poetgirl925

Watching SA's con appearance makes me feel a little guilty that for not watching the rest of the season. He works so hard - I mean, how many actors would have kept that appearance so as not to disappoint fans? He had a legit reason for canceling and he didn't. Kudos to him for that. I almost feel like I should watch tomorrow instead of playing catch-up this summer, but I'm so tired of the non-stop angst. Ugh - dilemma :(

That post about moments that signal 'jumping the shark' is interesting. It's also scary since it is so very applicable to Arrow at the moment. I think I'm mostly bitter about the soul sucking angst at this point. I know they want Arrow to be gritty like Nolan's Batman, but seriously, that was a 2 hour movie - the whole trilogy is what - 7 hours or so? Maybe 8? I can handle angst for a 2 hour movie, or even a trilogy, but Arrow seasons are 23 freaking episodes. Who wants to sit through that many hours of angst in a row? I'm tired. I spent a week volunteering at a refugee camp last summer, and I felt less depressed at the end of that week than I do watching Arrow episodes this season. Worse, it's not even well written angst. I'm starting to feel more and more justified in not watching the rest of the season. I'm waiting to see if anything at Paley changes my mind there. On the bright side, I have the last four episodes of Agent Carter to watch, and I think that's on my agenda for tonight.

I downloaded seasons 1 and 2 on iTunes and bought the DVDs. Even though season 2 fell apart towards the end due to some shoddy setup, I don't regret owning the seasons. However, I can definitively say that no matter what kind of glorious season finale they think they're gearing up for, it won't make up for the terrible writing in the episodes I've watched so far. Aside from a few good individual character moments, the arcs have been just terrible. So yeah - I didn't purchase the season pass like I usually do around December, and I definitely won't be buying the DVDs. I have no interest in watching the next episode either, so I'm just going to wait and finish watching before SDCC or read recaps to see if next season seems worth it. I don't feel excited about the show or the story they're telling. Three of my friends have quit this season too - one after she figured out they were building to Laurel taking Sara's place (bless her, she didn't know the comic background and I didn't have the heart to tell her) and two after Oliver's resurrection episode because they thought it was silly - and they're male comic readers. That's the target demo this season, so if they don't like it either that's pretty bad. My brother's still watching but not live. We're both way more into The Flash and the storyline on SHIELD this season. I don't know. All due respect to MG, but I think they sorely misjudged what they could get away with this season in the name of 'comics' and to spin off new shows.

I like coffee, but putting butter and oil in it sounds like a terrible idea lol. And two tbsp of butter? Eww Also, I really feel like some of the things people mentioned should have been spoiler tagged. I dropped by to see if any other news had been posted about Paleyfest and feel a bit like I wandered into a spoiler post. For me, I guess it doesn't matter too much because I've decided to take a break for a while and catch up at the end of/after the season, but (assuming it's a spoiler) the bombed foundry was news to me. People who are still watching live but are off spoilers might not want to know that.

If they intend to do something on The Flash regarding time travel/alt realities this season, an Alt!Sara could pop up there first if they didn't want to put her back in the Arrow world. I don't think this is such a stretch for Arrow. They talked about that particle accelerator A LOT in season 2. So, they set the stage to explain Barry, but it can then be used to explain a lot of other things, too. It all just falls under theoretical physics at the end of the day. And while they might get into more explanation on The Flash, I could easily see it being a quick ramble from Felicity or one of the Team Flash members to explain it on Arrow. I like the Team 7 idea. Sadly, the people in this forum will probably come up with better ideas than what we end up getting on the screen.

Yes! Adam Baldwin. Man, I can't see him the same way anymore. Tom Cruise is another one. It's hard for me to watch his movies because I don't see his character anymore. I see the guy who jumps on couches and recruits for the Scientologists. Sometimes the less I know about actors and their personal lives, the better.

Me too. I also find that following the actors too closely can sometimes be detrimental to my enjoyment of their characters. Sometimes I find out things about them I don't like (like that guy from Firefly - gah I can't remember his name right now.)

I'm mostly interested in this because of Garber, Miller and Lotz. No offense to Robbie Amell, but he is bland city. Routh isn't my fave or anything, but he's loads better than RA. I don't wish for him on any show I'm watching to be honest. The CW's casting choices are a factor in why I don't watch most of their shows. Pretty cardboard cutouts in many cases. I think the alt reality/different Sara could be interesting - more interesting than Lazarusing her back from the dead. It would create drama for crossovers without making 'death' completely meaningless on the show. But I agree with @apinknightmare too - alternate realities and timelines could end up being a giant mess if they don't do a better job with writing than what we've seen on Arrow this season. Also, it doesn't matter if they call her Canary or something else. If they bring Sara Lance back, Laurel will never be able to dig out from under those comparisons. Even if they made Caity another character (doubtful if this is the same universe) the comparisons would probably still be made. Honestly, even with Sara dead she's suffering from the comparisons. I don't really expect that part to change. And unfortunately I think Arrow is stuck with Laurel. I don't see her ever being popular enough to move to a new show. The thing is, a move might be better for her because she'd be more likely to get her own story. Revolving her around Oliver has done little for her except bring fan resentment since a lot of KC's fans don't like it anymore than the Team Arrow fans do.

Yes, I think her having deep feelings for anyone and being involved with anyone might be something Ra's would consider unsuitable for his heir, so that makes more sense to me and is more in line with what I took away from the episode. Choosing Oliver is still stupid since I have to believe there are better candidates who have dedicated themselves to the League.

