5 Reasons The Death Of Black Canary Is Arrow’s Biggest Loss

Last week was a tough one for fans of CW’s Green Arrow series, Arrow, as the 18th episode of the current season titled “Eleven-Fifty Nine” featured the death of Dinah Laurel Lance a.k.a. the Black Canary (played by Katie Cassidy), a beloved character that has over the course of four years had to fight multiple battles on many levels and also plays a huge role in the Green Arrow mythology. The character has had a bumpy journey since the start, but has over the course of the following seasons grown and evolved into an empowering hero as her journey was just beginning. Out of all the things that have happened on Arrow, Laurel’s death is becoming the most discussed thing in the show’s reception and on social media as fans of both the show and the comic books, has been vocal about the killing of the Black Canary. Today we are discussing the 5 reasons why Laurel’s death is the biggest loss for Arrow.

Before we continue, I would just like to make something very clear: my views and opinions on this subject is in no way an attack on anyone associated with the television show, whether they be writers, producers, actors or network heads. These are just opinions of someone that, respectfully, doesn’t agree with the decision to kill off the Black Canary. So let’s start with the first reason.

5: No Dedicated Storyline In Season 4

One of the issues that I have had with Laurel’s journey on Arrow in the past two seasons is that the usage of her character was inconsistent and most of the time, she was underutilized. It’s always a challenge with ensemble shows when you have to figure out how you can give all of your main characters an equal amount of focus throughout 22-23 episode seasons. It’s understandable that some players may not be used a lot at first in the first few episodes of a new season and is then put to use a lot more in the second half of the seasons. However with Laurel, it never felt like we got that and it can be said for her role in Season 4. She was given a storyline for a few episodes at the start of the year with the return of Sara Lance a.k.a. the White Canary (Caity Lotz). The problem with that is that she was only serving a role that was to setup and benefit Sara as she was getting ready to take off for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

We haven’t seen Sara’s return from the dead really play into anything with Laurel’s life since then and that is why I can’t count it, even though Sara isn’t in Star City at the moment as she is off with her time traveling friends. There is a difference in having a storyline and then being part of one, but just serving a role that supports someone else’s character. The last few weeks, as Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was dealing with the drama in his life, she was there as moral support as these two have a deep history and their friendship was just starting to be repaired after episode 5 “Haunted” this season. We got to see her back as a lawyer in episode 16 when she was the prosecutor for Damien Darhk’s (Neal McDonough) trial, but that was the first time in a very long time that we got to see her in her daytime job. With the decision to kill her off, as much as I disagree with it, it would have been appreciated if Laurel had been given more dedicated time this season before she was killed. Unfortunately that isn’t what we got, hence why the death was heartbreaking while at the same time a disservice.

4: Her Black Canary Journey Was Just Starting

Whether you think her journey into becoming the Black Canary was rushed or not, it can’t be denied that it has only been a year since she first put on that costume and became a crime fighter, which looking at as a retrospective, is a very short time. The second season dealt with Laurel being broken down after she lost Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) which took her down a dark path as she became an alcoholic and addict. That journey is what eventually rebooted her character as she worked her way back to the light as she was getting closer to her comic book destiny as the Black Canary. We saw her clean herself up, going to AA meetings as she redeemed herself for her troubled year. The third season started with the “death” of Sara who was The Canary and that tragedy was the final step for Laurel to enter the world of crime fighting. Ted Grant a.k.a. Wildcat (J.R. Raminez) was introduced to the show he started training her, which is close to the comics lore as Wildcat trained the Black Canary. While this version of Laurel wasn’t a meta-human, the show eventually incorporated the Canary Cry when she went to The Flash’s Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) to upgrade her sister’s sonic weapon which he evolved into the Canary Cry.

