Spoiler Discussion Thread

[calliope1975]

4. Nyssa takes Laurel back with her to Nanda Parbat at the end of Season 3, and we never have to see her again!

 

Since TPTB love parallels so much, how about Laurel skip off with Nyssa on a boat at the end of the season. She can come back in 5 years.

 

I love that SA has no poker face. You can tell exactly what he's thinking in interviews even if he refuses to answer. That gif set is giving me life. (I really noticed it in the behind-the-scenes TV Guide cover with GG. SA was so over it and you could totally tell.) 

[Sakura12]

I'd rather they follow McKenna's storyline, have Laurel get injured and have to go to another city to heal and is never heard from again. 

 

If they want parallels have Nyssa take over Sara's promise to take care of Sin, then Sin can come back in 5 years as the second Black Canary honoring her older sister's memory. I believe Sin knew the changed Sara better than Laurel ever did. She didn't know all the horrible details but Sin knew why and what Sara was fighting for and was pretty much her sidekick. 

[Chaser]

Sin would be a fantastic choice. And it would make more sense. Thoughts like that hurt.

 

Someone did a gif set with SA's expressions when asked about Laurel and Oliver and then Ray and Felicity. I know its dangerous to project my own preferences onto SA, but that is so funny. With L & O it just drops and with R & F he just gets this "Is this woman serious?" look. LOL

[Sakura12]

From reading KC's interview she's saying that Laurel is going to be better because she's choosing to be a vigilante because she has heart and wants it and Sara just fell into it and had no choice, which is not true. Sara had no choice to be an assassin, she choose to help women fight their aggressors. That does show she hardly paid attention to Sara's storyline, which is not surprising. However whether or not Sara choose the life, she had the skills to accomplish it, whereas Laurel does not. No matter how badly she thinks she wants it now. And I get a kid wanting to join the cool kids vibe from her over wanting to actually help people. 

 

Then, once again she's talking in plot points for Laurel. She adds nothing personal to it. I don't think method acting means what she thinks it means. 

[BkWurm1]

Cassidy: In Season 3, you'll see Laurel go from avenging her sister to honoring her sister to then becoming her. But I think, A) The suit is not the same, but it's definitely similar; the jacket is almost identical, and B) She's doing this for her sister. Part of what she brings to it is heart. She's fearless, she's driven, she's doing this because, deep inside, it's what she believes in and what she wants. I'm not necessarily sure that Sara -- you'd have to ask Caity Lotz, because it's a character choice -- but that's where she was coming from. She sort of fell into it mistakenly, because of the crash in Season 1. Being on the island, she had no choice. Laurel has a choice, and she's choosing this because she's that strong and realistic, and has heart about it.

 

I highlighted two parts of her interview that I just couldn't ignore.  First of all, when talking about what she'll take from Sara vs what she brings on her own, she actually starts comparing costumes?????  Then of course the crazy notion that Sara didn't chose to help people but that's already been commented on, what I can't help but point out is that she's answering not based on what was shown on TV but says "you have to ask Caity" like what Sara did or why she did it is a question that can only be answered by a pretend story the actress might have made up in her head????   

 

I just can't. 

[Sakura12]

From what I was shown on screen, Sara had a bigger heart than Laurel. She kept a promise to a man she knew for about 2 minutes, we don't know how long Sin and Sara were together but enough time passed that they thought of each other as family. She left the League of freaking Assassins and her girlfriend to check on her family and find Oliver. She stayed and chose to help abused women "because no woman should ever suffer at the hands of men", then later helped Oliver on his quest to save the city. All those were choices Sara made with her heart. 

 

Laurel has mostly acted selfish and entitled. She helps people to a point, then somehow makes it about herself. Laurel's been shown to be weak with no survival skills. Laurel doesn't want to fight with her heart, she wants to beat up bad guys and get the adoration of being of hero. She's seen the way people reacted to Sara, so now she wants to become Sara. 

[somewhereother]

Despite feeling like I have read a lot of spoilers and interviews. I still have no idea what the purpose of the season is or where it is heading. Laurels arc has been described somewhat but its pretty slim on other characters or actual plot. Maybe I have missed a lot of stuff.....

