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Arrow Scoop: Find Out Why Malcolm Merlyn Is Returning in the Finale!

Malcolm Merlyn is back! It's no secret that John Barrowman will reprise his role as the Dark Archer for the season finale of Arrow, but we now know why!

Natalie Abrams
Natalie Abrams

Malcolm Merlyn is back!

It's no secret that John Barrowman will reprise his role as the Dark Archer for the season finale of Arrow, but we now know why! As Thea (Willa Holland) prepares to leave Starling City, she now finds herself trapped in the train station with some of Slade Wilson's (Manu Bennett) Mirakuru army who are hell-bent on causing chaos and taking lives. But never fear, Thea will be just fine, thanks to the believed-dead Malcolm.  

"Thea will find herself in a precarious predicament and she will be saved by her father," executive producer Andrew Kreisberg teases. "Malcolm is going to offer her what she doesn't have anymore. That was part of our math with killing Moira [Susanna Thompson]. If we were going to send Thea in that direction, she needed to have nothing pulling her back here. Now she has a brother [Stephen Amell] who lied to her and has done something unforgivable and no mother. On the flip side, she has Malcolm Merlyn saying, 'I will never lie to you, Thea.'"

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Malcolm won't be the only former member of the League of Assassins returning in the season-ender. In fact, Sara (Caity Lotz) returns to town with Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law) and the League in tow. "[Sara] went to go get help because when you're fighting an army, you need an army," Kreisberg says. "She goes and gets Nyssa and she comes back with the League. It's the Arrow, Canary, Roy [Colton Haynes] and the League of Assassins versus Slade and his Mirakuru army for the city."

Are you excited for the return of Malcolm Merlyn?

Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW. The finale will air on May 14. Read more about the finale here.

(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS, one of The CW's parent companies.)