Arrow: Discussion Thread

[P.J.]

well...I don't want to sound like a hater---but there was something weird about her face. I don't know if they were just shooting from weird angles or what---but it looked weirdly long.

At least she's doing a decent job of acting "off". Like the step below functioning alcoholic. Not that I care---I will never believe she's out for vengeance for Tommy's sake.

[Jonathan]

Well she isn't anymore. She reconciled that two episodes ago.

[P.J.]

Fine---let me restate. I will never believe her so-called revenge or alcoholism is about ever having loved Tommy. She's throwing a HUGE pity party for herself. Poor Laurel...Ollie banged her and then left for six months. I'm sure they'll try and write that poor Laurel's just been so beat down by life she just broke down finally after being all Annie-the-sun-will-come-up-tomorrowish for years and years.

Not gonna work for me.

[Becki]

I was so hoping and praying that Malcolm was dead and I'm so pissed off that he isn't. This week's episode with the return of the Count (who I loved!) was really wonderful right up until that final scene and it ruined the whole thing for me. I'm sorry, but if they want to bring a Merlyn back to life, make it Tommy dammit!!! *whines*

The Olicity stuff this season has gone far beyond what I could ever have hoped for thus far. Stephen and Emily have a very easygoing chemistry that makes all of their scenes interesting and fun to watch. I like the friendship that is building between the two characters and I hope sometime, far into the future, it will lead to something deeper.

I can't for the life of me figure out what the writers are trying to do with Laurel. I want to like her, but they keep making it impossible! It's not the Felicity fan in me either. Katie looks unnaturally thin in some of the shots this season. Her face in that scene where Oliver is checking on Laurel after she cross examines Moira was absolutely creepy.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Becki

[P.J.]

Yeah...I get that John Barrowman is some kind of Broadway star or whatever...but I FLOVED Tommy!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking there was something weird about Laurel's face.

I hope Dylan Bruce gets some more to do. Right now he's a glorified extra. Dylan Neal is really working it as Dr. Ivo.

[EricMontreal22]

Was this posted, about Arrow getting a mask? I find the whole article beyond ridiculous -- they seriously designed *50* different maskes to come up with some very typical (and hardly realistic) little typical superhero mask? http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/11/19/arrow-oliver-mask-photos/

[P.J.]

I'd heard about it...didn't realize it took them 50 masks to get it right, when they could have simply grabbed one off a Walmart shelf and covered that with green velvet. At least now when he makes a quick change I won't have to wonder how he scrubbed all that burnt cork off his face (or whatever that stuff is).

[quartermainefan]

Someone probably got paid by the hour to design it, hence 50 different designs.

[quartermainefan]

This was a really good episode. Grant Gustin was really likable in this, and his character was completely different than the one he played on Glee. It's too bad he can't become a regular because the plan is to spin him off into his own series. In other news, it is nice to see Moira back to being tough. She still hasn't told her kids all her secrets and probably never will. Great character.

[P.J.]

The ratings were up a tick. I thought the Barry Allen character was nice enough...I guess...but he seems really too young and naïve to become a superhero. I liked the non-Barry parts a little better, like the preview of tension between Moira and Isabel, Ollie's discomfort at Felicity's fascination with another male, and the island stuff. (I'm one who doesn't mind the Island other than Ollie's tacky hairdo). And bonus points for Moira siccing Ra's a Ghoul or whatever on Merlyn. I wish she'd knee him in the balls---but he'd probably consider that an invitation.

And I don't believe for a moment Merlyn was some saint before his wife died and screwing Moira after her death somehow blackened his soul. I thought Tommy's story was that as soon as his mom died, his dad disappeared?

[Becki]

Enjoyed Grant Gustin as Barry, but he was basically Felicity with a penis. Two characters that similar rarely have any kind of chemistry as a couple tho. I guess that's why I more enjoyed Oliver's subtle possessive glances Barry's way.

Please dear GOD let someone kill Malcolm. I don't care who, but I want him decapitated or something. Just as long as he can never ever come ruin the show again.

Also, whoever did Emily's makeup for the party scene...it was outstanding. She's always beautiful, but they did something different and it was amazing!

[quartermainefan]

This was a really good episode. I don't care for this modern phenomenon of mid season finales, but they want us to wait I guess. Anyway, I liked seeing Tommy again even if a dream, liked that we finally got some movement on the island, but I felt sorry for Roy. He worships the Arrow and doesn't know quite how to act on it since Ollie refuse to bring him in, and he got shot with an arrow for his fanboyish idolizing. That has to be a bummer, and then he is good enough to find and run down his own clues--something Ollie fails to acknowledge, and now he is shot full of super serum that apparently drives you crazy and mean.

