Arrow: 7 Things You Learn Rewatching Season 1
4. Sara Lance Was Played By A Different Actress
Sara Lance is undoubtedly one of the most badass characters in the entire Arrowverse. The current captain of the Waverider over on Legends of Tomorrow, the trained assassin is portrayed by Caity Lotz and has returned from the dead multiple times, battled the deadliest of foes and even danced a sassy Tango. However, the future White Canary was a part of Arrowverse legacy long before the she showed up in Starling City (as The Canary) during Arrow's second season.
Sara's role in Season 1 was to serve as a ghost of Oliver's past and, by extension, a reminder of his sins. The sister of Laurel Lance, she presumably died when the Queen's Gambit was flooded with water and she was dragged out to sea. And while we now know that she actually survived, the show made use of that memory to haunt Oliver throughout the season.
However, upon rewatching, you'll notice that Sara looks very different - the reason being that she was initially portrayed by Jacqueline MacInnes Wood. And while she did a solid job playing the damsel in distress version of the character, bringing Lotz in to replace her for Sara's resurgence in Season 2 was undoubtedly a wise choice as the latter would effortlessly turn her into one of the Arrowverse's finest characters. On that note, the scenes of Sara's apparent demise were later refilmed with Lotz in the role.
Her name was also spelled differently too, with news reports billing her as "Sarah Lance".