At the end of Arrow Season 6 Quentin sacrificed his life to protect his “daughter”, Black Siren, from the season’s Big Bad, Ricardo Diaz. Both Oliver and Laurel had a chance to say goodbye to their father figure before he passed during surgery. Black Siren calls Sara Lance to let her know that her father has been severely hurt. Sara walks into the hospital to find out a few moments later that her father has passed. She doesn’t have a chance to say goodbye to him. What will this mean for Sara’s journey going forward into the next season of Legends of Tomorrow?

Sara’s Darhk Process Through Grief

This wouldn’t be the first time Legends of Tomorrow has dealt with Sara’s grief over a family member. One of Season 2’s main story arcs for Sara was her dealing with the loss of her sister, Laurel. Damien Darhk came onto the scene, and Sara made it her mission to seek vengeance for what he did to her sister. She deals with her emotions in the best way she knows how – through violence.

By the end of Season 2, Sara has a chance to change Laurel’s fate by using the Spear of Destiny, but her journey time traveling with the Legends and her fight against Damien helps her realize that using the Spear of Destiny wouldn’t be the right thing to do because both Sara and Laurel’s suffering helped shape them as individuals. Just like we’ve seen in the Arrowverse with Flashpoint and the use of the Lazarus Pit, alleviating one person’s suffering could cause problems for another. It’s one last conversation with Laurel, conducted through the Spear of Destiny, that helps Sara come to this decision. Sara uses her grief to become a better person. Asking herself, “What would Laurel do?”

Like Father, Like Daughter

The Lance family is no stranger to grief. Throughout Quentin’s six-season stint on Arrow, his character was forced to continuously deal with the loss of his daughters. He had to go through losing Sara TWICE, and watching Laurel sacrifice her life as the Black Canary. Both Sara and Laurel were murdered in the line of duty. A nightmare for any father, but especially for a father who’s a cop. A person who protected Starling City’s streets to keep his daughters safe, just to watch them be gulped in by the city’s darkness. Quentin didn’t deal with his daughter’s deaths well as he turned to alcohol to numb his pain.

Most of Quentin’s Season 6 journey on Arrow was about using his pain to help Black Siren find her inner kindness. He treated Black Siren as his daughter, even if all they had in common was that they shared the same face. His self-destruction and this arc shows how much he truly cares for his daughters, and the type of relationship he had with them. His life is only brighter with them in it.

What Would My Dad Do?

Sara’s Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 journey helped her learn how to move forward by using her grief as an anchor to become a better hero. We want to see Sara affected by Quentin’s death, but not driven towards revenge like she was in Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow – that would just be repetitive. She should, instead, use Quentin’s life as an example to continue to learn how to be a better hero. She should ask herself, “What would Quentin do?” That should be her anchor for her journey in Legends of Tomorrow Season 4 as she goes up against some magical baddies.

Legends of Tomorrow Season 4 premieres on Monday, October 22, 2018 on The CW.