I liked the Barry scene at the end. A smile came to my face seeing the lightning and the chemicals because that is the 60 year old sign that The Flash is coming. What is frustrating is apparently the show is not going to follow up on this for a while because The Flash is getting his own show down the road.

[P.J.]

I loved this eppy!! I'm so glad ghostTommy forgave Ollie!! And Slade is the big baddie behind Brother Blood? WTF?

And damn them for teasing me with all this Olicity smokin' hot possessive angst. YUMMY. I haven't shipped anything this hard since CarJack.

[Becki]

I’ve watched 209 maybe 5 times now, (the entire episode, not just the Olicity scenes which I might have watch way more than that) and these are just my comments on a few of the scenes.

Felicity made the decision to bring Barry to the lair and expose Oliver’s secret and now she’s making another life saving decision and I find it intriguing that Digg turns to her to make the choice about administering the rat poison. Why would he do that? He’s known Oliver longer, been privy to his double life longer AND Oliver has been more open with Digg about his time on the island than anyone else. Yet when it comes down to it, he trusts Felicity’s input regarding a life saving decision. Very very interesting.

Once Oliver woke up, I liked watching the argument between he and Felicity. Most people in Oliver’s life back down from him when he gets upset. But she never does. She gives as good as she gets. I completely understand both sides of this heated discussion too. On one hand, Oliver is right when he tells her that his secret isn’t hers to tell. Yet, I was waiting for her to look at him and say, “You were dying. There was no choice to make” (echoing his words from the episode with The Count). When his phone pinged with the message from Moira, he sounded so tired when he told them he had to leave. I’ve never really stopped to think how exhausting his life must be.

Oliver shoots Roy with an Arrow (bad bad Arrow!!) and then has to help him recover. Weird and fun at the same time. Also, whatever the sound effects people used for the sound of that arrow coming out of his leg just makes me cringe everytime I hear it. It actually sounds EXACTLY like they’re pulling that arrow through his leg. Makes me shiver!!

And this is me, still not giving one damn about anything that happens on the island. I’m sorry Shado is dead. I liked her, but I would have liked her much more in the present day. Slade has always kinda been an ass (even if Manu Bennett is gorgeous!!) so him coming in and being the big bad didn’t have any kind of shock factor for me. I did enjoy his little speech about corrupting those Oliver loves (and the shot of Felicity that followed that statement) and then putting an arrow thru his eye. That explains the mask with the arrow through it on the island. After the scene where Shado is killed though, it makes me wonder if Slade will make Oliver choose between Laurel and Felicity….who lives and who dies….like Ivo made him do with Shado and Sara.

Speaking of Laurel, she really knows how to pick him huh? I know she doesn’t realize that Sebastian Blood is a bad guy, but man she’s gonna regret getting involved with him. Was there any possible way he could have known her dad would be one of the cops to try and take out Cryus? If he had known, would it have made a difference? I’m still waiting on the writers to do something with her character. I want to like Laurel, but she’s sooooooo boring. I don’t even miss her when she isn’t on the show.

Her dad, on the other hand, the show is always better when Det Lance is on. I felt so bad for him when Hilton was killed. But don’t these TV cops know they should never make plans before going on a raid like this? They always get killed!!

Roy breaking into the facility and subsequently getting shot up with the Mirakuru was a good way to start to bring him on to Oliver’s ‘team’. Now that Oliver will be keeping an eye on him, maybe he will realize the benefit of bringing him into the inner circle sooner rather than later.

The ghosts in the episode each had a message for Oliver, but the one he needed to hear the most was from Tommy. And I’ll admit to bursting into tears when Colin’s voice came on. And when they showed him, I was clapping like a crazy woman! I miss Tommy so much. Next to Oliver, Tommy was my favorite character….yes even more than Felicity. So for them to bring Colin on, even for a few seconds, it was one of the best Christmas presents ever!!!

I enjoyed the birth of Flash scenes they gave us with Barry. I’m quite sure I’ll enjoy that show once it begins.

I’ll stop rambling now, but you know I had to mention the Olicity hug. I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. After Oliver not promising her he would come back, probably because he honestly didn’t believe he would and he didn’t want to lie to her, I thought the best we would get would be her touching his hand or something. My favorite part of that scene was the tone of voice he used when he answered Digg’s question about the ghosts. He was still holding her and his voice was so soft. I just loved it.

All in all I thought this episode was one of the strongest in an already tremendously strong season 2. Those are just my opinions.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Becki

[P.J.]

One, I bet that's exactly what they're building too---Slade pushing some Laurel/Felicity choice on Ollie.

Two, even though they didn't connect her to the people Ollie loves, I have to wonder if/where/how Laurel's going to be "corrupted" as well. It's hard for me to imagine a scenario where Felicity is "corrupted".