Fandom Speaks: The Good and The Bad of Arrow

Ok here’s the thing about Laurel:

1. She thinks her situation and Oliver’s situations are the same. They are not. Doesn’t mean that Oliver wasn’t selfish. He was. BUT, here’s the thing: you have to look at the context of each revival. Oliver: Saw his sister bleeding out on the floor. Her stabbing was a direct result of Oliver’s decision. In his desperate attempt to save his sister, who was still alive, Oliver makes the rash decision to revive her. Something he pays for dearly when he has to become the next Ra’s al Gul, and signs over his soul, leaving everyone he loves behind. Did he have warning? Yes, absolutely. But we have to look at the credibility of Oliver’s source. Malcolm Merlyn, the guy who killed 500+ people, who wanted to turn his son into a murderer, who killed his son (indirectly), who drugged his daughter and made her kill a family friend, just to manipulate Oliver into facing Ra’s . So excuse Oliver if he didn’t actually believe in Malcolm.

Laurel’s situation was different. Her sister had been dead for a year, and she was starting to heal. Laurel had time to grieve and move on. She dug up her sister, took her to NP (don’t ask me how) in order to revive her. Now let’s count the amount of people who warned Laurel against it. 1. Malcolm, but we already established that Malcolm isn’t a credible source. 2. Nyssa, a really credible source. Nyssa used the words “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy”. Nyssa loved Sara, she would never want anything bad to happen to her. The fact that Nyssa begged Laurel multiple times not to revive Sara should have been enough for Laurel to rationalize and give up on her crazy idea. 3. Thea herself. Laurel saw firsthand what the pit did to Thea. Thea was suffering. She was murdering people, and Laurel knew that. Laurel saw firsthand what the pit does to people. When Nyssa begs her once again and Thea asks Laurel if she was sure, her reply is “just keep going”. I mean, it’s pretty clear that Laurel knows that she should not be doing this.

2. Another thing that really bothers me is that Laurel kept it a secret from everyone else. If what she did was right, then why keep it from people?

So no, Laurel, Oliver is not being hypocritical. The situations were not the same, and we all know it. Were both situations selfish in nature? Absolutely. Was Oliver’s situation justifiable and understandable? I believe it was. Was Laurel’s situation justifiable and understandable? I don’t think it was. Laurel had warnings, had a real life example, she had time to heal. She should have let Sara be in peace. You know what would have been hypocritical of Oliver? If he’d dug up Tommy or his Mother and revived them and then told Laurel that what she did was stupid. THAT would have been hypocritical because those situations would have been the same. It’s all about rational thinking, something Laurel never seems to do.

3. I’m also upset that Laurel accused Oliver of not giving a damn about her family. Excuse me, what? You mean the Oliver who was always there to save her and her family as The Hood? Even Laurel herself said in season two that he was always there for her and her family and she never asked why. Then in season 2, Oliver convinced Sara to stay with her family, wanted Sara to tell her family that she was alive, was in a freaking relationship with Sara and saved Laurel multiple times. In season 3, Oliver was very upset with Sara’s death and yet he was there for Laurel, hugging her, helping her with her grief. He always sought Quentin’s approval, always wanting to be good enough for him. So yes, Laurel, Oliver loves your family.

In the same breath that Laurel said that  Oliver doesn’t care about her family, she said that she loves Oliver’s family. While I do believe that she loves Thea, her actions certainly don’t show it. She didn’t realize that there was something wrong with Thea, even when they were living together for 5 months, she didn’t care about taking Thea to NP after Thea explicitly said she didn’t want to relive what had happened to her, she didn’t even really seem that bothered that Sara was after Thea. I’m sorry, I know that Laurel has a lot of things to worry about, but all of Laurel’s problems seem to be created by Laurel herself. Not only that, but other people always suffer the consequences for her actions. Season 3, she lied to her father about Sara. Who suffers the consequences? Oliver. Season 4, she revives her sister, who suffers the consequences? Sara and Thea.

4. Then, when the situation was at it’s worst, where Thea was in the hospital and Sara was killing people (a direct consequence of Laurel’s actions) Laurel decides to go all “But what about MY feelings?” Laurel, sweetheart, that wasn’t the time to care about your feelings. That was the time to owe up to what you did, freaking apologize and look for a solution. It was the time to be redeemed instead of being self-righteous. And then maybe later, after the situation was under control again, she could’ve shared her feelings and said that she felt horrible, without the “Did you ever stop to consider what I’m feeling.” Because I can guarantee you, Laurel never once stopped to consider what anyone else was feeling. Not with Nyssa, or Thea, or her father, and not even with Sara herself.

So, fans, what do you think? Agree or disagree? And, should Constantine come back, either for more episodes of Arrow or by a revival of his own show? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!