What would Laurel Lance do? (Or how ‘Arrow’ is retconning the character in death)
“Putting killing back on the table is a huge step backwards,” Thea Queen tells her brother in the latest trailer for the fifth season of “Arrow.” “That’s not what she would have wanted.”
“The dead don’t want anything!” Oliver responds dramatically.
Hold on one second, who is “she”? Are they … could they be talking about Laurel Lance? Laurel “I just emptied my clip into a person, no biggie” Lance? And Thea thinks she’d be against killing? Really? In the immortal words of Andy Millman: “Are you having a laugh?”
Let’s rewind a bit, shall we?
“Arrow” spent a good chunk of last season teasing viewers regarding the identity of the person in the grave seen in a flash-forward. In the 18th episode, it was finally revealed that prosecutor Laurel Lance, aka the vigilante Black Canary, died at the hands of magically enhanced villain Damien Darhk. Since then, characters on the show have indulged in what I’d seen called “What Would Laurel Lance Do?” moments (thanks, Twitter!).
This, despite the fact that no one on the team seems to have actually cared about what Ms. Lance thought or did for a good portion of the last four years. Remember how she had to find out about Oliver’s green persona from Slade Wilson? Or how no one bothered to tell her about the big trip to Nanda Parbat until after the fact? Good times!
In fact, Laurel Lance had become quite irrelevant to the goings-on on “Arrow” that when it came to the “big death” last season, the writers really had no other choice to make. She ticked off all the boxes they needed. Her death was a “shocker” because a lot of viewers thought having a comic name made her safe. Her death had an emotional impact on the main characters, but didn’t hurt the team or the narrative. (Behind the scenes, losing Katie Cassidy and her salary as one of the highest paid actors on the show likely freed up more money for other things. Oh hello there, horde of new vigilante wannabes and other recurring cast members!).
Laurel’s death also solved a lot of problems for “Arrow” — it made it relevant again. It reinforced the dangers faced every day and every night by the crime-fighting team. And it provided the writers with the opportunity to finally free themselves of a character they appeared to have had difficulty writing for, especially after unceremoniously dropping her from the love interest role at the beginning of the second season.
Except the writers didn’t carpe diem that opportunity. It looks like they are doubling down, deciding to give Laurel a makeover instead. Giving her a shining legacy. Transforming her into a hero worthy to be an inspiration for Oliver Queen, nay, for the entire city (we’ll talk about the golden statue that’s only a smidge better than Scary Lucynext time).
They’re also probably hoping “Arrow” viewers wouldn’t notice.
Laurel’s against killing, except when she is not
Look, I get it. “Arrow” probably feels the need to justify killing a character whose comic book incarnation has oftentimes been described as iconic.
That’s why the show had Felicity Smoak out of the blue asking Oliver what Laurel would have thought about the death and destruction around them in last season’s finale. And Oliver offering that Laurel would have talked about “finding a solution, no matter what.” (This actually does sound like Laurel. I mean, she found a solution to her “dead sister” problem, no matter the consequences.)
And that’s why we now have Thea telling her brother that “she” — Laurel — would not want Oliver to go back to killing.
The problem is I just finished four seasons of “Arrow” on Netflix and on the DVR and the character I watched certainly had no problems pulling the trigger on anybody.
Literally.
- She killed Officer Daily, one of Sebastian Blood’s minions. He’d kidnapped and terrorized her and was about to put a bullet into the Arrow when Laurel shot him. Again and again and again. Six times, actually. Sure he was a bad guy, but the point is Laurel didn’t have any problems putting holes in him. (Season 2, episode 11: “Blind Spot”)
- She tried to kill Komodo, thinking he was Sara’s killer. This while he was pinned down by one of Oliver’s arrow’s and while Komodo was telling them that he had nothing to do with Sara’s death because he was drunk in Bludhaven on the night in question. One would think someone working in the district attorney’s office would prefer some measure of certainty before gunning down anybody. Fortunately for Komodo, Oliver had taken away the bullets. (Season 3, episode 2: “Sara”)
- She vowed to her mother that she would find Sara’s killer and “make them pay.” Dinah urged her to “make them suffer” and she agreed. Considering she’d just tried to kill Komodo a few episodes back, I don’t think Laurel was thinking of just handing the killer over to her friends in the DA’s office. Killing as an option appeared to have been on the table. (Season 3, episode 9: “The Climb”)
- She had no problems letting her murderous sister roam the streets of Starling killing and maiming “muggers and street thugs.” She did not let her police captain father know about the danger to Star City’s residents, especially to her very own roommate, Thea, who was Sara’s real target. (Season 4, episode 5: “Haunted”)
And didn’t she also spend much of season 3 running around, encouraging people to eliminate Sara’s killer? Or was that just my impression?
Anyway, this all goes back to one of the show’s original problem with Laurel Lance. A lot about who the character is supposed to be is talked about rather than shown. And a lot of times, what viewers see and what they are told are at odds with each other.
Writers, I understand death gives some people some shine, but you don’t get to retcon Laurel Lance. Viewers have long memories. And a lot of fans pore over the minutiae of each episode in a lot of forums, boards and social media platforms such as Twitter. Don’t think this hasn’t been discussed ad nauseum.
Also, starting Oct. 1 “Arrow” episodes will be airing on TNT, daily reminders of how Laurel Lance was not this paragon of virtue of which you speak.
So, please, “Arrow,” stop. I beg you. It just makes you and your writers look sloppy over the lack of character continuity. It is also insulting to those of us who’ve sat through four seasons of the show. One of the rules of TV: Respect your viewers.
This article was originally posted as part of the Creators program of MoviePilot.com in October 2016.
