Thanks to arrowshieldfan for the heads up.
IGN: What’s it like for you guys approaching the balancing act where you’ve got an element like Oliver and Felicity that’s hugely beloved by a big part of the fanbase, while there are going to be other parts of the fanbase that say, “I want the comic book, action stuff and I don’t want romance to take over the show”? How do you juggle what’s the right push and pull on that?
Mericle: It’s always a balancing act. And I feel on the show, having been there from the beginning, it’s always kind of been -- there are really three elements. There’s a procedural element, there’s a comic book element, and then there’s the grounded, relationship elements. The show, I think one of the reasons it’s been such a success, is we’re constantly shifting grounds between the three of those. I totally understand the fans -- if I was a comic book fan, I come from a more drama side of television and I understand there’s passion there and we need that. That informs the show in a big way. Half the staff is very well versed in the comic book universe and we always have DC there as a resource. But I think, by the same token, I come from the point of view of, hey, there are people that like action shows that might not know the mythology all that well, and we want to have some relatability on the show and people that can bring in people that don’t know that as well and I think that’s a viable aspect. There are a lot of fans of the show that don’t know that Green Arrow and Laurel Lance are supposed to be together forever and ever. That said, there is a balance. At the end of the day, we start our stories from an emotional place. That’s a [Greg] Berlanti thing and if we feel it’s emotionally right for Oliver and Felicity to be in a relationship now, that doesn’t rule out anybody else down the road But that’s kind of a process of us checking our guts and going “This feels right.”
IGN: Right now, it sounds like just a one off but is there a possibility of him returning to the show?
Mericle: Right now, it really was -- it’s born out of necessity for this particular story. I think Mark [Pedowitz] said, and Mark was right, it is a one off and this is what we’re focusing on right now.
IGN: You mentioned Sara. She’s coming back into the mix before going off to Legends of Tomorrow. Can you talk about how that’s going to affect the Lance family at this point? That is a messed up family!
Mericle: It’s a super messed up family! [Laughs] I mean, I think it’s really going to be about having her come back and exploring what it means to both Laurel and Captain Lance and what’s cool about it is we’re playing around with the emotional places that both those two characters are in, with respect to Sara. We’re going to end in some surprising places and we’re excited about that. I can’t give away too much because it’s a cool twist that Laurel and Lance will... When Sara does come back and moves on to Legends, it will have some big emotional impact.
Mericle: It’s always a balancing act. And I feel on the show, having been there from the beginning, it’s always kind of been -- there are really three elements. There’s a procedural element, there’s a comic book element, and then there’s the grounded, relationship elements. The show, I think one of the reasons it’s been such a success, is we’re constantly shifting grounds between the three of those. I totally understand the fans -- if I was a comic book fan, I come from a more drama side of television and I understand there’s passion there and we need that. That informs the show in a big way. Half the staff is very well versed in the comic book universe and we always have DC there as a resource. But I think, by the same token, I come from the point of view of, hey, there are people that like action shows that might not know the mythology all that well, and we want to have some relatability on the show and people that can bring in people that don’t know that as well and I think that’s a viable aspect. There are a lot of fans of the show that don’t know that Green Arrow and Laurel Lance are supposed to be together forever and ever. That said, there is a balance. At the end of the day, we start our stories from an emotional place. That’s a [Greg] Berlanti thing and if we feel it’s emotionally right for Oliver and Felicity to be in a relationship now, that doesn’t rule out anybody else down the road But that’s kind of a process of us checking our guts and going “This feels right.”
IGN: Right now, it sounds like just a one off but is there a possibility of him returning to the show?
Mericle: Right now, it really was -- it’s born out of necessity for this particular story. I think Mark [Pedowitz] said, and Mark was right, it is a one off and this is what we’re focusing on right now.
IGN: You mentioned Sara. She’s coming back into the mix before going off to Legends of Tomorrow. Can you talk about how that’s going to affect the Lance family at this point? That is a messed up family!
Mericle: It’s a super messed up family! [Laughs] I mean, I think it’s really going to be about having her come back and exploring what it means to both Laurel and Captain Lance and what’s cool about it is we’re playing around with the emotional places that both those two characters are in, with respect to Sara. We’re going to end in some surprising places and we’re excited about that. I can’t give away too much because it’s a cool twist that Laurel and Lance will... When Sara does come back and moves on to Legends, it will have some big emotional impact.
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