As “Crisis on Infinite Earths” rapidly approaches on The CW, theories about the upcoming five-episode epic crossover event have kicked into high gear as fans try to sort out various elements of the multiverse-altering event as well as how various plot threads from previous seasons of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow could come into play. It’s one of those such plot threads from Arrow that is gaining some particular traction as it may explain Lyla Michaels’ (Audrey Marie Anderson) alliance with The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett): Baby Sara.
As fans of Arrow may recall, Lyla and Diggle (David Ramsey) weren’t always the parents of little JJ. They were originally parents of a little girl, Baby Sara, who was “erased” from the timeline and replaced by the male JJ as a result of the Flashpoint timeline created by Barry Allen on The Flash. Since that change, fans have wondered if the Arrowverse would ever revisit this swap and, as TV Line notes, it was something that Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz was even asked about during a screening of Arrow’s season premiere in October. When asked if there was an Earth where Baby Sara still exists, Schwartz said they would be dealing with the question.
“We are definitely making up for that this season, so, keep your eyes open for it,” Schwartz said.
As of yet, we haven’t seen anything that might hint at some sort of redemption for the Baby Sara storyline in either the “present” storyline or the “2040” timeline, but we have seen that Lyla is in league with The Monitor. While we don’t exactly know why — it’s hinted that he’s the god who answered her prayers after a traumatic military experience — but as TV Line points out The Monitor appears to have the ability to do some pretty massive things that would include changes to universes and timelines. He offers to restore Earth-2 to Laurel (Katie Cassidy Rodgers) to get her to betray Oliver. Could The Monitor have earned Lyla’s loyalty with the promise of restoring Baby Sara? Given that the Diggle’s are now aware that, in the future, JJ becomes Deathstroke it’s not impossible to think that Lyla struck a deal with The Monitor to get her daughter back and, perhaps in doing so, get a second chance.
Of course, it’s also possible that the series will return to the Baby Sara storyline by offering viewers a glimpse of an Earth in which Baby Sara was never erased — a vision of a very different Diggle family. Fans will hopefully find out for sure as Arrow‘s eight and final season continues and when “Crisis on Infinite Earths” arrives beginning Sunday, December 8.