Arrow Dinah Laurel Lance/Katie Cassidy Thread - Part 3

[Hunter Rider]

Her Arrow banner and Canary avvy are still up on her facebook, and Willa doesn't have Arrow promotion on her twitter.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Yeah but Willa never really had any on her twitter. I just want to see if the theory proves out so I can either give props or laugh in some faces, hopefully the laughing.

I really want them to let Katie/Laurel do more hand2hand combat.

 

[Primal Slayer]

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

Laurel play a huge role in this episode due to convincing Nyssa to settle the score peacefully. It has not been indicate if they are friends again or if Nyssa will offer to train her again?

 

[SpideyVille]

I'm waiting on people to blame Laurel for disbanding the League.

 

[chamber-music]

I think Laurel has been great this season. The character has really grown into the role of Black Canary and she isn't afraid to challenge Oliver's decisions.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Apart from the whole Sara thing, it's been a good season for her character wise.

 

[SpideyVille]

Apart from the whole Sara thing, it's been a good season for her character wise.

Yet for some reason, people still say she's the worst thing about the show.

 

[Slade W]

Yet for some reason, people still say she's the worst thing about the show.

Lots of people say that about Felicity too. It seems to me personally, that there has been more hate for Felicity this season and last season than there has been for Laurel. Maybe I am mistaken, but that is just how its has seemed to me.

 

[Paradox1]

For me Laurel been the best part of the show for the last two seasons.

 

[Slade W]

For me she's been the best part of the show for the last two seasons.

Personally, I have always been a fan of her. She has been one of my favourite characters since season 1.

 

[SpideyVille]

Lots of people say that about Felicity too. It seems to me personally, that there has been more hate for Felicity this season and last season than there has been for Laurel. Maybe I am mistaken, but that is just how its has seemed to me.

I feel like it's more justifiable to hate Felicity for last season, just like it was to hate Laurel in season 2.

But I will admit, Laurel looked really bad during the Sara arc. That really un-did a lot of progress they made in season 3 with her.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Personally, I have always been a fan of her. She has been one of my favourite characters since season 1.

She's been up and down with me but truth is I find I don't have a lot in common with most that post on the show, as they seem to get a deep hatred of characters that I just don't get.

 

[Paradox1]

Personally, I have always been a fan of her. She has been one of my favourite characters since season 1.

I didn't hate her prior, but i didn't care.

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

It very strange that we yet to see her at the DA office working at all. It can't be that hard to show one scene maybe with Oliver coming to talk to her there instead of the her going to the mayor campaign office.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Yet for some reason, people still say she's the worst thing about the show.

It's like 2nd nature at this point to hate her and view her as completely useless. Die hard shippers hate her because with her around there is always a small chance they reunite L/O and other people try to say that she is useless and has no storyline yet say that she has had storyline for the past 3 seasons so it's time for her to sit back while F/D get their time to shine.

She could still be written better but it has improved since s2 besides the Sara storyline setting her backwards for a couple of episodes

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

Why not just have all three have their own storyline at the same time I pretty sure laurel, Diggle and Felicity can all have storyline and none of them should be front and centered

 

[Guard82]

It's like 2nd nature at this point to hate her and view her as completely useless. Die hard shippers hate her because with her around there is always a small chance they reunite L/O and other people try to say that she is useless and has no storyline yet say that she has had storyline for the past 3 seasons so it's time for her to sit back while F/D get their time to shine.

She could still be written better but it has improved since s2 besides the Sara storyline setting her backwards for a couple of episodes

I've always liked Laurel and I've never hated her character. I think she's a great character. Do I think she's always in the right? Of course not. But I don't think Oliver is always in the right either, and I definitely don't hate him. Good characters are ones you can root for and sympathize with even when they make mistakes or err in judgment. Laurel and Oliver both qualify.

