Spoilers for Arrow. Trigger warning for death and violence.
This is Arrow.
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May 2013--
A funeral takes place at a cemetery. A preacher calls Oliver Queen to give the eulogy, but Oliver doesn't show up. Instead, Laurel gets up and gives a few words... about Tommy Merlyn. (Nope. No. Nope, too soon. Too Soon.) Oliver stands off to the side, listening to her speech.
Laurel: "Tommy Merlyn was one of the greatest people that I've ever known. He was so much than just a billionaire playboy. I loved him. I loved him in every way you could possibly love someone. And so did Oliver. And I'm sure if Oliver could be here today, he would say so, but clearly it's too painful."
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Present Day--
Lance gets up from the hospital floor. Oliver apologizes, but Lance walks past him toward the rest of Team Arrow standing outside the hospital room. He goes into the room and sees Laurel on the bed. Oliver takes Laurel's belongings--her Canary suit. Lance breaks down. (This is the actual worst. I hate it.)
In the Arrow bunker, Diggle talks to Oliver. He sent Lyla and Sara to a safe house as a precaution because of Andy. Oliver tells Diggle not to blame himself for Andy's choices. Alex, in place of Mayor Ruve Adams, announces Laurel's death to the press. The police are searching for the perpetrator, Damien Darhk. (Good. At least they've got the right guy.) A group of guys meet for a black market guns deal when Black Canary shows up to stop them. (!??!?!) She takes off with their bags. (Originally, I thought this was a flashback. I was wrong. This is present day.)
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Oliver calls Team Arrow (including Felicity!) to the bunker about hunting down Damien Darhk. Lance arrives to show them a news article about the Black Canary attacking the guns deal. Oliver riffles through Laurel's belongings and finds out the sonic device is missing. Lance is convinced Laurel is still alive, and Diggle points out that device is keyed to only Laurel's vocal chords (courtesy of Cisco). Thus, Oliver and Lance visit the morgue and look at Laurel's dead body. Lance breaks down again. Oliver thanks the doctor for her discretion in keeping Laurel's vigilante identity a secret. He asks her about the sonic device, and she gives her a hint at someone who might be involved. (Due to doctor-patient privilege, she can't reveal more.)
Oliver: "Dr. Schwartz, I'd like to thank you for your discretion throughout all of this."
Dr. Schwartz: "Doctor-patient privilege. And in any case, she helped this city. I mean, the least I can do is help her and you."
Flashback--
Laurel opens her apartment door to find Oliver in the hall. She tells him about Tommy's funeral service. He says he wrote page after page for an eulogy, but he didn't think he had the right to say those things after everything that happened. (Too soon.) He says he failed Tommy. Like always, Laurel says he can't blame himself. (This is so sad. Why are they paralleling Tommy and Laurel's deaths? This isn't what I wanted. This is the farthest from what I wanted.)
Present--
Felicity talks to Diggle. He tells her about Andy; he blames himself for Laurel's death. (That's great. Both men of Team Arrow are blaming themselves.) Thea is out with Alex. She thanks him for what he did for Laurel. (I actually like these two together.) Then, 'Crazy Canary' shows up and screams at Alex. Thea fights her, but when she rips off the mask, Thea freezes up. Crazy Canary gets away. Thea calls Oliver.
Oliver tracks down Crazy Canary. He confronts her about her choice of costume. She yells at him, telling him that he failed this city because he left "them" to die. Team Arrow regroups at the bunker to go over Oliver's encounter. They learn Crazy Canary is a girl who was from the facility where Damien Darhk gassed his loyal followers. And they, Team Arrow, left those people to die. Meanwhile, Lance meets with Nyssa to ask her about the Lazarus Pit. Unfortunately, Nyssa tells him the Pit is destroyed and there is no other way to bring Laurel back. However, Lance won't take no for an answer; he decides he'll try to figure out something else on his own.
Felicity finds Oliver in his old campaign building. He blames himself, of course. She tells him about how she couldn't tell Diggle that it wasn't his fault because Felicity blames herself too. She wasn't there to help. (Oh, look, Felicity is actually acting like herself this episode.) Oliver gives a really good speech to her.
Oliver: "Do you know why I always blame myself in situations like this? Because at least it's an answer. Sometimes we just need a reason when a situation is completely unreasonable."
Thea calls and tells them Diggle never checked in with Lyla, so something is up. Mayor Adams rides around in a dark, fancy car (typical of rich person in power). Then, Diggle stops the car and waves a gun around. (I've just realized Diggle's helmet makes me think of Black Panther's helmet.) He asks Mayor Adams where her brother is. When she doesn't comply, he threatens to send Damien Darhk a message. But Oliver stops him, trying to explain he can't just shoot the mayor of the city.
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Diggle is furious. He snaps. Oliver says he understands, but it's not who Diggle is. Diggle says he has to find his brother, but Oliver says he can't forget who he is and together, they can't become them. (Okay, Oliver deserves a freaking award for his speeches this episode. This is brilliant. I'm impressed.) After Diggle releases her, Mayor Adams holds a press conference about the vigilante who attacked her and the one who attacked Alex. She blames Laurel's death on the vigilantes and issues an arrest warrant for them. (So now Crazy Canary is dragging Black Canary's reputation through the mud. Great. This is terrible.) Team Arrow is not happy about any of this. Nyssa meets with Oliver to warn him about Lance.
Oliver: "You cannot forget who you are, and we can never become them."
Flashback--
Laurel and Oliver sit on the floor of Laurel's apartment. They look over photos and share memories of Tommy. They talk about how they were a good team and that Laurel was determined to save the city. She says they can still make the city a better place--together. Oliver leans over and kisses her. (Right now, I'm furious that these two didn't get a chance to get back together before she died.)
