Arrow season 7, episode 18 review: Lost Canary

“You can’t force redemption on people.” Minor spoilers for Arrow season 7, episode 18 follow.

Black Siren is back in the field, much to the dismay of the rest of Team Arrow. Now, they must attempt to bring her back to the side of the light before it’s too late.

In the future though, the vigilantes are being hunted by a new form of vigilante hunter out to kill them all.

Black Siren on the run

Laurel has been an interesting character ever since Black Siren came over to stay on Earth 1. She’s had her ups and downs character-wise, often taking a backseat to much of the other villains and heroes on the show, so to actually give her time, it’s a good step for the show to take. Plus, this is a step that the show never has really taken before, the backslide back into the former life of a criminal. Pretty much every character on the show that has joined Team Arrow in the past has continued to be involved in the superhero life, or at least on the side of the law, so this is an interesting story choice that feels different than other stories.

With Laurel returning to the dark side in this episode there are also several great action scenes present here. Arrow has always had the best action scenes in the Arrowverse and that’s definitely no exception in this episode, which one of the most fun action scenes of the season being the opening scene of this episode. Also, because of Laurel’s return to her villainous ways, there’s a brutality present in this episode that harkens back to the early episodes of the season. It’s not even close to as brutal, but it’s more so than recent episodes.

Really though, all of the Canaries get a chance to shine in this episode. Juliana Harkavy, Caity Lotz, and Katie Cassidy Rogers all give great performances in this episode, which is a good thing because the emotional beats wouldn’t have held up if this wasn’t the case.

Canary v. Canaries

With Laurel returning to the life of Black Siren, this also puts the spotlight on Dinah as well. Given that they are both versions of Black Canary, putting them at odds with each other makes the most sense. They’re two sides of the same coin, both taking cues from the original Laurel, so it makes sense to put them at odds with each other. And really, this is the climax of the build-up of the tension between the two over several episodes. It’s a great dichotomy that the two have that is explored really well in this episode.

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It’s also great to have Sara back, even if it’s just for this one episode. Sara is arguably the best character in the entirety of the Arrowverse and it’s always fun to see her return to the show that she originated in, especially in an episode as emotionally charged as this. It’s awesome to have her back in this episode, she’s the best.

Vigilante hunter

The flash-forwards definitely take a backseat in this episode though and, because of everything going on in the present, that makes complete sense, even if it’s slightly disappointing. There had been some great headway with this story in recent weeks, so it’s frustrating to see it relegated to the background again.

What little we do see in this episode is really solid though. By introducing this new vigilante hunter, it takes influence from the present earlier in the season and as such, up the stakes even higher than they already were. It sets up an interesting way forward that actually gives our heroes an opposition that feels immediate.

It also ties decently well into the present storyline and the themes presented there, as well as how much has Dinah has grown as a character. Dinah in the future is the Dinah that she believes she is in the present.

Arrow returns from its hiatus with a great, emotionally charged episode focusing on all of the Canaries.