[SPOILER] Is Leaving Arrow After Season 6 [SPOILER] Is Leaving Arrow After Season 6
An original Arrow series cast member is leaving the show after Season 6. [SPOILER] Is Leaving Arrow After Season 6

And then there were only two original series regulars who have been on Arrow all the way through from the beginning.

Multiple trades including THR and Entertainment Weekly are reporting this morning that Paul Blackthorne, who has played Quentin Lance on Arrow since the show’s very first episode, will be departing the show after the current season.

Blackthorne’s Lance character is one that on another show, might have been gone after a year; the actor seemed to be a favorite on the set, though, and we got to see Quentin through like nine promotions and six demotions, two daughter deaths, and three daughter resurrections. This season Blackthorne has had some very impressive scenes with Katie Cassidy playing an otherworldly doppelganger for his daughter, Laurel.

Sadly, it is normal for series regulars to leave as a show has gone a certain length, as series regular contracts often expire at six seasons.

Where is Quentin going to go? We don’t know for certain, but it’s been said there’s a graveyard in the season finale. Stephen Amell Tweeted yesterday that he was “a wreck” after watching the Season 6 finale which airs May 17 on The CW. And it’s also been rumored that the finale appearance of Caity Lotz is not for the Canary-Canary-Siren team-up we’ve all wanted to see, but instead, it’s for a hospital scene.

If the Lance daughters can keep coming back, Dad can too, right?

With Blackthorne’s departure, only Stephen Amell and David Ramsey have been full-time series regulars since the show started in 2012. Katie Cassidy departed the series in late Season 4 and came back a year later, and Emily Bett Rickards’ Felicity didn’t show up until episode 3 before being promoted to series regular for Season 2.

We look forward to seeing what Mr. Blackthorne has next in store. He has always added layers to every project he has been involved with, and Arrow was lucky to have him.

Craig Byrne

Craig Byrne has been writing about TV on the internet since 1995. He is also the author of several published books, including Smallville: The Visual Guide and the show's Official Companions for Seasons 4-7.