‘Arrow’ season 2, episode 4: Who is the Black Canary? A discussion

We’re going to be back a little later this week with a full review of tonight’s “Arrow” season 2 episode, but tonight, what we want to do here really is discuss the twist that came at the very end of the hour: The Black Canary is none other than Sara Lance. Presumed dead, she was not only alive, but had evolved into some sort of crime-fighting machine. Given that she and Oliver Queen obviously have a little bit of a history, that dynamic is made all the more interesting.

But what we want to talk about tonight is pretty simple in the reaction to the reveal of who the Black Canary really is. Was The CW a little too candid over the summer, or was the fact that this leaked quite a while ago something that was inevitable? For anyone who was a diehard fan, the twist was likely ruined by internet trolls or just going out and finding the information deliberately. There was no real surprise to what could have otherwise been something that was very surprising.

The Brother Blood reveal, meanwhile, is something that you could have seen coming. That was at least more closely tied to the comics, but the Black Canary could have been a great surprise when you consider that it is a different actress in the role since season 1, and also an opportunity for a sort of “Sara’s island” situation to play out. We’re stoked to find out more of how she survived the same sort of torment that Oliver went through, and how this common bond could eventually help them … provided that Sara now stays alive.

The other thing to be curious about here is whether or not this means that Laurel Lance is going to ever become the Black Canary at all. We would assume that it would happen, but has this Laurel Lance really been that likable? Katie Cassidy’s character is probably our least favorite on the show, since it never really feels like she’s in on the fun as much as any other member of the cast.

For now, we’ll just wait and see how this develops, but we are glad to see the writers continue to change things up.

If you want to read some more “Arrow” scoop, we suggest that you click here to see a preview for next week’s episode.

Photo: The CW