It turns out it was Laurel in the grave. How did you take it? Was it wise of them to kill her off?
Luciana: I can’t say I was surprised. After all, she was the only “expendable” character out of all of them and the only one that made sense, so I admit I was already kind of expecting it. What surprised me, however, was how hard I took her death. I had never been a Laurel fan, by any means, but they did such a fantastic job in redeeming her and have her character come full circle by the end of the season, that I was actually enjoying her scenes a lot more than I ever had.
So even though I sort of knew it was coming – they were pretty obvious about it, in hindsight – I was very emotional about it, mostly because it affected so many people and they played it so well, that I was in tears during her funeral.
Do I think they made a wise decision when they chose to kill her off? I do. They didn’t have to kill her, but there wasn’t much left for the character to do. It came to a point that she was kind of just there in the background and it was such a waste of talent and time. Am I happy that she’s gone? Not necessarily. I am going to miss her and I think her death is still going to have a major repercussion in season 5. That said, I doubt this is the last we will see of her. After all, these characters live in a world where time travel is possible and there are multiple universes, so I’m sure we are still going to bump into her along the way.
Lizzie: How did I take it? You mean it was a surprise? It was honestly the only thing that made sense since, like, the moment the grave first appeared. Who were they going to kill off? Felicity, one half of one of the most beloved couples on television? Diggle, Oliver’s brother, partner and confidant? Thea, his only living relative, who, incidentally, already “died” in Season 3? No. It had to be Laurel. No one else made sense.
So, I took it well. I knew it was coming. I thought they did a horrible job of following through with what I assumed was going to happen, and I thought the death itself was silly and not at all what a character as iconic deserved, but then again, the Laurel Lance of ARROW never even came close to the Black Canary of the comics.
That being said, even for a character that was usually not one of my favorites, the way they turned her final conversation with Oliver into an out-of-place and completely misguided love declaration, and the way they made the episode after all about Lauriver instead of focusing on honoring her legacy were just as bad, if not worse than the actual death.
I wish I could say I was surprised about these things, but sadly, I’m not. The writers messed up the Black Canary storyline and were always a bit lost on what to do with Laurel once she wasn’t’ a viable romantic possibility for Oliver, so in this regard, I’m glad the character is gone. Maybe in another incantation I can grow to love her. It was never going to happen with this one.
Shana: I was surprisingly emotional about Laurel’s death, considering she’s been my least favorite character ever since…whenever it was that she started doing nothing but crying. And that godawful “addiction” storyline. Just no.
Anyway, as far as the death itself went, ARROW tried to make Laurel out to be a much more central character than she had been on the series since at least season one, if ever. Somehow, it worked, which was probably because the actors sold the story so well. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have cared. At all. As it was, the emotion surrounding Laurel’s death wasn’t earned unless you were thinking of Laurel Lance as the comic book character, not the tv character, which isn’t something I personally care to do.
Was it wise to kill her off? Well, yeah. Laurel’s rise to Black Canary status was rushed at best, and she just didn’t fit with the rest of Team Arrow. Once the character was dragged down to worthlessness early on, there was no coming back. Or, well, maybe coming back was possible — just not in the (again) rushed way that it was done. If the creative team at ARROW felt that a character death was necessary, Laurel was, for better or worse, the only way to go.
Oh, what could have been, though. What a waste.
Meredith: Quite frankly, killing Laurel was the smartest thing the show did in season 4. The character hadn’t been working for a while. Once it became apparent that the love story wasn’t between Laurel and Oliver after all, it looked very much like the show had no idea what to do with Laurel Lance. She was relegated to the background, and when she was in a scene or storyline she could easily be lifted out without any consequence. Did the show do a disservice to the comic Dinah Laurel Lance/Black Canary? Yes. I think they did. But I also know that the show and the comics are two separate entities, and in the end Laurel Lance didn’t really have a place on the show.
I wasn’t convinced they would do it. I knew it was the smart play, in that her death was the only one that would be felt just the right amount by Oliver and the team. It would matter, a lot, but it wouldn’t cripple them/him the way Felicity or Thea or Diggle dying would. But I wasn’t sure the show would have the cajones to go through with it. I’m glad they did. It was a strong decision, a surprising one for many people, and I really think it was the right one.
All that said, it’s probably clear that I took the death well. I know the comics, I’m familiar with them. It would have been great if the show had been able to create an awesome Black Canary/Dinah, but in the end they didn’t. She was my least favorite character on the show – I never connected with her or felt her emotions in any sort of real way. She came across as angry and bitter and vengeful and thoughtless most of the time. So yeah. I’m glad that characters I care much more about were not the ones in the grave. And I’m impressed that Arrow was willing to go this route.
Her last episode was a really strong episode. The emotional performances by everyone involved really resonated. I did find that last scene with Oliver and Laurel odd and out of place with the narrative the show has constructed over 4 seasons. Oliver was the love of Laurel’s life? What about Tommy, who literally died for her? Nothing on the show since season 2 suggested anything other than history when it came to romance between Oliver and Laurel. She even told him that she couldn’t remember a time she was in love with him. So I think that final scene between them did a disservice to her character and to viewers, as did the flashbacks in her funeral episode. But the show chose to go that route, for whatever reason, and while I didn’t particularly care for the content of the scene, it was well-acted by Amell and Cassidy. MVP of course was Paul Blackthorne as the devastated father.
Overall, I think Laurel’s death was one of the best things the show did this season. I just hope they don’t continue to try to make her something she wasn’t posthumously.
Christy: Laurel has been a really odd character for me. I loved her in season one, hated her in seasons two and three, and then kind of liked her again in season four. But really by the time of her death she had become a pretty meaningless character in the show. She wasn’t that helpful to the team, she didn’t really have any important relationships with anyone else on the show, and I think if they had removed her from every scene she was in nobody would have noticed.
Her death was probably one of the right decisions that the show made this last season. Her character was useless so, really, it was time for her to go. It would have been nice to see her killed off in some big exuberant battle to make it a little more meaningful but in the end I think that they still gave her a pretty good death. I love how they carried the whole “who’s in the grave” thing throughout the season and I thought that they brought it all together pretty well in the end.
I did find the episode following her death a little confusing though. The writers seemed to go out of their way to make her appear to be a more important character than she ever was. And the flashback’s with her and Oliver made absolutely no sense. How and when did he become her one true love? What about Tommy?
All that being said Katie Cassidy’s performance in her last two episodes was quite impressive. It was the best that she has done throughout the series and she definitely brought on the feels for me.
Melissa: Producers – I do not care how you bring back Black Canary, but please figure it out. Those of us who grew up with the sassy, sexy siren want her back. Whether or not she and GA are a couple is flexible in my mind (I know, heresy, but will take what I can get).
I think that, given the right character development, Laurel Lance could have been redeemed. SUPERNATURAL fans know Katie Cassidy can bring the snark and the firepower. But Black Canary, whether Laurel Lance or some other adult female (no teens), needs to be part of the storyline. She always has been the yin to Green Arrow’s yang and definitely the funnier of the two. Grown-up humor, not slapstick.
She was a female role model for those of us who grew up to be independent women. Helpless women are boring and play to an outdated stereotype. If we no longer are waiting for Prince Charming to ride in to save us from ourselves, it is because of role models like Black Canary. Please train one, convert one or grab one from another earth, pronto! Put Curtis at the console and Felicity in the jacket and give her a smart mouth to go with her smart brain. The world needs Black Canary.
Concluded on next page…