 

[Slade W]

I've always liked Laurel and I've never hated her character. I think she's a great character. Do I think she's always in the right? Of course not. But I don't think Oliver is always in the right either, and I definitely don't hate him. Good characters are ones you can root for and sympathize with even when they make mistakes or err in judgment. Laurel and Oliver both qualify.

I agree with you. Good post. Some people don't seem to like the idea of characters that are not perfect, going by some of the criticisms I see on this forum. Flawed characters that make mistakes are more interesting IMO.

 

[Arrowshieldfan]

I think we saw Laurel Flaw character when she try to correct her mistake with Nyssa by appealing to her not to go to war.

Flaw character seem to be more interesting because no one is perfect which would be boring and not interesting after a while

 

[SpideyVille]

My issue is that I feel like the character should have a more important role than others. Dinah is supposed to be an equal to Oliver, and I know that Laurel is not as experienced as him, but she always comes off as just a sidekick, when she should be more of a leader.

But the same can also be said about others. I felt the same way about Roy last season and felt he was criminally underused. And Thea should be used as something more than just the weak sister always getting in trouble and in need of saving.

They talk so much about how Felicity is supposed to be this strong, independent and empowering female figure, but they have the same opportunity to do that with Laurel, and allow her to do the physical work to Felicity's intellectual work, but they simply don't give the "background" characters the same type of spotlight.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Definitely in the leadership role they have done wrong with the charecter, they really put her in a bind when it comes to being Olivers equal. That's why I want her to leave at the end of the season and get some off screen training with Shiva for 6 months.

 

[Paradox1]

She's already his equal on the team it's not like she's his sidekick like Roy was. They aren't partners either but they work together closely which is what they were in the JLU cartoon. The difference is obviously in the fighting skill where Dinah is one of the best fighters in the entire league.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Not every comic run portrays every character the same way, same with movies. To me the show is it's own entity with it's own story to tell and the characters have their own journey's.

 

[DeadFan]

I think there's 2 categories of flawed characters:
1. flawed likeable (sympathetic may be a good way to put it)
2. flawed unlikeable (unsympathetic)
and maybe a 3rd: flawed neutral (you don't like or dislike them, they're just there....)

No one in the real world is perfect, so it's a matter of likeability (can you find them sympathetic? can you find some way to empathize with them?).

In fiction, no character should be presented as perfect IMO b/c that's unsustainable and false, and if writers try to put that image forth b/c they want you to like the character, it can backfire and the character will feel inauthentic and it will feel like the writers are trying to force something on the audience. Character propaganda.

But a flawed character can be very likeable; conversely there's nothing wrong with presenting a character who is flawed but unlikeable and then the audience doesn't like the character. It's not about perfection, it's not about the character being flawed.

I didn't like Laurel in seasons 1-2 b/c for me she was not likeable b/c of the way she was written, not b/c she was flawed. For instance, I like Jessica Jones and she has potentially way bigger personality issues and handicaps than Laurel ever did in seasons 1-2, but she was written in a way that also allowed me to see her vulnerabilities. Laurel was not written in a well-balanced way IMO that allowed me to connect with her - I was mostly stuck with her S1 bitter brittle (tho understandably and justifiably from an intellectual standpoint) angry personality or the S2 substance abuse where she felt sorry for herself and blamed others (normal behavior with addiction certainly).

For instance, in the reality show on A/E Intervention, the producers always start out each episode by laying the groundwork to let audience know who the subject was before they turned into an addict and they also ground the subject in context of their family. Laurel didn't really get any of this or at least, IMO whatever she got was not done well.

Now, starting by end of season 2 I started liking Laurel. I still think she is flawed but I find her likeable and agree she's one of the better parts of the show. As much as I hated the Sara arc, it didn't kick me back to disliking her b/c I had more context to put it in, having had more time to get to know Laurel and having some nice moments with her in season 3 (like how she handled the reveal that Thea killed Sara). I just wish they would make more use of her now and give her more stories related to her work. I wish BC was more prominent.