Between Ted Bundy and the Fyre Festival, tell-all documentaries are all the rage, even in the Arrowverse. And in the 150th episode of Arrow on The CW, a “documentary” that chronicles the complex life of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), Arrow introduces two major characters from the comics — one who already made their TV debut but has been missing since 2016. Based on what the episode is teasing, they may have newfound importance in a storyline that will take up the latter half of Arrow Season 7.
Spoilers for “Emerald Archer,” the 150th episode of Arrow, ahead.
“Emerald Archer,” an episode framed through the literal lens of a documentary on Oliver Queen (narrated by Kelsey Grammar), is jam-packed with old faces who provide their perspectives on the Green Arrow.
While some are of regulars on other DC CW shows, others are characters fans haven’t seen in years: Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne), Thea Queen (Willa Holland), Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Cindy “Sin” Simone (Bex Taylor-Klaus), Rory Regan/Ragman (Joe Dinicol), and The Flash’s Barry Allen (Grant Gustin).
But there are two who weren’t interviewed for the documentary, and may have larger, more important repercussions for the rest of the season.
At the end of the episode, we find out who has been “watching” the documentary, now contraband in the future: Mia (Katherine McNamara), a new character from the comics, and Connor Hawke, played by Joseph David-Jones in a reprisal of his singular appearance in Legends of Tomorrow. In the future, these two are working together for reasons yet to be known, and they return to the “Arrow Cave” that has decayed without Oliver Queen.
Joseph David-Jones as Connor Hawke/Green Arrow in DC's 'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 1.
Who Is Connor Hawke?
Fans should already be familiar with Connor Hawke. Born to Oliver Queen and Moonday Hawke, Connor takes up his father’s mantle as the second Green Arrow when Oliver sacrifices himself to stop a bomb. (Oliver would be resurrected years later and star in a new series, which began with the storyline “Quiver” written by film director Kevin Smith.)
Since the New 52 reboot in 2011, Connor Hawke of the primary DC Universe has been absent, if he even exists at all; a Connor Hawke of Earth-2 is killed by monsters from Apokolips.
But that’s the comics. In the Arrowverse, Joseph David-Jones’ Connor Hawke is an alternate identity adopted by John Diggle Jr., the son of John Diggle. (When Barry Allen created the Flashpoint timeline, John and Lyla’s daughter Sara became a boy, whom they named John Jr.) David-Jones previously played Connor Hawke in “Star City 2046,” an episode of Legends of Tomorrow set in a future depicting a dystopian Star City ruled by the son of Deathstroke.
In that episode, Connor teams up with “Old Man” Oliver Queen — missing an arm, in homage to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns — to take down Deathstroke and rebuild Star City. Because time travel is all wibbly wobbly (timey wimey), it seems as if their hopeful future was rewritten to once again be a dystopia. Oliver Queen is possibly dead, and everyone who spent time around him are resistant to ever being vigilantes again.
So is Connor still the Green Arrow? “Emerald Archer” makes it unclear.
Mia Dearden, the second Speedy, in DC's 'Justice League: Cry for Justice.' Illustrated by Mauro Cascioli, Scott Clark, Ardian Syaff, Steve Wands, Mauro Cascioli.
Who is Mia?
As far as Mia is concerned, she’s new, though her history in comics has a direct influence on Arrow. Introduced in 2001 as a child prostitute saved by a resurrected Oliver Queen, Mia becomes the second Speedy after Roy Harper. In 2004, under the direction of Judd Winick, she would also become one of the few HIV positive superheroes in mainstream comics. She developed a close friendship with Connor Hawke, with whom she trained to become a vigilante.
What’s notable about Mia and the TV series Arrow is that she indirectly influenced the creation of Thea “Speedy” Queen, Oliver’s sister whose surname is Dearden (like Mia). Thea would eventually become Speedy for real after actor Colton Haynes (who played Roy Harper) exited the series. Compellingly, Thea in Arrow became an influencer of her own, serving as the inspiration for Emiko Queen, a character who is just now appearing in Arrow played by Sea Shimooka. (If you lost track of who influenced what, we don’t blame you.)
What This Means for Arrow
Throughout this season of Arrow, its parallel “future” timeline has been admittedly difficult to keep track of. We know that Star City is in ruins, though things are a little more tame than the total nightmare it was portrayed as in Legends of Tomorrow. We know Rene Ramirez, the vigilante known as “Wild Dog,” is the city’s mayor in the future, and his daughter kind of resents him.
We know Felicity Smoak is dead. We know most of the other members in “Team Arrow” are alive, including Dinah/Black Canary, and the team totally resent each other and their long, shared history together. We don’t know where Oliver Queen is or if he’s even alive.
There’s plenty of questions left to be answered in Arrow, and the introduction of both Connor and Mia raise even more queries. They’re probably not even superheroes, though nobody ever breaks into a superhero lair without the intention of putting on a mask.
Arrow premieres Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
