Line #37 Recap/ArrowS7E18LostCanary


1	With her dark past revealed to Star City and the SCPD having a warrant on her, Laurel embraces her old identity of Black Siren. Dinah wants to hunt her down, while Felicity wants to save her from falling back into the dark.
2	----
3	* AlternateSelf: Turns out there's an Earth-2 Sara Lance. In fact, she's the reason Laurel is so savvy with Felicity being pregnant, as Earth-2 Sara was expecting in the past (with her sister looking after her).
4	* AnnoyingArrows: {{Subverted}}. Kodiak initially scoffs at Oliver shooting him from behind...but then he drops unconscious, due to the arrow being laced with anesthetics.
5	* TheAnticipator: Shadow Thief anticipated the possibility of Laurel turning on her and brought a few men as backup.
6	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Oliver asks himself a very pointed one about Emiko. The Ninth Circle has unlimited resources so why hasn't she found the man who murdered her mom? Turns out Dante is behind it all and has been blackballing her investigation.
7	* TheAtoner: Laurel fully embraces her RedemptionQuest at the end, deciding to return to Earth-2 to start making amends for her crimes there.
8	* BigDamnHeroes:
9	** Sara saves Dinah from Laurel and Shadow Thief, using the original Laurel's old canary cry device.
10	** Laurel makes her debut in the flashforwards by unleashing a Canary Cry that takes down a Galaxy One assassin and saves Mia's life.
11	* BlatantLies: Laurel claims not to care about Quentin anymore. Sara later finds her kneeling over his grave with a mournful expression.
12	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Both Dinah and Felicity bring up valid reasons for their respective approach of dealing with Laurel.
13	* TheBusCameBack:
14	** Sara and unlike her last appearances, this isn't a cameo, coming back at Felicity's request to help bring Laurel down.
15	** The Longbow Hunters (or rather specifically, just Kodiak) return after having not been seen since "Due Process".
16	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Kodiak doesn't even know the name of Emiko's mother, the woman he murdered years ago.
17	* CallBack: Much like how Felicity was the first supporter of Earth-1 Laurel becoming Black Canary way back in Season 3, she's also the one who encourages Earth-2 Laurel to take up the mantle.
18	* CelebrityParadox:
19	** Felicity mentions ''Series/MrRobot''. Its main cast includes Creator/StephanieCorneliussen (Valentina Vostok) and Creator/BDWong (voice of Godspeed).
20	** Felicity also mentions ''Series/CharliesAngels''. The 2011 reboot series has Creator/VictorGarber (Martin Stein) and Creator/AnnieIlonzeh (Joanna de la Vega) as main cast members, while (Creator/{{Peyton List\|1986}}) (Lisa Snart), Creator/NicholasGonzalez (Dante Ramon), and Creator/RichardBrooks (Warden Wolfe) all guest-star. [[note]]Creator/EricaDurance (Alura Zor-El) and Creator/CarlosBernard (Maggie Sawyer's father) are guest-stars too, but they're from an AlternateUniverse[[/note]]
21	* ContinuityNod:
22	** Sara and Felicity's conversations make references to the ones they had in Season 2.
23	** Sara uses an upgraded version of Earth-1 Laurel's electronic Canary Cry.
24	** After Earth-2 Laurel saves her, Mia remembers the ShowWithinAShow documentary she saw from the 150th episode and mistakes Laurel for her late Earth-1 counterpart.
25	* DarkestHour: In the future, the Canaries have been taking massive casualties due to a purge from Galaxy One.
26	* DecompositeCharacter: This episode is a tribute to and ADayInTheLimelight for all the Arrowverse characters that make up the ComicBook/BlackCanary.
27	* DynamicEntry: Black Canary makes her debut in the FlashForward by saving Mia from being killed via screaming the assailant away from her.
28	* EasilyForgiven: Even discounting everything prior and just focusing on what happened this episode, Laurel was still an accessory to several murders by Shadow Thief.
29	* FeministFantasy: The episode is centered around the female cast.
30	* FourPhilosophyEnsemble:
31	** The Conflicted: Earth-2 Laurel, who becomes so disillusioned after being outed for her past crimes that she spends most of the episode in regression despite legitimately wanting to make amends.
32	** The Optimist: Felicity, the only person who legitimately believes in Laurel's CharacterDevelopment.
33	** TheCynic: Dinah, who ([[CrusadingWidow understandably]]) has a bias against Laurel and dismisses her as a HeroWithAnFInGood.
34	** The Realist: Sara, who hopes that Earth-2 Laurel really wants to make a better version of herself but is nonetheless prepared for the worst case scenario of her [[ThenLetMeBeEvil fully embracing the dark side]].
35	* FragileSpeedster: Mia's a naturally gifted fighter trained by an expert combatant, but fighting head-on against a much larger and heavily armoured opponent, her blows do next to nothing and she's quickly overwhelmed.
36	* FreudianTrio:
37	** TheSpock: Dinah thinks that Laurel is just a criminal who's fallen back into old habits and therefore needs to be prosecuted regardless of what they've been through.
38	** TheMcCoy: Felicity is convinced no matter what that there is still good in Laurel and just wants to talk her out of returning to crime, fully prepared to completely forgive her for everything.
39	** TheKirk: Sara knows Earth-2 Laurel isn't her sister and is aware of her dark past but, while admitting true redemption takes time, she still believes Laurel can be reasoned with, having a dark past herself and trusting her dad's judgement.
40	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Laurel Lance chooses to return to Earth-2 to be its Black Canary as part of her atonement.
41	* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: A heroic example; Felicity, Sara, and Dinah dare Black Siren to kill them to prove that she's truly evil. She can't do it, turning on Shadow Thief instead.
