The WFB at Comic Con 2016: Arrow’s Unique Relationship with Supernatural Plus Interviews with Arrow Cast
It’s pretty common knowledge that “Arrow” is a show that is very close and personal to the cast and crew of “Supernatural”. For one, “Arrow” and “Supernatural” have been Wednesday night companions for most of “Arrow’s” existence on The CW. They have adjacent studios at the Canadian Motion Picture Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Their star, Stephen Amell, has a rather “interesting” friendship with Jared and somehow Jensen is always in the middle of the fun.
Brothers in Arms?
To demonstrate Arrow’s behind the scenes impact on “Supernatural,” ever since Arrow’s premiere, Stephen Amell and Jared Padalecki have often had some pretty bizarre exchanges on Twitter and Facebook. They actually play out like a bit of a torrid love affair….
@amellywood but i WISH I was doing this! pic.twitter.com/yD7OhpOEsF
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) August 24, 2013
Awesome news. @jarpad and I made it official. pic.twitter.com/DAFGkLg38Y
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) June 22, 2014
@jarpad @amellywood #SuperArrow
— Robbie Thompson (@rthompson1138) June 22, 2014
Hey @amellywood , in this new promo shot for Arrow, Oliver Queen looks a LOT sexier! (And less shiny) pic.twitter.com/T6p7O1TZiV
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) November 20, 2014
.@amellywood don’t mock the injured dude!!!
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) November 21, 2014
Jensen gets into the fun too, like when they’re comparing hiatus beards (I’m still not sure if this is really Stephen Amell or a very good doppleganger)
Hey @amellywood you look SOOOOO handsome with your beard! pic.twitter.com/zQzeeVC46U
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) July 2, 2015
@jarpad @amellywood the holy trinity @JensenAckles#HiatusBeardpic.twitter.com/kWF5pCQmjp
— dania (@Iovelydjh) July 2, 2015
Then there’s the sharing of experiences during People’s Choice Award time…
@amellywood this is how me and JA watch #supernatural , how do you watch #arrow? #PCApic.twitter.com/qtXUzmjbfk
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) December 4, 2013
Okay, this is just plain stalking now…
.@jarpad — I’m at the booth doing our signing. Good to have you watching over me. pic.twitter.com/C4Cas4yKRq
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) July 11, 2015
Stephen Amell is a fellow friend of Misha Collins too, both of them sharing the same passion for their causes…
Miss you @mishacollins —
Incidentally, we raised over $12,000 for #OperationSmile this morning. pic.twitter.com/wZv0cUPWUR
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) July 27, 2014
Then there was the time that Stephen Amell live tweeted the midseason finale. Not sure if Jared returned the favor. He did catch on though to the similiarites between Misha and “Arrow” character Felicity Smoak…
[View the story “‘Arrow’ star Stephen Amell Live-Tweets ‘Supernatural’ Mid-Season Finale” on Storify]
Like every friendship though, things really started getting weird…
Out of nowhere @jarpad sent me a photo of him holding my daughter. Assuming my wife left me and he’s her new Dad. pic.twitter.com/ataaQ5uE66
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) February 9, 2014
Then there’s the twisted Jared/Jensen/Stephen love triangle…
.@JensenAckles we hang out more than you realize. You just haven’t noticed… UNITL NOW! pic.twitter.com/Z5ARWvAh05
— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) January 31, 2015
But then again, maybe a threesome isn’t a bad idea…
.@JensenAckles and I can’t BELIEVE we finally got to hug and touch @amellywood (He’s even taller in person) pic.twitter.com/t4z585b9LJ
— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) October 26, 2014
But yeah, things have gone a bit too far these days…
Actually, it’s a little worse than that…
Watch this video around the 4:40 mark. Mr. Amell vows that the act will not go unavenged! I’d worry, this guy knows The Flash and Supergirl!
Overview for Those Unfamiliar with Arrow
“You have failed this city.”
That’s all you really need to know! It’s the tagline of a vigilante that dresses in green leather and eliminates his opponents with bows and arrows, as well as showing true grit and giving an arsenal of hokey speeches. He has a rag tag team behind him who have changed a bit in the past few years as actors have moved onto other things. The most recent loss, Laurel Lance, aka The Black Canary, in season four was a smarting loss for totally badass women. It took us four seasons to actually like Laurel just in time for them to kill her off? That did prompt many “You have failed this show” outcries. Actually, there are a number of “You have failed this city” memes out there. I tried looking for one with “Arrow” and “Supernatural” and couldn’t find any. There’s a challenge right there for the comments! I need some “Arrow” and “Supernatural” memes.
