Arrow’s Midseason Cliffhanger: What Tragedy Could Possibly Come?

In an interview with EW.com last week, actor David Ramsey (Diggle) said there’s a moment in the December 12 midseason finale that could be “bigger than when Dexter killed Rita.” Of course, that got us thinking, and our immediate thought went to potential casualties… unless, of course, the moment is a big reveal, like “Tommy Merlyn is a bad guy” or something along those lines.

Assuming that something very bad will happen to a character we love, here are our theories and odds for each one. Be warned that spoilers may follow.

Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell)
Why him? It would shock us, that’s for sure… since, you know, we assume the lead of the show is safe.
Why not? He’s the lead of the show. It’s called Arrow, not Diggle no matter how awesome that might be. Also, hasn’t he been through enough? Five years…

Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy)
Why her? Do we really need to pretend the show would off its female lead before she’s even put on fishnets?
Why not? See above. She’s probably the safest character this side of Oliver.

Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell)
Why him? What if this Merlyn is not the Dark Archer who is destined to be Oliver’s foe? His death would mean a lot to Oliver and Laurel, and Thea, who had developed a crush earlier this season.
Why not? What if that’s the big reveal — that Tommy is this dark archer who will be plaguing Oliver in this episode? Surely a hero needs his villain.

Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman)
Why him? He’s a guest star. His death could have Tommy screaming for revenge, assuming they reconcile. And he is getting a bit too close. Also, being John Barrowman, he’s got to eat a lot of the guest star budget.
Why not? You can’t kill Captain Jack Harkness. Others have tried and failed. You can thank Rose for that, by the way.

Thea Queen (Willa Holland)
Why her? She doesn’t exist in the comics. Her death would make Oliver even more protective of his mother.
Why not? You REALLY think they’re going to do an episode about a drug running rampant in Starling City that doesn’t involve “Speedy?”

Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson)
Why her? What better way to ramp up a Queen-Merlyn feud than to have Tommy Merlyn’s dad kill her.
Why not? There’s still a lot of story left to be told with Moira Queen. While Oliver raising and protecting his sister on his own could be interesting, it’s not time.

John Diggle (David Ramsey)
Why him? If Diggle went away, Oliver would be working alone again.
Why not? Which is exactly why he’s safe. We don’t need a return of the voiceover, and considering his commanding officer is showing up soon, Diggle’s safe. For now.

Walter Steele (Colin Salmon)
Why him? If he’s dead for getting too close to information, that would really get to Moira, and cause more drama between the Queens and the others. And, like Barrowman, he’s listed as a “guest star.”
Why not? It might be predictable, and like some of the others, there seems to be a lot of story to tell with him.

Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne)
Why him? Detective Lance going out in a blaze of glory would mean a lot to this show and to Oliver. If he were to, say, die, it would also have serious implications for Laurel. Also, hey, someone new is coming to Starling City PD.
Why not? Paul Blackthorne has Tweeted about finishing Episode 13, which makes us think he’ll be okay.

Carly Diggle (Christie Laing)
Why her? Guest star? Check. Death would seriously affect other characters? Check. Well-liked character? Check.
Why not? The Big Belly Burger wouldn’t be as much fun without her. Although, all of those factors above worry me a bit.

Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards)
Why her? Let us not think of such things.
Why not? I don’t think I need to explain this.

Joanna de la Vega (Annie Ilonzeh)
Why her? She hasn’t really had much to do, aside from telling Laurel she needs to go out and have more fun.
Why not? You don’t cast Charlie’s best Angel of 2011 and then give her nothing to do. There’s got to be a plan for her later…. we hope. Also, to get rid of Joanna at this point would be kind of like when 90210 killed Scott Scanlon — does it have an impact when you barely know the character?

Helena Bertinelli (Jessica de Gouw)
Why her? What if there’s a third Huntress episode and we just didn’t know she filmed more? She has gotten a lot of enemies already…
Why not? If they were going to kill Helena, it probably would have happened in “Vendetta.” It also seemed that Jessica de Gouw left Vancouver as soon as her second episode was done.

Dr. Lamb (Hiro Kanagawa)
Why him? He dies on every Vancouver-based TV show he appears on. R.I.P. Principal Kwan. I think he died a few dozen times on Millennium. Also, his death would make room for a new, young, hot doctor to be Oliver’s love interest. Or maybe a blind doctor named McNider.
Why not? With no offense to Dr. Lamb… would anyone really care?

Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack)
Why her? Just making sure you’re still paying attention.
Why not? She’s not on this show.