Interview: Katie Cassidy Talks About The Oliver-Laurel-Tommy Triangle

A new episode of Arrow airs at 8PM (ET) on The CW tonight, and one of the factors in tonight’s episode is the continued exploration of the Oliver Queen-Laurel Lance-Tommy Merlyn love triangle.

When we were in Vancouver, we spoke with Katie Cassidy, and one of the subjects that was talked about was that triangle.

“The three of them go back since they were children, and they’ve been very close,” Katie says of their characters’ past. “After Oliver was assumed dead, Laurel and Tommy leaned on each other. Obviously they got very romantically involved a few times, which to Laurel was just sort of a lapse, as she says during the pilot. But to Tommy, I think he really cares for Laurel, and he’s willing to go to extremes to show her how he feels. Between Laurel and Tommy, I think she’s more fun; it’s lighter. But I do think that Oliver is the love of her life. I feel like with Oliver it’s a lot more intense; there’s a lot more passion and fire and a lot of emotions, obviously, that come up when she’s with Oliver. When she’s with Tommy, you just get to see more of a sexy and fun, wild side to Laurel,” she explains.

The early episodes of Arrow have dealt with Laurel’s reaction to Oliver being back, and what exactly it might mean to her. “I think it’s something that she’s come to terms with,” Katie says. “You know, it’s been five years; it’s something that she’s accepted and had an opportunity to grieve over. Obviously a lot of mixed emotions come when she shows up there, but it’s more than that. I think she wants answers, and I think she also wants to share with him it wasn’t just about her sister. It was about her mother; it was about her father; it was about why she became an attorney. There’s a lot of things that are explained, and I think she just wants to be heard by him. I do think she will move past that, it’s just a slow process.”

Does Tommy Merlyn stand a chance? “I think she’s sort of weighing the pros and cons,” Katie teases. “I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen, but they certainly have a good time together, and it’s certainly an interesting dynamic because Oliver and Tommy are best friends, and it’s a love triangle going on. So we’ll see; I don’t know.”

A new Arrow airs tonight on The CW and CTV. You can read more about tonight’s show here.

DISCLAIMER: Hotel and travel arrangements for our Arrow set visit were provided by Warner Bros. Television.