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Arrow - Interview With Guggenheim On Oliver, Felicity & Training With Malcolm

Feb 11, 2015

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Thanks to Emma for the heads up.

AccessHollywood.com: What reaction was Oliver hoping for when he returned and saw Felicity?
Marc Guggenheim: I do not think he was expecting what he got from Felicity. I think he was certainly expecting a reaction on everyone's part to the idea of training with Malcolm and sort of working with Malcolm, but suffice it to say, I don't think he expected Felicity to take as hard a [stance] as she did.

Access: It seems like Malcolm's kind of redeeming himself a little bit. OK yeah, he had Thea kill Sara, but he made a great leap in the [last episode]. I feel like changes are happening with Malcolm.
Marc: That's good to hear actually. One of the fun things about Season 3 for me is that Malcolm is this very – he's a very interesting sort of character in the sense that, is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy? Is he getting redeemed? And I think a lot of people, or reasonable minds will disagree on whether or not he has done anything of redemption just yet, whether or not he is capable of redemption. Certainly, Malcolm's morality and whether or not his soul can be saved is going to be to something that we're hitting over the remaining 10 episodes of the year. And I think it's very satisfying to me, as a writer working on the show, to watch people's reaction, debating whether or not Malcolm is redeemable because he really sort of started out as our sort of first villain that was of our -- proving our credo that even the villain is the hero of their own story. And to see that his morality continues to be in flux and continues to be the subject of debate is really, really interesting.

Access: Oliver and Malcolm – does Oliver see him as a means to an end or does he maybe have to care about this guy because he is the father of Oliver's sister, Thea?
Marc: I think he struggles with both of those things and I think he struggles with who Malcolm is as a person and what he needs from him as an asset and certainly, the fact that Malcolm is, on the one hand, Thea's father, on the other hand has done something which is unforgiveable to Thea, which is make Thea culpable and responsible for Sara's death -- it's not black and white for Oliver and Oliver's someone who likes to be able to look at things in a black and white way. But as we just discussed, there's really nothing about Malcolm that allows anyone, including Oliver, to look at him in a black and white way.

45 comments:

  1. Well things does look interesting going forward. I can't wait to see what Malcolm does next. Also it will be fun to see the training scenes between the three. Even though I want to beat Oliver black and blue for letting Thea near Malcolm. :)


    Yay Slade and Oliver scenes. I can't wait for them to talk shit together.

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  2. same here but if Oliver and Thea can't even beat Merlyn how can Oliver possibly beat Ra's Al Ghul? and do you think there is a SLIVER of the old Slade Wilson we knew and loved still in him or is he completely gone?

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  3. Well think of it this way, in the training both Thea and Merlyn probably get a chance to beat his ass, and he will get his to beat Merlyn's.

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  4. Oliver can fight him on a near equal level in terms of hand to hand and archery, provided it's not in cramped spaces. Malcolm can train Oliver in league sword fighting, and Ra's methods and tactics. Combine that with Oliver's younger, faster and probably stronger physique and he's a better match to fight Ra's (well that and Merlyn would never be given that option).

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  5. Merlyn beat Oliver twice remember? but the other stuff makes sense but Ra's didn't even have a weapon until he took Oliver's so how do you beat someone who doesn't even need weapons?

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  6. As bad a decision as it was (and as maddening it is to watch as a viewer) to involve herself with Malcolm, Thea is an adult who is allowed to make her own decisions even if those decisions are monumentally stupid. There's no fault with Oliver there.

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  7. Even though people may not like Malcolm and Oliver together......the training will be good. This interview do not seem to me that merlyn is been redeem.

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  8. Even I don't think he is redeemed. The question is does Oliver think he is?

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  9. True. But she made those bad decisions before Malcolm mind raped her. It is Oliver's duty as a brother to tell her about that incident as soon as he learned it and keep her away from Malcolm. It should have been done on Oliver's part on ep 09 before he left for the duel. Other wise it is like we allow our best friend or sister to date the guy whom you know date raped her and she has no memory of it.
    But if Thea is still training with Malcolm after knowing about Sara situation then there is absolutely no fault with Oliver.

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  10. True. I love Malcolm when he is in Dark Archer mode. It will be fun. It's the daddy mode I can't stomach.

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  11. I think with Merlyn's training and help from guys like Roy, Thea, ATOM and even Malcolm Oliver will have a fighting chance against Ra's and LoA.


    I hope there is some old Slade left somewhere in that beautiful head. I can see Slade redeemed n

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  12. He did. But if you notice the second time it was much more even. And he fought him quite well in 3x04. You use weapons, and improve your technique and Merlyn knowing how the league and Ra's fights could help train him for that.

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  13. Thea already has all the info she needs about Malcolm to know the kind of person he is. Knowing what he's already done, brainwashing can't be a revelation of any sorts. The damage is done, the decision has been made, and it's a bad one. No fault on Oliver.

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  14. No. Oliver does not.