She also had to struggle with trying to live up to what The Canary was in order to honor Sara’s memory and that was also something she eventually overcame. But when you look at all of this over the course of 2 and ½ years: it’s a very short amount of time that she has been the Black Canary. In addition, as I mentioned previously, this was a character that was heavily underutilized and not given the time she should have been given. As we saw Season 4 feature her friendship with Oliver starting to repair itself, that was really the beginning for the Green Arrow and Black Canary dynamic, even if they weren’t exploring those two possibly heading towards a romance again. Given that she is such a big character in the mythology, it feels really strange to not only see her be killed off, but also the short time that we had of her as the Black Canary. Her journey as the Black Canary was really just starting out as there was so much that they could have explored.

3: The Problems With Her Death

It’s not only the decision to kill Laurel off that is problematic: it was also how it was executed. I will give credits to Damien for being a man of his words as he swore to Quentin that if he betrayed him, he would go after Laurel. The fact that he used Oliver’s arrow to kill Laurel made that death scene even more painful and heartbreaking. But what followed was where the death became more than just tragic as it had many issues. In her final moments in the hospital as she is talking with Oliver, a scene where Cassidy and Amell delivered outstanding performances, she brings up something that makes her death feel like a service to something else.

“I’m really glad that you found Felicity and I hope you can find your way back to her. And Ollie I know I’m not the love of your life, but you’ll always be the love of mine.”

Now stay with me, because I know what some might be thinking. It’s not a secret that I’ve never been in favor of the Oliver and Felicity romance on the show, it’s just not for me, but it’s 100% acceptable if you do love it, there is nothing wrong with that. However, it’s a fact that whether you love it or not, this relationship and Felicity Smoak has become the biggest focus on the show which is a discussion for a different day. The thing that stings the most is that not only do we get reminded that Laurel has a big – if not the biggest – heart ever, but her death was used as a way to bring back that relationship. I understand that the message she was giving to Oliver was that she is happy that he was able to found happiness again because we can all agree that this man has gone through hell in more ways than one. However, for her final moment in life, to write a final dialogue like that, just looks like her death was an encouragement to restore that romance. Let’s remember that the episode doesn’t even feature a final big Black Canary moment, only that she was going to put on that mask one last time before she took the DA offer. As heartbreaking as her death was as well as Cassidy’s fantastic performance in the whole episode: it’s a disservice and an unfair death. There were other aspects that made this death so troublesome, but we will get to that later.

2: Another Major Green Arrow Character Lost

Black Canary isn’t the only big Green Arrow character that we have lost over the course of this series as there have been other departures before of other big Green Arrow characters. Roy Harper a.k.a. Arsenal (Colton Haynes) was a huge favorite of mine in both the comics as well as on the show as Haynes made justice to that character. He even looks a lot like Roy from some of the comics and in particular in animation as Haynes looked almost identical to Roy on Young Justice. While he wasn’t killed off, he had a similar path like Laurel where he was Arsenal for almost a whole season. Now this situation is a little bit different as the actor decided to not renew his contract after it was up during Season 3 which is a decision that I respect. But regardless, it’s still another loss of a great character from the Green Arrow family that is not part of the show anymore.

Throughout Season 1 and 2, we saw the show’s own take on the character of Shado (Celina Jade) as she had a very different backstory and role, compared to her comic book lore. Originally a villain from stories like Longbow Hunters and more, I really admired Arrow’s version of Shado as a great ally for Oliver in the flashbacks where she played a part in evolving him into the man that he is today. Unfortunately, she ended up being brutally killed by Professor Ivo (Dylan Neal) and her death became the cause for Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) to go down the villainous path which was a powerful story in that season. However, a part of me feel that there could have been a better reason to make Slade go down that path as it would have been compelling to see what the writers could have done with her in the present.

The one thing that does disappoint me with the show as a whole sometimes is that Arrow seems to not really wanting to rely on those classic characters as much in this version. Don’t get me wrong: I 100% respect and understand that this is an interpretation of these comic books as the creative team doesn’t have to follow everything that exists in the mythology. But at the same time, it just feels like a waste of such rich characters that makes the Green Arrow that much more compelling. I think it’s good to have a mix of both, with original characters like John Diggle (David Ramsey) as well as some of these iconic characters. You can tell great original stories and make it your own, but distancing yourself this much may not be the best method. As of this point, Speedy (Willa Holland who plays a slightly different version of the comic character who goes by Mia in the books) is the only Green Arrow character that is left on the team. Even some of the Green Arrow villains haven’t been utilized to the fullest, but that can be discussed another day.

