Only ten episodes are left before Arrow comes to a close, marking the end of an era as the show that started the whole Arrow-verse concludes. Along with Stephen Amell and David Ramsey, Katie Cassidy kicked off the show with the pilot all the way back in 2012, and even her character's death wasn't enough to keep her out of the Arrow-verse for long. Now, with Arrow in production on its eighth and final season, Cassidy took to social media with a touching message:
Although Arrow is still weeks away from premiering its eighth and final season, Katie Cassidy has already posted a kind and grateful message about how the show provided her with "the role of a lifetime." Interestingly, the photo she chose was not of her updated costume (and hair!) for Season 8, but rather one from back when Laurel first started her vigilante career.
I do have to wonder about the timing of Katie Cassidy's post. After all, filming for the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover hasn't even begun yet, so it's not like this is the time for regular members of the cast to start posting their end-of-show tributes on social media en masse. Was Cassidy feeling especially emotional about the show due to her experience as director of an episode? Or does her character make an early exit from the Arrow-verse, prior to the final credits rolling on Arrow?
It's too soon to say, but even if this latest version of Laurel Lance does for some reason depart from the action in Star(ling) City sooner rather than later in Season 8, nobody is ever really gone for good in the Arrow-verse. Fans of Katie Cassidy on Arrow can enjoy her Twitter post without necessarily panicking about what it may or may not mean.
Considering the ups and downs of Katie Cassidy's arcs over the years -- including Laurel's death as one of the biggest main cast deaths of the entire series -- it's good to see that her time on Arrow has "been a blast" and she'll "forever" cherish moments such as directing.
Katie Cassidy recently revealed that she'd pitched a Birds of Prey series, which wouldn't be unprecedented on the network. There was a short-lived Birds of Prey show on The WB before it became The CW, and the Arrow-verse has played with a Birds of Prey-ish dynamic several times since back in Season 2.
Emily Bett Rickards' departure from the Arrow-verse presumably means that Felicity will have no part in any future spinoffs or even a move to one of the shows that will still be going, but Katie Cassidy will be joined in Season 8 by fellow Season 1 series regular actress: Willa Holland, who's been gone since Season 6 aside from a 100th episode cameo in Season 7. Yes, Thea Queen will be back, and not just for a one-off guest shot.
Willa Holland will recur throughout Season 8. Colton Haynes reportedly will not be back as a regular; what does this mean for Thea and Roy? Could Thea return in the flash-forwards, to hang with her niece and nephew and maybe reconcile with Roy in a guest shot of his own? The flash-forwards are supposed to be a key part of the eighth season.
Find out what's in store when Arrow returns to The CW for Season 8 on Tuesday, October 15 as the last of the Arrow-verse series to hit the airwaves in 2019. (Legends of Tomorrow won't be back until next year.)
