This week’s installment of “Arrow” made jaws drop as a thought-to-be-departed character made an appearance during the tail end of the hour. In the final scene of episode 10, Oliver (Stephen Amell) was stunned to find Laurel (Katie Cassidy) inside the Arrow cave. But how exactly did the character come back from the dead?
It can be recalled that Laurel, who joined the Arrow team as Black Canary, was stabbed by Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) back in season 2. Her wounds turned out to be serious as Laurel later succumbed to her injury. The show does have a history of bringing back dead characters, and fans can recall that Laurel’s sister, Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) was resurrected with the help of John Constantine (Matt Ryan) and the Lazarus Pit. But did Laurel return in the same way, or was it because of another mysterious force in the Arrowverse?
According to TVLine, Amell, who participated in a Facebook Live chat after the episode aired, teased that fans will have to wait to find out if Laurel is really alive.
“I guess we’ll have to tune in [next episode],” said the actor. “People don’t just come back from the dead. Obviously there will be some sort of vetting process [to determine if it’s really her]. We delve into that when we come back into the New Year.”
IGN speculates that one of the most likely reasons for Laurel’s return is that it’s another result of Flashpoint. In the Arrow universe, Barry Allen’s (Grant Gustin) actions not only changed events in Central City, but it also affected some people in Star City. In last week’s crossover, it can be recalled that Diggle (David Ramsey) learned that Flashpoint caused him to have a son instead of a daughter, and that little Sara Diggle was erased once Barry changed the timeline.
It was also pointed out that Flashpoint has an effect on who lives and dies when the timeline is changed, and so this could be the reason why Laurel is up and about instead of resting peacefully in her grave. For now, viewers will have to wait until Jan. 25, 2017, to find out how Laurel was able to come back from the dead.
“Arrow” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
