5 Things We Know About Arrow's Next New Episode, Left Behind

Arrow fans were left hanging at the midway point of Season 3 last year, and come January 21, we'll finally get to see what happens next. Or rather, how certain people are dealing with the events of the mid-season finale. And that's as vague as I'm going to be, so consider yourself spoiler-warned about the first half of Arrow Season 3. If you're not caught up, read no further!

As for the information we have for you, it comes courtesy of CW's episode description for "Left Behind," which airs Wednesday, January 21, and will have Team Arrow dealing with the major lack of Arrow. As you likely will recall, Oliver faced off (shirtless) with Ra's al Ghul in an effort to protect Sara's actual killer, Thea, who has no idea she murdered someone. Oliver's battle with Ra's didn't last long, and ended with Ra's offering Oliver a sword through the chest and a shove over a cliff, with some al Ghul-style last rites included free of charge.

Is he dead or dying? Will he be brought back to life? CW's episode description for "Left Behind" doesn't say, but it does offer us quite a few interesting clues about what to expect, and we've broken them down.

Diggle and Roy are picking up the slack while Oliver is "away."

It comes as no surprise to know that Team Arrow is continuing to fight the necessary fight while Oliver's away. Neither Roy nor Diggle is exactly the kind of guy to sit around waiting for orders, after all. But it should be very interesting to see how these two function in Oliver's absence. Will they get along and work together? Or will there be friction. This could be a good opportunity to see what kind of relationship Diggle and Arsenal have without Oliver to bind them.

Merlyn will drop in on Team Arrow.

The first part of the above description makes sense. Of course Felicity would be in denial about Oliver's condition (though I do wonder if there's a very loose implication here that Diggle and/or Roy aren't so optimistic.) But the way the description is worded, it seems like Felicity may lose hope when Merlyn arrives for a "surprise visit." Why's Merlyn paying Oliver's team a visit? Is he there to deliver information, or for some other reason? Maybe his agenda involves a combination of both. Either way, it sounds like his arrival will affect Felicity's mindset as it relates to Oliver's wellbeing.

Thea knows something is up.

Poor Thea. Sure, she's becoming super-Thea, what with her relatively newly acquired fighting skills, but she's still a step or two behind everyone else in her life... including herself, if we consider that she doesn't know she murdered Sara. But from this description, it sounds like she senses something is awry with Oliver's absence, and she's looking to the exact right person for help. Or the exact wrong person, considering Merlyn's direct involvement in Oliver's departure and possible-death. But perhaps Thea's suspicion is an indication that she's figuring things out? Eh, even if that's the case, if Merlyn doesn't want her to know the truth, odds are, he'll figure out a way to fulfill her favor whilst also nudging her back into the dark.

Ray's making progress with A.T.O.M.

In "The Climb," Ray Palmer revealed to Felicity that he's working on a suit called A.T.O.M., in the hopes of using it to protect Starling. He wants Felicity to help out with it. Whether or not she's doing that when "Left Behind" picks up remains to be seen, but it sounds like Ray's ready to give something a try, as he'll be testing part of it out.

Laurel is Black Canary

We've already gotten a look at Katie Cassidy as Black Canary, but those were promotional images. It sounds like we're finally going to see her step into her sister's shoes when Arrow picks up. What are the odds that her first suited-up outing is successful? The timing for this seems particularly notable, when we consider that Oliver won't be around for Laurel's debut as Black Canary. She's really on her own, which may be exactly what she needs to learn whatever lessons she has to learn. Oliver's not around to stop her, but he's also not around to help her.