The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" changed everything. Worlds lived, worlds died and the heroes of the Arrowverse found themselves smack dab in the middle of it all. The five-show crossover involved not only doppelgangers and fun cameos, but calamity and the death of the character who started it all: Oliver Queen's Green Arrow. On DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Sara Lance -- the original Black Canary -- will find herself in a tough place as she grapples with his loss and her newfound fame.
Speaking to CBR, White Canary actor Caity Lotz offered a tease of what's to come in Season 5. She discussed her directorial debut on the series, her work on "Crisis" and why she feels blessed to be part of the Arrowverse. She explained why Oliver's death will hit Sara harder than most and why fame just isn't for her. She also weighed in on the team's new character Behrad Tomaz, how Astra affects Sara's relationship with Constantine and more.
CBR: You joined the Arrowverse back in 2013, back before there even was an Arrowverse. Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, imagine this is where you'd end up?
Caity Lotz: No. [laughs] No idea. I remember getting an interview early on, when I just gotten on Arrow, and a reporter asking me, "Oh, how does it feel? Your life is going to change!" And I was like, "What? What do you mean? It's just a job!" Now, when I think back, I'm like, "Wow, it really did change my life!"
Yeah, it's crazy. It's fun, you know? It's exciting, and to have a long-running show is something every actor feels incredibly blessed to have. With the Arrowverse and Legends... [I've] been really, really grateful for the experience and such amazing people. Getting to work with everybody, and now it even helped me get started as a director. A lot has come from this universe.
Let's talk about that last part. How was your first time in the director's chair?
It was awesome. Oh my god, I had so much fun. It went great. It was so hard, it's so much work, but I loved every second of it. I have built up a lot of goodwill with my cast and crew, so they were all phenomenal. Everyone really was going above and beyond to do their best work and to go the extra mile, because they wanted it to be good. Everybody wanted to help me as much as they could, so that I could be successful in it. I think that'll really show on screen and it was an awesome experience. I had so much fun. I can't wait to do it again.
You had a pretty major role to play in that last chapter of "Crisis," which tapped into that big, long history we were talking about. How did you prepare for that?
Same as I do with every other one. [laughs] You just do it! I don't know. Also, I've lived this character for so long now. It really is second nature for me.
Sara has lost a lot of people, but Oliver's death seemed particularly tough for her. Why do you think that is?
Sara is usually pretty prepared for death and understands that it's something that comes and is inevitable and has seen so much of it in her life, but I don't think she ever really thought that she would lose Oliver. I think she's kind of just assumed he would always be there. He's the Arrow! That he would always be around. I think losing him was a big shock for her, but also a big reality check.
I think, with losing him, she felt like maybe she was losing that side of her -- that side of her of when she was a kid, before any of this happened, before she became a superhero or an assassin or any of that, that innocence and that person before all of the craziness happened. He was the last person who really knew her as that and so, with him gone, everybody else only knows her as a superhero, as a time traveler. So I think that was a big gut punch for her.
How will that impact her moving forward?
We see it a bit in the first episode. Sara is definitely reeling and still dealing with that. Then, after that, it's kind of back to business. It's always hard to carry things over, but I'm hoping we still will always not lose any of that stuff.
How, exactly, does an ex-assassin from Nanda Parabat deal with fame?
Sara's definitely not into it. This is not her bag. I don't think she gets any pleasure from fame, in terms of people knowing who she is and being famous, so it's really just a negative. I think she also values her privacy, so having all these people kind of come into our space... she's not gonna like it.
Let's talk about Behrad Tomaz, who we really know nothing about as we move into Season 5. Tell me a little about him and his relationship with Sara.
He's almost like a little brother to her. You know, Jax left in Season 2 or whichever season. Behrad kind of became a little brother figure for her. So I think they're close, and he looks out for her and Sara cares about him a lot. She lets him sometimes see a more vulnerable side of her.
I feel like Sara was basically one bad day away being in Astra's shoes, so I'm curious: what is their dynamic like?
Well, Astra basically grew up in hell, right? Like actual hell! Sara's done a lot of work on herself to try to find that beauty and light in humanity. I think being with Ava and having a relationship and having a team around her and having to be responsible and strong for the team has really helped her grow. So I don't know if I would say that they're very similar.
Sara definitely doesn't trust Astra. I think seeing that John [Constantine] definitely has a weak spot for her and is not going to be making any kind of rational decisions when it comes to Astra. So anytime she's around it's gonna make things more difficult.
How is that going to change the way Sara sees Constantine?
It'll affect her trust in him for sure. Yeah.
Returning on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow stars Caity Lotz, Dominic Purcell, Brandon Routh, Nick Zano, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Tala Ashe, Matt Ryan, Jes Macallan and Courtney Ford.