Angel12d

I can see that happening because Laurel always does the opposite of what people tell her. Oliver tells her to stay away from the Glades, Laurel goes to the Glades. Oliver tells her to stay safe (and it started with the three of us, it's time we get back to that) and Laurel follows him anyway and gets trapped in the process. She never does what she's told. So I can imagine if Sara tells her not to get involved in things because she can't fight, Laurel will find a way to prove otherwise because that's just what she does.

That comic excerpt is awesome and makes me even more excited for the season 2.5 comics! If Oliver filled Felicity's apartment with flowers in s1 imagine the things he might do now!

If Quentin is in a scene with Laurel and Nyssa, maybe Sara has gone missing? It would explain her absence from the scene and might also hint at her going down a darker path. Maybe Nyssa contacts Laurel and Quentin because she can't find Sara or vice versa.

Yeah, those are odd comparisons. They all have different screen presence too. I don't see the connection. However, those comparisons are interesting in the context of the Felicity - Oliver - Ray love triangle they are setting up. There's one movie which features both Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart which was Wife vs Secretary. I'm assuming Felicity takes on the 'secretary' role there and in the movie, she ends up with Jimmy Stewart (Ray). As I've always seen Ray as a foil and nothing more, I'm guessing the EP's are only using those comparisons in terms of banter and Felicity being caught between two men. I hope so anyway. I really don't want anything major to happen with Felicity and Ray.

Yeah I looked up Matt Ward on IMDB and it says there he's in the 'Sara' episode. I don't know how accurate that is because I don't venture there very often. I'm really interested to see how all these VoTW's kind of connect and become part of a greater story. I know they said there would be a mystery but haven't they pretty much given away that the real Big Bad is Ra's al Ghul?

That is such a great picture and that baby is so cute!

Am I the only one pleased that they're not doing the Oliver's child storyline? I really did not want that at all. Adding in child actors to a show like Arrow would be awkward. I'm ok for it happening in a later season I suppose but s3 has too much going on as it is. I'm SO excited for Felicity's episode. Mama Smoak is coming to town!

That's interesting about Felicity's parents! I assumed that Mama Smoak was just in the flashbacks but that really implies otherwise. I'm excited about this. Does this mean we'll meet her dad too? I haven't heard of anyone being cast though.

I still think Sara will die this season. I don't see how Laurel can become BC otherwise. As for the others, I have a feeling Sin might die if something terrible happens that brings Roy and Sara closer. There's no one else that fits that descriptive.

Oooh shots fired lol!

Thanks so much! I thought I was going crazy. This is awesome though.

I love that little scene too. His whole demeanor changes around Felicity. He softens, even his voice, when talking only to her. The way they support each other and talk things through and have this implicit understanding of each other makes them easy to root for. I hope they don't lose this element in s3 amid all the angst of them loving each other but not being together.

Ok can someone explain this to me because I'm confused. Are there going to be 2 different Arrow comics with two different Felicity's? Because I thought there was going to be a comic which featured as a season 2.5 that explained what happened between s2 and s3 but now there's a picture of Felicity in a costume on the front of the comic and it's not really lining up with what I envisioned happened in those missing 5-6 months. So what's happening? I should point out that I don't know anything about comics at all so I'm new to all this. Thanks in advance!

If that is Felicity why is she wearing a costume?! OMG I need to know now please! I'm reserving judgment until we know for sure who it is but it's not what I wanted for her. I don't need Felicity to have her own costume. She's awesome enough as she is!

I really loved Tommy too and I agree he had so much potential. I also really liked Laurel and Tommy together - I thought they had pretty good chemistry and Laurel (and KC) kind of came alive around him, which was a nice contrast to how she was with Oliver. That's why I HATED the love triangle, especially because they were just so horrible to Tommy in the process and for what? It was never going to last with Oliver continually lying to her anyway. Ugh.

I don't like how Laurel is automatically DA now. She should earn that and personally I don't think she did. All these little things are not endearing her to me and I'd like to actually like her this season. I'm really excited about episode 3 and maybe some developments on H.I.V.E and finding out why Digg's brother was a target. I'm guessing Team Arrow take another trip!

