'Arrow': What's Next for Laurel After "Lost Canary"?

Arrow returned from a brief hiatus this week, bringing an episode that centered around the show's female characters in some unexpected ways. But for some fans, the episode brought a pretty major change for one of the show's wild cards.

Major spoilers for tonight's episode of Arrow, "Lost Canary", below!

The episode saw Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy Rodgers) being publicly been framed for murder by Emiko Queen (Shea Shimooka), which she dealt with by trying to get enough money to leave town. To do this, she teamed up with a former confidant named Shadow Thief, and they attempted to pull a string of robberies around Star City.

Laurel was stopped by Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), and Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), all of whom had different philosophies on how to stop her. As the episode went on, both Sara and Felicity tried to get through to Laurel, arguing that it would be worthwhile for her to actively work towards being better, if that's what she wants.

In one final confrontation, the group was able to convince Laurel that she can be her own version of a hero, and she teamed up with them to escape Shadow Thief and her henchmen. Afterwards, Laurel, Dinah, and Felicity celebrated their victory, and Laurel announced that she had decided to travel back to Earth-2 to begin to right her wrongs.

Before she left, Felicity gave Laurel her Earth-1 counterpart's Black Canary costume, in hopes that she would use it to be a hero on Earth-2. The pair then hugged, as Laurel remarked that she hoped she was worthy of it.

The episode then cut to the show's flash-forward sequences, where Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara) was trying to outrun a villain. Right when she was about to get killed, she was saved by a canary cry, which came from an older version of Laurel wearing the Black Canary costume. She introduced herself to Mia, and told her she had a long way to go to be a hero.

For Laurel fans, this revelation is a long time coming, as the #RedemptionForBlackSiren campaign has been going on almost since she debuted shortly after E-1 Laurel's death. Cassidy Rodgers herself has even been vocal about that possibility in previous seasons.

"I think, the team, she could definitely be of service to, if they trust her." Cassidy Rodgers told ComicBook.com last year. "I think that'd be a really interesting situation, if the writers decide to go with that route."

"I think there's room for redemption for her character." Cassidy Rodgers continued. "And I think, what I believe is that if they do reveal more of her backstory, and sort of tell her story actually, there'll be a lot more of an understanding of why she acts the way that she does."

What do you think of Laurel's big move in "Lost Canary"? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Arrow airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.