Spoiler Room: Once Upon a Time, Arrow, Blacklist and more spoilers

Welcome to the Spoiler Room, a safe place for spoiler addicts to come on a weekly basis to learn what’s coming next on their favorite shows and, hopefully, get a few of their own questions answered. If you want scoop on a specific show, send your questions to spoilerroom@ew.com.

So wait, Merida is NOT Rumple’s mom on Once Upon a Time? — Trisha

Correct! The producers were hoping to keep the surprise of Merida joining the show intact by throwing fans off with fake casting sides. “The only way to throw the press off and our fans off of this being Merida was to say we’re casting Rumple’s mother,” EP Edward Kitsis says. “It honestly worked because for once, this was not spoiled.” Fear not, EP Adam Horowitz says Rumple’s mother is a character they eventually want to introduce. As for Merida, “We’re going to meet her through Emma,” says Kitsis. Adds Horowitz: “It’s certainly a part of Emma’s journey as the Dark Swan and dealing with her darkness. All that is tied with how we explore the world of Camelot this year.”

Is there anything you can tease about the new Arrow villain Damien Darhk? — Darlene

It’s safe to say that Damien is the reason Oliver returns to Starling City to suit up once again. “[Oliver] left the city in very good hands,” EP Marc Guggenheim tells me. “He entrusted Laurel, Diggle and Thea to mind the fort. Damien represents a threat that three heroes are not enough to combat. When we’ve written the villains — the big bads of the season — we always took the approach that they were heroes of their own story. They were doing the wrong thing for what they consider the right things. That’s not the case with Damien. He’s not nearly as moral. We wanted a villain who was pure evil because we’ve never really done that on the show before. That’s what Damien represents. He’s the prince of darkness.”

Are Red and Liz really on the run in the new season of The Blacklist? — Kyle

You betcha! And it’s not all fun private flights to foreign countries without extradition treaties. No, Liz and Red are still very much in the country and must momentarily split up in an attempt to get past road blocks that Liz’s own team — along with basically every major agency in D.C. — have set up to hunt her down.

Will there be a time jump on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. next season? — Sam

The third season picks up a few months after the end of season 2. Word on the street is Coulson will meet a woman who’s more than his match. But is she friend or foe?

Anything on the Wayward Pines finale? — Jason

David Pilcher totally just screwed everyone, right? Who just turns off all the power?! “David Pilcher saved the last of humanity and brought them 2,000 years into the future,” executive producer Chad Hodge says. “He gave his life for this. It was a massively costly endeavor. When you rise to those highest of heights there is often nowhere to go but down.” The theme of the finale? “You get what you pay for,” Hodge adds.

Will the new season of The Flash explain why Robbie Amell isn’t signed on for Legends of Tomorrow? — Rienne

Yes! According to Victor Garber, you’ll find out what’s going on with Ronnie Raymond in the season premiere. Also, the first seven episodes of both The Flash and Arrow will act as a “table setting” for Legends, says EP Marc Guggenheim. “We’re putting pieces back on the chessboard,” which includes actually introducing Kendra Saunders (Ciara Renée), aka Hawkgirl, on The Flash first.

Do you know who’s playing the new captain on Brooklyn Nine-Nine yet? — James

Not yet, but hopefully soon! In the meantime, here’s some scoop on the new captain from EP Mike Schur: “I can tell you that the character of this person is quite different,” he says. “It’s not like he’s just the same as Holt, or she’s the same as Holt. We need a gender-neutral name! Let’s say Leslie — no, that’s weird, let’s say Chris. Chris is a gender-neutral name! Let’s call the new captain Chris. Chris is not exactly the same as Holt, and something extremely interesting happens to Chris very soon after Chris joins the precinct.” Thoughts?

Anything iZombie would be great! — Jennifer

Maybe Major is trying to live life to the fullest after his near-death experience, but he’s going about it in all the wrong ways. I hear not only does he off a zombie in the premiere, but he’s also snorting Utopium in the second outing.

Andy seems to be worried about Nick’s recent interest in Juliet on Rookie Blue — does this mean there’s some hope for Nick and Andy? — Madina

“I wouldn’t say no hope, but I mean, the grain of hope is pretty tiny,” Peter Mooney says with a laugh. He adds that the reason Andy is concerned is because of her feelings for Nick — just not romantic feelings. “I think things are done with them, but nothing went spectacularly wrong,” he says. “There’s real care there. They both are really protective of each other and look out for each other.” Hence, why she would be concerned about the super sketchy Juliet taking an interest in Nick.

Do you know how long Catherine is sticking around on Hawaii Five-0? — Derek

I know she’s at least name-dropped in the second episode, so I’d say at least two episodes, but hopefully more. In other news, as the hunt for Gabriel heats up, Adam is going to cross some lines that could potentially put his marriage in jeopardy.

Best news I’ve heard all week: Emmy-freaking-nominated Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany. That is all.

That’s a wrap on this week’s Spoiler Room. Be sure to email your questions to spoilerroom@ew.com or tweet them to @NatalieAbrams.

Additional reporting by Dalene Rovenstine and Marc Snetiker.