Paul Blackthorne's Quentin Lance will return from the dead in the Arrow series finale, which is currently filming. The eighth ongoing season is currently busy with bringing all the nostalgia as the Stephen Amell drama is approaching its end. While the season is mostly setting up Crisis on Infinite Earths, the first few episodes have featured some old favorites. The season opener had Oliver go to Earth-2, where he met several doppelganger versions of the people he has lost. One of those people included the Earth-2 version of his mother Moira (Susanna Thomspon) along with his best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell.)
But it ended with tragedy as Earth-2 was destroyed by anti-matter at the end of the season premiere. With only a couple of episodes left before the massive Arrowverse crossover, the stakes are bigger than ever. Given that Oliver is destined to die in the massive 5-hour event, the clock is ticking for the Emerald Archer. Currently, production is busy with filming the tenth episode that will serve as the series finale for Arrow. Like most series finales, Arrow is bringing back several fan-favorites.
According to TV Line, Blackthorne will be reprising the role of Quentin Lance in the series finale. However, the report also states that the actor will be guest-star in "in multiple episodes" of the final season. This suggests that Blackthorne may have already filmed other episodes prior to the finale. The biggest question about the news is how Quentin is returning. In the season six finale, viewers witnessed Quentin take a literal bullet for his daughter's Earth-2 doppelganger, Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy-Rodgers.) In the final minutes of the finale, Quentin, unfortunately, suffered from a seizure during the surgery and dies off-screen.
While Quentin could always appear through flashbacks or time-travel prior to his death, a doppelganger isn't out of the question. It wouldn't be the first time Blackthorne played another version of himself. In the Crisis on Earth-X crossover in 2017, the actor played the Earth-X version of Quentin who was a Sturmbannführer. With the final season heavily focusing on the Crisis and the fate of the Multiverse, a Quentin from another Earth does seem more likely than flashbacks. Blackthorne is now the second long-time cast member to return for the final episode.
Amell recently announced that the finale will see Emily Bett Rickards' Felicity Smoak come back one last time. With Willa Holland (Thea Queen) and Colton Haynes (Roy Harper) set to appear in recurring capacities, chances are good that they're in the finale too. Holland has already appeared as of last week's episode "Leap of Faith." The episode, titled "Fadeout" will be wrapping production on November 13, per Arrow EP Marc Guggenheim.
Source: TV Line