‘Arrow’ Reveals that Oliver Queen’s Son William is Gay

William Clayton, the son of Oliver Queen on Arrow, was revealed to be gay in last night’s episode of the hit CW series.

The reveal was not played for sensationalism or promoted ahead of time, so it was easy enough to miss, but during his heart-to-heart with Roy Harper on Lian Yu (in the flash-forward timeline), William made a passing reference to a boyfriend back home.

When Roy asks whether Felicity and Oliver have left William, he said yes, joking that his boyfriend “wonders why I have commitment issues.”

Given that Felicity seems to have been the one to put William on a mission to go to Lian Yu, meet with Roy Harper, and retrieve Oliver’s bow, it seems likely that whatever drove the family apart is something she is looking to remedy…and that she believes the Green Arrow legacy is key to repairing the rift.

So far in the flash-forwards, fans have learned only bits and pieces about the world to come. This is likely intentional, not only so that it doesn’t spoil the fate of Oliver’s prison term but also so that more generally it does not box in writers for future seasons.

That is likely to change at least somewhat, since last night’s episode saw Roy Harper telling William that the two needed to pack up their things and return to Star City.Heading to the city where Oliver and Felicity live and work is likely to force at least some details about the way things have shaken out in the last 20ish years.

Equally mysterious is why and how Roy ended up living on Lian Yu. It would be one thing if he went there so that Felicity could send William to him to train, but it seems pretty obvious that is not the case, and that Roy (who is no longer with Thea) wanted to get away from society.

Whether we will see William’s boyfriend, or whether his personal life even takes place in Star City, is also up in the air at this point, although it seems likely if the flash-forwards are going to continue indefinitely, as executive producers have suggested they will.

Arrow and its spinoff series The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are hardly unfamiliar to LGBT characters and stories; characters like Curtis Holt and Sara Lance have populated the Arrowverse for years. With William, a key difference is that he was not promoted as an LGBT addition to the cast, and we got to know young William before his older self ever came out.

Arrow airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT, before episodes of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on The CW.