Paul Blackthorne
"Arrow" actor Paul Blackthorne, pictured here at BAFTA LA's Washington Prep High School Film Festival in Los Angeles on May 15, 2015, recently shared details about his character Captain Lance's Season 4 arc. Getty

Although “Arrow” is still in the early episodes of Season 4, a lot of secrets have been established that appear to be coming to a head in episode 4. With his relationship with the season’s principal villain a mystery and his daughter having just returned from the dead, perhaps no one has more to lose if his secrets are discovered than Captain Lance (Paul Blackthorne).

As fans know, the last episode of the hit CW series saw Lance’s daughter Laurel (Katie Cassidy) use the mystical powers of the Lazarus Pit to resurrect her dead sister Sara (Caity Lotz). However, in doing so, she stripped away all the aspects of Sara that made her who she was. Instead, what came out of the pit was just a highly dangerous and well-trained animal capable of untold destruction. In the preview for episode 4, titled “Beyond Redemption,” it is implied that Laurel will bring Sara back to Star City and Captain Lance will learn that his daughter has come back to life once again. This forces the girl’s father to decide if it’s worth it to have her physical form around if she’s got no soul to support it.

“Well, I think it’s a lot of neurosis, because the last thing you want to do is kill your own daughter,” Blackthorne told Entertainment Weekly. “Especially when she’s just come back from the dead. However, if she appears to be in a pained and in a terrible state, like how you’d have to put your dog down at some point, it might be the best thing to do, so that’s the choice you have to make.”

Fortunately for diehard fans of the DC Comics TV universe, we all know that Lance doesn’t actually succeed in any attempt to put Sara down as the character will be featured in a leading role on the upcoming time travel-based spinoff “Legends of Tomorrow.” Somehow, the upcoming events in “Arrow” Season 4 will prepare Sara to don the mask of the White Canary and join up with the team led by former “Arrow” character Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh). Still, the decision on whether or not to pull the trigger will likely have a long-lasting effect on the character’s relationship to her father and her old life.

Fortunately for viewers, and unfortunately for Captain Lance, the turmoil surrounding his daughter’s return isn’t the only problem teased for the episode. Since the Season 4 premiere, Lance has been working with the show’s newest villain, the mystical Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough). Although he was a willing participant in the partnership at first, he soon became a prisoner to the villain once he threatened Laurel’s safety. Luckily, Lance may get some help with this matter now that episode 4 teases the Green Arrow himself, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), is figuring it all out.

“It's a bit of a moment in their relationship. Obviously the tables have turned somewhat. Lance has taken the moral high ground for much of their relationship and at this point, Oliver finds himself in this position,” Blackthorne told TV Guide. “To me, it's been one of my favorite scenes actually, given three and a half years of history culminating in this particular moment when everything between them shifts.”

Fans will have to tune in to “Arrow” Season 4, episode 4 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EDT on the CW to see how it all turns out for Captain Lance and the rest of Team Arrow.

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