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So apparently Laurel has to wait 2 and a half seasons to earn HER OWN title and outfit, which includes a story arc where she becomes inspired by Sara, feels guilty for “taking” her legacy, and then finding a way to make her’s different…

But Tina Bologna can just swoop in after less than half a season, practically take the title out of Laurel’s cold, dead hands, AND gets her own outfit. But all she had to do was say “Eh, I’m not sure I’m comfortable taking this random non-important’s title just because we share a first name and my power is somewhat similar to her weapon…” and then Lance says “Well here’s the thing… I need to prove that I’ve never loved either of my daughters… take both of their legacies despite never meeting either of them.”

But we’re supposed to think it’s okay because Laurel wanted someone else to take her place… except she didn’t… she said they needed another CANARY… she didn’t say “Oh hey, you should totally replace me with someone who takes my identity… just forget me… let tuna fish destroy my grave… At least I’ll be free from Guggy…”

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I was rewatching some arrow episodes this week (because i like torturing myself) and i'm still amazed by laurel's character development. She's already a great person from the start but the things they had her go through (with as little screentime that she got) made her even greater. Meanwhile, they had Felicity (who was few minutes away from replacing Oliver himself from the show) literally kill thousands of people but the girl still remained a depthless character without any development. Wow.

I completely agree. I think that’s what drew me to the character of Laurel Lance so quickly. When the show picks up, she’s lost her sister and her boyfriend, and she was betrayed by both of them, and yet she’s working at CNRI to help people, and she has forgiveness in her heart for Oliver (until he basically tells her he’s going to hurt her again and to stay away). I just think so much of who Laurel is can be found in the pilot — forgiving, strong, determined, kind, loving, has a strong sense of purpose in saving the world and she can defend/stick up for herself. It’s what she has to endure as the series goes on that continues to build her, and elevate the aspects of her character that we’re introduced to so early on, and it’s an absolute shame and a complete misfire in the writers room that you now go back to the pilot and realise that in four years all that development and progress and internal character-building that we see results in a piss poor, completely unnecessary death. 

And while I’m on this little rant, that’s why Black Siren — and, specifically, a redemption arc for Black Siren — means so much to me. It isn’t about replacing Laurel, or keeping Katie Cassidy as “Black Canary.” It’s about making Laurel’s journey — the journey that began in the pilot — continue to matter and be significant throughout the rest of the series, and I simply don’t believe that a random original character with “Dinah Drake” slapped on them, with no familial connection to the character, can decide to suit up as “Black Canary” and make Laurel’s journey remain important. Instead, that’s a replacement. Black Siren has such a strong connection to her Earth-1 doppleganger. It’s literally a life of how things could have gone had certain choices been made, and had certain events not occurred. Siren can learn about our Laurel, and learn about how different life could have been. She could find inspiration in Laurel’s choices, and perseverance, and her forgiveness and her strength, and all those qualities we saw from Laurel in the pilot, and when we go back to watch the pilot and have to reconcile with the fact that she is killed off in four seasons, there’s a greater sense of significance in the fact that Laurel, and her journey, redeemed a version of her that was not those things and it was still important within the framework of the story because it redeemed Black Siren, and gave her a path towards doing what Laurel set out to do in the first place: save the world. 

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An interesting trend- Laurel typically needs someone else to jump start her empathy. She can be very empathetic, but someone needs to give her a push in the right direction. 

In season 1, she starts completely angry at Oliver until he mentions that he was tortured. She says she never thought about what he had gone through in those five years away until he said that, but then she becomes much more forgiving because she is able to empathize. In season 2 when she’s having her addiction issues and fighting with Sara, she blames everyone else completely, until Oliver yells at her about what he and Sara (as individuals) are going through, at which point she considers things from their point of view and does a pretty abrupt about-face. Later that season, when she finds out that Oliver is the Arrow she is ready to turn him in to save her father and seems very disconnected from the personal aspect of Oliver being the Arrow (as if she doesn’t know Oliver and was just given a random name) until Quentin starts talking about “imagine what it’s like to be him, the stuff he has to go through” which immediately completely changes Laurel’s approach to the entire situation and makes her eager to support Oliver. 

