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ARROW: KATRINA LAW AND THE PRODUCERS ON NYSSA'S NEW JOURNEY
Law, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg on how things have changed for Ra's al Ghul's daughter.
1 MAR 2015 BY ERIC GOLDMAN Note: Spoilers for Arrow up through the February 25th episode "Nanda Parbat" follow.
The latest episode of Arrow found Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law) return to Starling City, where she fought and defeated Malcolm Merlyn, only to be captured herself by Oliver Queen. Thea Queen then confessed she was the killer of Nyssa’s love, Sara Lance, and freed her from her cell, with Nyssa's next move yet to be seen. But meanwhile, over in Nanda Parbat, Nyssa’a father Ra’s al Ghul was asking Oliver to take over as his successor…
So how will Nyssa, previously referred to as the Heir to the Demon, react to her father passing her over like this?
Katrina Law and Arrow's executive producers gave us some ideas at a recent press Q&A.
Katrina Law as Nyssa al Ghul in Arrow.
“Nyssa is pleasantly surprised,” Law said with a sardonic smirk. As Arrow executive producer
Andrew Kreisberg put it, “Nyssa is the Heir to the Demon, so imagine how she feels when she finds out that what she would consider to be her birthright is being handed to Oliver.”
But
why is Nyssa being passed over by Ra’s? Nyssa herself may think it’s tied into her father disapproving of Sara, and the Arrow producers were asked if that was true. Said EP
Marc Guggenheim, “It is subtle. I think there’s a scene in [episode] sixteen between Nyssa and Ra’s that definitely addresses that. I think the best way to answer your question is that from Nyssa’s perspective, it has everything to do with Sara. From Ra’s’ perspective, maybe… maybe not.”
The producers said Nyssa is definitely at a crossroads moving forward, with Kreisberg remarking, “The best part of Nyssa for this season is seeing somebody who, unlike all these other people who had normal lives and tragedy turned them into what they were, she was turned into what she is from birth. She’s actually going on a different trajectory where she’s seeing what kindness looks like for the first time and she’s seeing what normal people look like for the first time. Especially with what she considers to be her inheritance is taken away from her, it sends her on a completely different journey.”
Katrina Law and Stephen Amell in Arrow.
As for what Nyssa does next, Law said, “I think Nyssa’s journey, going forward, is going to be really interesting just because she was so dead set on who she was, what she was going to be, how she laid out her future for herself. Then everything has been thrown up in the air. She no longer is Heir to the Demon and she no longer has her love, who I’m sure she was thinking about keeping around forever. Essentially, at this point in the story, she’s lost everything and I think for the first time in her life, she is vulnerable and she feels weak and she feels useless and doesn’t know where she stands or who she is at the moment and I think it’s very jarring for her because she’s never had to go through that ever, in any capacity in her life before so I think you’re going to see Nyssa trying to figure out who she is and what she stands for now.”
The last episode had a big scene for Nyssa and Laurel, as Laurel came to talk to Nyssa about Sara. Discussing that and whether the two could be allies, Law said, “Personally, I love working with Katie Cassidy. She’s one of my favorite actresses. She’s my favorite actress to work with on set. She’s so prepared and professional and when she shows up she shows up. She’s ready to play. The communication between the two of us is wonderful. I feel like, journey wise, between the characters, I think the two of them may have more in common than Nyssa had originally thought. I think Laurel had kind of lived a semi-smooth life of going through the ins and outs of growing up and life was good. All of a sudden she lost her sister and now she’s lost her father and now she’s trying to become something that she’s not necessarily good at, the Black Canary - but she will be! And I think Nyssa is going through the same journey of trying to figure out who she is, now that she’s lost everything, trying to become a softer human being with compassion and sympathy and all of these things she didn’t have to think about before and making choices on her own, without her father or the league’s guidance. I think between the two of them, they may have more similarities than they think. Plus, they’re both having daddy issues right now!”
In the Nyssa/Laurel scene, Nyssa reminisces about Sara, and talks about when she fell in love with her. Law said she felt, “Any flashbacks to the Sara Lance character are always important to the Nyssa character because it’s one of the reasons fans like Nyssa, is the relationship to the Canary and the love story and how loyal she is to Sara Lance. I think one of the few people that Nyssa is able to relate to, on a primal level to that is Laurel -just because it’s a sister relationship, it’s the female bond, all these different things that you won’t get through a man. I think she’s one of the few characters that actually, fundamentally understands Nyssa.”
Kreisberg described Law as “The stunt guys’ favorite. From day one, after the first episode in Season 2, they were just like, ‘Can she come back every week?’ You’re apparently up for everything and they have to stop you from doing stuff.”
“The only thing I won’t do willingly is the silk lines. I would be flat on my face on the concrete in two seconds,” Law said with a laugh, regarding the stunts. “It’s fun. It’s a lot of fun to do your own stunts. Our stunt team is fantastic and Atlin Mitchell is my stunt chick extraordinaire and she makes my butt look great. This woman is so powerful and has these shoulders that are just amazing… The wonderful thing, Arrow, they’re so quick and efficient up there. Basically they have their entire stunt team rehearsing a week before.”
The producers were asked about Nyssa’s comic book sister, Talia al Ghul, and if she might ever pop up on Arrow, and Kreisberg replied, “We haven’t made any firm decisions about whether Talia exists in our continuity. We are so, so happy with Katrina and Nyssa. If we ever think of a reason to have a Talia, whoever or whatever incarnation we decide to do, it would be in service of furthering Katrina’s story.” Added Guggenheim, “Those are really big boots to fill.”
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/01/arrow-katrina-law-and-the-producers-on-nyssas-new-journey
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) she did get the least naked tho and it took forever for her to even do that
