'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 4 may see Laurel Lance taking Mia Smoak under her wing, setting up the spin-off series
It's been quite clear from the very beginning of 'Arrow' Season 8 that the future Team Arrow of 2040 desperately needs some guidance on their path to being Star City's protectors. After losing Zoe Ramirez (Andrea Sixtos) and failing multiple times to defeat John "JJ" Diggle Jr (Charlie Barnett) and his Deathstroke Gang, Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara) and her team are at a crossroads but perhaps all they need is the mentorship of a veteran hero like Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy Rodgers).
The Earth-2 Laurel knows what it means to be a hero arguably better than anyone else, having started out as a villain before eventually turning back to the light. She's a legend to the kids from 2040 who were transported to the present at the end of Episode 3 'Leap of Faith' and they would certainly value whatever advice she has to give them.
Now that they are in the past, the future Team Arrow has a chance to prevent their dystopian future from happening. They may face some complications — after all, if 'The Flash' has taught us anything, it's that time-travel is always a pain and the consequences of even the smallest change can be catastrophic.
But irrespective of how she deals with all those timey-wimey problems, Mia finally has a chance to reconnect with her father and perhaps find a new surrogate parent in Laurel. After all, we already know that Laurel and Mia, along with Juliana Harkavy's Dinah Drake, are going to be the stars of a spin-off series tentatively titled 'Green Arrow and the Canaries' so this might be the episode that sets up that show.
The cast for ‘Arrow’ Season 8 includes Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, Ramsey as John Diggle / Spartan, Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance / Black Canary, Rick Gonzalez as Ramirez / Wild Dog, Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt / Mr Terrific, Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake/ Black Canary, Joseph David-Jones as Connor Hawke, Katherine McNamara as Mia Smoak / Blackstar, Ben Lewis as William Clayton, Andrea Sixtos as Zoe Ramirez, and Charlie Barnett as John Diggle Jr / Deathstroke 2040.
'Arrow' Season 8 Episode 4 'Present Tense' will air on The CW on November 5.