Arrow Star Katie Cassidy Speaks Out on the Challenge of Being Killed Off and Returning to the Show

For many fans of Arrow, The CW series’ handling of the Laurel Lance character is one that is a bit controversial. When the show first debuted in 2012, the character seemed very little like her comic book counterpart and just when Laurel was really starting to come into her own as Black Canary, she was killed off only for a new version of Laurel to arrive, Earth-2’s Black Siren. While fans did come to love the new Laurel, there’s still some divide about how the whole situation was handled. For series star Katie Cassidy, however, the death of her original character and return as a new one was something she said was, for her, a very good thing.

Speaking with TVLine, Cassidy reflected on the eight seasons of Arrow and explained that leaving the show with the death of one Laurel only for her to get to return as an actor to portray a different version of her was a roller coaster of emotions that helped her ground herself and learn valuable lessons.

“I think that them killing me off the show was actually, for me personally, a very good thing, because like I said, you sometimes need to get knocked down,” Cassidy said. “I didn’t want to get killed off — to be honest, I was sad, but I also understood. I wasn’t mad or bitter. I was like, ‘I get it, this is television’ and it was a platform for the writers to write for other characters and how they react to a lead getting killed off. So, I have to say that as a person going through that, I was grateful and lucky enough — again, the universe I think does work for us if we allow it to — that they brought me back shortly after and for that I was so grateful.

“So getting the part, and getting sort of knocked down, and then getting the part — because like I wasn’t the Black Canary when I thought at first I was, and then I wasn’t, and then I was, and then I got killed off and then I was alive again… you kind of go through all the emotions, so you really just have to ground yourself and have appreciation and gratitude for everything,” Cassidy continued. “I really am glad that I got to learn that lesson.”

And Cassidy is hopeful that she’ll get to continue to put that lesson to work with Green Arrow and the Canaries. The Arrow spinoff aired a backdoor pilot as part of the series’ final season and while no official word has come down about the potential show’s fate, Cassidy said she’s confident she’ll be playing Laurel Lance again.

“I’m a very positive person, so I feel confident that we’ll go [to series],” Cassidy said. “If there was ever a time for a three-hander, all-female badass show, now is the time! So, I’m not worried. I’m feeling pretty good about it.”

All eight seasons of Arrow are now streaming on Netflix.