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'Arrow': Colton Haynes Doesn't Enjoy Making Fans Mad (But Does It Anyway)

MTV News finds out about his character's love triangle and the show's upcoming villains.

This week on the "Arrow" mid-season finale, something huge happens to Colton Hayne's Roy Harper. Something so big, that when we hopped on the phone with the former "Teen Wolf" actor to talk about the episode, we had to redact some of the words in the interview.

That doesn't mean we didn't get all the scoop on an upcoming love triangle, where Roy is going next, and what Haynes' take is on Arrow's "no killing" rule. But first, we had to rib him a bit for taunting fans on Instagram:

MTV News: We wanted to take you to task for your taunty Instagram about this episode... Do you like making your fans mad?

Colton Haynes: I don't enjoy making them mad! There was a subliminal message there, it wasn't just being mean. They can be sad that something bad is happening to Roy [Harper], or they could be sad that the mid-season finale is happening and we have a while until we come back. I don't enjoy making them mad, but it's fun to interact with them that way.

MTV News: OK, so where is Roy when this episode opens?

Colton Haynes: He's not going in a very good direction! He is, in true Roy fashion, getting in a lot of trouble. For some reason, when Roy throws a punch, he misses. And when someone throws a punch at him, they never miss. Roy is going through a little bit of a dark time right now, and ultimately ends up with an injection that another character, Slade Wilson [Manu Bennett], has also ended up with in flashbacks.

It's almost like an, only-the-strong-survive type thing, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so that's going to be a really fun trait that Roy's going to have. Whether it's going to be used for good or bad, we'll have to see.

MTV News: Last episode, Roy got shot through the leg by an arrow by, appropriately, The Arrow. How much is that going to mess up Roy's fanboy love of the hero?

Colton Haynes: That's like telling a fan you're gonna come back and sign their picture, and then pushing them down and running away. Roy is not very happy. He's starting to question his involvement with Arrow, and getting very defensive. It's actually Thea [Willa Holland] who says something like, "Are we going to go after him? Are we going to find out who he is?"

And before Roy can answer, Sin [Bex Taylor-Klaus] says, "Yes, we are going to find out who he is and we're not going to stop until we do." It's a really fun teaming up between the three of them, and its nice to see Thea allow Roy to get back in the game.

MTV News: What do you think changed Thea's mind?

Colton Haynes: Because he gets in a lot of trouble, but in the end it's for the greater good. He's helping change things. He hasn't helped a lot in the past, but that's his goal. She's starting to see that, and if that's what Roy wants to do, she ultimately loves him but she has no idea what she's getting herself into because she can get hurt along the way; emotionally and physically.

MTV News: We're starting to see a little bit of a love triangle between Roy, Thea, and Sin. How fun is that to play as an actor?

Colton Haynes: It is fun because what the audience doesn't know is a lot of the backstory that Roy and Sin have. They've touched on it, but they haven't delved into it. That's going to be really fun for Thea to find out about. There were a few scenes that were cut that add through a little more love triangle possibility in this whole thing, but they may possibly rewrite and use in the future.

Thea doesn't right now see Sin as a threat, but our little team, there may be some ulterior motives. Also, with what happens between Roy and Brother Blood [Kevin Alejandro], he'll be spending more time with Arrow and keeping the rest of his mini-team in the dark about certain things.

MTV News: There's three on the Roy team, three on the Arrow team; so on the Roy side, who's his Felicity, and who's his Diggle?

Colton Haynes: Sin is definitely Roy's Felicity. And Diggle? In a way, Thea has started to take charge, that's what Diggle does. It would be fun for them to all group together and make their own team, but that would probably make things a little difficult for Oliver and Thea's relationship, so I don't know if that's going to be happening.

MTV News: More general question, you've gone from recurring to regular in season two; but the show has also expanded its scope dramatically. What's it been like tackling that material?

Colton Haynes: It's been really fun! You go into a project thinking, whenever you're guesting, you're just trying to help the other characters along with their storyline. Which I was super happy to do, I was thrilled to be part of the show. When they asked for me to be full time, I was so excited.

It's such a great story to tell, with Roy's upbringing, and I think he brings a lot to the table. I like that they've spread it out. They haven't made him a sidekick right away. It's been really fun to see all the facets of the character, and his life.

They've made him a little more light-hearted this season, and they've given him a sense of humor. He's not just this brooding guy who's winking at Thea, slamming doors. He's opening up and letting people in. Those have been fun traits to play.

MTV News: Another big feature of this season has been Arrow's decision not to kill. He's wrestled back and forth with that for the past few episodes, and with the villains getting more powerful has had to struggle even more. What's your take on this?

Colton Haynes: My take? I can't kill a fly. No lie, I had a fish die the other day, one of my beta fish and it was just heartbreaking. I think you lock them up, put them in jail, and let them have a lifetime in jail to deal and think about what they've done. I wouldn't kill them. I would let them sit their entire lifetime with what they've done.

MTV News: Before we let you go, let's talk about what's next for Roy. Dancing around spoilers for this episode, how involved is he going to get with the Big Bad? Both Brother Blood, and [SPOILER]?

Colton Haynes: He's going to be inadvertently involved. What Roy doesn't know is who is under the mask of the person who has injected him. There's going to be a fun dynamic with that because he's going to be around him a lot, and isn't going to know why this particular character has taken a liking to him.

As for [SPOILER], that's not an interaction that has happened yet. That's going to be really fun because [SPOILER] has gone through what Roy is about to go through, and [SPOILER] has watched it. So is [SPOILER] going to get in Roy's ear, or is Roy going to continue to take the safe route?

"Arrow" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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