Arrow: All the Characters Who Return in Final Season Trailer

The first full trailer for Arrow‘s final season debuted today, and it looks like it took fans on a trip down memory lane in the process. The trailer chronicles more of Oliver Queen’s (Stephen Amell) last days, as he works alongside The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) to stop the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” from happening. In the process, the show is expected to revisit key points in its history.

“We’re basically revisiting our greatest hits in the episodes leading to the crossover,” consulting producer Marc Guggenheim recently said.

“Episode 1 is like season 1, episode 2 is about a very specific part of season 3,” Amell added. “Episode 3 is about a very specific part of the latter half of season 3. Every episode feels like an event. It feels like a limited series.”

Given the wide array of characters that have appeared on Arrow over the years, that premise appears to be leading to some pretty epic returns. Just in the trailer alone, fans got a look at some of the people who will be joining Oliver on his journey, ranging from series mainstays to surprising guest stars. So, who did we spot in the final season trailer? Read on to find out.

Tommy Merlyn

The trailer opens with several visual callbacks to the show’s earlier days, including a scene of Oliver in one of Star City’s dance clubs. Watching from across the club is none other than Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), Oliver’s childhood best friend.

Despite Tommy being killed off in Season 1, Donnell has reprised his role in various ways throughout Arrow‘s tenure, which made his return in the final season a bit of an open secret. Photos from the premiere have also hinted at scenes of Oliver and Tommy in the Queen mansion, so fans can safely expect more from the character than just him staring ominously.

Mia Smoak

About a third of the way through the trailer, fans get another look at Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara), the future daughter of Oliver and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards). Once her true identity was revealed midway through the season, Mia became an integral part of the show’s flash-forward sequences, and proved that she was just as talented with a bow and arrow as her father.

As was revealed today, one of Arrow‘s final season’s episodes will revolve around Mia, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy Rodgers), and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff about The Canaries. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see exactly what’s in store for Mia — and for Star City’s future as we know it.

John Diggle

Unsurprisingly, one of Oliver’s closest allies is joining him on his crusade, as John Diggle (David Ramsey) can be seen entering a hallway with Oliver midway through the trailer. Granted, it was basically a given that Diggle would play a role in Arrow‘s final episodes (especially since Ramsey is directing the season’s sixth episode), but it sounds like the duo will be at a new stage in their relationship when that happens.

“The space has been closed.” Ramsey revealed during an appearance last month. “I can say that. Diggle’s always been on Oliver’s side. It will be no different in Season 8. And we’ll see the relationship gets even tighter, I think, in ways that they haven’t been before, certainly since Season 7, when they had their big blowup or 6, when they had their big blowup. So some of that reconciliation has happened, and these guys are closer than they ever have been, and the season begins that way.”

Laurel Lance

Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy Rodgers) appears shortly after Oliver and Dig, and remarks that it was nice of them (or somebody else offscreen) to show up.

Again, Laurel and Diggle’s roles in the final season were already revealed in several promotional photos, complete with new costumes for bot of the characters. But given the fact that Cassidy Rodgers has been with Arrow since the beginning – and is expected to play a role in that new potential spinoff – it’s certainly nice to see her have a role in the show’s last hurrah (both in front of and behind the camera).

John Diggle Jr.

The trailer also showcases quite a lot of the Deathstroke Gang, a band of mercenaries that have been causing trouble in Arrow‘s flash-forwards since last season. Eventually, it is revealed that the leader of the group is none other than an older version of John Diggle Jr. (Russian Doll‘s Charlie Barnett).

While John Diggle Jr.’s whole existence has been affected quite a lot by the Arrowverse as a whole, this marks the first time that he’s really been an active player in the show’s events. And given the fact that his adopted brother, Connor Hawke (Joseph David-Jones) is on the opposite side of Star City’s fight, Arrow could be setting up a pretty complicated family battle.

Thea Queen

Also making a surprising appearance throughout the trailer is Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Oliver’s half-sister who previously operated on Team Arrow as Speedy. After retiring as a vigilante, Thea returned for a brief arc in Season 6, which ended with setting out to find the lost Lazarus Pits with Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) and Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law).

Holland’s return to the series was officially announced earlier this month, with an indication that she would appear in more than one episode. Just based off of the trailer, it looks like she’ll be partnering with Oliver in some sort of Indiana Jones-esque adventure.

Talia al Ghul

Also joining that adventure will be Talia al Ghul (Lexa Doig), who served as Oliver’s mentor during some of the show’s flashback sequences. Talia then went on to play a role in Oliver’s fight against Prometheus (Josh Segurra), as she ultimately joined forces with the foe. She was presumed dead until midway through last season when she was revealed to be a fellow inmate of Oliver’s at Slabside prison.

Since Talia escaped Slabside at the end of her arc last season, it makes sense that she would play a role in whatever the final episodes have in store.

Katana

Another one of Oliver’s former mentors, Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana (Rila Fukushima), makes a fairly unexpected appearance in the trailer. After Tatsu and her husband helped Oliver in the show’s flashbacks, they later played a role in the fight against Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Tatsu then returned in Season 4, as Oliver tried to deal with Thea’s bloodlust.

Katana’s role in Arrow has been kinda nebulous over the years, in part due to the Suicide Squad movie of it all. But with her return announced back in August, it will be interesting to see exactly how she factors into the final episodes.

Lyla Michaels

Another brief return in the trailer comes in the form of Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson), who can be seen fighting a random man outside of some sort of mansion. The ARGUS director and wife of John Diggle has been a fixture of sorts on Arrow, it’s interesting to see that she’ll be back in some way for these final episodes. (Especially since the scene is giving us major “Suicide Squad” vibes.)

Moira Queen

And finally, the trailer comes to a close with a return that is heard, but not seen. Just after Oliver proclaims that history is repeating itself, Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) can be heard calling out to Oliver. Earlier on in the trailer, a Queen Consolidated key card bearing Moira’s name can also be seen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.

Moira’s return was also announced earlier this summer, and photos from the premiere hinted at scenes with her and Oliver in the Queen Mansion. But even then, her brief cameo in this trailer surely tugged on fans’ heartstrings.

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Arrow‘s final season will begin Tuesday, October 15th, at 9/8c on The CW.