Arrow Season 8 Review: 11 Ups & 2 Downs From 'Green Arrow And The Canaries'

3. A Starring Role For Laurel Lance's Black Canary

There was something cathartic about watching Laurel Lance show up in 2040 and stop at nothing to assemble a team of heroes that could ultimately save Star City, protect Mia Queen and preserve the legacy of the Emerald Archer himself. Not only was that the type of leading role that Katie Cassidy's formerly villainous character deserved, it reminded us of how central any version of Laurel should have been to Arrow.

A version of that character was the very first female lead of the whole Arrowverse and, after a series of unfortunate events, that character was unjustly killed off by a questionable decision in Arrow's controversial fourth season. And yet, here we are about to enter a new era of the Arrowverse, and Laurel Lance is more relevant than ever.

There's no understating this here: Laurel stole the show. From her new vamped look (that came with a ton of new wonderful snarkiness) to her heroic actions (that thoroughly proved how much of a hero she had become), she was in the driver's seat for most of the episode - and that was one of the many reasons that it thrived. Cassidy was more alluring than ever and Green Arrow and The Canaries will flourish with her Black Canary at the forefront.