 

3.10 Left Behind

Oliver: Dead

Felicity: Sad and Ray

Diggle: Chats with Laurel & fights baddies

Roy: Fights baddies

Thea: Throws scissors

Laurel: Suits up (alone?)
3.11 Midnight City

Oliver: Dead
Felicity/ Diggle/ Roy/ Thea: ?
Laurel: Tries and fails at BC
3.12 Uprising

Oliver: Dead - returns at end of ep
Felicity / Diggle / Roy / Thea: ?
Laurel: Accepted by Team Arrow
3.13 Canaries

Oliver / Felicity / Diggle / Roy / Thea: ?
Laurel: Vertigo & Sara (spec)
3.14 The Return

Oliver: ? Slade returning & another character (pls be Sara back from the dead)
Felicity / Diggle / Roy / Thea / Laurel:?
3.15 Nanda Parbat

Oliver / Felicity / Diggle / Roy / Thea /Laurel: ?

 

Or, maybe it is meant to be a metaphor for their aimlessness after Olivers death?

[catrox14]

 

I know not everyone has to go through the same thing Oliver and Sara did, but from what they showed us Laurel has the survival skills of an office plant. She stayed in crumbling building and went to beat up a guy with a baseball bat because she was angry and got her ass kicked. That is someone that will  hurt a super hero team not help them. They can't be worrying about her when they have to defeat the bad guy.

 

Hey, now. You apologize to Fernlicity.

[statsgirl]

The Return is where flashback Oliver visits Starling City, isn't it?

 

I highlighted two parts of her interview that I just couldn't ignore.  First of all, when talking about what she'll take from Sara vs what she brings on her own, she actually starts comparing costumes?????

Fashion is her passion, as Katie Cassidy has said.

 

Laurel has mostly acted selfish and entitled. She helps people to a point, then somehow makes it about herself.

 This is why I have a hard time accepting Laurel as the Black Canary, not because of her lack of fighting skills.  It's because emotionally she's not in a vigilante place.  Even in the last episode, she told Dinah that she hasn't told Quentin because she can't take losing someone else.  It just seems to me that if you're going to be a vigilante, you should do it to protect the weak, not for your own reasons, be they to calm the fire or to glorify yourself.

 

It occurred to me that if Laurel really is such a bad fighter, she could injured fighting, like in a wheelchair injured, then she could take the Oracle role on a BoP spin-off and Sin could go off to Nanda Parbat to become the next Canary.

Edited January 15, 2015 by statsgirl

[foreverevolving]

.... then she could take the Oracle role on a BoP spin-off.

You take that back!!

Laurel as Oracle?!?

Poor moniker, it's bad enough they killed it in the comics (although i am hoping that they will revive it for Felicity) because batgirl is Barbara again. But like all moniker they can be transferred to a new person, i mean there's been like 50 something Robin's, so..

Yea. Hell. to. The. NO!. On arrow's Laurel taking on that name. It's bad enough she's taking on the canary name.

Edited January 15, 2015 by foreverevolving

[looptab]

The problem for me (ok, one of the problems), as someone else has already pointed out, is that  her motivations are not well defined. I wouldn't mind her going out in the field to avenge her sister, or for whatever personal reason; afterall, Oliver began with a personal agenda too. But the thing is, they first say she wants to avenge her sister, honor her sister, then that she has heart and wants to do good and help people and blah blah blah. So which one is it? Or is it both? When that PR person tweeted about every part of a superhero journey, was she referring to this? Basically having her have this shift in motivation in a 3 episode arc?  The shift that Oliver had over 2 seasons - and that isn't completely ingrained in him, as he still vacillates at times.

Sure, it's Oliver's show and not hers, and the less we see about her internal conflicts the better, I guess. But it can't be taken seriously when you set such a precedent. Hope I'm wrong and they can sell it to us. Not sure how they're going to do it, though.

