Former Arrow showrunner Marc Guggenheim reveals fake script pages were written to keep Tommy Merlyn's (Colin Donnell) death a secret. Debuting on The CW back in 2012, Arrow kicked off the massive Arrowverse which has since spawned multiple TV shows and several epic crossover events. It brought the DC comics character of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) to life and ran for eight seasons on the network. Earlier this year, following the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, Arrow finally came to an end, with Oliver having lost his life during Crisis and the rest of his friends and family gathering to honor him.
One of the familiar faces to return in the Arrow season finale was Tommy, who had been revived thanks to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Tommy was a prominent character during Arrow's first season, largely thanks to his role as Oliver's best friend. He died in the season 1 finale, though Donnell was able to make multiple cameos over the years. At the time, however, fans were shocked when Tommy died after being trapped inside a collapsing building, a result that likely made Guggenheim happy considering the lengths he took to ensure it would be kept secret.
Guggenheim shared on Twitter that fake script pages were published to keep Tommy's death under wraps. He shared three pages in total, with the first including a quick flashback to Oliver's time on Lian Yu. You can see Guggenheim's tweet below:
In the show, Tommy and Oliver reconcile after spending several episodes at odds. It adds an extra level of heartbreak to Tommy's death, as the two friends had finally found their way back to each other just before Oliver loses Tommy for good. However, the fake script pages shared by Guggenheim took the scene in a completely different direction: Instead of the two repairing their friendship, Tommy grows even more angry with Oliver after realizing Oliver killed his father, and he vows to kill Oliver.
Ending the first season on that note certainly would have shaken fans, especially since Guggenheim chose to end the pages with the two men facing off. The real question is, which ending would fans have preferred? While Tommy lives (for now) in the fake pages, he and Oliver's relationship seems irreparably fractured, which could have been even more distressing for fans. Instead, however, Arrow season 1 ended with Tommy's death, and it's clear it had the effect Guggenheim hoped it would.
Source: Marc Guggenheim/Twitter
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