The first scene you describe when Felicity asks if she can trust Oliver was when I thought 'OH NO, I'm liking these two.' There was something quite atmospheric about that whole scene, maybe it was the rain and the lighting and the way they were with each other but I saw something in Oliver there that I liked and I hadn't really felt that way up until that point. I wouldn't say I shipped them full-on from that moment because I honestly assumed that the show would continue on the toxic path towards L/O as endgame, but Olicity were never far from my mind. Every moment between them just made me love them more. I think I officially started shipping them in 201 when Oliver hurriedly swept Felicity's hair away from her face after they had just crashed through the window and it was the way he exhaled in relief that she was ok that really got to me. My shipping grew when he gave Felicity the 'because of the life I lead' speech (and maybe slightly before that when Oliver seemed upset that she found out he had slept with Isabel) in 206 and then I was 100% done for when he killed the Count in 207. I was blown away by the implications of that scene alone. So powerful, even more so now when you realize that it was his one and only kill of the whole season. So yeah. It was a combination of all scenes really but I liked them pretty much from the start. Their growing love story has been such a treat. I'm so excited to see them develop further, hopefully!

I don't like the baby storylines either. I didn't want Digg to have a baby and I certainly don't want Oliver's storyline dragged down by finding out he's got a six year old somewhere. I just think it's unnecessary right now. Maybe in s4 or s5 but not now. I'm crossing my fingers that Digg's baby isn't something that will change how Digg behaves. I feel like maybe Digg will just continue to be the same and he won't have any issues with it and it's going to be like a mirror to Oliver who feels like he can't have a love life or a family because of the life he leads. I can see some comparisons happening. How Digg handles fatherhood and a family will probably help Oliver in seeing he can eventually have the same. I just wish they weren't doing it this season.

Wait. This is the first I've heard about flashbacks for Ray. What for?! He might be in 16 episodes (I'd guess a few episodes he only features for a few minutes at a time) but he's not a season regular so why is he being given flashbacks? Nope. Not interested.

Agreed. I've found the way they're handling Olicity really refreshing because they managed to surprise me. I've been watching TV for so long now that the 'will-they-won't-they' has become pretty standard and dull to watch at times but the way Olicity has slowly developed has been a real treat. I was pretty shocked when I found out they were going *there* with them at the start of s3 because usually it's dragged out for much longer, so I was impressed that they've managed to subvert my expectations. I love that we're not taking four plus seasons to reach an 'I love you' or a date. It's gonna be interesting to see how their relationship goes from strength to strength while dealing with outside issues. I can't wait.

I honestly don't see how Olicity will take over the show. People were saying that last season and their moments were barely a few minutes per episode, if that at times. There were a few mid season episodes where Felicity (and Digg) barely featured much at all. Olicity is just ONE part of the show. Oliver is going to have lots to deal with this season - moments with Thea and Merlyn, problems with Digg, Ray, his mentor status with Roy and his business partnership with Laurel. There's also Sara to consider. Olicity will feature but it doesn't mean it takes precedence. Just because we've had more spoilers for their date doesn't mean that's all that's happening. I'm kind of sick of reading that. Fair enough if you don't like them but lets be realistic here. As for the discussion on flashbacks, I used to really enjoy them but I found a lot of them during s2 were pretty much filler. I think they could have been condensed a lot. I'm hoping the Hong Kong flashbacks with a new setting will provide a breath of life into that storytelling method.

MTE! That's the time I see things starting properly. I'm looking forward to seeing how Oliver deals with having a foil that isn't evil. His go-to way of dealing with things is to be all grrr Arrow-y but he won't be able to do that with Ray, unless something Ray does puts Felicity in danger and then all bets are off lol!

Yeah that scene adds nothing for me. I still would have thought she was an idiot even with an explanation.

Oh it's 16 episodes. Ok. But what we need to remember is that Ray's character isn't just there as a potential LI for Felicity. He's there as a professional foil for Oliver too. So I don't see all of his episodes being tied up in a love story that never really goes anywhere. He's gonna be with Oliver a few times too. I really don't think anyone has anything to worry about. I've said it before, Ray Palmer is a foil and nothing more. Also, the more I read about Laurel the more concerned I am. Why does her identity have to be tied to Sara? It's ridiculous!

I can understand that but if they went with Tommy's death being Laurel's motivation to become BC, she didn't need to suddenly become BC by the end of S2. We could have seen her struggling with her issues and guilt and deciding to put her anger to good use rather than sink into another bottle of wine and/or pills. She could have slowly started training. Maybe she could have failed a few times and given up? They easily could have dragged out the build to BC without making Sara the Canary. Also, most people I've seen think Sara is BC. I've only seen one person say she's only called Canary. That pretty much shows you that whether or not the story was Laurel's in the comics, most people don't see it that way on this show. At least that's my impression with who I've talked to and seen in online discussion.