Angel12d

Right. I could actually believe that Felicity had earned Moira's respect by confronting her the way she did but that didn't come across on screen at all. Maybe there was some scenes cut which showed that?

Ah. That must be what I remember. I knew it was something along those lines!

Really? I didn't really get that vibe from her but ok. Ha, ok. Fair enough!

Haha, no place for logic on TV! Oh, I agree but I also want to see how twisted he's gonna make things!

Oooooh. WANT. Yes, I like that idea. I don't think they will be fine with it at all but maybe Thea convinces Oliver not to do anything? I can see her doing that, having spent 6 months with him. They might have bonded. And Oliver would probably agree to that because he wants to be on Thea's good side.

Sorry, jumping in to say why would you want Thea to hate Felicity?! WHY lol. Is this because you don't like her?! I'd rather her be kind of standoffish and unsure about her, if anything, because of the whole Arrow/keeping secrets thing but she softens once she gets to know her. I see Thea liking Felicity, especially as Felicity was the one who wanted Oliver/Moira to tell Thea the truth about her parentage. Thea is all about honesty. I think she would appreciate that about her but maybe that's just me. Editing to say Moira didn't like Felicity.

Well, Thea and Malcolm have obviously been training while she's been gone. Maybe they've been in Corto Maltese the whole time? And I think Thea will be encouraged back to Starling City by Oliver when he tells her the truth about the Arrow because we know how much she values the truth. And then she returns to running Verdant, although she's not back with Roy, and probably a lot of her storyline will be trying to merge the two sides of her life - being a Queen and a Merlyn. So I expect she'll be hanging around Oliver more (and by extension Team Arrow…maybe?) but also bringing Malcolm into it. Didn't they say Malcolm, Thea and Oliver become a weird little family or am I making that up?!

Replied in Relationships thread. :D

From the Felicity thread: I think this is the problem with spoilers and character descriptions that give everything away. If Ray had just been described as a personal and professional rival to Oliver or even just as the new owner of QC then we wouldn't really know what was going to happen with his character or who he would be interacting with. But as the EP's keep repeating that he's a LI for Felicity and has 'incredible' chemistry with EBR, we all pretty much know where that storyline is heading and it takes the enjoyment out of it I guess. And because they're - it's pretty much telling us that Ray is just an interim thing while Felicity and Oliver get their acts together. At least, that's how it's coming across. They could change that but I doubt it. And as someone who is seriously tired of love triangles (in all shows, not just Arrow) I feel pretty meh about his character already. I'm willing to be proved wrong though! Wow me BR!

Yay! I love the thought of Thea interacting with the team, not just Flash characters. I'm so excited!

Running around in fishnets is so impractical.

That's fantastic! I love Diggle and DR really does have a good understanding of his character, which can't be said about all actors on the show! I didn't really want any Daddy Diggle tbh but I'm interested to see how they make it work. It'll be a challenge and I want to see those parallels with Oliver and can he have it all?

Aaaaah you guys are worrying me about Olicity! I really want them to work! I've not been worried about Felicity because I think EBR elevates even the worst material. She's had some terrible awkward clunky lines - especially those where she's rambling - when if it was anyone else I'd switch off the TV but somehow, she makes it work. She's a joy to watch even when she's barely on screen. Plus this season she's getting her own storyline. If she was just relegated to 'love interest' they wouldn't be bringing in her mom or giving her any flashbacks. She'd just be with Oliver all the time. They seem to be crafting her into something more. I hope so anyway. I think her popularity and the EP's not wanting to ruin that will work in her favor. Fingers crossed! And I haven't been worried about putting Olicity together because they're not going to be together yet. As wonderful as Olicity is I don't think it was planned for so it will be interesting to see how they work now that they are actually being planned for.

Yeah, the episodes felt like filler because they didn't really contribute to the greater storyline. They weren't used wisely. I agree with @Sunshine. They should have developed Isabel and Slade in the present rather than have so much time focused on the Lance family and too much flashbacks. It's really noticeable just how much time and focus they had when you watch the episodes back to back.

It's true I've seen a lot of passionate hate but I've actually seen more frustration than anything because people want her to be better. A lot of what I've seen is people wanting to like Laurel, wanting to root for her but not being able to because she's just badly written. That's most of my problem with Laurel. When I put aside the O/L relationship which I HATE with a passion, I don't hate Laurel at all but I don't understand her choices and the way they've written her angers me. It's like they purposefully write their female lead badly sometimes and I just don't get it! Then they force her into storylines just so she has some purpose and that angers me more. So I agree. I really don't think the writers know what they're doing.

I agree. I don't think anything would have changed in the narrative if they had cut it and it was just more Lance family stuff when there had been far too much of that already. But it did very much feel like they were starting the hints of Laurel's path to BC, you know, wanting to stay behind and help the poor little hostages and she even threw a few punches here and there and oh, she's let the darkness inside now. Plus she gets her job back so problem solved! It was pretty contrived as episodes go. Also, The Promise was terrible. Too much flashback. Or was it just one giant flashback? I only watched it the other day and I've forgotten already.

