Interview with John Barrowman about Malcolm Merlyn's return in the CW television series Arrow.

One of Arrow’s biggest early guest star “gets” was John Barrowman as recurring Season 1 nemesis Malcolm Merlyn. Barrowman, widely known for his many roles in TV and stage with the most prominent possibly being Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and spin-off Torchwood in which he was the series lead, brought with him a huge fan base, and the character of Malcolm served as a frequent foil for Oliver Queen as he planned his “Undertaking” to destroy the Glades part of Central City.

And then Malcolm died. Or, at least, the audience was led to believe that, until Malcolm showed up in the seventh episode of Arrow Season 2, not only alive, but dropping the bomb that he was the father of Willa Holland’s character – Oliver Queen’s sister, Thea. At the time of his return, it seemed that only Moira was aware that he was back. Now Moira is dead, and Thea has lost all of her parents… or has she? Tonight’s episode of Arrow, airing at 8PM on The CW, might [re-]unite father and daughter for the first time.

We spoke with John Barrowman about his return to the series, for some hints about what we can expect, including what might happen for Malcolm as the series goes into Season 3. Enjoy:

KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: What brings Malcolm back to Starling City?

JOHN BARROWMAN: Bluntly, in a nutshell, to save Thea; to protect her.

Are you allowed to tell us anything about what kind of situation she may have found herself in?

No, but what I can tell you is it’s a situation between a father and a daughter that’s going to be heightened by a thousand, and things are going to be done that are going to be quite unbelievable… but awesome, and typical of Malcolm and Thea.

Is Malcolm aware that Slade Wilson has killed Moira?

You’re going into something now that is not yet written yet, or may not be written. I don’t know. So I can only talk from the aspect of John who plays the character, and all I can say to this is Malcolm is not the type of person to not have his eyes open and watching what is going on, no matter where he is. So I think that Malcolm has been watching, keeping tabs on what’s been going on, knowing exactly what Slade has been doing, knowing exactly who he’s killed… all that kind of stuff… and that’s why he knows when he comes back into this situation, he’s got all that ammo behind him to protect himself, because you don’t jump into a situation like this without having anything to back you up, and knowing what’s been going on.

He’s gutted by Moira’s death, because that is the mother of his child, and that is the thing — why when Moira would say things like “I’m going to get you, you bastard, all that kind of stuff” — Malcolm thrilled on it, because he knew the past that they had had. He also cared for her, and it was also, like, yeah. “Come on. You and me, we’re gonna be a power couple.” He’s devastated that she’s gone, but you do not get a taste of that emotion yet.

Does he know that Thea knows he’s her father, by this point?

I would have no doubt. Of course he knows. Like I said, he’s been watching. He knows.

Will we find out anything more about how Malcolm might have survived death, in these return episodes?

No. [Hesitates] I’m just going to say no, because this is about Thea and Malcolm. When Tommy died, Malcolm didn’t realize that what he was going to do was going to kill Tommy, because he didn’t think that Tommy had the balls enough to become a hero, and step up to the plate, but Tommy did, and what Malcolm has realized, is Malcolm can control cities, he can control people with money, with power manipulation, but he cannot control their emotions. So what you’ll find here, is he’s come in to “rescue” Thea who is at her lowest. She’s down; she’s emotionally distraught, so therefore, he can try to manipulate her emotionally.

Is Malcolm just in “Streets of Fire” (tonight’s episode), or is he in the finale as well?

He is in the finale also.

Because this interview is long, we’re splitting it into multiple pages. Navigate below for more: