Arrow Season 3 Spoilers: Three Possible Storylines for New Episode 14 'The Return'

The next new episode of Season 3 of the CW's Arrow has the potential to be one of the best of the season. "The Return" has a triple meaning, as the episode features the return of Oliver Queen in the present day to Lian Yu, the return of Oliver Queen in flashbacks to Starling City, and the return of Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke.

This should be a stellar episode, as it will serve as an epilogue of sorts to Season 2, in which Deathstroke was the main villain. Showrunner Marc Guggenheim revealed in a recent interview that this will be a final chapter, but it won't be the last time we seeDeathstroke.

"It feels like a coda to Season Two," he told EW.com. "It's not just the final battle, but the final interactions between Oliver and Slade that we didn't have the screen time to do at the end of Season 2 because you're racing to the end of the season. It's nice to be able to write a little bit of an epilogue for these two characters. It's not to say it's the last time we'll ever see Slade again, but certainly the story of Oliver versus Slade, the revenge for Shado's death, that's the kind of stuff this puts a nice capstone on. When we see Slade again, he'll be in a different headspace. We'll take his character in a new and different direction."

And as a refresher, here is the official description for the episode.

"THE RETURN OF DEATHSTROKE AND TOMMY MERLYN - Malcolm (John Barrowman) puts Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Thea (Willa Holland) in a dangerous situation that lands them on Lian Yu with Oliver's former enemy, Deathstroke (guest star Manu Bennett). A flashback reveals when Oliver and Maseo (guest star Karl Yune) returned to Starling City to retrieve the Omega bio weapon, and despite being under strict orders from Amanda Waller (guest star Cynthia Addai-Robinson) not to reveal himself to anyone, Oliver looks in on his family, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Tommy (guest star Colin Donnell). Dermott Downs directed the episode written by Marc Guggenheim & Erik Oleson."

With these in mind, let's take a look at three possible ways this episode could unfold. Remember this is just speculation on our part.

1) Slade escapes/is set free and Oliver and Thea stop him.

We see Thea fighting Deathstroke in the promo for this episode, but there's no way she could do more than fend him off for a few moments. Oliver will have to be the one to put Deathstroke back in Purgatory, and this episode could easily wrap up with Slade back in the cage.

2) Slade escapes Lian Yu. 

This one seems not as likely, as it would mean Slade would immediately return to Starling City to complete his mission of revenge against Oliver. With Ra's al Ghul on his way, this would make Starling City awfully crowded.

3) Slade redeems himself.

Slade and Oliver were friends once, and Deathstroke has had plenty of time to think inside the cage. It's possible Oliver could get through to him and make him realize that Shado's death wasn't his fault. I'm probably just fantasy booking this because I want to see Deathstroke fight Ra's al Ghul, but let me dream, okay?

How do you think "The Return" will unfold? Let us know in the comments section.