La Dee Da

That was frothy and fun - I liked the unusual pairings and the call backs like Murmur and Oliver's finger twitching when stressed. I could've used about a third less of Curtis' antics, but what worked there (the "ewwww" post bee squashing, thinking the Green Arrow was Paul in data processing) worked really well. I did wonder about Brie's plan once she got the chip - who would perform the surgery? The bees? I didn't mind Felicity's explanation about why she wanted a different path - the purpose she has frequently set out for herself is to help people. But what she's missing - or in denial about, as some have said - is that it's also about the people with whom you seek this purpose. The writers have said the theme this year is family- I imagine part of Felicity's story towards the end of the season is the importance of being part of the team in finding fulfillment. After I finished gasping disapprovingly "Andrew Diggle!" I thought, between this reveal and Malcolm's genesis reference, about how much ground we have to cover on the HIVE stuff. What about those pills the ghosts were taking? The gas stuff? The corn fields? The mayoral campaign (conveniently coming to a head next week)? How HIVE's corporate by-laws ensure effective governance when the head honcho is in prison?

In addition to the biographical errors pointed out above, no mention of the small matter of the limo shooting 5 seconds after the engagement.I thought this was a good episode - those vows, man. I'm still reconstituting from the puddle I melted into. As emotional as it was, Oliver and Felicity are miles ahead of where they were last year - there was good vocalizing of feelings and expectations. But still a long ways to go to a resolution. I think the episode did good work to set up how the resolution has to happen - Oliver needs to start fully let people in, as a natural impulse, and Felicity needs to decide if she can bend and accept his progress as something she wants to be a part of. How the plot aligns for this to happen is beyond me, however. I wish they had done more with the court scenes - I love when this type of show brings in "if this happened in real life" elements. Quentin's testimony was a highlight. Being a HIVE lawyer must be fun - but the severance package must be murder. ;) Easy payday for Neil McDonough! I'm guessing the ring will have him magically powered up in time for an end of season showdown. And that Oliver will conveniently remember the magic totem from the flashback in time to use it to defeat him. With all due deference, I'm going to go with one fail - she could've taken care of the over-friendly giraffe. Clearly a meta-human on the lam from Central City!

I feel a bit like I did when the highly telegraphed Ray-Felicity holding pattern materialized in 3.15 - thank God it's started so I can look forward to it being over. While 4.15 wasn't super horrible, it doesn't have any immediate meaning or resonance to me. The characters will put the kid behind them until he's plot-relevant. We knew the break up was inevitable. At best, there is some place setting for the rest of the season - Oliver and Malcolm arguably both lost everyone or thing important to them, and the lead up to the finale will be about how they react differently to that loss and trying to win them back (poor Thea!). I don't mind that the break-up scene was so short - I thought there were good moments of insight into Felicity's mindset at other points. For example, when she raised Oliver's charm as a factor in changing Samantha's mind, it was clear she was worried that would or had happened to her. At some point the switch will flip from brooding to action. I am curious what he'll do to address her very valid concerns and become better partnership material. It will take more than lounging around shirtlessly while journaling this time! On other stuff from the episode, the show's sense of time defies even super show logic - Felicity went from learning about the chip, having spinal surgery, beginning rehab and walking in 48 hours? Also, I'm very curious what's going to happen with DD now that he's presumably de powered in police custody - they have enough info to hold him - assaults, kidnapping, importing exotic artifacts, growing agricultural products in city limits without permits...

