Arrow, “Eleven-Fifty-Nine,” was written by the team of Marc Guggenheim and Keto Shimizu and was directed by Rob Hardy. This episode left me shocked and disappointed in the show. I’ve felt that Katie Cassidy has been underserved by the show since season one and killing Laurel seemed like just another disservice to the character. I didn’t feel that it heightened my sense of danger – that anyone could go at any time. I did feel like why bother becoming invested in a character when the show is simply going to kill them off.
Laurel in season one had so much potential – and some of that potential actually came back this season as we once again got to see Laurel in action in a court of law. The characters angst so much over justice and whether or not they are serving it and yet the show kills off one of the characters who actually works in the actual justice system! Yes. We still have Quentin (Paul Blackthorne), but he’s only half of that equation.
I’ve very much enjoyed watching Cassidy take Laurel through her journey and watched as she grew into the fight scenes – and followed some of her real life training on social media. I wonder if they will simply give her canary scream to Thea (Willa Holland) now. Yes. It did look a little silly, but even that Cassidy did a good job of selling.
I will admit that I am still hoping that this is a ruse. There were some odd things about Laurel’s death. Is it possible that Dr Schwartz (Venus Terzo) is in on faking Laurel’s death for some reason? Why does she suddenly die when the Doctor has just given her the all clear? Perhaps that will be explained in the next episode. However, both Stephen Amell’s (Oliver) and Cassidy’s performances were so raw and emotional, that it certainly seemed like the actors were genuinely distraught over the ending of this chapter of the show – that Cassidy was indeed leaving the show.
As the episode opens, Andy (Eugene Byrd) tells Diggle (David Ramsey) about being approached by Malcolm (John Barrowman). Willa confirms that Malcolm is working for Darhk (Neal McDonough). Oliver finally comes clean about having seen the idol before on the Island. Diggle wants to let Andy be their double agent, but Oliver is skeptical.
Oliver goes to Ruve’s (Janet Kidder) swearing in with Thea and Laurel. They find out that there was a huge write in vote for Oliver – which begs the question again of why he didn’t re-enter the race. Ruve tells Laurel she wants to appoint her as DA as the current DA is moving on to become Deputy Mayor.
Laurel considers taking the DA position and tells Thea it would be a good way to keep an eye on Ruve – another double agent as it were – and wouldn’t that have been a great plot?!? So much storyline lost there. Laurel notices that Thea has stopped calling Malcolm dad, and Thea is about to talk about it when Malcolm turns up with his some of his still loyal assassins. There’s a great fight scene with Thea and Laurel – and we’re down to one female fighter again. In parallel action, a another great fight scene as Diggle and Oliver try to take down one of Darhk’s convoys.
Oliver realizes it was too easy to save the shipment. Thea gets the upper hand on Malcolm but can’t land a killing blow. Laurel fights off her assassins, but Malcom still gets away with the idol. Oliver confides in Laurel that he thinks that Andy is playing them. He drew focus away that allowed Malcolm to take the idol. Laurel advises Oliver not to say something that he and Diggle can’t recover from.
Laurel and Quentin discuss the DA position. Laurel thinks it’s a good opportunity to infiltrate Ruve’s inner circle. Quentin tells her she will have to choose. Taking the DA position means giving up being the Black Canary.
Andy calls and says he has eyes on Malcolm. It certainly seems legit. Andy takes an arrow for Oliver, making him doubt his doubts about Andy. Andy warns them that if Darhk gets the idol he’ll be unstoppable.
Malcolm takes the idol to Darhk in prison. Even Darhk is impressed that Malcolm got in – and for the second time in the episode, we are reminded that Malcolm is called The Magician. Darhk isn’t as appreciative as Malcolm assumed he’d be – the idol is useless because it’s missing a piece. He sends Malcolm to find it.
Andy is afraid, and Diggle reassures him that he hid the piece of the idol himself. Oliver admonishes Diggle – the fewer people who know the secret the better. Diggle is not happy that Oliver doesn’t trust Andy as much as he does.
Laurel goes to search Darhk’s cell. He tries to intimidate her. I loved that Laurel was not at all intimidated and got right up in his face – it’s a terrific scene.
Oliver follows Andy back to Diggle’s apartment and tries to get him to talk. Diggle interrupts them and threatens to shoot Oliver. Oliver tries to tell Diggle he can’t trust his brother, but Diggle won’t listen. Back at the lair, Oliver tries to explain it’s all about keeping everyone safe, but Diggle puts it down to Oliver trying to control everything. Oliver points out that Andy was tearing the apartment up when he got there. Diggle maintains Andy was looking for surveillance and Oliver says he was looking for the missing idol piece. Oliver reminds Diggle that Diggle told him not to have a blindspot where his family was concerned.
Diggle reminds Oliver that he was the one who said that Andy could come back from the dark. Oliver tells him that he was wrong. He is still who the past made him. Diggle tells him that not everyone is like Oliver. Some people change, grow and evolve. He accuses Oliver of simply wallowing in self-pity over losing Felicity. I have to say that I’m pretty bored of this storyline myself – and I agree with Diggle. Let’s move on from Oliver considering himself to be a bad person at heart… Diggle cruelly tells Oliver that it’s the self-pity that made Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) leave him.
