We need to talk about Laurel
Okay, people. Lets talk about Laurel.
Laurel Lance is one of the main characters in CWs
Arrow, former legal aid attorney, ex-girlfriend of Oliver Queen, and daughter of Detective Lance. Laurel has never been fully liked by fans, her initial reception lukewarm at best. This was partly due to a
severe mishandling of her character, and partly to do with the
strange cyberhatred of actress Katie Cassidy by certain viewers.
Laurels popularity further suffered throughout
Arrows first season when a far more appealing character was presented in the form of Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards): IT-genius-turned-hacker who joins Ollies team. Rickards was promoted to series regular halfway through season one. Look no further for fans favorite than the promo poster for season two, in which Felicity is featured prominently next to Oliver in the front, and Laurel is relegated to the back.
Couldnt
Arrow develop two kick ass, main female characters? One would think so, but Laurels trajectory has been one misstep after another by the shows writers. At first they tried to present Laurel as an idealistic, justice-seeking legal aid lawyer, with more passion than sense.
Her career faded into the background as the season progressed, and the writers started developing a love triangle between Laurel, Oliver and Tommy (Ollies best friend) a decision that encountered massive backlash due to the utter lack of chemistry between Cassidy and Amell. Season one had flashbacks of Oliver trapped on the island, thinking of Laurel. You would have thought the guys survival was based upon the number of times he pulled Laurels snapshot out of his pocket. Yet when the two actors shared a scene? Flatter than day-old bubbly. (Amell and Rickards on the other hand? Well, fans created Olicity for a reason.)
Writers tried involving Laurel in Thea Queens life (sister to Oliver). They tried partnering her with The Hood to take down criminals. Several times, they placed her in danger and in need of rescuing whether by Oliver or her father. The writing team never really knew what to do with Laurel. So she became an aimless, inconsistent character without purpose.
Arrow is currently in the middle of its second season, and the writers are trying to mend the Laurel problem. After an inexplicable absence from the series before the midseason finale, Laurel has returned to the show, and the writers have taken the phoenix approach: Burn the current Laurel to ashes and let something new arise.
Only, fans arent allowing that process to happen. The Laurel hate continues.
Try these on for size. {And warning, these comments are truly heinous.}
I really do hope her downright spiral comes to an abrupt end with a bone shattering thud on the rocky floor of oblivion so the show can go back to being an awesome crime fighting/soul searching cartoon.
Seriously Laurel, calm your **** and go die in a hole.
Ive never wanted Laurel to die until this episode.
May she get run over by a legion of massive vehicles. Repeatedly.
There are hundreds more anti-Laurel statements in forums, comment sections, and on Twitter. Lets break this down, shall we?
Ugly, trolling comments aside, the main complaints against Laurel can be gathered into five groups.
1. Shes entitled, self-righteous, selfish, bratty, whiny, *****y
The bulk of complaints seem to fall into this camp. And honestly, it can be difficult to defend the character because she often is selfish and whiny. Again, this has more to do with the less-than-stellar material that Cassidy has been given. However, its important to recognize that Laurel engages with a lot of emotion-driven storylines. Whether shes sorting out conflicting feelings about Oliver, dealing with guilt for Tommys death, or navigating the blurry lines of law and justice, Laurels stories are connected to themes of identity, trauma, forgiveness, trust, and betrayal. Such themes are inextricably linked with emotion and relationships, and they have historically found a home in melodrama. Theyre to be expected in that television genre. The same cannot be said of the comic book-inspired action genre, which brings us to the second group
2. Shes boring and useless
Because the writers didnt know what to do with Laurel, it did feel as though they were inventing reasons for her to be in the show. Yet, I think this complaint points to something deeper. For the most part, Laurel has only been peripherally attached to action plots. Along with Thea, Laurel receives the relationship, family and personal storylines, and there is still a misconception amongst audiences that emotion, relationships and family cant coexist and interplay with action.