Anyway, “Arrow” is the show that kicked off the whole DC franchise for The CW. It is not the highest rated show, nor is The Green Arrow one of the more iconic DC heroes. That honor goes to “Arrow’s” first spinoff, “The Flash.” (“DC Legends of Tomorrow” is the second spinoff). But “Arrow” established that universe and basically turned The CW into the superhero network.
“Arrow” is a lot darker and more pessimistic than it’s “Flash” counterpart, probably because Star City (or Starling City in the early years) is a sesspool. It’s not anywhere as “flashy” (ha, made a pun!) as Central City. The thing that makes “Arrow” very unique is the tons of action sequences and elaborately choreographed fight scenes, the exact thing that makes it a huge draw for male viewers. “Arrow” was the show responsible for bringing male viewers back to The CW. There’s also this whole “will they or won’t they” thing between Oliver and Felicity which has polarized the fandom (known in shipping terms as “Olicity”). They almost got married in season four, but in season five they’re supposedly back to “friends.” Their scenes sometimes pushes the show into soap opera territory, but the ensemble on this show is strong and often saves some of the weaker story lines.
Star City has had it rough. In every season finale, some villain has tried to destroy it in a very elaborate and far fetched way. In season five, there will be a “Legion of Doom” that will have impact on all DC shows, although the amount we’ll see them on “Arrow” remains unclear. Considering “Arrow” villain Malcolm Merlyn is a member of that legion, I anticipate it’ll have some impact. There will also be a four show crossover this season of “Arrow”, “The Flash”, “Legends of Tomorrow” and “Supergirl”, so yes you will get to see The Green Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl all in the same scene.
The Interviews…aka SPOILER ALERT!!!!
At Comic Con, I was honored to go to the Arrow press room. This was my fifth time interviewing the cast and producers. Well, actually only one producer this go around.
All talk was on Arrow season five. I started off first with the Toronto Blue Jays hatted Amell, who shared some interesting info about Oliver in the upcoming season. In season five, Arrow will be hitting a big milestone, the 100th episode. Amell starts off our interview by revealing something very interesting. Of all the shows that premiered in 2012, Arrow is the only one left. He also talked about where Oliver’s head is in the beginning of the season, and it’s not as optimistic as the way season four left off. Guess what? Ollie pretty much sucks at mayor.
Next interview, fellow partner in vigilantism…Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak)
In the comics, Oliver didn’t have a sister. He was an only child and both his parents died while he was stranded on the island. We all saw that in “Smallville” thought. As The Flash has taught us, alternate realities exist. Here’s our interview with Willa Holland, aka Thea Queen. What is little sister up to? She’s pretty much playing mayor while Oliver plays superhero at night.
Last we saw in season four, John Diggle quit the team and re-enlisted in the military. I’m thinking, how does his baby daughter handle Mom being the head of Argus and Dad being an officer in the military? She’s going to end up being a badass, that’s what. Here’s our brief interview with David Ramsey talking about Diggle’s inner conflict in season five.
My favorite interview of the session…Echo Kellum. He plays Curtis, the adorkable engineer at Palmer Technologies who became Felicity’s right hand man in season four. He will eventually evolve into Mr. Terrific, another minor DC superhero. This was the first time I met Echo and he’s so…terrific! He’s every bit as enthusiastic in real life as he is on screen. It was quite refreshing! He will make an excellent addition to the regular cast.
I’m one of those people still stunned that Quentin Lance, played by British actor Paul Blackthorne, is still breathing! Not that I mind, he’s always been an interesting character. Inconsistenly written, but Paul is such a great actor he can do great things with pure crap. I think it’s weird that Lance has buried his daughters three times and he only has two of them, and one is still alive! With the news that Katie Cassidy is becoming a regular cast member for all four superhero shows, that could very well be two alive. It’s a crazy world for this guy! In this interview, it sounds like Lance is not going to be in a happy place in season five.
Our last interview is with Executive Producer Wendy Mericle. Both Nightsky and I had a chance to meet Wendy and get to know her a bit. A wonderful and down to earth lady. She’s very excited about the season to come and how they plan on getting back to basics. As previously announced, season five will be the last year of the “flashbacks” (this makes me very happy) and it will involve Oliver getting involved with the Bratva in Russia, which has been a consistent plot point since season one.
Excited about Arrow season five, or are you just looking forward to more antics between Jared, Jensen and Stephen? Either way, “Arrow” is an important partner to “Supernatural” in the CW family, and we couldn’t be happier to see these two together.
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