Arrow Scoop: Oliver's Secret Is Out! What's Next?

That didn't take long!
Arrow's titular character has already been unmasked! After Oliver's bodyguard Diggle (David Ramsey) was hit by one of Deadshot's poisonous bullets, Oliver (Stephen Amell) was forced to bring him back to the foundry and show Diggle his true identity at the close of last week's episode. That's exactly where Wednesday's episode (8/7c, The CW) will pick up.

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"Oliver has to deal with it immediately," Amell tells TVGuide.com. "He immediately explains to Diggle, or at least tries to, why he is doing what he's doing, and it doesn't go very well. It brings a dynamic to the show which I really enjoy, which is Oliver without his suit on, without his makeup on, without his bow and arrow, being able to act like the hood."This new dynamic — which the producers previously teased would facilitate Oliver having to answer for his sometimes questionable methods — will also work in Oliver's favor. "He obviously told him for a reason," Amell says. "Throughout the course of [Wednesday's] episode, he realizes that there are going to be situations and ... opponents like Deadshot who force him to utilize other people. Going forward, hopefully it would be Diggle."That's not to say Diggle will be the Robin to Oliver's Batman. "I don't think that Oliver positions it as a sidekick," Amell says. "He offers him a partnership. There are things that Diggle can do in his position within private security and in his position ... that Oliver can't. He can operate in plain sight. It would be more of a partnership if, in fact, it were to happen."

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However, Oliver will find help in someone else as he must turn to Laurel (Katie Cassidy) for assistance when an innocent man is framed for murder. "Oliver is given reason to believe, based on the names on his father's list, that this gentleman is possibly innocent," Amell says. "There are things that he can't do and ways that he can't go back and track what has happened. So, it's a job for a lawyer. That's where Laurel comes into the picture."With Oliver letting Diggle in on his secret, it's only a matter of time before others begin to question why the hooded vigilante showed up the same time Oliver returned to Starling City. That very question will be addressed when Oliver is arrested on suspicion of being Arrow, and Laurel comes to his aid in the courtroom in next week's episode. "I don't think that she feels that Oliver is capable of being this vigilante," Cassidy says. "She just doesn't believe it, so she just knows in her heart that if she doesn't believe it, she can prove to everybody else why they shouldn't believe it either."Are you surprised Oliver was unmasked so quickly?Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.