Let's Review: Laurel Lance as Black Canary

Eonline: Introduction to the Black Canary Costume

Things have been heating up since the last episode. Ray and Felicity are slowly becoming a thing, Diggle asks Oliver to be his best man, Thea struggles with her first kill, and Ra Al Ghul offering the Arrow the role of a lifetime. Putting that aside, Laurel gets to share her moments as herself and the Black Canary. I think now is the time for us to evaluate what she has done so far. Why? For one thing, Black Canary is a very important character in DC. She is not just the love interest of Green Arrow, but also the person who knows how to keep things together. She's a fabulous mentor and is known in DC for her impeccable fighting skills. So the question is, did Laurel Lance do her justice?

To be honest, yes. 

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Let me remind everyone that this show is about Green Arrow, not the Black Canary. Yes, she is very important in his life, but it is a total no-no for her to take up a lot of screen time. Also, the first three episodes of the second half are her origin stories. In other words, she is just starting out. What's really impressive about her is that Katie Cassidy was good at turning Laurel into a very sloppy vigilante. I mean, that's how it's supposed to be when you're going to start something. I think we all remember how Oliver started out after the oh-so many flashbacks we've seen in this series, and do not make me start with Roy and Thea. So for now, I appreciate her current fighting level. It's slightly realistic (minus the part that she was willingly able to smash into a window) and how it's supposed to be for the time being. 

Her identity crisis was also something that most definitely caught my attention because it was not just a question of who she really is, but there was a tinge of sibling rivalry; and this rivalry is something that most of the viewers can relate to. It has always been a question of who could be a better Canary: Laurel or Sara. Back in season two, we all despised Laurel simply because we did not like her attitude back then, which made most of us lean more on to Sara (I know I did). Now these "Black Canary" episodes put that question into play. Interesting right??? However, the question still has not been answered. We still do not know if Laurel truly deserves or is supposed to be the Black Canary or not. Basically, Laurel still does not have a full motive as to why she took her sister's costume in the first place. Sara's death may have been the drive, but in the end we realize that's not exactly it. Heck we don't even know Laurel even wants to be a hero or not. Sara definitely did not. 

So hopefully, I want to see Laurel as a hero who truly wants to aid Starling City because that's not what Sara really wanted to do. I believe that being a selfless heroine will be the one that will set Laurel apart from her. Because the series is trying to tell us that they are not one and the same, and that Laurel is not just going to be the next Sara Lance (which kinda explains why her dad bitterly calls her the Black Canary). 

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Will we see a big development on Black Canary any time soon? Probably, because Sara will no longer be apart of Laurel's equation soon. We only got to see her truly become Black Canary in the "Canaries" episode, but it was a small rough start (thank you Detective Quentin for giving us feels). Will Black Canary be a killer? Maybe. However, Black Canary was never known for her killing sprees. Why did I ask that question? In case you have not noticed, killing has been a real issue in the series. It established the idea that killing does change a person, and it can change Laurel if it happens to her. However, I am honestly tired of seeing that scenario over and over. I want Black Canary's develop to be bumpy and complex just like Arrow's, Thea's, or Arsenal's, but I was hoping that it does not center on killing. I get that it changes people, but let's give Canary a brand new problem to worry about.