It’s as if Laurel has this emotional tunnel vision and needs someone there to remind her that others have feelings too (Tommy was good at this), but once someone does remind her she becomes very forgiving and understanding. It’s part of the reason why she seems to swing back and forth between two versions of herself (angry, judgmental self-righteous Laurel, and kind, sees the good in others, wants to save everyone Laurel)

(It’s also why she never suspects Oliver and Sara of being Arrow and Canary until she’s told and then is able to connect all the signs)

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Just saw the new "memorial" pic for Laurel and here we go....

Laurel Lance deserved so much better than what these hack writers gave her. They took the character of black canary and split her into four characters. It’s unnecessary. They should have given Laurel the story arc she deserved rather than have this “Dinah” take over. “But but but Dinah drake is the original black canary in the comics.” Der. We know. She was also laurels mother who has already been introduced into the show. So, that means we have three characters named Dinah. It’s lazy writing. The black canary is my all time favorite super hero and this show took a giant shit on the character. Sara Lance and “Dinah Drake” will never be black canary in my eyes. Black siren is cool and all. But it’s not Laurel. It’s disrespectful. Marc and co. Are so busy putting bloody bandaids over an already strung out plot. They didn’t even know who was in the grave when they first started writing season 4. Like, who the hell plans a whole season around a major death without knowing who would die? All that effort Laurel put in evolving into the hero she deserved to be was for nothing. Her death in general was for nothing. Fuck Arrow and fuck the CW.

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i know we have got black siren but i will never forgive arrow for killing off dinah laurel lance to prop up some shitty ship and then replacing her with some fake.

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Laurel Lance’s Fighting Skills

I just watched a Season One episode of “ARROW” called (1.13) “Betrayal” in which Laurel Lance managed to fight off two would-be kidnappers before she was tasered by their boss, portrayed by David Anders.  

So … why was Laurel portrayed by the series as someone incapable of being the Black Canary?  I’m confused.

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Repeat after me: Black Siren isn’t our Laurel Lance. She isn’t.

Is she a great character? Sure Does she have a great potential for a redemption arc? Why not. Is she our Laurel Lance? Nope.

Her eventual redemption arc isn’t a chance to save Laurel. If she turns good Oliver, Sara, Thea and Lance won’t have Laurel back. Just like Black Siren doesn’t have Oliver back cause in this earth he didn’t die.

They’re not the same person and frankly I’m tired of seeing people that act like they are.

If you’re happy that Black Siren is now a regular on Arrow and that Katie is back is perfectly fine for me. You have all the right to be excited. But she’s not Laurel, she’ll never be Laurel so please stop acting like her presence fixes Laurel’s death. Cause it doesn’t

(I’m obviously not talking about all the people that love Black Siren)

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Laurel Lance is Black Canary

Why do some people say that Laurel never felt like Black Canary? Before she was killed if she had everything she needed. A mask and a costume, fighting skills, and the canary cry (even if it was a grounded version which is supposed to be arrows theme). How does Sara portray Black Canary better if she never even called her self that and she also a killer and an assassin? She was never even a committed member to team Arrow. She left like 3 or 4 times what ever her reasons were. I’m definitely not saying that Sara Lance is a terrible character because she is most certainly is not but Laurel was more committed to helping people than Sara was. It didn’t matter if Sara had better fighting skills, she never saw herself as a hero at first. Both Laurel and even Dinah were helping people before they put on the mask but Sara had soo much guilt and darkness and yes it worked for good storytelling but that’s not how Black Canary is supposed to be. Yes, Laurel may have had some issues such as the drug storyline (which wasn’t bad at all, she is only human) and maybe her personality didn’t fully match her comic counter part but so what? To say that Laurel never felt like Black Canary, is like saying that Oliver never felt like Green Arrow which kind of is true. Even in season 4 he still broods and acted a lot more like Batman and now he reverted back into the way he mostly was in season 1. Stop saying Laurel was not Black Canary. She is her from the comics just like Oliver Queen is Green Arrow from the comics, and she deserved better than what she got.

