Arrow’s Laurel Lance will return in Arrow Season 5 episode 8, the 100th episode, which is also night three of CW’s four-night “Invasion” crossover event. She’ll appear in an alternate reality spurred by The Dominators, but that won’t be the last time we see Katie Cassidy this season. Executive Producer Wendy Mericle revealed she’ll be “alive and well” in the Arrow Season 5 midseason premiere, Season 5 episode 10, “Who are you?” But Damien Darhk killed her at the end of Season 4. How can she be alive again?
Katie Cassidy has been cast as a series regular across all four shows-- Arrow, The Flash, Legends and Supergirl -- just like Malcolm Merlyn, Captain Cold, Reverse-Flash and Damien Darhk. But Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim and Stephen Amell have both insisted that Earth-1 Laurel is definitely still dead. However, Arrow showrunner Wendy Mericle said she’s really excited to have Laurel back, teasing her being ‘alive and well’ again may be because of Flashpoint.
“Episode 510 definitely, our midseason premiere. Keep your eyes out for that,” Mericle told TV Guide. “It’s one of the fun parts of the show. People can leave and get killed and you can still find new and crazy ways for them to come back. I can definitely tell you that there’s a way we’re going to bring her back and she’s going to be alive and well. And Flashpoint might have a little bit to do with that.”
The way Laurel comes back, Mericle teases, is ‘new and crazy.’ This rules out the Lazarus pit as a way to bring Earth-1 Laurel back from the dead. And since Amell and Guggenheim have both said the version of Laurel we know best is staying dead, it seems much more likely we’ll be seeing a Laurel Lance from another Earth. Laurel simply being alive again because of Flashpoint appears to also be off the table after The Flash episode of “Invasion.”
After Barry told everyone about Flashpoint, it was made clear Laurel is still dead. Clearly pissed at what Barry did, White Canary went on a huge rant about how Barry can’t just go around making time aberrations, and said she resists going back to save her sister all the time, which implies that she’s still dead.
The makes the most likely candidate for Laurel Lance’s return is Black Siren, who is Black Canary’s Earth-2 doppleganger. She lost a battle to The Flash last season and has since been locked up in STAR Labs. Barry neglected to tell Oliver about Laurel’s Earth-2 twin because he didn’t want to taint Black Canary’s legacy by introducing Team Arrow to her villainous alter-ego.
One cool twist would be making a version of Black Canary that's actually a metahuman, like she was in the comics. In Arrow, it’s a sonic collar that creates Laurel’s Canary Cry. Giving more credence to this theory, Black Canary from the comics is actually from Earth-2, not Earth-1. Later in life, she moves to Earth-1 and joins the Justice League, where she meets Green Arrow. Black Siren is a metahuman from Earth-2, and if she takes Black Canary's mantle, that means Laurel may actually end up as a real metahuman.
A redemption story where Black Siren becomes Black Canary because of Flashpoint, and settles down on Earth-1 in Star City as a hero instead of a villain would be a great way to bring Laurel back into the mix. Considering Cassidy is a series regular across all four shows, bringing her back as a member of the Justice Society on Legends would be another interesting twist. Arrow Season 5 is all about legacy. What better way to celebrate Black Canary than introducing a version of her that’s a member of the Justice Society.
Arrow Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg told ComicBook.com after a 100th episode screening that Laurel was an important part of the series, and always will be. We’ll get to see Laurel and Oliver get married in an alternate timeline during Arrow’s “Invasion!” crossover episode Nov. 30.
"She was the second lead on the show. Even though the show has evolved, Laurel was at the heart of it," Kreisberg told reporters at a screening of the Invasion! event on Monday. "She was Oliver's great love. She's Sara's sister. She's Lance's daughter. Watching those early episodes, so much of it revolved around her relationship with all of these characters. I watched the episode Vertigo where she's arguing with her father about how much Thea reminds her of Sara and how he should go easy on her. I'm sitting here listening to that thinking about, 'God, they didn't even know Sara was alive yet.' Even if we do get to two hundred episodes, Laurel will always be at the heart of the series and be such an important character. On top of that, Katie Cassidy will always be so important to us. We were so happy that she agreed to come back because she's part of the family, both behind the camera and in front of it."
Talia Al Ghul will also make an appearance in Season 5 episode 10. Do you she has anything to do with Laurel’s return? If Laurel comes back as a villain, maybe she and Talia are working together. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Read more about Talia Al Ghul’s role here.
