TV audiences are less and less trusting of death these days, something Arrow intended to subvert in Season 4 by the killing of a major character. For his part, Stephen Amell insists in a new interview that said character will stay six feet under, but is it a misdirect?

You’re warned of Arrow Season 4 spoilers from here on out, as well a bit of The Flash, but following Laurel’s demise in “Eleven Fifty-Nine,” Arrow has seemingly taken great pain to insist that Laurel won’t be taking a dip in the Lazarus Pit, or given any kind of fake-out reprieve. Amell corroborated as much in a new interview with Larry King (who has surely never watched an episode):

King: Laurel was killed off this year. Viewers couldn’t hear her dying words. Do you know what they were?

Amell: I do know what they were, but it’s going to remain a secret because much like Greg [Berlanti] says, ‘We like to surprise the viewers.’

King: Any chance she’ll come back from the dead?

Amell: No.

King: Simply no?

Amell: Simply no.

The Arrow star does place a curious emphasis on the word “simply” in that last exchange, though we also know that Katie Cassidy will return to play Earth-2's Laurel in an upcoming Flash episode, while Oliver himself is said to team with “a surprising force” against Damien Darhk in the subsequent week’s finale. Mere coincidence, perhaps, though there’s been curiously little report of Cassidy returning to the talent pool for any post-Arrow projects.

We’ll find out for ourselves in the coming weeks, but should we take Amell at his word? Is Arrow truly Laurel-free from now on?

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