Never have I missed Moira more than when Donna was gleefully extolling the virtues of "pin the junk on the hunk" as an engagement party activity! Malcolm was at the HIVE Board of Directors meeting ... I wonder if the season ends with him taking over HIVE and becoming next season's big bad? It would fit with the "him" in the flash forward. I found it odd that Darkh went after Quentin directly instead of attacking his loved ones, say, Laurel, for example. Hmmmm .... This is the problem with them deviating from the "promise" of the crossover. If the show stuck to that approach, the rationale remains Oliver making an impossible choice to get to know his son - still a lie, but one they could try to spin as a flawed but noble at its roots motive (please note I said try - I still think this storyline is duuuuuuumb). By switching it to a lie to protect his child, they're actually making it worse rather than providing a more "palatable" justification. How does keeping William's identity a secret from Felicity and the rest of the team keep him safe? Particularly when William can be found through five minutes of googling (gee, maybe someone could take care of the paper trail for Oliver!) and the least trustworthy person on the planet knows who he is and has a motive to act on that information? As Primal Slayer said, it reads as Oliver not trusting Felicity and TeamArrow, that they are ultimately the danger to William. All they've done is make the case for Felicity kicking him out super, super strong. And it's not comparable to the Donna-Quentin situation so those anvils missed me by a couple of miles. Gahhhhhh...anyway, Felicity's strong clothing run continues and the glitter scene was cute.

I liked the episode but there are some parts of it I have to ignore in order to do so. The main one being that both Thea and Nyssa weren't participants in the events shaping their lives. They're strong characters that deserve to be more than plot points. The lack of Byzantine twists in the LOA storyline made it an improvement over season 3. I thought that Oliver's solution was pretty crafty for the immediate situation and an effective starting point for the spiralling to come, re William and Malcolm's re-breaking bad. I have to admit that I thought Malcolm was in on it, given how lopsided the duel was ... Well, until the de-handification We're on the clock with the wedding being set, I'm afraid (I thought proposal #2 was just impulse, given his googly heart eyes). The "found the best solution in a difficult situation" is clearly the counterpoint to the "people don't change" perspective when the big lie gets revealed - but I don't think Oliver really tried to find a different way back in the cross over, so good luck in advance with that, Mr. Queen. I find myself thinking "you scamp!" When DD is being nefarious but calling for Malcolm's head when he walks into the room.

I found the flashbacks quite enjoyable - it's so rare that the show works in so much comedy! I laughed a lot. Oliver having to hallucinate to manufacture feelings ... Hahahahaaaaaa. My only question is whether the magic pet rock resurfaces at the end of the season as a weapon against Darhk, once Oliver sets aside/ goes through his "darkness " (whatever that means, Shado) and Felicity forgives him. The rest of the episode was solid, but Malcolm as Oliver's evil father figure is so weird - I'm betting he's letting Thea decide her fate in order to lure Nyssa in and get the lotus thingy for himself. Which would be pretty close to last season's plot line. I agree Malcolm is the "him" from the flash forward. The calculator was a great villain - I didn't miss DD too much - next episode will be great as Felicity shifts through dealing with a long-lost father to realizing he's a nemesis. And Madame Darhk in the mayoral race will be fun.

It felt like they packed two hours worth of material into tonight's show. So good! I generally like proposals that come out of mid-air but that was set up so well. They basically proposed to each other. I assume she doesn't know, so that when Oliver inevitably goes after her and the kid in retaliation, his trip to the depths of the dark side is underscored for us. But it would be way more fun if she is on it - "how did the evilling go today, darling? By the way, little Bethany got an A- in folklore today - time for a parent-teacher conference, hmmmm?" I'm surprised they revealed Darhk's identity to the press so quickly - I do like that it positions Oliver as the main adversary rather than the Green arrow. Well, given how quickly Oliver pulled Felicity off the stage and to the limo, that might've been what he had in mind as well ;)

To be fair, guys, we know that when Arrow says it's going to be sunshine and unicorns, eventually the unicorn is going to stab us in the throat! For a cross-over that was billed to be like a two hour movie, it was pretty disjointed, in terms of pacing the action scenes and characterization. I thought Hawkman was a little creepy. Me too - I thought they were going to get back to the mature and thoughtful approach they've taken to date. There is plenty of room for angst in that approach - Oliver being adamant that William needed to kept at arms' length and Felicity speaking to her own experiences. Samantha could have been hesitant, wanting to get to know Oliver and the people in his life before letting him into his son 's life (which plays into his self-loathing and need for redemption). There was even room if they wanted to delay Oliver telling Felicity, as in the absence of the dna test, he could have tried to convince himself that Samantha was telling the truth about him not being the dad and eventually needing to talk about it. Instead, we got something frustratingly lazy.I guess it's still possible this is where the show ends up but I doubt it - Barry said there were time travel consequences. I bet Damian kidnaps the kid or Samantha dies as a result of some Cental City shenanigans and Oliver is forced to tell Felicity and the gang (like his sister!) And then pre-time travel fight part ll. Blllllllaaaaaaahhh! Alternate earths will be the new time travel re-set.Two final words for Malcolm: shop vac.

