Are you ready to bid farewell to The CW’s Arrow? The comic book-inspired series that launched the network into the world of costumed superheroes will kick off its final season on October 15, 2019.
The Arrow cast made one final stop at the San Diego Comic-Con in support of the series at the heart of The CW’s Arrow-verse. Katie Cassidy (“Laurel Lance” / “Black Siren”) and Juliana Harkavy (“Dinah Drake” / “Black Canary”) joined their fellow Arrow stars to discuss where we pick up with their characters going into season eight.
Arrow will air in the Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT timeslot immediately following episodes of The Flash.
How is Laurel and which Laurel are we now?
Katie Cassidy: “I know. I’m still trying to figure that out. We are as if Laurel never died. So, she still went through everything she went through. She’s still got a little edgy sassiness because she’s gone through a lot of sh*t. So that’s the version that you’re seeing. I’ve also got a new costume. It is so dope; it’s so cool. […] Out of all the costumes it’s fantastic.
Also, I’m directing episode 803. I’m really excited. I went through the WB directors’ workshop over hiatus and I learned so much. I feel…I shouldn’t say overly prepared…but I definitely feel ready. I’m really excited because these actors are so good and so for my first time directing, I’m so lucky. I have great people who I know and love and to just be able to work with them is just going to be awesome.”
What’s on your Laurel bucket list?
Katie Cassidy: “I’m in denial. I think I should get to do the salmon ladder. I think Caity Lotz is the only girl who’s done it. It’s this swinging thing and a technique you have to get down. I used to be a real competitive gymnast. […] I was like, ‘Why can’t you just write me in so I can try it?’ They said, ‘Well, can you do it?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know. Maybe…’
So, could you imagine if this whole time I had never tried it and the first time I do I’m like, ‘Do ta do ta do.’ We’ll see. It could be a disaster. It would be cool though if I could do it.”
What do you hope is the show’s legacy?
Katie Cassidy: “I mean, I think it’s everything we’ve been saying about the theme. Someone asked me what is it that you want fans to walk away remembering and it is that you – I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true – you have a city of heroes and that’s who we want to be and I feel like who we have been to our fans.
There’s so many people who’ve come up to me and other cast members and they say, ‘Thank you. This show has saved my life,’ whether it be addiction or something else. ‘I was in a really bad place.’ And it’s stuff like that, just being able to inspire and let people know you have people to look up to. Even though we’re playing characters who are superheroes, I like to think we try and do a good job of being a good influence to our fans.”
Arrow’s ending but is there a chance Laurel will show up on a different show in the Arrow-verse, like Legends of Tomorrow? (Note: the interview took place before the news broke that a possible female-driven spin-off is being discussed.)
Katie Cassidy: “I would love that because I love Caity. Caity Lotz is one of my closest friends. She was my roommate in Vancouver for a while. This season we’re in the same building and her apartment is right below mine. We go down to each other’s rooms; we watch movies together. She actually did the director’s program as well. It’s been cool to bounce ideas off of her. She’s very creative. She’s got great ideas.”
Will the Canary get to come out and play during “Crisis”?
Juliana Harkavy: “Oh god, I hope so. I think so but I’m trying not to get my expectations too high.”
Where do we pick up with her at the start of the season?
Juliana Harkavy: “The very start of the season is a bit of a departure. We’re doing something a little bit different. It’s something different and unexpected so I’m very excited to see what people think. At the beginning of the season she’s still the police captain. She’s also still trying to figure out where to find her footing when her team is falling apart in a sense. But it’s going to be a little bit of a twist on what we normally see.”
Do you feel more grounded within your role as you start the season or is it still finding the footing once again?
Juliana Harkavy: “That’s such an interesting question. I think every time we start the season it’s like the first day of school all over again. I’m nervous and I’m finding my footing. (Laughing) I’m like, ‘I forgot how to act!’ But that’s sort of the beauty of the process. You trip over everything and then you find it.”
What’s on your bucket list for Dinah?
Juliana Harkavy: “I’ve been thinking about that. Because we only get the scripts one week at a time, I don’t know where she ends the entire series. But, I just hope that she… She’s a character who’s always carried so much. She’s had a lot of things in her past, so I hope she finds some kind of resolve. Like, she finds her direction and she finds herself. She’s going back and forth, ‘Am I a vigilante? Am I a police captain?’ So, I would just like to see her land on her feet and be like this is what I am so that when we take her to the next place, she’s really strong in herself.”
Are you happy with how Dinah’s progressed over the seasons because she’s come so far?
Juliana Harkavy: “Yeah, I am. Especially the future stuff has been so interesting because it’s given us such opportunity to really do rich work as actors. To just jump 20 years in the future, you can fill in whatever you want to in the middle for the most part. It’s been really rewarding so I really am grateful to our writers and our producers for the storyline they’ve given her. I think it’s been really cool and interesting.”
We saw Oliver get pulled away at the end of last season. How is that directly affecting Dinah with the Green Arrow not being there?
Juliana Harkavy: “I think Dinah feels a sense of she has to step up now. I think she feels like who’s left and what can we do? Because the hierarchy of the team is important and our leader is gone, she definitely – also Dinah being Dinah – she feels the need to sort of step up to that position. Not that she wants to be in charge, but who will? Because someone needs to take care of the team.”
It sounds like the show starts off a little emotional. What is the tone for Dinah during this time?
Juliana Harkavy: “Ohhh, I love that. I think she’s exploring. I think she’s exploring, and I think that her tone is one of sort of searching and openness. Because a lot of things are happening that she… When Dinah first comes on the show and says something about I saw this and that, and Diggle’s like, ‘Well, we’ve dealt with aliens,’ and she’s like, ‘Aliens?!’ There’s all these things in the universe that she has no idea about and she’s going to discover more and more of them.”
What do you hope the show’s legacy will be?
Juliana Harkavy: “Oh wow… I hope it makes people want to be better people. I hope it makes people want to be just and make the right choices. Even if they don’t make the right choices, surround themselves with the right people who can put them in that direction. That’s very important.”
