'Arrow' season 5 episode 11 spoilers: Oliver meets new ally and vigilante enemy; EP speaks on Talia al Ghul flashback mystery
Oliver (Stephen Amell) meets an unlikely new ally on the upcoming episode of "Arrow" season 5.
Titled "Second Chances," next week's episode will introduce a new female character who takes Oliver under her wing. According to the official synopsis, Oliver's quest to fight against Kovar continues, and he gets help from an unexpected source: Talia al Ghul (guest star Lexa Doig). Things take a surprising turn when she reveals what she wants from the Green Arrow in exchange, making Oliver unsure if he can accept her help.
Meanwhile, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) tries to help free Diggle (David Ramsey) by hacking the NSA. Unfortunately, her online efforts are flagged, forcing her to deal with an unknown enemy. Curtis (Echo Kellum), on the other hand, informs the team about a female vigilante named Tina Boland (guest star Juliana Harkavy). Upon uncovering her online, he learns that she has been causing trouble all over the country.
It is believed that Talia would first appear in Oliver's Russian flashbacks. This raises the question of why Oliver was unaware of either the League of Assassins or Ra's al Ghul until the second season. It's also a mystery why Oliver never mentioned to Nyssa or Ra's about meeting another member of the al Ghul family.
In an interview, executive producer Marc Guggenheim assured fans that those questions will be answered in the upcoming episodes. "We'll also be dealing very directly with the fairly obvious question, which is: Wait a second, when Oliver met Ra's al Ghul, why didn't he say, 'Hey, wait a minute, I think I met your daughter back in Russia!'" Guggenheim said. "We have a very specific answer for that," he added.
As for Talia's character, Guggenheim teased that viewers will certainly sense a familial resemblance between the al Ghul sisters, but Talia is "definitely her own person." The EP further stressed that "she's not a Nyssa clone."
The fifth season of "Arrow" airs every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.