Cupid's 'Arrow': 3 Reasons Why Oliver Will Fall In Love With The New Black Canary

This post contains spoilers for Arrow Season 5.

When Laurel Lance was killed last season, the backlash of #Arrow fans was heard far and wide. The hashtag #NoLaurelNoArrow began trending on Twitter as viewers promised not to watch the show without her. Most had been holding out hope that #BlackCanary and Oliver Queen would form the perfect union as set in the comics.

With Laurel's death, that hope had been squashed.

The February 1st episode of Arrow introduced Detective Tina Boland, a.k.a. Dinah Drake, a metahuman with a unique cry similar to that of Black Siren and the comic book Black Canary. And whether #Olicity fans like it or not, she brings something extra to her portrayal of the brokenhearted cop looking for revenge, which just might earn her a spot in Oliver Queen's heart. Here's why:

She has chemistry with Oliver.

I'll be the first to admit I'm an #Olicity fan, but there is no denying the sparks between Stephen Amell and Juliana Harkavy, sparks that were missing earlier this season when the writers tried to shoehorn Oliver into a relationship with a reporter.

As other viewers have mentioned before, the same chemistry did not exist between Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance, which made for a difficult romantic storyline in spite of fans' desires. But this new Black Canary brings with her a wealth of possibilities.

She has a traumatic past like Oliver's.

As executive producer Wendy Mericle told TVLine, Tina “has a lot of emotional connection with Oliver, in that she’s been through her own sort of hell, her own sort of ‘island.’ She’s got a very tragic backstory.”

This is a woman whom Oliver can understand, and who can understand him. Only someone who has been through their own personal hell can truly get how much that changes a person. She's killed, has exacted revenge, and is still enduring the heartache of losing someone she loves. Basically, she's a feminine version of Oliver, which will only bring them closer together over the upcoming episodes.

Dinah Drake is one kick-ass woman. For three years, she battled bad guys to get to the one man who killed her partner, and she's still alive to tell the tale. So, unlike the recruits, Dinah won't need to be trained; her abilities put her on a more equal footing with Oliver.

With her knowledge as a cop, her fighting skills, and her years of undercover work, she's going to be an asset to more than the team. As Oliver has relied on Diggle over the years — because of his knowledge, skills, and wisdom — it's only natural that he'll feel the same level of trust with Dinah.

Whether or not Dinah Drake will end up taking Felicity's place in Oliver's heart remains to be seen. While she may have comic book lore on her side, we all know the executive producers have their own way of doing things. That said, it'll be hard to ignore the sparks between the new Black Canary and Green Arrow, and it should make for some interesting television in the coming weeks.