Last week, it was revealed that Laurel Lance would soon be donning the Black Canary outfit on Arrow. However, in my opinion, it just doesn’t fit. At least, not yet.
Although we’re all supposed to be excited for Laurel to finally fulfill her destiny as the Black Canary, I can’t help but feel totally apathetic about the whole ordeal. If Laurel wasn’t the weakest character (or part) of the show and if her characterization would have been more of a priority in the past, her becoming the Black Canary would feel natural and inevitable.
The problem is that it wasn’t and it doesn’t. Nothing is ever perfect, not even on a fantastic show like Arrow. Everything is bound to have a weakest link. In the case of Arrow, it’s Laurel.
Right now, you’re probably ready to cut my head off, so please let me try to explain what I mean.
First, let me preface this by saying that the characterization and writing is my favorite aspect of Arrow. Yes, the action sequences are beyond impressive and it’s fun to stumble upon comic Easter eggs and well-known characters along the way. But what really grabs me is the relationships and inner turmoil that the writers have created. It’s the characterization that keeps me coming back for more.
Well, the characterization of everyone but Laurel Lance.
In season 1, Laurel showed a lot of potential. She was moving on from losing both her sister and her boyfriend (not to mention trying to forget the fact that her serious boyfriend was cheating on her with her sister) when Oliver came back in her life. Over time, she learned forgiveness and how to move on. She was still vulnerable and prone to negativity, but fought against it, sometimes by occupying herself with other battles.
She fought for social justice as much as she can within the confines of the justice system. Laurel worked as a legal aid attorney at CNRI (City Necessary Resources Initiative), a law firm that was dedicated to helping people in need. From the looks of it, she took quite a few pro-bono cases and fought as hard as she could to achieve justice. She was a character I could really root for. I was ready to pencil her name onto my list of fictional media females that kick ass. Unfortunately the law firm was destroyed in the earthquake that Malcolm Merlyn set off, and, with it, Laurel’s characterization.
Guilt is a terrible thing that can ruin even the strongest people. I get that. But the way that the writers had Laurel handle her perceived guilt of Tommy’s death (mostly her feelings of survivor’s guilt) seemed almost shallow, making it really difficult to like, root for, or even emphasize with her character in season two.
Laurel Lance, more than any other character on the show, is what I like to refer to as a “reactive character.” Instead of being proactive (like she was in season 1 when she was kicking some justice system butt), in seasons 2 and 3 of Arrow, Laurel’s character seemed like she existed only to tie past events into the future. To react to things that have happened to her and do nothing else. Laurel’s characterization has been slowly collapsing in on itself because she doesn’t seem to be the protagonist of her own story.
Yes, Oliver is a product of his time on (and, as we’ve learned, off) of the island and he is who he is now because of it. But he has taken that reaction to his time on the island and transformed it into something else. He’s no longer a vigilante with a list. He’s a hero.
Laurel Lance, on the other hand, isn’t an active character. She’s a reactive character. For instance, her season-long addiction storyline was a reaction to Tommy’s death. She wallowed in it for most of the season and that’s all that really happened with her character. She only sort of snapped out of it after the millionth talk she had with Oliver and then blackmailed her way into a job.
It’s unclear whether the blackmail was supposed to be seen as proactive or just a part of her “dark side” that the writers kept trying to hint to the audience. Unfortunately, there was never really a resolution or explanation of that. There hasn’t even been a callback to it in this third season, in case it was going to be a storyline that carried over. It sort of just disappeared and her whole season-long arc seemed to mysteriously wrap up.
This third season started out with the murder of her long-lost sister, which really put us all through the emotional wringer. We all loved Sara Lance, thanks to the wonderful characterization she had throughout the course of a single season. Sara was a strong woman who didn’t wallow in her misfortune of being held captive by a intimidating scientist and dealt with issues the best that she could. Sara was proactive. She was never a product of her situation. Her situations influenced her character, but never defined them.
Once Sara was murdered, Laurel went on a rampage to catch the killer. Understandable. However, similar to her addiction(s) in season 2, this reactive drive for revenge seems to be the only characterization for her so far this season. Yes, it’s beginning to turn into Laurel trying to better and strengthen herself (which is a good sign), but we’re given nothing else about Laurel’s character. We don’t even get to see her fighting abilities improve. All we know is that she’s angry and has taken up boxing. Other than that, she floats in and out of episodes with no real effect on anything.
Furthermore, her few law cases happen off-screen (including the ones where she would put away the criminals that the Arrow caught) and she has no real interaction with anyone on the show aside from her father (barely), Oliver, and Ted Grant. Her alienation from other characters on the show makes her even less appealing because not only does she get any personal growth but also never grows as part of a group.
So why does Laurel’s stunted character matter? Why can’t she just be the Black Canary and grow from there? Because the Black Canary is so much more than an average vigilante. It’s a mantle that her sister donned (sort of, as just “The Canary,” but still) and people respected. Her sister helped people and grew to be an assassin who only killed those who posed a threat.
Additionally, according to DC comics history, Black Canary is one of the best fighters in the entire DC universe and is known for her keen tactical mind. The only thing Laurel has on her mind right now is revenge and how best to get it. Plus, she’s still learning to fight. Laurel is in no way physically ready to start fighting street-level crime, nor is she at all fighting for the little people at the moment. While her training with Ted Grant is a big step in the direction of her character, it’s not reason enough for her to take on the identity. In the comics, it was only after rigorous training (which Laurel Lance has definitely not undergone) that she adopted the costume as her own.
As great as it is for Laurel to start trying to strengthen herself and rise above “damsel in distress” status, to have Laurel pull on the iconic Black Canary ensemble at this point is rushing an important storyline. She’s between storylines for her character and is just starting to recover from over a year of narrative neglect. If her growth was further along and her character more fleshed out, I wouldn’t be as opposed to the arc starting now. There’s a difference between the show telling us she’s ready for the responsibility and showing us that she’s ready and that it’s a logical progression for her character at this point.
So far, Laurel Lance has been a disappointment as a character. While all of the other characters (females included) have gotten quite a bit of personal development and rounding out, Laurel sticks out like a sore thumb. She’s a gaping flaw to more of us viewers than just the avid fans. At this point, she’s still just a placeholder and a pawn that can be specifically positioned to make certain plots happen.
While Laurel’s track record hasn’t been the best, I hope that the Black Canary storyline gives her the proactive kind characterization that she desperately needs and hasn’t had up to this point. If anything, I see the Black Canary 2.0 introduction as a sort of slate-wiping for Laurel’s character on which the Arrow writers can start anew, which would be totally okay with me. For such a strong and impressive show like Arrow, fleshing out a main character and making her more personable shouldn’t be too much of a problem.