Arrow has killed off plenty of characters over the five years so far. Arguably the biggest was Laurel Lance, who was murdered by Damien Darhk back in Season 4. Death hasn't managed to keep Laurel out of Arrow ever since, however, as she has been brought back to the Arrow-verse via time travel, hallucination, and an evil doppelganger by the name of Black Siren. Co-showrunner Wendy Mericle has revealed how Black Siren's presence will keep Laurel Lance tied into the action in Season 6:
I don't know if there's any question about whether or not the [idea] of redemption will come up; it has to. Her father is there. Oliver is there. Everyone is going to be asking whether or not it's possible to find a little piece of Laurel, the Laurel Lance they knew and loved, in there somewhere.
Apparently, Oliver and Quentin's efforts to find a little piece of the Laurel they lost in Black Siren will get back into gear in Season 6. Quentin originally struggled with the idea of Team Arrow battling Black Siren when she had the face of his dearly departed daughter, but he pretty clearly got over that particular hangup in the Season 5 finale when he helped the new Black Canary take her down. As for Oliver... well, I guess Season 6 won't entirely be the start of a new Arrow era if he's still trying to save a Lance sister. Wendy Mericle's comments to TVLine paint a curious picture of what's to come.
It should be interesting to see just how frequently Team Arrow interacts with Black Siren. Katie Cassidy has been announced as a regular for Arrow Season 6, so we should be seeing more of her than we did in Season 5. We can almost certainly rule out Black Siren as the big bad of Season 6 (although there's another big DC Comics villainess who could fit the bill). Still, she could work as a right-hand woman of the big bad. Such a position would elevate her above a one-off Villain of the Week without trying to sell her as a believable nemesis for Oliver. If Oliver and Co. are interacting with Black Siren on a regular basis, their chances of reforming her aren't totally terrible.
Of course, a heroic version of Black Siren could make things awkward in the Arrow bunker. Team Arrow already has a member with a Canary Cry, and they don't have to worry about Dinah's allegiance. We certainly don't need two Black Canarys, and Dinah's not going anywhere. All we can be sure of at this point is that Arrow isn't done with Laurel Lance just yet. Hopefully the folks behind the scenes can turn the Black Siren story into something fresh for the new season.
Arrow will return for Season 6 on a new night this fall on The CW. Check out our breakdown of what we know so far about Season 6 for a peek ahead, and take a gander at our summer TV guide for what you can watch to pass the time until the Star City action starts back up again.
