Arrow: Why season 8 should focus on Black Siren

With Arrow’s final season almost upon us, here’s why it should shine the spotlight on Earth-2’s Laurel Lance/Black Siren.

The end is nigh for Arrow.

The CW’s veteran superhero show is set to return for a 10-episode final season later this year before bowing out for good, bringing an end to the series that gave life to the Arrowverse. But, as the saying goes, it isn’t over till it’s over, right?

With that in mind, there are a few things that should go down before the show bids us farewell, and one of them involves Earth-2’s Laurel Lance a.k.a. the former Black Siren and one of the two people who currently hold the Black Canary mantle.

An antagonistic version of the original Laurel, this Laurel was first introduced on The Flash and has gone on to play a major role over the last three seasons of Arrow. And her journey from villain to hero has ultimately set the stage for a greater role in the final season.

Life After Redemption

Ever since Black Siren was introduced to Arrow on a full-time basis, it’s clear that the writers’ main goal for her was redemption. And it makes sense, because at the end of the day, Laurel may have been a deliciously evil villain who derived pleasure from aligning herself with some of the most evil men in the multiverse, but she was also a scorned woman who lost the love of her life in a horrific accident and, unlike her Earth-1 doppelgänger, wasn’t able to overcome her inner darkness.

In spite of that, she did. Yes, even with the Zooms, the Adrian Chases, the Cayden James’, the Ricardo Diazs and the Shadow Theifs of the world whispering in her ear, she chose the righteous path.

From honouring her father’s fallen doppelgänger, Quentin, to forming a surprisingly wonderful friendship with Felicity, she went on to become Star City’s District Attorney and, eventually, left Black Siren behind to become the Black Canary.

Arrow — “You Have Saved This City” — Image Number: AR722A_0374b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake/Black Canary and Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance/Black Siren — Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

In the end, her well-developed arc came full-circle and, as a result, she honoured the memory of the original Laurel Lance in a way that she never expected to. However, that doesn’t mean that her journey is over – quite the opposite.

The fact of the matter is that this Laurel isn’t “our Laurel” – she’s reminded us of that on many occasions throughout the last few seasons. She’s moodier, sharper and, at times, irrational, but she’s also even more skilled, efficient and deadly. Just because she’s donned Laurel’s Black Canary suit, that doesn’t mean she should suffer the same unjustified fate.

With her redemption arc complete, we’re in uncharted territory with the character, and that has potential to be brilliant. There’s more to this Laurel than just redemption, and it’s up the writers to ensure that, this time, they do justice to the Black Canary.

She’s The Only Character Who Can Fit Into All Three Narratives

While much of Arrow‘s final season is still, very much, up in the air, it’s pretty clear that there are going to be three separate narratives running throughout.

The primary storyline will undoubtedly revolve around Oliver Queen/Green Arrow’s quest to save the multiverse with The Monitor, while the secondary arc will likely feature the remaining characters Oliver left behind in the present-day, such as John Diggle, Dinah Drake and Rene Ramirez.

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And finally, you have the flash-forwards, which will continue to tell the story of Oliver’s children, William Clayton and Mia Smoak, as they continue to navigate their way through Star City in 2040.

Of all the characters on the show, Laurel is the only one that could seamlessly slot into any of these storylines.

Her autonomy from Team Arrow makes her a perfect ally for Oliver (especially when you factor in that, aside from Diggle, she’s the only character who knows of Mia’s existence). Then again, perhaps that autonomy could end up convincing her to join the team, as she would be able to assist them in their mission to protect a Star City without Oliver (which could eventually lead to her and Dinah setting up the Canary Network).

Moreover, as last season’s “Lost Canary” illustrated, Laurel is still the Black Canary in the future, as well as one of the two leaders of The Canary Network. As she was the one who managed to get through to Mia, she has the potential to become a mentor of sorts for her now that Dinah and Roy have gone undergound.

Not only would this allow her to keep an eye on her best friend’s daughter, it would also ensure that, even with last season’s departures, one of Arrow‘s most well-respected veterans is a part of the relatively-green flash-forward narrative.

All of this, in a way, makes Laurel the secret weapon of Season 8. We have no idea how the writers are going to use her, simply because she’s the only character who could quite literally show up anywhere at any given time. And that makes her the most interesting character of them all.

Giving Katie Cassidy Rodgers Her Leading Role Back

Katie Cassidy Rodgers may have made quite the impression on viewers over the last two years as Black Siren, but she’s actually been an integral part of Arrow since the show first began back in 2012.

As the first ever leading lady of the Arrowverse, she portrayed the original Dinah Laurel Lance – a troubled woman scorned by betrayal and scarred by the loss of more loved ones than she cared to count. In the end, she fought endlessly to overcome adversity and, in doing so, she became the hero known as the Black Canary.

Cassidy Rodgers never failed to relay the emotions that Laurel was going through, delivering a multitude of convincing performances as the character struggled with heartbreak, grief, alcoholism and even self-doubt – proving that she was worthy of playing such a legendary character (even if the material wasn’t always up to scratch).

Unfortunately, all of this development was wasted when said legendary comic book character was senselessly relegated into the background while original character Felicity Smoak was shoehorned into the lead position instead.

Arrow — “Blood Debts” — Image AR410B_0243b.jpg — Pictured: Katie Cassidy as Black Canary — Photo: Katie Yu/ The CW — © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

And as we all know by now, Laurel was then unjustly killed off as the result of a poorly-executed “who’s in the grave” storyline that accomplished nothing in the long-run, other than destroying everything the show had spent three years building up.

Thankfully, the overwhelmingly negative response to the treatment of both the character and actress resulted in the producers’ decision to bring Cassidy Rodgers back to the show full-time – only this time, she would be the evil Earth-2 doppelgänger that was introduced on The Flash known as Black Siren.

While Earth-2 Laurel allowed the writers to correct some of the mistakes they made with the original version of the character, the fact that she wasn’t that same Laurel resulted in Cassidy Rodgers playing more of a supporting role than before. That said, it benefitted her redemption arc nicely and, after two years of development, this Laurel is exactly where she needs to be.

There is no Green Arrow without Black Canary, and it’s about time the Arrow remembered that. Now that Laurel has finally ascended to the role that her Earth-1 predecessor left behind, it’s time that the show also gives Katie Cassidy Rodgers her rightful role back.

If Arrow is to end as strongly as it began, it can only do such a thing with its leading lady back where she belongs – front and center.

Arrow returns to The CW for its eighth and final season on Tuesday, October 15, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Would you like to see Laurel play more of a role going forward? Let us know in the comments below!