Arrow: Will Oliver Queen Go Public This Season?

Spoilers ahead for future episodes of Arrow.

In numerous interviews over the years, Arrow star Stephen Amell has said that he'd like his character to eventually unmask to the public and for The Arrow to be able to operate, not in the shadows, but as a publicly-known superhero.

The trajectory of this season seems to beg the question: will the writers allow him to do just that by the end of Season Three?

Last night at PaleyFest, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg admitted that the conflict created by Oliver's secret identity -- needing to sneak off and change clothes, etc. -- is one of the least interesting elements of writing the show, and that the writers are glad that so many people in Oliver Queen's inner circle now know who he is.

That's increasingly common, of course; none of the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have secret identities -- and while Coulson and Fury's faked deaths might count, and Daredevil appears to be a full-on masked hero, the larger trend doesn't seem likely to end anytime soon with (the never-masked) Doctor Strange, (the military-sanctioned Captain Marvel and (the ceremonially-costumed) Black Panther on the horizon.

Similarly, while Superman maintains a secret identity, Lois figured it out almost immediately and any reporter watching Man of Steel probably assumed that a journalist as good as Perry White already knows, too. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are unmasked and, if they're anything like their comics counterparts, are world leaders who don't hide their face most of the time. Outside of Batman, it seems that DC is joining Marvel in the "secret identities aren't cool" club.

They also debuted some footage that showed both Ray Palmer and Captain Quentin Lance learning that Oliver is The Arrow -- and neither seeming to take it very well.

Lance, in particular, seems to be on the hunt for The Arrow himself, raiding the Foundry with a group of cops.

We've seen something like this play out in the comics -- and, yes, it did end with Oliver Queen being unmasked, standing trial (for the murder of a mass-murdering supervillain) and eventually operating as a publicly-known superhero for a while (before the New 52 relaunch scrubbed all that away).

There have been rumblings that set spies have seen a member of Team Arrow -- not Oliver -- being arrested while in costume, and seeing the Foundry infiltrated likely means that not only Oliver, but Thea (how owns the building after all) is compromised as well.

The trailer also appeared to show a "fake" Arrow being unmasked, which has broader implications for the characters and their world. If someone else were to go on a crime spree while dressed as the Arrow, it could not only set the police (and Ray Palmer) against Oliver, as seen in the teaser played at Paley, but it could motivate Team Arrow to operate somewhat more openly in order to prevent something similar from happening in the future.

And, of course, we have the idea that with Thea now not only trained-up and aware of Oliver's lifestyle, but quasi-officially part of Team Arrow, there isn't really anyone left to protect.

If the idea of a secret identity is to keep your friends and loved ones from being harmed as a result of your life of crimefighting, keeping one did a terrible job of protecting Sara Lance, Moira Queen or Tommy Merlyn...and leaving the secret identity behind now doesn't seem likely to endanger almost anyone who isn't already regularly in danger.

Is it a certainty? No, not at all. But there are a lot of things pointing in the direction of "This makes sense."

When and if the Paley trailer is officially released, we'll add it here for you to dissect yourselves.