Merciful Zeus, ‘Arrow’s ‘Broken Arrow’ Stabbed A Lot of its Cast

Arrow fans have been anticipating that Season 3 would drop plenty of bodies before its finale, but good grief, did tonight’s “Broken Arrow” spill a good deal of blood for a CW drama. Find out who from #TeamArrow landed themselves on the wrong end of a blade, and what Atom-ic and Flash-y mysteries are afoot by our full review!

You’re warned of the lion’s share of Arrow Season 3 spoilers for “Broken Arrow” from here on out, likely as well as that insane Atom spinoff, but tonight’s installment saw not one, but two OG Arrow stars taking steel to the gut. Not only did Roy Harper suffer the second attempted stabbing within Iron Heights Prison, seemingly succumbing to his wounds, but no sooner could Thea mourn his loss than Ra’s al Ghul himself dropped in to kill Oliver Queen’s sister!

Granted, neither member of Arrow’s inner circle may actually end up dead, as the post-commercial return revealed that Felicity, Diggle and Roy had staged his Iron Heights assassination with the assistance of an A.R.G.U.S. contact/guard, while Thea’s bloodshed cut to credits before we saw any bodybags. Even with Roy having said his goodbyes (and presumably Colton Haynes along with him), that dastardly Ra’s seems determined to thwart any of Oliver’s attempts at keeping his life in order, no doubt incensed by Quentin’s failure to obtain any of Oliver’s fingerprints within their foundry lair.

Of course, Oliver kept plenty busy otherwise, as Starling City faced its first real metahuman threat in the form of Jake Simmons (Falling Skies star Doug Jones), an electricity-absorbing baddie with some seriously killer eye-beams. Oliver’s every move under watch from the police, the Starling vigilante was forced to rely on an eager Ray Palmer and his A.T.O.M. suit, despite Oliver’s worry that the super-newbie relied too much on technology to make a proper hero. It got pretty awkward, especially around Felicity.

After an initial ass-kicking, and Felicity subsequently getting herself captured in an attempt to track the villain, Ray and Oliver sprang back into action for round 2, Oliver helping control Ray’s Atom-ic movements with the aid of a neural link. Even after a severed connection, Ray managed to make short work of the so-called “Deathbolt” and drop him as far as the Central City particle accelerator, only to find a further mystery. As Cisco uncovered, Simmons wasn’t in Central City at the time of the explosion that caused the metahuman outburst, and must have obtained his incredible powers through some other mysterious means. Hmm…

And speaking of mysteries, we finally learned what the Hong Kong flashback endgame is all about, as Oliver and the Yamashiros discovered that Amanda Waller wasn’t behind the attempt on their lives, and had in fact been held hostage by the mysterious General Shrieve, who himself intends to release the Alpha-Omega virus on the city. The trio managed to infiltrate another base and obtain a few scant vials of vaccine, but still have to face down the Army to stop Shrieve from killing millions of Hong Kong residents. Not to mention, there’s always the mystery of what happened to Akio in the present day.

So, where does “Broken Arrow” leave us, with Starling City now believing the Arrow dead, Roy Harper leaving town once again (likely for good), and Thea bleeding out all over her loft? Well, and you’re warned of even further spoilers for next week’s “The Fallen,” or potentially the Atom-centric teamup spinoff, but next week’s promo pretty conclusively showed Oliver carrying his dying sister to the Lazarus Pits of Nanda Parbat, presumably in exchange for ascending the mantle of League of Assassins head.

Perhaps more than that, the quick flash of a Canary amid all the talk of resurrection might offer a subtle clue into what Caity Lotz might be doing back on the CW teamup series! Granted, it’s a theory.

We’ll bring the latest on Arrow Season 3's stabby “Broken Arrow,” but how will Starling adjust without its titular hero? Will Thea come back markedly different than the girl we know? Where’s Roy off too? And did anyone else notice how adorably Felicity insinuated her love for Oliver, and how poor Ray seemed to catch on? Check out the latest (spoilery!) Season 3 trailers below, and stay tuned for more on Arrow‘s latest twist!