Spoilers for the mid-season finale of Arrow, just in case you’ve not seen it yet…
The mid-season break of Arrow saw Oliver Queen beaten by Ra’s Al Ghul and thrown off the edge of a cliff, leading to much fan speculation about The Arrow being brought back to Starling City via The Lazarus Pit. But it seems Arrow star Stephen Amell has other ideas.
“We just saw him fall,” Amell said when asked about his character coming back. “We’ve seen Oliver survive. So, [we don’t know] whether he went straight off the cliff, whether something broke his fall, whether he hit the ground. We have mystical herbs on the show that have healing powers. We’ve seen a Lazarus Pit, although that’s not something that’s going to be used for Oliver. I hope he survives. I like playing him.”
The Lazarus Pit has been used in DC lore and it has been used to heal those who are close to death. Ra’s Al Ghul himself has used it several times.
But with its seemingly “magical powers”, does it fit into the grounded reality of Arrow? Last season’s Mirakuru and the crossover episodes this season with The Flash have shown that the producers and showrunners are open to the idea of “the fantastical”.
“I think there’s a way to do it,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim told Comicbook when they asked about The Lazarus Pit. “That’s not necessarily to say that we will do it but yes, I think there’s a way to do it that’s in keeping with the show, but that’s a far cry from me saying ‘Yes, we’re going to do it.'”
Arrow returns to TV screens later this month.
Originally published January 20, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
