Team GATV Roundtable: Looking Forward To Season 4

What are your hopes or fears regarding the Sara storyline?

STEPHANIE: My hope is that we finally get to see the dangerous side effects of the Lazarus Pit and consequently a different side of a character I really enjoy watching. I hope to see more of Sara’s League of Assassins side and just how strong and unrelenting she is when she’s not restrained by Oliver’s code. Also, more Sara and Nyssa!

My fear with Sara’s return is that whatever lies are created as a result will turn her story into the Lance family drama show, round … I’ve lost count. I’m ready for the Lances to stop being mad at one another for keeping secrets and instead actually appreciate the family they have.

DEREK: The fact that it’s a storyline at all is conflicting. I get the need for some resolution before jetting Sara off across time in Legends of Tomorrow, but I think we’re all a little burned out on the Sara-centered drama after season 2 and 3. I like Caity Lotz and Sara, and I think she’ll be great on Legends. But the thing is, the show killed a popular female LGBT superhero, which is pretty bad. Then it made that death incredibly integral to the storyline, which didn’t quite pan out, but was admirable. Then it did good by using her death to propel the character arcs of two female characters, one who became a superhero and the other who’s also a sexual minority. So at least for me, I’d accepted that death as something meaningful for the show, at least, so to pull the rug out now really confuses my feelings on the matter. I’m sure that’s how the characters will feel, too, so I respect the show playing with death a bit on that front. But we’ve also seen Laurel, Quentin, Oliver, and Nyssa say hello and goodbye to Sara, what, four times now? I don’t know how showing them that Sara’s alive will do anything but send all their arcs backwards.

That said, I know we’re expecting Sara to come back “wrong,” so there’s potential for something different. If this is used as sort of a meta-commentary on comic book death — not just questioning if she should have been brought back in-universe, but for characters brought back in general — then that could be interesting. The show is very good at playing with comic book tropes even when playing them straight, so I wouldn’t mind this as much if it acknowledges that the whole thing is conflicting everyone else, too.

MATT: Not to keep harping on the negatives of Season 3, but one of the more confounding things about the Sara resurrection is it severely undercuts so much of what happened last year. Not only did we sit through it, but now it has much less meaning. No, it doesn’t discount that the characters went through what they did as people, but as an audience member, it feels a bit like being taken for a ride. I enjoy Caity Lotz and there should be some interesting things that come from the journey that Sara will go through in coming back to life.  Certainly, that Matt Ryan’s John Constantine is involved in some way in bringing her back to the physical realm, as well as the Lazarus Pit to resurrect her body, is going to offer plenty of soil for story. Sara was still dealing with her demons. The choice to make her alter-ego the White Canary for Legends of Tomorrow is fascinating one for this journey. That said, the scales are still tipping side to side for me on whether bringing Sara back is a good or bad thing.

LAUREL: Well, for one thing, I’d be really, really annoyed if it were kept secret from her family. Lance not knowing about Sara for most of the season was a low point for season 3, and I don’t want to see people sneaking around Laurel going “Oh! Don’t tell her about Sara! She can’t handle it!” If Sara’s coming back from the dead, people should know about it.

CRAIG: I was worried that they wouldn’t tell Quentin that Sara is alive, and it sounds like they’re not going that way. Thank goodness.

I know some folks have been concerned that Sara being alive ruins Laurel’s journey as the Black Canary – I disagree. Now, Laurel can be the Black Canary on her own terms, AND with Sara’s blessing. Maybe Sara can teach Laurel some things while she’s at it!