Before yesterday, I had a pretty good idea of what the cast was going to look like, but now I'm not so sure...

I was sure Thea and/or Quentin were on their way out, but with Katie coming back I don't see either of them going anywhere now, especially since they seemed the most vocal about wanting her back.

Of course "OTA" isn't going anywhere, whether it would make sense or not...

As for the recruits I really don't know. I could see ways for most of them leaving: Curtis and Rene leave to be with their families, Rory and Evelyn have basically left already, and I have no clue what they're going to do with Dinah now. I mean, I didn't want her to begin with, but I kind of like her now, so if she goes, I really hope they don't kill her. That would just be pointless and repetitive.

But I also don't see why she would stick around at this point. I mean I know we've always had redundant characters on the team (2 archers, 2 gunmen, 2 hackers, etc.) but I don't know how they'll be able to effectively use two female metahumans/vigilantes with the same exact power.

Siren will most likely be a villain for a while, which is great, but if they were planning to have Katie come back I don't know why they decided to replace her in the first place. Besides the two canary centric episodes (5x10 and 5x11) did Dinah really need to be there for the story? Not really, no.

I just wish they'd gone with the original promise Oliver made to Laurel, the one they showed in the trailers before the season started: Don't go it alone, you need people, a team. Then we wouldn't have had to find a replacement (with the same first name, a power similar to her gadget and identical to her doppelganger, a career the same as her father, same name has her mother, etc.) Maybe make Siren's return appearance in the mid-season premier a two parter, exploring her character, her past on Earth-2, and then gone back to business as usual after locking her up in A.R.G.U.S. But then again, wishing the writers had handled something differently is like a weekly thought of mine, and I'm sure of a lot of other people.

Bottom line, I'm thrilled Katie Cassidy is coming back. Laurel has always been my favorite character on this show, and Black Siren has so much great story potential. I never quit the show, but I always sort of dreaded it when a new episode came out, even though I'd eventually enjoy it. But hearing this news has given me a great peace of mind, and I will gladly enjoy the rest of this season, which has been overall fantastic. I'm just glad that all the actors who built this show from the beginning are coming together once again. The characters are what made me fall in love with this show, and what kept me around when the plot took such a nose dive.