'Arrow': We'll Definitely Be Seeing These Characters Again, Even After The Lian Yu Explosion

When Arrow wrapped its fifth season in May, it ended with an explosion that left the survival of many characters up in the air, including that of the entire Arrow team. With three months to go before the season premiere, people have been hard at work figuring out who survived and who didn't. While most of the talk is speculation, there has been some confirmation of survivals. Let's see if we can figure out who we'll see again in Arrow Season 6!

Thea Queen

We already know that Thea will survive, since Marc Guggenheim has said that as long as he is involved with the show he never wants to kill off Oliver's sister. So somehow — and I'm guessing this has a lot to do with another character listed below — Thea manages to get to safety before the island explodes.

Felicity Smoak

As Executive Producer Wendy Mericle indicated that Helix, the hacktivist group Felicity got involved with in Season 5, will be returning, we've already made the connection that Felicity Smoak will be one of the survivors. Actress Emily Bett Rickards supported this assumption when she spoke at a Heroes and Villains Fan Fest, telling the crowd that Smoak Technologies was on the way.

John Diggle

There is no doubt in my mind that John Diggle will be returning for Arrow's sixth season, and though there has not been official confirmation, there've been some telling events that support my belief.

David Ramsey, the actor who portrays Diggle, recently ended his term as Mayor Poole on Blue Bloods. The cop-procedural is heading into its eighth season and films in New York City. Ramsey's appearances had been getting fewer and farther between over the past season, presumably because Arrow films in Vancouver, making the transition between the two series difficult for the actor.

In addition, Ramsey posted this picture on his Instagram page:

As Arrow resumed filming last week, seeing Ramsey in Vancouver and excited about the beginning of Season 6 is further proof that the actor survived the fallout. Add to that Ramsey's upcoming directorial debut on Arrow, and we have a pretty good case for Diggle's return.

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke

This survival came as a shock to fans when Stephen Amell announced at the Heroes and Villains FanFest in Nashville that Manu Bennett would return for the sixth season of Arrow.

"I can report that Manu Bennett is back to being a part of the show, and I think we will see him multiple times this year, which is awesome."

And Slade's survival might just help us understand how the others survived. Deathstroke has spent years in the underground prison built by Argus, and while the team might not have had the time to make it to the opposite side of the island, I'm betting they could have made it to the prison. It was possibly even Deathstroke's idea.

Though there are still several characters' fates up in the air, at least we're off to a solid start with the return of three major characters and the addition of Bennett to the cast.

(Sources: CarterMatt)