[pivot]

This just gets better and better. A lot of scenes with Katie Cassidy and whoever plays Roy? Are the producers just trying to finally determine which actor is the worst one on the show? Because that has to be the only reason why they'd stick those two in a scene together. Roy is going to look stunned and confused and Katie is going to look blank faced. This is shaping up to be Birds of Prey bad right now. Even EBR can't say this trainwreck.

[BkWurm1]

She sort of fell into it mistakenly, because of the crash in Season 1. Being on the island, she had no choice. Laurel has a choice, and she's choosing this because she's that strong and realistic, and has heart about it.

 

Thought I could leave this without a comment, found I can't.  This makes no sense.  Sara became who she was because of events in her life, the big one, yes started with the sinking of the boat but Sara still made a very specific choice to help others even if she didn't see herself as worthy of the title hero.  Laurel also is supposed to be only where she is in her life because of events in her life aka Sara being some kind of inspiration after she died.  Why is Laurel deciding to help stronger and more realistic and more deliberate than Sara making the choice? 

 

Sara remains the original thinker in this scenario and Laurel just the copy cat.  How is it bolder for Laurel to follow the original blazer of the trail?  The only thing that Sara remotely "fell into" is the training that makes her capable of being the hero.  Laurel is chasing it without the qualification.  Sara realized what she was capable of doing and chose to use her skills for good.  Laurel was already in a position to help before with Legal Aid and I guess working in the system at the DA's office but instead of embracing the skills that she has that the rest of the team doesn't, she chooses to ignore them and go after what she doesn't have. 

Edited January 15, 2015 by BkWurm1

[JenMcSnark]

I'm so glad people are talking about KC's stupid comment about Sarah/Caity.  I felt that was so demeaning to both of them. I really don't want to dislike her, but she makes it difficult to hold my ground. 

[Pyramid]

Seems KC still hasn't a clue about Laurel's character. Every interview is, blah, blah, heart, blah, blah jacket, blah, blah sister ... no depth or analysis.

Also, it wasn't a crash, the boat was bombed and sank. Small point, but it makes me wonder if she's watched the show.

[dtissagirl]

It actually makes sense for me if most of Laurel's action scenes are with Roy. It's the most likely character combo with the potential of making Laurel look good by comparison. Because the other option for field partner would be Diggle.

I'm not interested [lol no], but I can't help being curious about how the power dynamics will go here. Roy has more field experience than Laurel, but will she take orders from him? But otoh, forget about being able to fight, the kind of work they do pretty much requires Special Ops tactics training and mission prep knowledge, which neither of them have to lead anything.

[tv echo]

I think SA is a smart guy and puts a lot of thought into his character, his character's story, and his character's thought processes (sometimes more than the Arrow EPs/writers do).  Oliver's relationship with Felicity developed organicially, and he sees that.  Oliver's transition into the eventual Green Arrow is taking place slowly over years, and he sees that.  Now he sees them rushing to turn Laurel into Black Canary in a few months with less suffering and less training, plus Oliver is being sidelined in order to spotlight the new Black Canary.  Despite his parroting the company line and putting his best PR face on, how can he be happy about that?

 

If Laurel had such a big heart, her immediate reaction when someone she loved and thought dead turned up alive (Oliver, Sara) would be joy and relief - not coldness, anger and hostility (those reactions would set in later once she accepted the person was alive and could think again about what he/she had done to her).  If Laurel had such a big heart, then after CNRI was destroyed, she would have sought another legal aid job so she could continue to help the less fortunate from the Glades, instead of becoming an ADA where she'll likely prosecute some of those poor people she used to help when they're driven by homelessness and starvation to break the law in order to feed their families.

 

If there was a Birds of Prey spin-off, I'd want Laurel/BC to leave Arrow and go to the spin-off.  I'd also want Barbara Gordon to leave Gotham and go to the BOP spin-off (yes, I know she's not a superhero).  And I'd want Katrina Crane to leave Sleepy Hollow and join the BOP spin-off as a new witch character.  Then that's one new show that I won't have to watch.

