Arrow Season 5 Finale: Ranking The Probability Of 17 Major Character Deaths In 'Lian Yu'

3. Malcolm Merlyn

Arrow Malcolm Merlyn
The CW

John Barrowman, alongside the likes of Katie Cassidy and Wentworth Miller, signed a deal to appear as a series regular across all of the Arrowverse shows over the last year. He's spent most of that time on Legends of Tomorrow, but is now back in the present, and will be fighting alongside Oliver on Lian Yu.

However, according to reports, Barrowman has said he won't be involved in the Arrowverse next year, which certainly casts doubts over the future of the character:

That doesn't necessarily mean he dies, of course, but it does suggest it. And more to the point, there would be a lot of thematic resonance with Merlyn being one of the people to die in the Season 5 finale. The season has been all about legacy, with numerous callbacks to Season 1. Back then, of course, Merlyn was the main villain, and since he's become an ally, a father, a villain again, and round-and-round it goes. He's covered every base, but dying in the finale - perhaps to save his daughter - would be a fitting way for him to go out, and nicely mirror his defeat (and Tommy's death) in the Season 1 finale.

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