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Something I will never get over is how poorly they treated Laurel Lance (and Katie Cassidy tbh) on Arrow. Her character was killed without a logical reason. She was the most human character on Arrow. She went through hell and back without leaving Star City. She was treated like sh*t by Oliver when she needed him the most (as a friend, if you want) and when she fought back he treated her like a child and not the grown ass woman she was. She was the only one who really had to work her ass off to gain some respect from the people she loved. And the writers just dumped her. It could’ve been so easy to fix it with flashpoint, honestly, she could’ve even been a metahuman, like saying that she was on Central City to visit her mum when the S.T.A.R. Labs blew up. The fact that so many people hated her for something she couldn’t control… It’s just shows how much people/viewers don’t deserve a well rounded, real, character. Being strong doesn’t mean not having bad moments or always making the right/best decision, it means fight when you feel like you can’t fight anymore. Is doing your best. In her case getting back on track and find herself again. And the thought of an arc like this being wasted because someone so incompetent that think it’s fine to randomly pic someone to generate shock, it’s why I stopped watching Arrow. I could have accepted a Dark!Oliver, I did (even tho I thought that they did a poor job with Oliver PTSD). I could have accepted my notp being canon (even tho it was poorly written). But killing off a character that went through so much and that was being a hero both with and without her costume, it’s something I can’t stand. And let’s not talk about how insane and vile most of the haters of the character were (and still are) towards Katie Cassidy.

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Let me count the ways Arrow has backtracked when it comes to Black Canary

1. Dinah Laurel Lance

When Arrow first came out, MG and co. stated that they thought that “Dinah” sounded to old so they decided to use her middle name ‘Laurel’. In fact they disliked the name so much that we would only hear her called Dinah a hand full of times. The first time is at the end of the pilot episode.

2. Laurel Lance’s “Island”

One of the reasons why Laurel didn’t suit up at the beginning of the series is because the writers didn’t feel like it was believable to have her start out as Black Canary, it was something she had to earn and in order to earn that she had to have her own personal “Island” which saw her become a raging alcoholic and pill popper.

3. Enter Black Canary: The Novice

With Laurel finishing her “Island” she was finally able to suit up and take on the mantle that she was born for but things couldn’t come easy for her. Laurel Lance was an inexperienced fighter and had to learn how to fight crime.

4. Canary Cry

Black Canary is known for her kick ass fighting skills and her piercing Canary Cry. The writers gave Laurel a sonic device to replicate her iconic power set. MG and co. weren’t interested in bringing in any full time meta humans into the show and said “it would have to make sense” to transition Laurel from a device to a full blown Meta. 

5. Black Canary

In Season 4 the writers decided that the show needed to spice things up and get back its groove so someone had to die. They killed off Laurel/Black Canary, a character who is ingrained in the Green Arrow mythos. When questioned about their decision to kill off such a big character they just simply stated “why not? Why can’t we kill Black Canary?” “There are so many “canons” that we pick and choose, sometimes Black Canary isnt even part of Green Arrow”

Laurel spent 4 years on her journey and only two of those years, not even a full 22 episodes, as Black Canary.

  Where we are at now

Flashfoward almost a year after Laurel is killed off of the show, the writers go on to say “It’s hard to do a show about Green Arrow without Black Canary”

So they bring back Black Siren, Black Canary’s doppleganger only to use her to set up a more permament replacement now that they’ve had to backtrack on the importance of A Black Canary.. After Laurel had to go through 4 years just to be treated somewhat decently and be on the road to becoming a fully realized Black Canary the writers bring in Dinah Drake, originally Laurels mother in the comics is now a completely separate character. 

After all the pushback and the change, the writers jump start everything about Dinah. Within 5 minutes she has had her island, she has had her training, and she is a meta human and she will even go by Dinah, the name they hated when the show began. What happened to everything they’ve been telling us about #1-5 over the past 4 years? Everything just thrown out the window as if they got sudden amnesia. 

But fans who spent 4 years on Laurels journey aren’t supposed to be pissed off. They are supposed to accept it and move on as if nothing ever happened.But as we’ve heard many times now….