 

From the Kreisberg interview in the Spoilers:

• "It's like Dave Ramsey [who plays John Diggle on the show] said on the panel: if everyone starts dressing up, you lose that connection to reality."  -- I think that ship has sailed, AK.
• "Felicity, she's every bit of a hero as anyone else is." -- Thank you, AK.

Edited January 15, 2015 by tv echo

[Sakura12]

On the plus side if Laurel's scenes are mostly with Roy then that should make it easier for some of you to ignore their scenes and have time to do something else until the actual show starts back up again. 

Edited January 15, 2015 by Sakura12

[looptab]

Roy also makes sense in that he had a similar beginning, getting involved in things he shouldn't have (with Oliver trying to shake him off his back) until he was included (different circumstances, but whatever). So maybe he empathizes with her and her desire to make a difference (ugh). If they approach it from this point of view, at least we could have some insight into Roy, during the Buckle apocalypse.<-----Trying very hard to look at the bright side :)

Edited January 15, 2015 by looptab

[KirkB]

"It's like Dave Ramsey [who plays John Diggle on the show] said on the panel: if everyone starts dressing up, you lose that connection to reality."

 

 

Hence why we have ONLY gotten it from Oliver, Diggle (at least a couple of times), Roy, Slade, Helena, Isabel, Sara, Nyssa, Ra's, Malcolm, and soon Laurel and Ray.

Edited January 15, 2015 by KirkB

[writersblock51]

The thing with Roy is that I find his motivation far more believable than Laurel's and I'm not sure I can see how'd he would be more open to her choice to become a vigilante now.  Roy was at a distinct crossroads - nearly killed, the Hood saved him. He could have continued to let his rage dictacte his choices but he didn't. He saw his 2nd chance and he went for it. Not successfully, it turns out, but his motivation was pretty clear. And that was what ultimately convinced Oliver, too.

 

Not everyone has a moment in time crossroads situation. But on this show, motivation seems VERY clear.  (except for Slade, ooops) 

 

That's why Laurel's seems to haphazard to me. Much like her reasoning for not telling Quentin the truth about Sara, Laurel's motivations shift depending on her mood and who she's talking to. How, as a viewer *and a long time fan of the Black Canary character in the comics & then of Sara* can I connect with her, root for her?

 

She's avenging, no, wait, she's honoring. Frankly, she just seems VERY (understandably so) angry.  I personally think she's also feeling a lot of guilt. Anyway, I think her character needs to be honed so that her motivation is as clear as Oliver, Diggle, Felicity and Roy's are. Hell, even Ray's motive is completely obvious.  For all of the other problems I have with Ray, his motivation to become the Atom is not one of them.

Edited January 15, 2015 by writersblock51

[ban1o]

Yeah Roy's motivation to become a vigilante always seemed clear to me, the execution was kinda off at parts but his motivation made sense and was established early on. Laurel's motivations don't really make complete sense to me. Hopefully they become more clear when the show comes back!

Edited January 15, 2015 by ban1o

[TanyaKay]

Velocity23 posted a link to KC's interview and I am wondering why does CW PR people let her talk to press at all? I am dying of second hand embarrassment.

[looptab]

The thing with Roy is that I find his motivation far more believable than Laurel's and I'm not sure I can see how'd he would be more open to her choice to become a vigilante now.  

Yes, Roy's motivation has definitely always been clear and  believable for the character, unlike Laurel's. But  I could see him being the one who is on her side, so to speak, even if just from a "I wanted to do this and everyone told me not to, too" perspective. Basically he was in the same spot she is now - wanting to go vigilanteing, although for very different reasons - with no one's support. So, if this is the reason for his accepting her, it wouldn't be total nonsense, IMO. It's true though that getting validation from Roy is not saying much :)

Edited January 15, 2015 by looptab

[SonofaBiscuit]

Everyone keeps saying "You can't become a hero overnight.  You have to earn it."  Why do they keep saying that when that's exactly what Laurel is doing?!  Whatever.

 

According to KC, she takes the reins when Oliver is gone, and she has been working a lot with Diggle, Felicity, and Roy.  Worst nightmare ever.

 

Someone must have told KC to stop referencing Oliver as her one true love, but she still can't quite seem to let it go 100%.

