Following Arrow’s fourth season, Thea Queen decided to take a break from Team Arrow following an emotional season filled with tragedy, blood lust, and questionable decisions. So when season five picks up we’ll see a different Thea Queen as she steps up to help her brother Oliver with his mayoral responsibilities.
“One of her major duties right now is helping out her brother instead of inside the lair inside the mayoral office,” Willa Holland told us during a roundtable interview at SDCC. “She’s kind of spearheading not necessarily his campaign anymore, but all of his policies. Basically instead of moonlighting as a vigilante as mayor, he’s a vigilante moonlighting as mayor. So Thea is kind of left there picking up the pieces when he’s not able to be there in his mayoral duties.”
One of the big adjustments for Thea in season five will be adjusting to a life where she’s saving Star City in a different way. Not as Speedy but as Thea Queen helping her mayor brother fix Star City. While she might miss being Speedy, the most important thing for her is to find herself before she could ever think of returning to that superhero life.
“Thea’s definitely taking a different role in her life and a different role in Star City altogether,” Holland said. “She wants to obviously always be helpful, always be taking care of others. She tends to put herself before other people continuously for the wrong reasons plenty of times. But right now she’s spearheading this part of her life rather than the other.”
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While last season was about Thea’s coming out party as Speedy, we found Thea lost by season’s end. Holland said that season five will serve to define Thea’s character.
“This season is very much about her defining herself on her own,” she said.
Watch our interview with Holland below where she discusses Thea’s biggest challenge next season, her thoughts on Thea’s return to Team Arrow, and more.
Arrow season five premieres Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 8/7c on The CW.