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quentin’s fake ass: *calls someone else the black canary*

laurel from the great beyond:

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Arrow’s ruse to lure back Laurel's fans is just so hilarious and dumb! People didn’t come to see lousy and ridiculous Olicity moments. They came to see Black Siren and Katie Cassidy for heaven’s sake! 

P.S: And Arrow still keeps repeating the routine of everybody suddenly leaving the scene so that Olicity can have overly gross alone times!  

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Still bitter about Laurel's death

What are my reasons for being bitter? She never got the respect she deserved, she was never allowed to be angry without being demonized, we never saw her angry or frustrated with her own mom for allowing Sara to cheat with Oliver nor be angry at her mom for leaving nor did we see them work through their issues. She was a good person who got dealt a shitty hand but still managed to become a good selfless person and forgave people who wronged her. She tried to support Oliver and Sara’s relationship and still cared about their happiness even though didn’t give two shits about hers. She was there for the Queen family especially Thea she took care of her when Thea needed someone. She comforted Samantha knowing the situation with her and Oliver, she never gave up even when people told her she can’t do something. She was the reason female friendships existed on Arrow and she never was pitted against another woman. She showed kindness to a woman who was holding her and several others hostage and showed kindness to another woman who was the daughter of the demon and a member of the league of assassin. She never got to become friends with Iris nor team Flash who would treat her better there in a few small cameos than Arrow ever did in four years she was there. Flash treated Black Siren better in one episode than Arrow did Laurel in four years. Laure never got to see Cisco become Vibe how cool of a team up would that be Vibe Canary team up. Also Black Canary/Killer Frost team. The writers had several opportunities to unlock her Canary cry from within and make her a meta human that way. (More of a post on that later) She gave encouragement but could barely manage to receive any. The way she apologizes when she hasn’t done anything wrong but never gets an apology when she is the one who deserves a sincere apology. Cisco respecting and appreciating her and what she is trying to do. The fact her life was cut short for the sake of a man being pissed at her father so he kills her out of revenge. She gets stabilized says a whole bunch of sentimental bullshit ships Olicity in the process dies having a seizure even after she was told she was okay and didn’t spend her last moments with her father. Next episode some pissed 😡 off teenage girl steals her sonic device and besmirched her name and everyone acting like they gave a shit about her when they didn’t respect her when she was alive especially Oliver. The fact the writers had an opportunity with Black Siren and a redemption arc but decided to replace her with a random woman who had the same powers and slap the name Dinah Drake on her. The bullshit excuses they can’t resurrect her when they have shown time and time again death is a joke because of the several times they revived characters or made us think characters have died is annoying at this point and down right lazy writing. She is also demonized by the narrative for things Oliver has done but people don’t things about Oliver doing them. The fact that Sara has the resources she needs to revive her sister but Rip and the writers are so adamant she can’t be revived makes me even more annoyed. Anyways I sincerely hope Black Siren gets the redemption arc she deserves and do it in an effective way.

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We should’ve gotten more of a reaction for Thea with Black Siren

I know she already knew about Earth 2 and Laurel being from there but still seeing her is different

Laurel was like a sister to Thea, when Oliver and Felicity went off on their adventure, Laurel was there for Thea When Thea was dealing with coming back from the dead, Laurel had Thea move in with her and was here for her

I wish we could’ve seen more of them

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i’m going to be so pissed if black siren doesn’t get a redemption arc into the black canary because she literally is the comic accurate black canary. but the arrow writers are blind as fuck.

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the biggest moments on the show usually have laurel right at the center of it. we've seen it time and time again, ollie on the island always looked to her picture as a source of strength and motivation. now we've been finding out that he on more than one occasion had seen her as a hallucination or heard her voice. but the same people that wrote this want us to believe that their relationship and laurel werent the heart of the show???? sounds fake but ok.

Right? I think the show has proven to me that Laurel and Oliver were meant to be together. I think it’s clear in the flashbacks, in how interconnected their lives were, and even now in how you have Earth-2 Laurel who lost her Oliver, and Oliver who lost his Laurel, and how they’re on the same Earth together now. In my book, they’re soulmates. Always have been and always will be.