 

I'm definitely bracing myself for the influx of KC interviews in the next couple of weeks as Laurel steps front and center.  Don't worry, she's got this, y'all.

Edited January 15, 2015 by SonofaBiscuit

[dtissagirl]

I thought that was the best interview I've read from KC since the show started. This looks like there was a press conference with her, since so many answers are carbon copy from IGN, but maybe CBR edited it better? She doesn't seem to really think too deep about the show, but this is the first time I thought her answers matched the company line. I'd rather KC talks about the suit and the wig than anything more meaty, because that's usually when she goes completely off rails.

The becoming Sara crap is dumb, but it's coming from the writers. And I'm sure it's the EPs telling her Laurel buckling up is earned. From KC's pov she's been sitting pretty waiting while two actresses came onboard and took her character's narrative functions from her. Now it's her time, her reward. Plus, the narrative itself seems to think Laurel has earned the buckles.

And I'm very very relieved to hear Laurel's headspace is not in a romantic relationship with Oliver.

Edited January 15, 2015 by dancingnancy

[ban1o]

I don't think there is anything wrong with the interview tbh. The only thing is "becoming Sara" but that's not coming from KC so much as the writers.

Edited January 15, 2015 by ban1o

[writersblock51]

Velocity23 posted a link to KC's interview and I am wondering why does CW PR people let her talk to press at all? I am dying of second hand embarrassment.

At least she's backing off of the soulmate stuff.

 

I wondered why the show decided to recast Sara and bring her on as Black Canary in S2 but KC is right, it's clear. They figured out very early on that the chemistry with SA was sorely lacking AND that she struggled with the character. For whatever reason, they switched gears and showed that God awful addiction story as her crucible while giving Sara a more compelling BC backstory and set of skills. I think the problem began in S1 and was inadvertantly made worse in S2. I think the show had a lot of confidence in 2 key things to be able to get them to this point in S3 with her:

1) the addiction story would be done well and increase Laurel and KC's popularity with fans and critics

2) Sara would be a good placeholder, easy to kill off to make way for Laurel

 

But 1 and 2 did NOT happen the way they thought it would.

 

Worse, though, is that KC is under the impression that things are going PERFECTLY. I don't know if she believes what she's saying or just spouting the company line.

 

EVEN WORSE is that I have sinking feeling that she's going to be around for Season 4. I didn't realize how much I'd been hoping this would be her final year.

 

F&ck this show.

[ban1o]

Ok obviously KC isn't going to trash the writer's decisions and writing with her character, especially with such a major arc like her addiction arc and such. No actor on the show does that. I really doubt she thinks "they did it perfectly"

Edited January 15, 2015 by ban1o

[Guest]

The only issue I have is that she says about earning the BC outfit and I don't see anything Laurel has done in s1 and s2 to earn that. Not yet anyway. And GB and MG telling her that she can't become BC overnight is pretty much what's going to happen. So I'm pretty confused by that tbh.

 

Also this:

 

"Now that Oliver's gone, [she] takes the reins and is like, "I got this."

 

 

No. Sorry. She shouldn't be taking any reins. Leave those reins alone please.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Guest

[Artsda]

Are those interviews supposed to make us want to watch? Because it does the opposite. I'm really wondering what the ratings will be now for the next 3. 

 

She takes the reigns? Yet MG is claiming that it's not a Laurel arc? 

Edited January 15, 2015 by Artsda

[Sakura12]

Everyone keeps saying "You can't become a hero overnight.  You have to earn it."  Why do they keep saying that when that's exactly what Laurel is doing?!  Whatever.

 

It's not overnight, it's 3 weeks if we go by Arrow's real time schedule. So that is enough time for Laurel to be a full fledged hero and not just a sidekick. 

[apinknightmare]

I don't think there's anything wrong with her interview. IMO it's actually one of her better ones?

