Arrow
Laurel Lance , a.k.a . Black Canary , was killed off duringArrowseason 4 , but it was n’t the remnant for actor Katie Cassidy . Arrowseason 1 introduced viewers to Laurel Lance , the former girl of Oliver Queen ( Stephen Amell ) who reconciles with the billionaire playboy following his five - twelvemonth stretch on the mystic island of Lian Yu . In time of year 3 , Laurel follows in her deceased sister ’s step and becomes a vigilante in her own right , cognize as Black Canary , a move that eventually strengthens the bond between her and Queen .
Arrowseason 4 begin with a flashforward with Oliver Queen standing by a tombstone , set six months in the future . viewing audience only knew that one of the independent characters would go bad and that this decease would n’t be undone by magic or time - travelling . Eventually , theArrowrevealed it was Laurel who ended up in the grave . The sudden death sparked disputation , as it was a surprising decision to drink down off Black Canary , give her major office in the comical book mythology . Cassidy as well as showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle explainedwhy Laurel Lance was stamp out off .
Laurel Lance Dies In Arrow Season 4, Episode 18
Arrowseason 4 , episode 18 , " Eleven - Fifty - Nine , " revealed that Oliver Queen and Barry Allen had been stood at Laurel ’s grave in the time of year ’s curtain raising episode . During an endeavour to end Damien Dahrk , run by Neal McDonough , from escaping prison , Team Arrow found themselves once again powerless against the magical scoundrel , with Laurel eventually being jab as a means for Dahrk to punish her father , who ’d cheat on him . Despite being handle at the infirmary , and even expected to make a full retrieval , Laurel lost her life history moment later . This sudden death spark contention , as Black Canary has a major role in DC Comics , and Cassidy had only just scratched the Earth’s surface .
Cassidy was written out ofArrowinitially because the originative team felt they had run out of substantial story for Laurel , despite the fact that her career as theArrowverse ’s Black Canaryhad only just begun . Arrow’sproducers vary from Laurel ’s DC Comics roots as Queen ’s long - term love - sake , and while her death in time of year 4 proved thatArrowdid still have post ( as many characters had antecedently died and been resurrected ) , it was still a massive blow to the serial publication . It ’s clear thatArrow’screative team much preferred to write for the a different version of Laurel Lance .
Katie Cassidy Returned To Arrow As A Different Laurel Lance
Prior to the airing ofArrowseason 4 , installment 18 , The CW had announced that Cassidy would appear in theArrowspinoff , The Flash , as a villainous doppelganger of Laurel Lance from Earth-2 , know as Black Siren . Despite starting her Arrowverse career as a villain and a extremity of Zoom ’s metahuman ground forces , this version of Laurel more tight resemble her DC Comics twin , even exhibit her metahuman sonic screeching and experient hand - to - hand fighting proficiency . After Black Canary was scrapped fromArrow , Black Siren very quick take her place , with Cassidy returning as a series regular forArrowseason 6 . This variation finally saw redemption as Black Canary in time of year 7 .
How Laurel Lance’s Death Impacts Arrow’s Later Seasons
Although Laurel Lance ’s dying inArrowseason 4 allowed a more comic - accurate interpretation of the character to take her billet , it was a confusing option by the series as the Earth-1 version of Laurel could have evolve over clock time into this iteration . Killing off Laurel for shock economic value as part of a ill organized and unplanned storyline turned out to be a textbook case of " fridging , " killing off a distaff character to come on the story of the male leads , in this lawsuit those lead were Oliver Queen and Quentin Lance , Laurel ’s father . In fact , Laurel ’s destruction was plainly used to allow Queen to reconnect with his previous better half , Felicity Smoak .
During 2019 ’s Arrowverse crossover event , " Crisis on Infinite Earths , " several characters from a multitude of series ' includingArrow , The Flash , Legends of Tomorrow , andSupergirlare resurrect , but the Earth-1 version of Laurel stayed beat . This was due to another planned spinoff , Green Arrow and the Canaries , wanting to use Earth-2 Laurel instead of the original . Unfortunately , this serial never even come to fruition . While Cassidy ’s performance as Black Siren gave audience an evolved version of Laurel Lance , killing off Black Canary duringArrowseason 4 was one of the serial ' self-aggrandising error .