Based off their own comments, viewers gravitate towards and appreciate the action scenes, crime-fighting narratives, and the characters therein. Shado, Felicity, Helena Bertinielli (Huntress) and Sara Lance (Canary) are perceived to be more exciting than Laurel, Thea, and Moira. Laurels addiction to drugs and alcohol, albeit an overused and somewhat lazy writing choice, should be tragic, given her own fathers struggle with addiction and her admonition of it. Instead, her pill popping is considered banal in comparison to skewering bad guys with arrows.
3. Shes a damsel in distress and, just, ungh
Laurel and the writers cant win. Shes boring because she isnt involved in the main action sequences, and when she is involved in the action, shes often the one in need of rescuing. I do like that the viewers want more from Laurel. For the comic fans that believe Laurel will, at some point, evolve into the Black Canary, there is a frustration in seeing her so passive. And rightfully so.
4. She has no chemistry with Oliver
Weve already addressed this, and its true. Thankfully, the writers have pulled back from forcing an Oliver-Laurel relationship and are allowing them to romantically and sexually engage with other partners. Cassidy and Amell have also worked on their on-screen interactions. The recent episode Blind Spot is one of the first times when its possible to imagine that the two of them share a very personal and complicated history; their exchanges are believable. Its not much progress, but its there all the same and it should offer viewers a small hope.
5. Shes wildly inconsistent
Weve covered this, too. The complaint has validity, and the writers are attempting to rectify this weakness.
The point in all of this: Yes, Laurel has been a major weakness in the series. She has frequently been an unlikeable character. Shes hardly my favorite, but I hate to see her torn apart by viewers, particularly as the character is going through her own narrative arc, presumably to a place of rebirth and transformation.
In the aftermath of last weeks episode (Heir to the Demon), I found viewers response to Laurel baffling. Here is a character who just found out that her sister, whom she believed to be dead, is suddenly back in Starling City. The Lance sisters have a messy relationship, filled with common sibling attributes like jealousy, competitiveness, and rivalry not to mention the unpleasant fact that Sara cheated with Oliver right before the
Queens Gambit sank. Despite all this, the two sisters do love each other, which makes all the negative, complicated emotions that much messier.
Arrow reviewer Noel Kirkpatrick wrote
a tremendous piece that dissects the Lance sisters more in-depth, so I wont rehash here. Suffice to say that Laurels spiral wont magically go away. Individuals that have their foundation irrevocably collapse beneath their feet dont simply get over it. Healing past wounds, reconciling betrayal, and rediscovering ones identity is a long, pain-filled, and often lonely process. As viewers, we need to be patient with it.
Audiences flock to witness the self-destruction and ruination of such male characters as Walter White, Tony Soprano and Don Draper. Im not claiming that there is gender disparity at play (there are, after all, anti-heroines), but it is worth noting that when a female character gets angry, irrational, and emotional, viewers are quick to label her a ***** or a child. Newsflash: We
all have our own personal moments of irrationality, emotion, and anger. Its called being human. And one of televisions greatest abilities is to show stories of humanity in all its messiness, its ugliness, and its complexities.
For those that know the DC Comics, the story of Dinah (Laurel) Lance is a rich, layered one.
Arrows showrunners have repeatedly said that Laurel cannot simply transform from the current Laurel into the Black Canary from the comics. Much like Olivers arc (which were
still witnessing via flashbacks), her arc will take time in order to do it justice.
Seeing how the writers have handled some of the missteps with Olivers character, the positive course correction for Thea, and the slow, thoughtful way theyre building the subplots of the Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey team, I have faith that they will continue to improve the story of Laurel Lance.
As viewers, we have to be willing to forgive, to grant new starts, and to reconsider how we respond to a character. Let the writers do their job. Allow Laurel to get messier, angrier, and more desperate. If her evolution never comes or if shes still spiralling in season three then its time to complain to Guggenheim & Co. and make all hell break loose.
Until then, be patient and let Laurel be human.