I wish they'd stop with this "you can't just become a hero overnight, you have to earn it" talk in conjunction with Laurel hitting "rock bottom" in S2. It's true, she did, but becoming a hero isn't some reward for coming through some shit on the other side. She would've earned it if any of the things she'd gone through had set her on a path toward becoming a hero, like if she'd taken the loss of Moira's case really hard and rededicated herself to the law and helping those in need (maybe going back to a CNRI-like place) and becoming increasingly frustrated by her hands being tied by the law and wanting to go out and take matters into her own hands. Then I would've bought her actually wanting to honor Sara and wanting to do good. But even in the narrative they sold it as a replacement high instead of an actual need to do good.

I understand everyone else's trajectory and the reason for why they do what they do. Oliver, Diggle, Felicity, Roy and Sara. Their pasts and decisions set them on the path to becoming what they are. Laurel's hasn't at all. So, we'd feel like Laurel would have earned it if any of the terrible things had actually led her to becoming a hero. Instead they led her to aggressively pursuing the Arrow, then becoming a drug addict. And she didn't come out of her addiction with any particular drive to do good. It's just a mess.

But nothing can be done about that now.

[Sakura12]

MG seems to think that Laurel will earn everything in 3 weeks. While Oliver still hasn't earned his comic destiny in 3 years. 

[dtissagirl]

The only issue I have is that she says about earning the BC outfit and I don't see anything Laurel has done in s1 and s2 to earn that. Not yet anyway. And GB and MG telling her that she can't become BC overnight is pretty much what's going to happen. So I'm pretty confused by that tbh.

Trying to read an actress' mind here, but I'm certain from KC's pov, everything Laurel has been through was part of the journey to become BC. It's totally NOT AT ALL from my outsider's analysis of where the storyline went, but I can get why KC is internalizing all of the S2 crap as part of what made Laurel want to buckle up. And because this is Hollywood, I can also guess the EPs sold exactly that to KC: her suit has been a long time coming because everything Laurel did so far culminates in it. It doesn't, but I could bet money this is how they rationalize it. Edited January 15, 2015 by dancingnancy

[apinknightmare]

No. Sorry. She shouldn't be taking any reins. Leave those reins alone please.

I think she thinks she's got it. And then she's going to go out and get her ass beat until Roy helps her out, at which time she'll somehow become a better fighter, because of team reasons. Or something.

[chaos is welcome]

I'm so glad people are talking about KC's stupid comment about Sarah/Caity.  I felt that was so demeaning to both of them. I really don't want to dislike her, but she makes it difficult to hold my ground.

As pointed out by another poster in the bitterness thread, they are making it boarder line impossible to NOT HATE HER IMO. Sara not knowing, Quentin dying, all of it. The quickness in which this is happening. It's depressing.

I'm just catching up on the updated spoilers. Felicity's "Oliver where are you" was heartbreaking. But not enough to make me watch the three ep rise of the bc live. Sorry, show.

[Carrie Ann]

I didn't mind that interview either, aside from the taking the reins part because hell no, but I don't think that's what's actually going to happen. The "more scenes" with EBR, DR, and CH wasn't surprising either, but it does make me itchy. Can't wait for her "incredible" scene with Emily in 313. In my dreams, it's Felicity telling her she's not Sara and never will be, but there's no way KC would ever see positively a scene in which Laurel is taken down a notch.

[statsgirl]

How much do you want to bet the scene with Emily is Felicity telling Laurel that she didn't think she should join Team Arrow at first but now she's seen what a big heart Laurel has and she's glad she's on board?

Basically having her have this shift in motivation in a 3 episode arc?  The shift that Oliver had over 2 seasons - and that isn't completely ingrained in him, as he still vacillates at times.

The shift wasn't that great for Oliver as it's going to be for her. For him, he wanted to fix what his father and friends had done to hurt Starling City because he promised his father that he would.  So even at the beginning he's against the bad guys because it's the right thing to do.

Laurel started out beating up bad guys because it makes her feel better to beat someone up

 

 

 

 

If there was a Birds of Prey spin-off, I'd want Laurel/BC to leave Arrow and go to the spin-off.  I'd also want Barbara Gordon to leave Gotham and go to the BOP spin-off (yes, I know she's not a superhero).  And I'd want Katrina Crane to leave Sleepy Hollow and join the BOP spin-off as a new witch character.  Then that's one new show that I won't have to watch.

