Last night's 'Arrow' installment "Seeing Red" took what might be the most shocking twist of the CW DC series to date, killing off a major character to cap off an episode that had largely diverged from the central story. Now, with only three episodes remaining in the second season, producers have taken to explain said character's unexpected end, and preview more surprising twists to come before the 'Arrow' finale.

You're warned of major spoilers through the current season of 'Arrow,' but without any further ado, Moira Queen is dead. Long live Moira Queen. Despite an increasingly successful bid for Starling City mayor after a season that saw Oliver's mother complicit in a plot that took hundreds of lives in the Glades, last night's "Seeing Red" took time to say goodbye with some flashbacks to Moira years earlier, before Slade presented Oliver with a sadistic choice, and ultimately took her life.

Speaking to reporters, producer Andrew Kreisberg promised that Moira's death would bring everyone "to the brink" for the final three episodes, and while not always planned, Moira's "hero's death" presented as one of the few remaining options for the character:

When we were talking about the future, knowing that it was only going to be powerful if Slade was going to change the game by doing something truly monstrous -- if Moira wins the mayorship, if she makes up with her kids, what is Moira without a giant secret? If they all forgive her and then there's some other giant secret, for us it felt like we were becoming a soap opera.

Of course, Moira's death wasn't the only bombshell of the episode, as we learned that Oliver had fathered a child seven years earlier, one Moira took care to conceal from her son, paying off the mother to fake a miscarriage and move away. Producers admitted that we wouldn't necessarily return to the thread this year, but potentially follow up on the child season 3. As for more immediate consequences, Moira's death will also invite Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) to return to Starling in May 7 episode "Streets of Fire," with a surprising offer for Thea, who now knows Merlyn to be her biological father.

And while Roy will remain out of commission for a bit, Sara will indeed return before the season 2 end, likely with whatever "old friend" she left to visit in tow for the final battle against Slade. Might Merlyn, or the League of Assassins have anything to do with it, we wonder?

It's all on the table for the final three episodes of 'Arrow' season 2, but what say you? Were you as shocked as us by Moira's death? Where do you think the the battle against Slade will will take us next? Check out an extended trailer for next week's "City of Blood" below, and give us your predictions in the comments!

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