I agree so much w/the OP; I have always been a huge supporter of Laurel since the VERY beginning starting w/season 1 and I have NEVER stopped giving her my support.
Ah, a kindred soul! I sometimes feel that if the Laurel fans (because they always existed, despite the "five Laurel stans" mantra) had been a little more proactive and promoted her/Katie Cassidy on social media the way the Felicity/Olicity/EBR fans promoted their girl from day one, she might not have been sidelined/killed off in season four. I guess we just rested on our laurels (pun!) because we had the delusionary belief that they would never kill of such a crucial character in the GA canon. This is pure speculation of course, and maybe Guggenheim just wanted to get rid of Laurel/KC, for whatever reason, which means that fan reception wouldn't have mattered anyway.
I just think it's sad that this skewed picture of Laurel as a total failure of a character and BC incarnation has become so entrenched, especially since I find the plots, characterization and overall acting to be much better in the earlier seasons, when she still played a central role. I think it was in the first ep of season four that I realized that the "Arrow" writers' room had been infiltrated/hijacked by a bunch of Olicity shippers, who thought that Desperate Housewife Oliver hiding rings in soufflés and making quips like "You have failed this omelet" was the way to Make Arrow Great! I honestly don't know if the show ever recovered from that total remake, no matter how desperately they're trying to recreate the season one vibe right now.
Anyway, it was interesting to read about your experiences after Katrina. There was a lot about Katrina in European media when it happened, but people forget that it's the aftermath/picking up the pieces that's the really hard part.
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