I love i!. Solves the problem of two of my shows.

 

Velocity23 posted a link to KC's interview and I am wondering why does CW PR people let her talk to press at all? 

Her fans love it.

[Guest]

Trying to read an actress' mind here, but I'm certain from KC's pov, everything Laurel has been through was part of the journey to become BC. It's totally NOT AT ALL from my outsider's analysis of where the storyline went, but I can get why KC is internalizing all of the S2 crap as part of what made Laurel want to buckle up. And because this is Hollywood, I can also guess the EPs sold exactly that to KC: her suit has been a long time coming because everything Laurel did so far culminates in it. It doesn't, but I could bet money this is how they rationalize it.

 

Oh, I agree. But that really didn't come across on screen. And I also don't think an addiction arc and losing Tommy qualifies her to be a hero. I needed something more than that and they didn't provide. But yeah. I can see why she thinks it's a long time coming, particularly if she was disappointed that CL got to be the Canary before she did. 

 

 

I think she thinks she's got it. And then she's going to go out and get her ass beat until Roy helps her out, at which time she'll somehow become a better fighter, because of team reasons. Or something.

 

Oh, no doubt. I just don't buy it. A few boxing lessons doesn't give anyone the right to take over the reins from someone who has been training and on the path for 8 years. I just don't get it.

 

But I agree, this was one of KC's better interviews for sure.

[looptab]

Alright, so what's this  episode 13 great Laurel/Felicity scene about? Please let it not be bonding time over Oliver's death and subsequent non-death. Please.

Edited January 15, 2015 by looptab

[TanyaKay]

At least she's backing off of the soulmate stuff.

F&ck this show.

Not exactly. She said that Laurel in not thinking in terms of romance but personally Katie Cassidy is still not ruling out. Can someone please tweet her the link to Stephen's last interview?

[Happy Harpy]

Sara remains the original thinker in this scenario and Laurel just the copy cat. 

And that's reason number one why I don't feel like watching Arrow 3-B. Laurel is Copycat Canary, Ray is Oliver-lite, Ray/Felicity a piss-poor (imo) attempt at copying Felicity/Oliver.

I prefer original flavors, thank you. Call me back when Arrow is back on the air, for real.

 

Seems KC still hasn't a clue about Laurel's character.

To be fair to K.Cassidy, I don't think that anyone has a clue. Including the writers.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Happy Harpy

[TanyaKay]

Alright, so what's this episode 13 great Laurel/Felicity scene about? Please let it not be bonding time over Oliver's death and subsequent non-death. Please.

If she can play love shrink to her sister and ex boy friend two episodes down after lashing out at them and throwing glassware at her sister then she can very well 'bond' with Felicity over anything.

This show does so many thing rather well but anything surrounding Laurel just sucks the joy out of everything.

[statsgirl]

She takes the reigns? Yet MG is claiming that it's not a Laurel arc? 

Yeah,in spite of what MG is saying, it's going to be a Laurel arc.  The justification for her taking over Team Arrow in spite of having zero combat or Glades fighting experience and jumping ahead of Roy's year with Team Arrow is that she's the leading lady of the show.

 

 

I understand everyone else's trajectory and the reason for why they do what they do. Oliver, Diggle, Felicity, Roy and Sara. Their pasts and decisions set them on the path to becoming what they are. Laurel's hasn't at all. So, we'd feel like Laurel would have earned it if any of the terrible things had actually led her to becoming a hero. Instead they led her to aggressively pursuing the Arrow, then becoming a drug addict. And she didn't come out of her addiction with any particular drive to do good. It's just a mess.

But nothing can be done about that now.

They could address it though, and if they really believed they had screwed up Laurel's story, they would.  (I can't believe that fanfic writers put so much more though into these characters than the show's writers do.)