Laurel tells Oliver that she’s turning down the DA position. Oliver tells Laurel that the team is falling apart. He tells her that she channeled her grief and became the Black Canary, but Sara isn’t dead anymore. Maybe she should pursue her original dream of becoming DA. The city doesn’t need any more heroes with masks – it needs a hero without a mask.
Murmur (Adrian Glynn McMorran) distributes weapons with books throughout the cell block and brings Darhk the idol. The prisoners start a riot, holding the guards. The team suits up – Laurel points out that Darhk has to be in custody for her to prosecute him. She’ll suit up – one last time. And how much do I wish that didn’t play out that way in real life too.
Quentin creates a distraction to let the team get into the jail. Andy shows up and insists on going in to help. We get another great Laurel/Thea fight. There’s a nice melee sequence with Diggle, Oliver, Laurel, and Andy fighting to get to Darhk. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Thea fight. He taunts her that she’ll never beat him because she’s lost her bloodlust – he leaves her and she doesn’t follow him. Darhk threatens to kill Andy and the others surrender only to find out that Andy IS ratting them out and has brought the missing piece.
Darhk replaces the idol piece, just as Thea arrives and shoots him – he needs the blood – and he sacrifices one of his own men to power himself back up. Darhk know who they all are. Malcolm wants to go. He tosses Diggle and Thea – Malcolm does look a bit upset by that – and Darhk tells Laurel that he’s keeping the promise he made to her father. Oliver tries to save her – Darhk is impressed that he was able to break free of the magic hold. But it’s not enough and Darhk stabs Laurel and leaves.
Oliver rushes Laurel to the hospital. The doctor shoes him out before the trauma team arrives, saying the last thing Laurel needs is a circus.
Quentin is handcuffed in the precinct when he finds out one of the vigilantes has been hurt by Darhk. He’s frantic to get to the hospital when he hears it’s Laurel.
Felicity shows up at the hospital. The doctor tells them that she is going to be fine as Laurel is wheeled into recovery. Diggle is consumed with guilt. The whole team gathers around her bed. She tells them that it’s not exactly how she envisioned her last night being. Diggle wants to know what she means and she tells them that she was going to give up being the Black Canary, but she realized that she couldn’t because going out and fighting alongside them is what makes her feel alive. She tells them she loves them – and they all echo it. Felicity, Thea, and Diggle leave Oliver with Laurel.
She tells Oliver that he should get some rest too, but he’s not leaving. She asks him to bring her something out of her suit and it’s her picture. Oliver is touched that she’s kept it. She tells him it’s a reminder of when times were simpler for them. She tells him that she’s really glad that he found Felicity and she hopes he finds his way back to her. She tells him that he’ll always be the love of her life.
Oliver wants to know why she’s telling him this, and she tells him it’s because the night was a reminder that anything can happen. She asks him to promise her something, and the camera pulls back so that we can’t hear what she asks of him.
Thea has called Quentin and told him that Laurel is fine, but he’s on his way. Suddenly – with no alarms going off – the trauma team rush into the room and Laurel is seizing. Felicity asks what happened and Oliver says he doesn’t know – she was fine. But she flatlines and dies – at 11:59. Oliver stumbles out into the hallway and Quentin knows without Oliver having to say anything. He collapses to the floor.
In the flashbacks, Taiana (Elysia Rotaru) doesn’t want to kill. She carries a photo of her brother as Oliver used to carry his picture of Laurel to help him remember who he was. But Oliver tells Taiana she can’t be that person because she won’t survive. At least the flashbacks actually connected to the present storyline in this episode.
Taiana acts as a decoy so that she and Oliver can release the prisoners. He sends the others for the boats to escape while he and Taiana try to trap Reiter (Jimmy Akingbola). Taiana asks to see Oliver’s picture. He tell her that her name is Laurel and she was his home throughout “all this.” He worries about what she’d think of the man he’s become. Taiana tells him that if she doesn’t make it, he’s to go to Russia and find her parents and tell them what happened to her and her brother. If he doesn’t make it, she will do the same for her. I liked the way the two scenes pictured here were blocked in a mirror image as each bolsters the other's resolve. Reiter kills the men with him to power up the idol and escape.
Is Laurel dead? I can’t see any really good reason for her to go underground, but she can’t prosecute Darhk anymore because he’s not in custody – and he’s unlikely to be caught now that he’s powered up again. Are both the Doctor and Oliver in on it? Is this yet another secret to drive between Oliver and Felicity’s potential reunion? I really, really hope not – because I’m pretty tired of revisiting that plot device too.
There were lots of good fight sequences in this episode, but overall, I have to give this plot development a big thumbs down. What did you think of the episode? Are you sorry to see the Black Canary go – again? Do you think Laurel may not be dead? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
