Arrow 'Deathstroke' Trailer: A Closer Look With Gifs

Arrow has been on a roll lately, delivering one great episode after another and last night's "Birds of Prey" was no exception. We're closing in on the last of the recent cluster of episodes teased in that amazing 3-minute preview, as "Deathstroke" looms ever closer, after which there's another break between episodes and then the home stretch for what's left of the second season. That includes an episode called "Seeing Red," which doesn't bode well if we consider what that title meant for an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Season 6. But we're looking too far ahead. Let's focus on Episode 18, which is titled "Deathstroke," and which will focus on the ongoing battle between Oliver and Slade. Obviously.

You have the preview above and here's the official description.

Hey, look at that. Summer Glau is in this episode. Here's photographic evidence of that to go along with the description and to show what she's wearing...

Because during the preview there's this one moment when there's a woman kicking someone and at first I just assumed it was Sara...

But then right after there's this, which appears to be in the same room, right?

And that's a woman Oliver's slamming down on that table (in an angry way)...

Safe to assume that's Isabel he's getting rough with? And if so, does that mean that her efforts to "take Queen Consolidated away from Oliver" are somehow linked to Slade? Because otherwise he really needs to control the temper, at least at the office.

Speaking of temper, are we all in agreement that Roy's going to lose it when he finds out Thea got snatched up?

Or maybe this will be the true test of Roy's ability to keep his head under extreme pressure and anxiety.

And we have Oliver throwing down with some masked guy.

Anyone of note or just some masked thug?

And then, of course there's the big tease at the end, which we saw before and pretty much concludes the footage revealed in that 3-minute trailer...

Finally, who's this?

Is it a cop or some kind of security guard? I'm going to guess guard by the hat, but either way, RIP.

I'm also going to guess that Thea will be ok in this episode, mainly because I've already lodged my official theory on which of the lead characters will be the major casualty this season, assuming there is one and assuming there's only one. Just to be clear though, my belief that Sara won't last the season is definitely not wishful thinking beyond my hope that if she does die, it won't be Slade who does it, as I'm hopeful he will not only survive "Deathstroke" but that he'll depart Starling without having burned whatever remains of his bridge with Oliver. If he kills Sara, that bridge is decimated, I assume.. As for Sara, she's awesome. She's strong and likable and if it were between Sara and Laurel for Oliver (romantically) I would choose Sara without hesitation, and Caity Lotz is incredibly talented. I just think story-wise, it's in the cards, especially considering it might allow Slade to walk away from his fight with Oliver, as Sara would certainly be the figurative eye to Shado's eye... if not Slade's actual eye. But I could be wrong. It's been known to happen.

I'll revive the poll for those of you who want to weigh in on whether or not you agree on my Sara theory...

This poll is no longer available.

In the meantime, we've already heard that we should expect a bit of a cliffhanger from "Deathstroke." Then again, Arrow's kind of known for those. Last night's episode certainly delivered a pretty great cliffhanger. But "Deathstroke" may deliver an even bigger one, especially as we're left to wait an extra week for the next new episode after that.

Read Jesse's breakdown of last night's "Bird's of Prey" here.

Arrow airs Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET on CW.