John Barrowman Talks ‘Arrow’ Season 4: There’s A New Ra’s In Town

The incomparable John Barrowman sat down at the pressroom roundtables at this year’s San Diego Comic Con to tease season 4, give us a peek into Malcolm Merlyn’s head, and to finally settle one of Arrow’s greatest questions.

Obviously, we haven’t heard the last of Malcolm Merlyn, but whether he’s going to be a villain or the lesser of two (or three) evils this season remains to be seen.  According to Barrowman, Merlyn has a soft spot in his dark little heart for every member of Team Arrow, which may lead to some teamwork in the upcoming season.

As far as how things are going with the League of Assassins, Merlyn’s not scared of Nyssa, but he’s also well aware that the body of his predecessor was never found. Speaking of which, to settle that great debate: if you’re a member of the League of Assassins, you pronounce the name “raysh” as a sign of respect. Outsiders pronounce it “raz.” (How outsiders are that well-versed in the customs of a secret ninja organization, I’ll never know.) Regardless of whether Malcolm Merlyn remains the head of the League forever or gets deposed in five minutes, I get the distinct impression that they’ll have to pry that ring from Barrowman’s cold, dead hands!

Arrow returns to the CW on October 7th!