 

She could say that she didn't understand before, that helping people at CNRI was not about showing the world what a good person she was but about understanding what the people in the Glades went through; how she kept the anger from the boat sinking for reasons and that's why it was so hard for her when Oliver and Sara came home; that now that she's been hurt herself she understands the scars Sara carried and wish she had paid more attention to her sister when she was alive; that she wishes that as a lawyer she had gone after Malcolm Merlyn's empire to repair the damage he did to the Glades.  But now she knows what Oliver does, what his Team does, and she wants to help every way she can.

 

Unfortunately, it won't happen though.

[apinknightmare]

Oh, no doubt. I just don't buy it. A few boxing lessons doesn't give anyone the right to take over the reins from someone who has been training and on the path for 8 years. I just don't get it.

Most definitely. But I think it's in character to be delusionally overconfident to the point of thinking she could take Oliver's place.

[Starfish35]

Yeah, I didn't think the interview was that bad. The majority of it was fine. I think that's the first time I've ever seen her compliment EBR. And I find it notable how much she's backed off the "soulmates" nonsense.

The biggest problem is this "taking the reins" business - that's ridiculous. And I am so tired of the "I got this" "Laurel has got this". It's her go-to phrase and I've developed a knee jerk hatred for it. :( And this whole business about Laurel being a strong woman that she keeps saying....I know I know, what else is she going to say? But I'm always like "I do not think that means what you think it means."

Edited January 15, 2015 by Starfish35

[Chaser]

I will never understand why they choose to have Laurel go through an addiction arc instead of using Tommy's death and the Undertaking as a catalyst to start the Black Canary arc. The Undertaking killed 100s of people and left lives ruined? A motivation to seek justice for others. Tommy's death? Tommy would never have wanted his family's legacy to be mass murder and so by helping to clean up the streets she is doing what to can to honor him. Being trapped inside in the building and needing Tommy to save her? She felt defenseless and seeks to train to feel strong and powerful. Seriously? How hard was that to work up? The S2 Arc had a lot of dramatic acting moments for KC, but it did nothing to further LL as Black Canary. Its a hard connection to understand.

 

That being said, I do think it was one of the better interviews. It wasn't deep and mostly just parroted the company line, but it was a big improvement over the last interview. The scene with Felicity takes place in 3x13 so I'm thinking its Felicity telling Laurel she recognizes the same strength in Laurel she saw in Sara. My biggest fear is it being about Oliver coming back and Laurel giving advice - I just think they need to stay away from the Oliver topic altogether.

 

I didn't see KC answer to the Oliver and Laurel question as bad. I'm glad we got away from the 'soulmate', 'best-friend', and 'It's Green Arrow and Black Canary' talk. And I like the acknowledge that Laurel is not looking at Oliver in a romantic way. The 'maybe/I don't know' to it happening in the future is the same answer the Eps give. SA gives the closest thing to 'No' answers.

Edited January 15, 2015 by 10Eleven12

[ban1o]

so I don't know if any of you are still paying attention to Guggenheim's tumblr but for some reason he seems to be minimizing the amount of Felicity/Thea interaction. On tumblr people are asking questions about it and he's saying "not in 3x10" and when someone asked if there would be Felicity/Thea scenes in the upcoming episodes he said "eventually." Also someone asked a question if we would see more female interaction and he only mentioned Felicity/Laurel. I know this isn't really a big deal but I just thought it was odd because I thought before he said there would be a lot of Felicity/Thea. Maybe before he was overstating it?

Edited January 15, 2015 by ban1o

[calliope1975]

I thought the interview was fine as well. I don't believe Laurel has been through anything that meets the other hero crucibles they've depicted on the show, but I also don't think KC is going to spout off about all the flaws in her character. So there's a disconnect from what we've seen on screen and what the EPs think they're putting out there.

 

I did find it interesting in a broader media/feminist sense that KC continues to use "strong woman" as how to describe Laurel. That phrase has been so loaded lately as to how women should be portrayed. It makes me think of Maggie Gyllenhaal's speech at the Golden Globes where she spoke about writing "real" women. I don't know, I've just seen the deconstruction of the "strong woman" a lot lately and then I saw KC use it to describe Laurel. I doubt it means much.