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Present Day--
Oliver meets Lance at a location the League used to hang out at. They yell at each other until Oliver says they both lost Laurel. Oliver says if there was a way to bring her back, he would do whatever it takes. Lance says when nobody else had faith in him, Laurel did. Laurel was his rock. Lance breaks down again. (This is so sad. NO.)
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Felicity apologizes to Diggle. She shouldn't have let him blame himself. They get an alert that Crazy Canary has made an appearance. She's determined to get revenge on Mayor Adams, which will destroy Laurel's legacy for good. Team Arrow heads out to stop her. A guard meets Crazy Canary and alerts Mayor Adams she's in the building. But Mayor Adams isn't worried; she wants her to show up and ruin herself. Oliver finds Crazy Canary and confronts hers, trying to talk her down. But she goes in anyways and lets out a canary cry. She shoots at Oliver and then points her gun at Mayor Adams. Oliver gets up and talks her out of killing Mayor Adams; he says she needs to think about what the real Black Canary did, what she stood for. (Again, Oliver is nailing it with the speeches this episode.) Crazy Canary lowers the gun. Mayor Adams orders them to arrest the Green Arrow, but Oliver and Crazy Canary make their escape.
Oliver: "I understand that you're trying to make things right. That is not how you get justice done. What did you know about the real Black Canary? What did you know about what she stood for?"
Evelyn: "She was there that night. I saw her."
Oliver: "Then you saw what kind of person she was. She was a hero. Now maybe you are wearing that mask for a reason, but right now, I need you to ask yourself, what would the Black Canary want you to do?"
Team Arrow regroups at the bunker. Thea is still angry Crazy Canary has changed Black Canary's reputation. But Oliver says he won't let that happen. Lance escorts Laurel's mom to the graveside service for Laurel. He tells her Laurel is never coming back. (This is so sad.) The preacher calls Oliver to say a few words. He stands in front of the casket and talks about Laurel. He says they were friends, that they loved each other. He talks about her being a lawyer and how that wasn't enough. Then, he tells everybody that Laurel was the Black Canary. (This is beautiful. I'm crying.) Crazy Canary stands off to the side, listening. Then, Oliver says Laurel would want them to continue her good work by saving the city.
Oliver: "Laurel Lance became a lawyer to help people who may have appeared helpless. She wanted to give a voice to the silent. But just being a lawyer wasn't enough. She wanted to do more for those people and for this city because she loved this city so much. ... Before she died, Laurel told me the truth. Laurel Lance was the Black Canary. And for the past few days, I have had to sit and listen to people try and paint the Black Canary as a criminal. She was not a criminal. She was a hero. She was a hero in every way that a person can be. And if Laurel were here, I know that she would expect all of us to live up to the example that she set. She'd want us to save our city."
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Flashback--
Laurel finds a note and the picture of her Oliver kept while on the Island on the floor of her apartment. It's from Oliver. He's leaving again, to be alone, but he knows she'll do great things. (It's so sad.) Oliver flies a small airplane through the clouds. The Island comes into view.
Oliver: "I wrote this letter because I don't have the courage to see the disappointment on your face. I know you're going to go on to do amazing things, to help people and to raise this city up, because that's who you are, who you've always been, and that's why I have to go away. I would only hold you back. You're the hero, Laurel. Maybe I'll come back eventually, but for now, I have to spend some time alone. I hope someday you'll understand my decision, and never doubt my love for you. You've always seen the best in me because you've always been the best of me."
Present Day--
Oliver stands alone at Laurel's grave when Barry shows up. (This is the end scene of doom!) He apologizes for missing the funeral because he was busy with Zoom. (I love that Oliver and Barry have a mutual acceptance that they both have bigger problems to deal with sometimes.) Oliver tells Barry he's going to kill "him." (Darhk, of course.) He crouches by the gravestone and cries. Etched on the stone is Laurel's name, the dates, and the words: "The Black Canary."
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Oliver returns to the car where Felicity waits. She tells him he has to kill Darhk. Oliver agrees, but Darhk's magic is too strong. He's dealt with it before on the Island. It's more than just magic; it's darkness. Felicity refutes Oliver's fears. She says he has to find a way to stop Darhk--for Laurel, for the city, for all of them.
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Concluding Thoughts
This was a solid episode in my opinion. While I'm still furious that they killed off Laurel Lance, this was a good episode to show how Team Arrow deals with the loss. There's some closure here. (Though, there won't be full closure until we know what Laurel told Oliver. It's also very suspicious that Oliver was the last person to see her. She was fine until he walked out of the room. Suspicious.) Pairing her death with Tommy's was absolutely heart-wrenching. I will never forgive the writers for killing off Tommy Merlyn so soon. And now, I will never forgive them for killing Laurel Lance.Lance's grief was the worst to watch. He's dealt with so much, and now he's lost the one person who kept him steady. Oliver had the best speeches throughout. I'm impressed with how he dealt with Laurel's death by becoming the voice of reason and encouragement she normally would have been during a tragedy. Amazing. The plot with 'Crazy Canary' was interesting. It nicely tied into the Darhk fiasco. (Good job, writers!) I'm glad Felicity is back and back to her normal self. This is the first episode in a long time that I haven't been annoyed with her. I feel so bad for Diggle.
Felicity: "You're just one illegitimate child away from a really awesome Oliver Queen impersonation, but just like we tell Oliver, what happened was not your fault, and Laurel would have wanted you to know that."
I'm not sure what's in store next for Arrow, but if they're going to hunt Damien Darhk, it's going to be excellent. I'm ready to see what Oliver becomes next!
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What did you think of "Canary Cry"?
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