Arrow Season 4: 9 Ups And 6 Downs From 'Eleven-Fifty-Nine'
2. The Redemption Of Laurel Lance
Throughout Arrow’s four seasons to date, Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance has been the constant weak link of the show. This is a character who just can’t help but come off as petty, selfish, d*ckish or just outright useless in how she’s been written over those seasons.
Here, though, with her life in the balance, we see some semblance of just what a great character Laurel/Black Canary can be if handled in the right way. And no, I don’t mean by killing her off, but more in how she was depicted in those final moments with Oliver. There was a tenderness, a sincerity, and a sense of tragic regret painted across Cassidy’s performance.
From one glass of wine meaning she was an alcoholic, to her regularly bungled attempts at the hero gig, to selfishly resurrecting her dead sister, to often questioning the vastly-experienced Oliver on his actions, the character of Laurel Lance has been so often trampled upon by the usually-brilliant Arrow writing team.
Did she do enough here to make all of that worthwhile? No. But she certainly did enough in those final moments to act as some sort of redemption for a character who has been so mistreated at times.