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  15. Thea has made the bad decision of trusting Malcolm which resulted in her being mind wiped of which she has no memory of. Oliver after knowing this has a responsibility to let her know what happened to her body and mind. It is Thea's fault for the things that happened of course. But it is Oliver's duty as a brother to clue her in on what is being done to her and help her to move away from Malcolm. Keeping her in the dark about this is as cruel as Malcolm doing it.

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  16. he fought him in 3x04? wow i do not remember that LOL and yeah i guess it was pretty in their second fight but even then he still got lucky when he "killed" him, yeah i guess but was Merlyn close enough to Ra's to know his techniques?

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  17. yeah that could work and Slade is definitely more redeemable than Merlyn by a mile

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  18. Well Ra's techniques must serve as the basis of eague training. And if he was given a release from his duty, he must have been quite close to Ra's.

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  19. Slade isn't going be redeemed. He doesn't want it. Plus dude planned to have the entire city destroyed and millions killed to punish Oliver. Even Malcolm in 2x23 expressed a standard against such brutality. I'd say he's even more genocidial.

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  20. Nah he doesn't want it. Plus he hates Oliver too much.

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  21. Definitely. Why would he? Guggenheim said it himself Oliver's pretty black and white, and Malcolm's done nothing good so far to even a belief in redemption on Oliver's part.

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  22. Indeed but "keeping her away from" Malcolm, as you originally mentioned, is still not Oliver's decision to make.

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  23. I agree. I didn't mean he should be redeemed or he would be redeemed on the show. What I meant was since all the damage he done on the show was under the influence of Mirakuru they have an out if they want to take it. They could say Slade still had trace amount of Mirakuru in him in season 2 finale and then show him as someone with different out look. But they won't do it.


    He could work best as an anti hero mercenary with a stint in SS.

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  24. Thea should absolutely have all the pertinent info possible on the people she associates with and it's Oliver's role as a protective big brother to not keep her in the dark. That being said, even if she ends up hating Malcolm's guts and gets ill just looking at him, The League is still a problem and will still be coming for her. Taking off, isolating herself, shutting people out, none of that will do her any favors or help her at all with what is coming. She's going to need people by her side even if one of them happens to be a total scumbag and that's probably why Oliver made the decision to get help from Malcolm to begin with. My enemy of my enemy and all of that. This is a situation that no one wants but everyone involved will just have to suck it up and move forward together... and watch their backs to make sure Malcolm doesn't stab them in it.

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  25. That is true. But I hope Thea treats Malcolm like the villain that he is and please stop with he cares speech after she learns the truth atleast. With Thea we never know.

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  26. Agreed on all points.

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  27. wait i'm confused, doesn't want what? LOL

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  28. THE REMAINING TEN?!?!?! I wanted this crap over and done with, not dragged out for the rest of the season. Ughhhh, someone give me an ice pick, so I can take my freaking eyes out!!!

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  29. Yeah that or occasional but a lot less crazy villain is best for Slade. I hope he joins the squad and the CW does a Suicide Squad miniseries (same with Firestorm).

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  30. It's a consideration because as messed up as it is, Thea does care about Ra's. So Oliver will be moved somewhat by that. I have to point out it doesn't mean he will, nor do we know the full context of the episode yet.

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  31. You keep forgetting that 21 years ago he was a good daddy, he cares about the city and wanted to level the Glades and kill everyone in it so no rich person would ever go through what he went through AND he saved Thea without having an ulterior motive, it's not like he wanted to brainwash her into being a killer or something. Nope he did it out of the goodness of his heart. If that doesn't make him redeemable then what would? Sometimes you can be very unreasonable.

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  32. Are you kidding me? "Even the villain is the hero of their own story"? Please stop taking your themes from crap like Maleficient and Once Upon a Time. I can't deal with 10 episodes of this nonsense.

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  33. SPOILER:


    So far the "training" is to send him to Lian Yu to "face his fears" because apparently Ra's preys on your fears just like Count Vertigo 2.0. Here I thought Ra's just stabbed you with swords and that Oliver's fear was being Oliver Queen. But since we've rewritten all of S3 to fit a new and insane narrative and dropped all character growth and identity narrative, Oliver is scared of Lian Yu, Thea needs to overcome her fear of landmines and Oliver is going to work on getting back that killer instinct that character growth had slowly erased since Malcolm KILLED Tommy and Oliver actually got on his quest to become a hero. If he needed to learn to become a killer again why not call Amanda Waller.

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  34. He's not supposed to BE reedemable. That's my issue. Along with like 80% of the fanbase. There's no reason to be "reasonable" with him. No matter how you put it. He's Oliver main enemy for a reason. And it's not to have redeemable qualities. No matter how much one thinks so. This whole thing is laughable.

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  35. Plz tell me you know I was being sarcastic :(
    We seem to be experiencing a communication meltdown today lol

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  36. I haven't liked any episode since 3x10. I'm really angry at Arrow for soooo many things right now. And that is making me more angry lol hopefully next week's episode will reward us.
    Take a deep breath and think about the ladder ;)

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  37. I know what the problem is. YK too. (Deep breathes). I can't wait til the show gets back on track. Next week does look better. Here's hoping.

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  38. Yeah I know *exasperated sigh*
    Just remember that Tommy is coming back. Yaaaay

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