Laughs] So if he's lived that long, I'm sure he's a bit rough around the edges at times."
"I think that character, more than just about anyone on this show, would understand what life and death is," Nable continued. "He's taken thousands of lives, and he's lived past so many others, so he's got a good perspective on it. I don't think he's insane, and I don't think he's lived his life in bliss, but I think his perspective on it would be a lot clearer and measured than with other characters that he's interacting with. Living that long and knowing you're going to live forever would be a difficult thing to get your head around, but he's had thousands of years to get his head around it. So he's very comfortable with life -- with
his life, in any case."
Ra's is also very comfortable with death -- with being, judge, jury, and executioner.
"I think he's done that for so long, he'd be very uncompromising with his judgments," Nable reflected on his character's ridged ethical code. "You know it's, 'If you've done that, you're done.' It'd be very black and white for him. You know, I don't see Ra's as a bad person. I see him as he says: 'I'm replacing evil with death.' So he's a righteous man. From that point of view -- you don't have to like every character you play, but you need to understand them, and I certainly understand him."
Could Ra's Be a Mentor to Oliver?
There are some who speculate that Oliver's old compatriot from Hong Kong, Maseo - now in the League of Assassins - will step in to bring the fatally wounded Oliver to the Lazarus Pit (or somewhere like it) to save his life.
"I don't think he'd be too happy," Nable laughed when we asked how Ra's would respond to one of his own disobeying him by rescuing Oliver. "I don't think he'd be too happy with that at all."
Ra's does have a respect for Oliver, though. So it seems possible that if (and when) he does survive, that Ra's may take that as a potential opportunity to bring Queen into his fold.
"Yes, I think there could be," Nable told us when asked if there might be a future where Oliver and Ra's have a mentor or ally relationship. "Yes. [Laughs]...I can say no more."
A Formidable Force
Ra's is the villain that many fans have been waiting for, so the question is: How present will be be as the season progresses?
"I think he's going to be a formidable force, yeah," Nable said of his continued place on the series. "There's no doubt about that. I think you alluded to it before with Arrow.
I think there will be a gentler side shown, a mentoring side perhaps. I'm still a little bit in the dark. So definitely formidable, but I also think nurturing."
Creating That Fight Sequence
There was a great deal riding on that confrontation between Ra's and Oliver, both in terms of the story and in terms of fan expectations. Each actor seemed to know that, and take it seriously.
"I worked really, really hard with the stunt guys, and obviously so did Stephen," Nable said of the battle. "Stephen did everything that day. I had a stunt double that day who did quite a bit of my stuff, because there was a lot of swordplay, and just time-wise -- but I'd learned the choreography.
What we were hoping to get out of it, for Ra's al Ghul, was an economy of movement, so that he was making Arrow look really silly. So it wasn't even going to be close. It was just so easy for this guy. So that's what they wanted to get across, and I think they got that. He only has to move the slightest bit to beat Stephen. That was the idea."
New Interpretation of Ra's:
Whenever a character as iconic as Ra's is reintroduced in a new incarnation, both the actor and the creative team face a tremendous amount of pressure to satisfy - or exceed - expectations.
"To take on a character that lives so freely and so presently in people's minds, we feel like we had a lot of people to convince, but we are in love with Matt," Kreisberg said of Nable's casting. "You watch episode nine, and he
is Ra's al Ghul. That's one of the great things about all these characters.
I mean, Keaton was a great Batman, but so was Adam West, and so was Christian Bale, and I'm sure Ben Affleck will be; the young boy on Gotham [David Mazouz] is another great iteration of Bruce Wayne. These characters were meant to be played by different people. Everyone brings something different to them. That's fun for us as writers: people have expectations for who this character is; what can we do to provide those expectations. What can we do that's different? Hopefully we've done that with Matt and Ra's."
"I think what they wanted more than anything was a physicality for the role," Nable reflected, in thinking about his version of the character. "I think they had seen me in Riddikk, so they had a very specific idea of what they wanted for this Ra's. And I think going up against someone like Stephen Amell, who's also a really physical guy, I think they had in mind that physical quality. Beyond that, I think I was really lucky in the sense that they just said, 'Make it yours. Whatever interpretation that you come up with, we trust you.'
To be honest it was quite nerve-racking, because I didn't want to muck it up. Those are big shoes to fill, with Liam Neeson and some of the other performers who've played that character."
As far as the backstory for this iteration of Ra's is concerned, Nable says that the writers and producers encouraged him to research as much as he could about the character, which he did.
"There's so much mythology involved with that character," the actor said. "Thousands, and thousands, and thousands of words that you read up on. But they're still developing things as we speak, so I'm finding out as I go along what's happening. You can only interpret script by script where you are, which is actually really fun. It's unfolding in front of my eyes as well."
Does this particular Ra's Know Batman?
Ra's assertion to Oliver that he hadn't faced a such a foe in 67 years seemed to be a strong indication that Ra's doesn't, in fact, know Batman in this particular DC universe. Or at the very least that he hasn't seen him in quite some time. Nable hasn't specifically been told whether he does or does not know The Dark Knight.
"I just assume all those things," the actor said. "I'd guess he does. That's my interpretation of it, that all those things have happened and they're in the past, and this is the present day with Oliver Queen. For this character, for this role, I don't think too hard about that. I'm just concentrating on -- I mean, Ra's comes in and out of things, so what happens with all those moments between Arrow or whoever else is in this production, who knows what he's doing? He could be interacting with Batman, with Bane, whoever."
Is Nyssa Ra's Soft Spot?
We haven't seen much of Ra's relationship with his daughter, yet. When asked if there is any softness in him, if Ra's has it for Nyssa, Nable said absolutely and that he has hopes that they'll "get to explore that a bit this season as well."
"We know she's been developed a lot as well, Katrina Law [the actress who plays Nyssa]," the actor continued. "So yeah, I've done some scenes with Katrina and if it fleshes out and we have those moments together, then I'd certainly like to bring that gentleness, that side, to this character. She's his daughter and he loves her. That would be nice to show as well."
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01...may-have-a-suprising-dynamic-with-ras-al-ghul
Katie ain't got a job no more? 
at this. they really just having fun out here
would fukk the shyt outta that flat ass