LOL - I just pictured Thea and Oliver casually walking out the door and then belly crawling back into the office and over to the broom closet or bookcase or wherever they've hidden the elevator.

I thought there were good elements in this one, although I have to admit the only thing I took away from the fight scenes is that Oliver's short sleeves are definitely not combat friendly - nice job by the make up crew on his bruises! I'm curious how things will go with Andy - David Ramsey was great - I like the theory that he was caught as part of an infiltration plan, but his "kill the green one" line suggests he isn't completely gone. The look on the lady's face when she overheard Felicity said "I approve this message" to me. Probably not the campaign strategy Parker had in mind! Whoever had Oliver in the HIVE "who is the Green Arrow" office pool is collecting tonight - no way Damian doesn't know now. I liked the Damian-Oliver confrontations but I would've like them circling each other a bit more - I assume Damian didn't immediately go after Oliver because he thought he was still a playboy lightweight.On Thea, both she and Damian have LP experience (I think Ra's said last season that Damian stole some of the water when he defected, and presumably he's been using it). Malcolm said that those receiving the LP spa treatment absorbed the pain/angst of previous recipients - maybe LPers are able to transfer that suffering to each other? The fact that Thea overcame Damian freaked out both him and Malcolm - maybe there will be some weird League prophecy coming up? She's "the chosen one" or something?

I thought the show did a nice (but more subtle) job bringing Oliver's relationship issues to the surface. His conversation with Digg was great - showing his insecurities about whether he is good enough for Felicity, that he compares poorly with Ray, whether the summer was just an unsustainable fantasy. While he chose some potentially sub-optimal relationship strategies (I think you check in with the girlfriend on a mom-in-law visit when the relationship is that complicated), his heart was in the right place. And Felicity acknowledges that at the end when she thanks him for how he responded to her freak outs - I think that I like that it was a "thank you" rather than a clear "l'm sorry" as she's validating what he brings to their partnership. And that he should feel secure.I hope in next week's show there is a moment to send Sara on her way - the resurrection storyline has a definite feeling of "next!" To it at this point. I would love to see some of the Donna-Oliver texts!

It's great to have Sara back and all but I'm looking forward to the spin off heavy lifting to be over. I guess things were moved along this episode - I thought Team Arrow would find out about Quentin's deal with Darkh much later in the season. The "cop makes the wrong choices in trying to do good and ends up compromised" stuff felt a bit heavy handed, though. I'm curious how they'll do with the campaigning - Oliver is presumably running unopposed right now, right? My slogan would be "The only choice - literally and figuratively". I hope the interning looks good on cvs or on college applications, given how deadly the mayoral business is! New lair looks nice and has a nice retro dance floor to boot! I'm sad they went with a relatively logical explanation of Cisco pitching in and not say, Oliver bluffing about building a man cave to a bunch of contractors.

I liked the little things in this one - the guard pausing over Diggle (Andy? Lyla under cover? Lance under cover?), the hints at the HIVE power structure and nefarious "genesis" end game, Curtis' inventions, Double Dare first throwing a Queen at the Green Arrow... Making no sense is Malcolm's default setting, I guess. Maybe he thought unleashing Sara would create a distraction from any Star City-based scheming he has planned? At any rate, I don't buy the "all for you, darling daughter" stuff. But his saying that Thea's bloodlust won't be sated until she ends the person who caused her harm was very interesting - ultimately that wasn't Ra's but Malcolm ..... Hmmmm.....too many flowers on that grave site for it to be him, though.

