'Arrow': Why Is Earth 2's Laurel Lance In Star City — And What's Coming Next?

This post contains spoilers for Arrow Season 5.

The final scene in the mid-season finale of #Arrow wowed a lot of fans. As most of us have been watching for five years, it takes a lot to throw us off our game, but the writers and producers of Arrow managed to do just that when #LaurelLance turned around to greet Oliver in the Arrowcave. I know, in my house, you could have heard a pin drop.

#BlackCanary fans blew up Twitter, excited at the return of their favorite superhero, and many wondered how this was a possibility. Did #Flashpoint play a part in her return? Had she faked her death? The rumors and theories swirled around the internet for weeks — until The CW dropped a trailer from upcoming Season 5, episode 10 that let us in on a major spoiler.

The #BlackSiren has taken up residence in Star City! And while fans are happy to see her in any incarnation, we can't forget she is a villain. The last time we saw her, she was locked up in Star Labs where she could do no harm. And a lot of harm is exactly what she can do. None of us have forgotten the beat-down she gave Barry on #TheFlash in Season 2, episode 22.

So let's review the questions and the theories that will continue until episode 10 of Arrow Season 5 debuts on January 25.

Presumably, those cells are designed by Cisco and Harrison Wells, making them virtually impossible to escape. Yes, we've seen a few villains manage to make a getaway by virtue of trickery and other means, but we can't imagine Barry or any other member of Team Flash setting Black Siren free.

The speculation is that Prometheus, who now seemingly knows everything about Green Arrow and Team Arrow has set Black Siren free to further torment Oliver, but would someone as powerful as Prometheus need the help? And wouldn't Team Flash have noticed her missing from her cell?

Why is Black Siren in Star City?

Originally, she had targeted Barry Allen, but now it seems she has shifted her priorities. So it's only natural that we ask why. What would an Earth 2 villain want with anyone in Star City? To date, no one from Star City has traveled to Earth 2 and caused any havoc there. So what could this evil version of Laurel Lance want with Oliver Queen?

A writer for Collider speculates that Flashpoint may have reset the timeline and made Earth 1's Laurel Lance Black Siren instead of Black Canary. This could work as a means to bring Laurel Lance back into the fold of Team Arrow, but only if she can be redeemed. As it is, Black Siren has killed because of villainy, so redemption would be an uphill battle.

Why does she pretend to be the original Laurel Lance?

A major fan theory is that this Laurel Lance will be a mole for Prometheus. However, if that's the case, her spying capabilities don't last very long as she's outed in the first episode after the finale.

One thing that is in favor of this theory is that Black Siren has access to the Arrowcave even after Team Arrow updated their security protocols. The recruits know the security measures, and that includes Artemis which is a perfectly logical explanation as to how the faux Laurel Lance is standing in the cave when Oliver arrives. There's no doubt that Artemis shared everything with Prometheus.

There's one final speculation to consider: Black Siren is intended to become Black Canary, thus recreating Team Arrow. As I mentioned, that would require redemption, but we know that Arrow is big on redemption. Still, the big elephant in the room remains. What has brought her to Star City, and will there be fallout from her arrival?

We already saw from the quick promo that her metahuman cry is tossing Curtis around the room and shattering glasses. That doesn't look like someone pretending to be good any longer.

Whatever has brought Black Siren to Star City, fans are hoping the writers and producers can let her hang around for a while. If nothing else, having a villain that Oliver Queen could not kill would be an ongoing challenge to the Green Arrow and the rest of the team.