42	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Laurel spends most of the episode pretending not to care about her friends in the hopes that they'll give up on her redemption, like she has. It falls apart when they show that they'd [[TrueCompanions rather die than give up on her]].
43	* LampshadeHanging: Sara lampshades on how far Felicity has come since the days of being a shy tech having a crush on Oliver. She is most notably shocked at hearing about Felicity almost killing Ricardo Diaz.
44	* LeeroyJenkins: Mia advocates striking back against Galaxy One despite the Canaries heavy losses and increasingly bad odds. She nearly dies fighting one of their assassins before she'll consider trying a different tactic.
45	* LegacyCharacter: An odd example, since the character inheriting the mantel is [[AlternateSelf technically]] the same as the person to originated it: when Laurel decides to become a full-fledged hero, Felicity gifts her with the original Black Canary costume that belonged to Earth-1's Laurel, allowing her to truly become Laurel's successor as the Black Canary.
46	* LoopholeAbuse: Dinah tells the public that Laurel was acting undercover to expose Shadow Thief to absolve her of her crimes.
47	* MyGreatestFailure: In the FlashForward, Dinah comes to see turning her back on Black Siren when she was at her lowest as this.
48	* MythologyGag: When discussing what they should call themselves, Felicity suggests "ComicBook/{{Birds of\|Prey}} [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice]]". Sara is amused.
49	* OneDrinkWillKillTheBaby: Laurel stops Felicity from drinking wine during their celebration at the end, citing this very trope. She also mentions having done the same for her sister (Earth-2 Sara) in the past.
50	* TheParagon: Sara doesn't expect Laurel to try and live up to her Laurel's example, as even she herself feels unable to do so.
51	* ThePowerOfFriendship: Ultimately, it was Felicity and Sara's devotion and compassion for her that stops Laurel from fully regressing to the dark side.
52	* ThePurge: In the FlashForward, Galaxy One has hunted down and killed most of the Canaries network.
53	* PutOnABus: At the end of the episode, Black Siren decides if she truly wants to make amends, she needs to go back to Earth-2 and make up for all the evil she did there working for Zoom. Only to be {{subverted}} when she shows up in the last minutes of the FlashForward Arc in full Black Canary gear.
54	* RockBeatsLaser: A natural Canary Cry vs. Sara's electronic choker? The natural Cry wins.
55	* RedemptionQuest: Black Siren finally complete hers, signified by her donning the Black Canary mantle.
56	* RememberTheNewGuy: Shadow Thief is said to be Earth-2 Laurel's colleague during her stint as TheDragon to Diaz, yet she was nowhere to be seen in Season 6.
57	* TheReveal: Dante arranged for the Longbow Hunters to murder Emiko's mom to turn her completely into his loyal apprentice.
58	* RevengeBeforeReason: Mia is hellbent on revenge against Galaxy One, despite being heavily outgunned.
59	* RuleOfSymbolism: The original Laurel/Black Canary literally died on 11:59 p.m. Her Earth-2 counterpart makes her first official appearance as Black Canary as an EleventhHourRanger.
60	* SecondaryCharacterTitle: Referring to Earth-2 Laurel Lance. Also a SpoilerTitle.
61	* SpecialEditionTitle: Instead of the usual Arrowhead, the episode's title card is Earth-1 Laurel's Black Canary symbol.
62	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism:
63	** On one side, Felicity believes that Emiko is lying about her mom's murder, pointing out that with the Ninth Circle at her disposal, finding the bastard who did it shouldn't be a problem for her. Oliver's gut tells him that Emiko's ''not'' lying.
64	** On the other side, Dinah wants to bring Laurel into custody, but Felicity and Sara believe they should help her and not turn their backs on her. Felicity also points out that even when Dinah was at her darkest and lowest, Team Arrow didn't kick her out.
65	** {{Averted}} with Oliver and Diggle over Emiko. Oliver doesn't believe that telling Emiko Dante killed her mom will change her, but it ''will'' drive a wedge between her and Dante.
66	* SpoilerTitle: An episode about Earth-2 Laurel with a Canary in the title. It's the closest {{Foreshadowing}} to Laurel's appearance in the FlashForward.
67	* SpiritualSuccessor: For ''Series/TheFlash2014'' Season 4 episode, "[[Recap/TheFlash2014S4E5GirlsNightOut Girls Night Out]]", a similarly FeministFantasy episode.
68	* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Dinah has some legit reasons to try and bring Laurel in. And ultimately, she relents.
69	* TakeUpMySword: Sara leaves the original Laurel's old canary cry device behind for Dinah to use, since her powers have been crippled.
70	* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Laurel, having lost her DA job and been framed for murder, initially decides to abandon her attempts to be a better person and fall back into a life of crime. Felicity and Sara refuse to let her do it, and Dinah eventually comes around to the same.
71	* ThirdLineSomeWaiting:
72	** Dinah, Sara, and Felicity trying to bring Laurel in; Felicity and Sara want to save and redeem Laurel, Dinah wants to arrest her.
73	** The FlashForward with Galaxy One hunting down the Canaries and New Team Arrow.
74	** Oliver and John trying to find Emiko's mother's murderer, hoping to leverage it to stop her.
75	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: In the end, Black Siren doesn't want to be a villain. She cements it when she can't kill Sara, Dinah, and Felicity.
76	* WhamShot: Laurel, now wearing her Earth-1 counterpart's wig, mask, and outfit, showing up in the last minutes of the FlashForward Arc.
77	* WhereItAllBegan: Laurel decides to return to Earth-2 since she plans to atone for everything she did, starting at home.
78	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Sara gives one to Laurel, telling her that the road to redemption is a long and hard one.
79	* YouAreNotAlone: Sara tells this to Earth-2 Laurel, reassuring her that she now has them to lean on.

Context Recap / ArrowS7E18LostCanary