‘Arrow’ Season 6 Spoilers: When Will We See The Return Of Willa Holland’s Thea Queen?

The Season 6 premiere of Arrow revealed that just about everyone survived the explosion on Lian Yu, except for poor Samantha. While most of the characters are fine, we learned that Thea (Willa Holland) is now in a coma. When will Thea wake up from her deep sleep and return to Team Arrow?

According to Carter Matt, Holland negotiated a similar contract this year as she had in Season 5. This means the actress will be present for the majority of the season but will miss a few episodes here and there. While Thea’s fate remains unknown, there’s a strong chance that she’ll miss the first portion of the season and wake up sometime before midseason. The same thing happened last year, though Holland’s absences were more random and sporadic.

Fortunately, the coma storyline gives Thea a credible excuse for being gone while giving her a larger story arc this season. This is definitely good news for Arrow fans, especially considering how fans thought she might end up dying on the island. As a side note, Holland starred in 14 of the 23 installments last season, and executive producer Mark Guggenheim told fans they should expect more of the same this year.

While Thea might be missing in action for a few more episodes, the other characters will probably mention her a lot while she’s in a coma. This is especially true for Oliver (Stephen Amell), who has a lot on his plate at the moment. In addition to worrying about his sister’s health, Oliver now has to raise his son, William, all by himself. According to Just Jared Jr., William’s mother, Samantha, died in the blast on the island, leaving Oliver a single dad.

Oliver, of course, has juggled a lot of duties in the past and should be able to handle his daddy duties moving forward. There’s also the chance that Oliver finally marries Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) this season, which would definitely give him an extra hand at home. Whatever happens, Oliver will be working through a lot of family drama in the episodes to come.

New episodes of Arrow air Thursday nights on The CW, check out a preview below.

[Featured Image by The CW]