Arrow Season 4 Spoilers: Everything You Need To Know
12. Ra's Al Merlyn
Malcolm Merlyn has never been an easy character to pin-down. He was the major antagonist of season 1, but not without his reasons, and since his reappearance at the end of season 2 his motives and allegiances have been extremely murky.
He used Thea to kill Sara Lance, but then aimed for redemption by helping Team Arrow defeat the League of Assassins, making him - at least temporarily - something of a hero. Then at the end of the season things changed again, as he became the new head of the League.
John Barrowman is always fun to watch, and it will be great to see him as the new Ra's al Ghul, although just how they can fit into the series now is unclear. You certainly expect them to have a less villainous role at the very least. More of an issue this season is going to be his role as an absolutely terrible father to Thea, according to producer Marc Guggenheim:
"It’s so much fun to play with Malcolm as dad because his choices are just very unusual. Much to the chagrin of Thea, he doesn’t handle things the way a typical father would."