What Really Happened To Malcolm Merlyn In The 'Arrow' Season 5 Finale?

#JohnBarrowman fans are in a state of shock after the Season 5 finale of #Arrow. Maybe it's because we've been down this road before. (Note: This post contains spoilers for Arrow's Season 5 finale.)

The end of Season 1 had us believing we would never see the Dark Archer again after he took an arrow to the chest, but he showed up in Season 2. And as much as we hated him, we all breathed a sigh of relief because #MalcolmMerlyn is a villain we love to hate.

Earlier this season, we learned that Malcolm Merlyn would not be appearing in Season 6 of Arrow, but since he hadn't appeared that much in Season 5, we weren't concerned. But the finale, where Malcolm appears to sacrifice himself for his daughter, Thea, seems to have put the final nail in his coffin ... or has it?

Even though John Barrowman posted on his Instagram page that "Malcolm Merlyn is no more" and that he wouldn't be back next season, we all know that death doesn't really mean death on #DC shows. And though he hasn't (publicly) been invited back for Season 6, there is always the possibility that the producers will want him to appear in future seasons. Could that be why we didn't see Malcolm Merlyn's dying moment?

For those of us who are fans of Malcolm Merlyn as well as John Barrowman, we don't want to admit that the #DarkArcher is really gone. And we choose to believe that there is a possibility, that there will always be a possibility, that Malcolm could return, whether in flashbacks or as a doppelgänger from another Earth. In order for the fans to be convinced, we'll need to see a dead body — and even then, we won't be 100 percent positive!