Even if she does fail to impress in s3, she'll still be there because her name is Dinah Laurel Lance. It's sad that the only worth she has to the story is the relevance of her name but that's just the way it is. So I do hope she improves because I know she's not going anywhere and I actually want to enjoy all parts of the show. That said, if they don't redeem her character I really don't know what they're going to do. She's polarizing enough as it is. They've already had two seasons and plenty of chances to bring her back and they've failed so I don't really have much faith right now.

I have a lot of reservations about how they'll handle her character but I'm definitely open to changing my mind. I don't hate her but I hate the way she's been written and I don't agree with some of KC's acting choices so all that combined has made me more frustrated/annoyed by her character than anything. I'd never fast forward scenes either. Sometimes my brain switches off for me though, particularly if I'm bored and that has happened with Laurel. I just want them to write her better. Give her a purpose but don't shoe-horn her into scenes just for the sake of it. Make me want to root for her. I do think this is a make or break season for her though. If they can't fix her by the end of s3 then I think she's a bit of a lost cause.

If we must have a love interest then yeah. Agreed. He needs to be better than Barry. I'm sorry but Barry looked like a sixteen year old lol. I don't mind Felicity getting a LI but my worry comes more from my lack of trust in the writers to handle it properly. The s1 love triangle between L/O/T was terrible and no one really came out of that looking good, IMO. Apart from Tommy I guess. I just don't want the same to happen. This Ray thing needs to be handled correctly.

So this felt like I was watching a brand new episode because I barely remembered anything. 1. I love watching Sara beat up all the baddies, even throwing them out the window. She makes it look effortless. 2. After watching the episodes back to back, the lack of Felicity (and Diggle, although Digg featured more) is really obvious and when she came on screen I was like 'FINALLY.' I know people have argued against this but I'm sorry, she was very clearly pushed aside from 212 to 218 (with the exception of ToD of course). 3. I'm honestly surprised Oliver still has all his teeth after the beating Slade gave him in the flashbacks. 4. When Laurel said she was an alcoholic I was surprised because I thought she was more addicted to pills than alcohol. Did I miss something? It's possible I just switched off when it was happening on screen. 5. "Anyone with boobs can get a frat boy to do anything." "I was a frat boy." "I rest my case." LOL I love her. 6. Roy does not like nicknames. Especially Speedy. I wonder if they will call him Arsenal in s3 though? 7. I don't understand Oliver's logic of telling Roy to stay away from Thea, especially as Roy has been Mirakuru'd for months now. The only thing that stops Roy from going too far is mentioning Thea and yet Oliver tells him to stay away? Huh? Sense much? 8. I know it's a quick storytelling technique but does the news really announce the return of lawyers to the DA office? Weird. 9. Is it just me or does Oliver seem weirdly attached to all his ex girlfriends? It's like he can't seem to let them go. 10. "Oh, I think if the Huntress shows up you should totally kick her ass." *Digg nods in agreement* Love them. Digg, never change. 11. The whole Laurel wanting to save the hostages thing was a good idea in theory but so heavy handed. "What's so special about me?" Why do they insist on handling her like this? They might as well hang a sign around her neck that says "I'm gonna be BC and here are the reasons why." Be more subtle please. 12. How does Laurel not recognize her own sister? I'm all for a small amount of suspension of disbelief in superhero shows but come on. It's frustratingly ridiculous. 13. I also find it hard to believe that a LoA trained assassin such as Sara can be overpowered by Helena. Um. No. 14. I liked the scene between Oliver and Helena at the Police station. I actually liked Helena but her storyline became repetitive so I'm glad it finally reached its conclusion. But it was a genuine moment between them and I actually felt for her there, when she said she thought she would feel different after her father died. Maybe she would feel different if she had actually killed him herself? 15. I can understand Laurel blackmailing the DA to get her job back as a 'I've got nothing else to lose' type mentality but a) KC doesn't play it that way and b) I hate it that she doesn't really earn it. Things like this do not make me like her more. We need to see her earn these things and then we can be "Yay, go Laurel." Instead I'm sitting here like a disapproving relative or something.

I just read this weeks 2.5 and I really enjoyed it even though I don't like that the origin of Roy's suit happens in the comics. I feel like that should happen on the show. I mean, Roy will be in this shiny new suit in 301 and everyone who hasn't read the comics will be like 'Whaaaat?! When did that happen?' Crazy. Loved the reveal of the new Brother Blood. Really didn't expect that.

Wow is anyone else bored of Ray already? Man, I hate love triangles and this show doesn't have the best track record with love triangles. I know Ray is just a foil but I'm dreading it already. If Oliver is the one to break things off though (and I think he will be, it's what he always does) why did the EP's say we'd be sympathetic to both of them?

Seriously, is a flashback for Ray really necessary? I feel like I've said this before but the point still stands. He's only here for 16 episodes. They can't keep a superhero with powers on the show when the show's own hero doesn't have any. It kind of lessens his story in a way. No thank you.

I was starting to wonder if Laurel became BC by receiving some sort of meta-human power (somehow more believable now that the show is linking to The Flash) but I don't know whether to be relieved that they're going to remain a grounded show in s3 or annoyed that they've disproved another one of my theories for how Laurel 'plausibly' becomes BC. Damn.

I never considered that but it makes sense so I'm adding it to my head canon.