Is MG serious? I have not read the Arrow 2.5 comics, and quite frankly, I have no intention of doing so because I don't have time. It is completely ridiculous that a fan asks for clarification on something within the TV show and he suggests they go read a comic book. I really hope someone tells him that, too. The second I have to start watching three or four shows and read a bunch of books to understand what's going on in ONE TV SHOW, I will be done. That is not how television shows work, and they are playing a dangerous game if they think they can sustain story in this way. And with that, I think I'm done for the season. I'll still follow Paleyfest and maybe the news of the spinoff (I'm betting money Routh will be there now, and suddenly SA's non-attendance makes more sense.) I'll either read episode recaps or binge before SDCC so I can decide whether I want to give it another shot after such a crap season.

I definitely agree that they have tone, continuity and characterization issues from episode to episode, but I think having more women in the writer's room (or at least better ones than the two I'm familiar with) could improve the female perspective of the characters. Things are brought up by female fans all the time that it seems like the writers never considered - for instance, Oliver sleeping with every woman he wasn't related to. Amell himself admitted that was something he took to the EPs after female fans said they were bothered by it. That being said, it's true that having women on the writing team doesn't guarantee anything since seeing Mericle's name on a script makes me groan before I've even seen the episode. Right now I'm leaning towards believing that Ra's wants to replace Nyssa because she's too emotional and not objective enough about Sara's murder. She's clearly in it for vengeance. I really hope they don't even hint at it being due to her personal relationship with Sara. I don't believe these writers would handle a sensitive topic like that very well since they're all about treating their plots and themes like Laurel treats that stick this season - wildly swinging and smacking us on the head in situations where a subtle approach would have more impact.

Wait, did Berlanti say Nyssa being a lesbian is the reason Ra's disinherited her? I definitely caught the implication in the episode, but I also thought maybe it had to do with Nyssa being emotionally rash or because her objectivity was compromised with regard to Sara's death. Or some combination of all of it. It was definitely a stupid narrative decision IMO. Frankly, Nyssa should be able to wipe the floor with Oliver, so I really don't buy that he can beat her anyway - except, you know, the show is called Batman - oops, sorry. Arrow. Haha, Wendy Mericle strikes again, huh? Is it just me, or does it seem like she's suddenly writing more episodes? Schwartz and Mericle are the only two women I'm aware of writing for the show, and they're both terrible. I still think they need more than two women, anyway. I ventured into a couple of comment threads for comic book articles on the show, and I'm actually seeing a lot of comic readers complaining about this season. Many of them do think this Ra's plot is silly and contrived. And lol, he did look like he was lounging in a designer bathtub right? He's just not scary - when he talked about how many years it had been since someone challenged him, I was reminded of the "It's been 84 years" scene with the little old lady from Titanic lol. I wish someone would do a gif of that comparison, actually. Not impressed. I'm not as familiar with Atom from comics, but their reinterpretation isn't really doing it for me. Poor Routh - he just can't catch a break. At this point, I'm trying to find something to like about Ray for his sake because the fandom has been brutal wrt to the Palmer plot. I don't know - unless the ratings tank, I just don't think the EPs care that much about Arrow anymore. And if they don't care, why should I? I mean, as much as I don't like Laurel, I think her story might have gone better this season if they had spent more time developing her hero arc. They could have brought in a Wildcat character who stuck around more if they hadn't blown their budget on Barrowman and Routh. The fact that they have been pushing the Ray story so hard implies they always knew the Laurel as BC arc wasn't going to take off, so they just shoved it in and said "Whatever." Black Canary should have trended last week since Quentin called her that, but from what I understand, it didn't. With so many show trends going on during live viewing, that says something IMO. On a funny note, I was doing laundry and exercising when I watched Arrow this week, and I totally missed that scene where Laurel asked Oliver how he could lie right to her face. Lolol - really? She can ask that question after lying to Quentin for half a season and impersonating her dead sister more than once in order to reinforce the lie? *sigh*

Wow - MG's Tumblr responses are making me lean towards not watching the rest of the season. They certainly don't inspire any confidence that the half-assed storytelling will improve. TPTB must think having an online presence is good publicity for the show since they asked the EPs to get involved, but I don't think this is what they had in mind. He's not even bothering to put up a pretense at being respectful to fan concerns. Now, I might understand a snarky response to someone being aggressively hostile, but he's being a jerk to pretty much everyone. There have been legitimate questions asked about the writing and narrative decisions, and he's dismissive at best and just an asshat at worst. And it's not like it's just shippers asking these questions since we've all seen plenty of TV reviewers/critics voicing the same concerns. What is the point of having a social media presence if you're going to use it in this manner? And now SA won't even be at Paley. I'm half expecting that panel to be Flash-focused, to be honest.

I honestly don't understand why SA wouldn't be contractually obligated to attend something like Paley. With all due respect to honoring commitments to his public appearances, holding a panel without your biggest star seems foolish. I know someone mentioned it would be a joint panel with The Flash. Maybe everyone thinks it's okay because of that?

Haha - I might take you up on that. I don't think they're dumb enough to kill off Diggle, but then again, who knows. I do know if Diggle dies at any point, I will burn the Internet down. He is, like, at least fifty percent of the reason I'm still watching, and he and Moira were the two characters that kept me watching in season one. I honestly thought about dropping the show after the first two or three episodes.