‘Arrow’ Season 4 Spoilers: Will ‘Canary Cry’ Introduce A New Black Canary?

Black Canary died and now we have to wait another two weeks for the next Arrow episode, “Canary Cry.” Double whammy. However, the synopsis for Season 4 episode 19 suggests Laurel Lance may not be dead.

Oliver and the team struggle to come to terms with Laurel’s death, especially Diggle who is overwhelmed with guilt for choosing to believe Andy had changed. Meanwhile, Lance refuses to believe his daughter is really gone and asks Nyssa to help bring her back. A recent Black Canary sighting in Star City only seems to prove his theory that Laurel isn’t actually dead.

Take that synopsis with a grain of salt. Don’t get your hopes up that Black Canary will come back to life. Immediately following the heartbreaking episode, Guggenheim refuted claims that Oliver drugged Laurel to fake her death.

“No, we’ve done that. We’ve done a fake death before. That’s the thing. We’re always trying to figure out new ways of doing this. That fake out where she was okay and then she wasn’t was our attempt at doing a death that we hadn’t done before,” Guggenheim said.

This also means the Lazarus Pit is probably not a likely option for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the League of Assassins was disbanded, not to mention Oliver’s strongest connection to the League, Malcolm Merlyn is officially a Team Arrow nemesis. After what Nyssa went through bringing Sara (White Canary) back to life, she wouldn’t be up for putting someone else through that traumatic experience. Thea is also living example of why the Lazarus Pit is never a good idea.

Early speculation from Bleeding Cool suggests another woman will assume Black Canary’s identity. Could this incarnation happen so quickly after Laurel’s death? The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Guggenheim and the producer confirmed episode 19, “Canary Cry,” will toy with the idea of what happens now that Black Canary is gone.

"I don't know if I'd say [the Black Canary title] is up for grabs. It's a mantle that multiple people have had,” he said. “I personally like the idea that DC Comics, all the comics, they all have the concept of legacy. We've seen on Legends that someone picks up Oliver Queen's mantle [in the future], for example. So we're in that world. We lean into it pretty strongly in [episode] 19. And that doesn't always mean that the person is a hero. [Episode] 19 is the answer to that question."

Executive Producer Wendy Mericle added that Laurel’s death has a huge impact on Felicity. Curtis (now a series regular for Season 5) could take over Felicity’s role as Overwatch, and she could rejoin the team as a vigilante. This would be the perfect set-up for to reunite ‘Olicity.’

"If you think about Felicity and what she would do in the wake of something like this, you can draw your own conclusions and you'll find out in [episode] 19. Everyone is going to be compelled to try to fix this and figure out what happened and try to get revenge,” Mericle said.

It’s a bit suspicious Season 4 Episode 19 introduces a new cast member, Madison McLaughlin. Stephen Amell announced McLaughlin would join the cast via Tweet back in February. Rebecca is described as “smart,” “snarky” and an “escapee of a dangerous cult.” Could this be who Guggenheim is speaking of since he said, “that doesn’t mean the person is always a hero.”

A set photo leak shows Dinah Lance (Alex Kingston), Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law) and McLaughlin (who will play a character named ‘Rebecca’ according to TV Line ) dressed in all black attending Black Canary’s funeral.

Even more, Guggenheim told TV Line there is a very interesting story involving [McLaughlin’s] character that is something we haven’t done on the show, and is something I don’t think any show has ever done.”

Guggenheim also revealed we won’t find out details about Laurel’s last words and favor to Oliver until Season 5. The showrunners describe the next few episodes as ‘devastating.’ It’s unclear how much crime-fighting the team will be doing, but since they are a man down, the dynamic will be completely different. Quentin is off the police force and since Laurel is gone, the team can’t fight with the criminal justice system as their ally.

Black Canary’s actress, Katie Cassidy, confirmed we’ll see Laurel again in the form of Ollie’s flashbacks. Laurel will also guest star as her Earth-2 villain alter-ego in the next episode of The Flash , “Versus Zoom.”

Team Arrow is feeling guilty and and hungry for revenge. Check out the teaser for “Canary Cry” below. The next Arrow episode airs on the CW April 27.