1: Losing Katie Cassidy As This Character

This is a little more personal, but I’m sure that I’m not the only one who feels this way. Back when Arrow was first announced in 2012 and we started getting casting announcements of who was playing who, I was barely familiar with most of the people they recruited. I was however familiar with Katie Cassidy as she won me over as the great anti-hero Juliet Sharp on Gossip Girl and knowing what a strong actress she is, I was stoked to see Cassidy take on one of the most iconic DC heroines of all time. I had a huge problem with Season 3 of this show as I felt there were barely any good aspects to it, but one of the few things that I was in love was Laurel’s transformation into the Black Canary. I know I have said it before, but it really hurts that she was underutilized the way she was. Even some of the material she got to work with, I was mixed on, but she made it work whenever she could. Despite that I had issues with how they dealt with her rushed death last week: she delivered an amazing performance, hence why the death hurts the way it does.

If you follow her on social media and have been seeing her physical training over the past two years, she gave it her all and wasn’t messing around, which is greatly appreciating for me as a fan because it’s always to see when someone cares deeply about their craft. Again, as I said before, a creative team that is working on a show based on something like comics isn’t obligated to follow everything that happens in the mythology, I get that. But if you are planning to kill off someone as big as the Black Canary, then give them a proper send-off after having been given some good stories throughout the season. However, as I mentioned in previous pages: her death didn’t feel like a respectful one after being side-lined for most parts of the season and nothing about her character arc felt completed. While we know Cassidy will be seen soon again in the DC TV world (more on that on the next page), Arrow lost another great female character who was also a heroine and her presence on the show will be deeply missed.

Conclusion

We know that Laurel Lance is 100% dead and will be buried in the next episode of the series, but that is just the Earth-1 version of her. Just two days before the episode aired, it was announced that Cassidy will be guest-starring on The Flash in episode 22 (airing on Tuesday, May 17) as the Earth-2 version of Laurel, but with a twist. In that universe, she goes by Black Siren, a character who based on the Golden Age Black Canary when Justice League: Unlimited adapted the Justice Society as the Justice Guild in a two-parter story titled “Legends” which was written by The Flash’s own Andrew Kreisberg (who also works on Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow). While it has yet to be confirmed if she will be a villain or hero, it wouldn’t surprise me if she is a meta-human and has the Canary Cry. It’s also interesting that she is making her debut before the season finale, which has me wish/think that they will be doing some adaptation then or later of the story of how the first Black Canary (Dinah Drake) in the comic books moved from Earth-2 to Earth-1, for Laurel. Who knows, maybe there will be a Laurel Lance in this universe after all and the Black Canary legacy could continue on. I just feel that Cassidy’s time in this universe is far from over, but time will tell and hopefully it will be with good news.

However, in conclusion to this and the death of Earth-1’s Laurel Lance: this was an empowering character that aside from the Green Arrow himself had to fight so hard for four years through difficult struggles and demons. As big of a fan as I’m, even I will admit that Season 1 wasn’t a good start for the character, but since then, she improved one step at the time, as much as she was able to. Even if they go with that Earth-1 move that I brought up, it’s still tragic that all the work that was put into this version, got such a tragic fate at the end. Especially because her adventures had barely begun as she was always, just like Tommy said in the very first episode of Arrow, trying to save the world. I’ll personally be thrilled if she continues to be part of this universe through Earth-2 because of my love for the character and the performer. But a big part of me is always going to miss what who this Laurel was and what she stood for.

Arrow is currently on a mini-hiatus and will be back on Wednesday, April 27th with episode 19 titled “Canary Cry”, at 8/7c on The CW.

Andy Behbakht

Andy Behbakht

Andy Behbakht is an online entertainment journalist who has been covering television and movies since 2010. In addition, he is also a podcast producer.