WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Arrow Season 8.
Fans of The CW's Arrowverse have known Audrey Marie Anderson as Lyla Michaels since the first season of Arrow. She's always been deeply associated with Team Arrow, both as John Diggle's (David Ramsey) wife and as the head of A.R.G.U.S. However, in the eighth and final season, it was revealed that Lyla has been working for years with the cosmic entity known as the Monitor, and is well aware that event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is coming.
In an interview with CBR, Anderson spoke about learning about Lyla's Season 8 arc as Harbinger, her character's trust in the Monitor, and what she'll miss most about Arrow.
CBR: Up until now we've known Lyla mostly through her relationship with Diggle and what she does to help the team. So what was your reaction when you learned she'd be getting her own arc leading into "Crisis on Infinite Earths"?
Audrey Marie Anderson: It wasn't like somebody called me up and had a meeting with me or sat me down and said, “Hey, this is what we’re going to do this season.” It was really funny, because … it wasn't until we were a couple of episodes in that I was like, “Oh.” But really, honestly, it wasn't until I started reading certain scripts that I was like, "This is a bigger deal than I expected." And then I was getting fitted for the super-suit and all of that stuff. And so, it sort of dawned on me slowly, to be honest with you.
... I think the writers are often very protective of what's going to happen because they don't want it to leak out. So even with me, they’d just sort of hint or be like, “Oh, you know, this next part is leading to this and this.” So for me, it was revealed sort of over time, slowly. And it was great! I was really thrilled about it because it was so different from anything I've ever done on the show.
Was there a definitive time when you learned that Lyla was going to be Harbinger?
Yeah, it was mostly like costumes, showing me pictures. And I thought that they did an amazing job, to be honest. I really like their take on the Harbinger suit, and I thought that they really captured it but still stayed true to who Lyla is on Arrow. There were a couple of ideas floating around and I was really happy with the final product.
Were you familiar with the character from the comics?
Vaguely ... I hadn’t really read all of the comic books with Harbinger in it because originally, with my character on Arrow, whenever I was called [the codename] Harbinger in A.R.G.U.S., it was really just a shout-out to the Harbinger character [from the comics]. But I don't know, and I'm not the person to ask, if there was ever any real clear intention from Season 1 to end in Season 8 with me becoming Harbinger. You know, I don't know how long that was in the works. Like, that could have started to brew two seasons ago and I just wasn't aware of it. I wasn't told about it until this season.
Because of Lyla’s association with the Monitor, she seems to know what's coming more than anyone else on the show. Is there anything you can tease about why that might be?
Well, I can’t, but I also would say that I think that there's probably also a great deal that she doesn't know. Do you know what I’m saying? Like, it seems like she understands that something's coming and that it's really big, but I think there's also a lot she doesn't know. But she clearly has some sort of trust in the Monitor.
So, I think they allude to it in [Episode 2 of Season 8 when] Lyla tells the story [of praying to every god imaginable to save her Army unit]. She’s clearly known the Monitor. How much he's been in her life this whole time is unclear but it's clear that [she’s known] him for a long time -- or a long time ... in her life. So, I like that little clue that they drop in that episode.
Is there anything you can tease about the dynamic of Lyla and the Monitor’s relationship?
I don't know, because I feel like there's this big question in the show. And by the way, even for me as the actor … because I was like you asking me questions right now -- I was that person asking questions to the writers.
I even [had the] question of, “Is Lyla bad? Does she turn bad?” All of those things were questions for me just like they are for the viewers. So, I don't really know what I can say at this point because I don't want to give anything away. So I don’t really want to say too much about that relationship….
Well, how about we talk about another one of Lyla’s relationships. Will we see her hash things out and maybe make up with John?
I think it's ... that thing that Diggle and Lyla have always had where they've questioned each other's actions and motives. And I think it does end in a very natural sort of true Lyla/Diggle fashion. But there are moments … where they have words.
It seems like they've been together so long they have a bit of a shorthand. So, I could see them being able to speak to what's going on more easily.
You mean in the "Crisis"? Yeah. But I think there's also just a bigger question of: Ge's been left in the dark and she's doing things that he … can't understand because he doesn't know what she knows. So there's a deception there. So they have to deal with that.
Is there anything else you can tease about Lyla’s arc during “Crisis"?
You’ll see her in places you’ve never seen her before.
So, with Arrow coming to an end, what was a highlight of working on the show all these years?
A highlight I will say without a doubt was working with David Ramsey. He is such a lovely person. Because obviously the majority of my work is with him. And Arrow can be a really tough show to be on, especially in the earlier seasons. The hours are so long, so brutal. You're in Vancouver, it’s cold, it's rainy. You're outside.
I'm running around in high heels all the time and you're in the elements. And at times it was a very tough show to be on. And I felt lucky because I would kind of pop in as a guest. But the people who are there regularly, they're doing it all the time. And I just always felt like David was such a lovely, professional person. And… he directed a couple of episodes, I was in both of them, and that was a fantastic experience as well.
But I really thought that it was so pleasant to go to work and do our scenes. And it was, kind of that thing [for] every actor [that] when your job is good, it’s really good. And so I had a lot of fun working -- not just with him, with the other actors on the show -- but especially David. So I would say that was definitely a highlight and something that I will miss.
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" begins Sunday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Supergirl, then continues on Batwoman on Monday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. ET/PT and on The Flash on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. After the winter hiatus, the crossover will conclude on Tuesday, Jan. 14, on Arrow at 8 p.m. ET/PT and on DC's Legends of Tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, Arrow's final season stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Rick Gonzalez as Wild Dog, Juliana Harkavy as Black Canary, Katie Cassidy as Black Siren, Katherine McNamara as Mia Smoak, Joseph David-Jones as Connor Hawke and Ben Lewis as William Clayton-Queen.