Black Canary on ARROW: S2 E1-3

I had a lot of problems with the first couple episodes of the CW Network's Arrow.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to sit through the whole first season.  But after episode four or five, something just clicked.  I don't know if the show "found itself" or if I just stopped minding the deviations from comic book continuity--maybe both--but I really started digging the series.  All of the supporting cast started to shine (except for Tommy Merlyn), but never at the expense of Oliver.

So I got really excited when I finally finished the first season, knowing that my pretty bird, Black Canary, would finally get a real appearance in the second season premier.

Season 2, Episode 1: "City of Heroes"

This image brings me back to elementary school.

Black Canary shows up toward the very end.  Thea Queen's boyfriend, Roy Harper, is patrolling the Glades, looking to play hero and probably die young.  After saving a potential rape victim, he is outnumbered by the assailants, when all of a sudden, a blonde woman in black leather comes to his rescue.  The Canary uses a bo staff that separates into two batons.  She wails on the would-be rapists and runs away without a word to Roy.

It was already confirmed that this Canary isn't Dinah "Laurel" Lance (played by Katie Cassidy) or her mother (played by Alex Kingston).  This Canary is played by Caity Lotz, and aside from being a different woman, she is clearly better trained than Laurel.

So who is the mystery woman?  Someone brand new?  Or someone we've met before...?  The only other mention we've ever heard "a canary" was a pet bird given to Laurel's sister, Sara, when she was a kid.  That episode, notably, was written by Geoff Johns.

Season 2, Episode 3: "Broken Dolls"

When Oliver is lured into an ambush by Laurel, the Canary comes to his rescue.  Using a sophisticated sonic device, she incapacitates an entire S.W.A.T. team and leads the Arrow to freedom.  Then she disappears.

The Arrow recruits Roy Harper to find this "blond in black leather".  Roy tracks down a woman named Cindy--who goes by "Sin"--and followers her to a clock tower above a church.  The Canary knocks out Roy and questions him, thinking he has been sent by a cryptic "them" to bring her back.  She lets him go when she realizes he's not working for who she's running from.

Later, the Canary shows up to help Arrow stop the Dollmaker.  She's nearly killed when a lucky break drops a bunch of steel pipes on her head (d'oh!), but she turns out fine.  Ollie wants to take the man alive, but Canary kills him before vanishing again.

When Canary returns to her hideout, a man is waiting for her--a man dressed similarly to the Black Archer from season 1.  This isn't Malcolm Merlyn, however, just an assassin dispatched by none other than Ra's al Ghul to bring Canary back.  She says she's never going back and gives the assassin the chance to leave.  When he pulls a knife, she takes it and kills him.

So... Black Canary was trained by the League of Assassins and is on the run from Ra's al Ghul...?

I freaking love that!

Is it too early for them to get married and her to stab him
through the eye during sex like in the comics?

The preview for this week's episode shows the Canary revealing her identity to Oliver, and it looks like it blows his mind.  Who could it be?

...

Okay, enough sources have already revealed that Canary is Sara Lance.  That might explain how she happens to be around whenever Oliver or Laurel are in trouble.  How Sara survived drowning and what happened to her over the last five/six years is a mystery we'll have to watch unfold.

The Costume

I have zero complaints and actually a lot of affection for this costume.  I miss the fishnet stockings, but the stitching in her leather pants at least gives an impression of that cross pattern--a very nice touch.  As for the rest: I really like the mask, and... well, let's not mince words, I appreciate the cleavage.

I'm not crazy about the bo as her weapon, but it's not bad.  And I love her "Canary Cry" being a sonic weapon used to escape the police trap.