I'm not going to focus on that last scene - they are going to have soooo many red herrings it will be more scarlet neon herrings holding signs saying "ask me about my red herringness!" all season long on three shows! No thank you! Also, it took away from that great reveal about Lance - I'm very curious about his motivations and how/if they keep him on the good side. I thought it was a really good opening to the season - continuity for Diggle and Thea, solid theme laying work. I'm surprised they went so far with Damian, both in terms of his announcing his eeeeevil intentions and his abilities. I also liked the little details, like the reference to Walter and Oliver going over his proposal in his head while Felicity answered the door.

She was too good and too kind. Given the importance Melisandre places on royal blood, I've been worried since Davos set Gendry free - but why did it have to be burning at the stake instead of some gradual and undeadly blood letting? And if ruling Westeros is Stannis' destiny, shouldn't he be able to seize it without using magic - nice try at convncing yourself it was the right thing to do, buddy. At every point that I found myself enjoying Dany's breakthrough with Drogan, I felt so guilty. I suspect a man has engineered a test to see if a girl is still Arya Stark. Not looking forward to her going undercover at the brothel next week. It seemed too agreeable, given we've been led to believe Dorne has a strong independence streak. Maybe he thought denying Jamie's request would lead to a costly war, and that it's better to keep your frenemies close so you can exert your influence on them? Ellaria is just lying in wait, though - no way she's given up on vengeance.

I liked the finale - I would have liked a bit of agonizing about working with Wells and letting a supervillain get back to the future. I am curious about ending it with a cliffhanger. I feel preeeety confident Barry will survive, but maybe he's missing during the hiatus (I assume Arrow and Flash are both skipping ahead, so they'll need to align)? Given all the headaches that time travel and alternate timelines will cause, maybe Cisco's superpower will be tracking and expositing on continuity ("No! You were President two realities ago! Get it together, Barry!")? I wondered about this. Future Barry has the benefit of knowing all the good he has done or will do as the Flash, and that it's worth preserving, even at the cost of not saving his mother. This would reflect what Henry was telling present Barry, I think, and prompt him to intervene with present Barry. I have theories about Eddie! First, I thought that the reference to his failed date with the dancer was going to set up a child he didn't know about and that after Eddie shot himself, Wells would say it was a noble sacrifice but that his great whatever ancestor was already born. Mwahahaha, you can't get rid of me, Flash, and so on. Then, when Eddie was pulled into the wormhole, I thought he was transported to the future, where someone noticed the handsome corpse and decided to either revive him or clone him, keeping the Eobard timeline possibility alive. Granted, Eobard/Wells dematerializing in the present kind of puts a damper on both theories... I hope so, otherwise he"ll be zipping into the past every two seconds if something doesn't go as planned on a mission, or he wants to test each strategy to see which is viable or even because he's late for the drycleaners. They need a counterweight so that time travelling isn't the logical solution to every challenge he faces.

It would certainly be a burn everything down to the ground with dragon- and wildfire gambit, which doesn`t seem to be Oleanna`s style. It would gain her nothing - even if Margery was pregnant, her child wouldn't be in a position to ascend. I guess she's better off making good on her original threat of pulling Tyrell support and supplies out of King's Landing, than even threatening to tell the Sparrows. As others have noted, I think Cersei is more at risk from a Lancel confessional on this front anyway. I'm curious how the disease spreads - is he contagious now or when he becomes a full-on stone man/zombie?

I thought this was a solid and generally coherent finale, with some "hell, yeah!" moments as mentioned. There was some good mirroring - Oliver on his knees, on the verge of being defeated just like in The Climb but choosing to fight to live this time. Felicity using the "you've become someone else, something else line" to encourage Oliver. The dream references were also a nice touch - he was totally dreaming of her in the beginning, and in terms of Ra's' dream classification theory, he was dreaming the truth - awwwwwww. It's also a great set up for season four - the flashbacks are going to be so, so dark next year so hopefully that means a bit more lightness in the present day. Having Felicity (and maybe Oliver. given he's dating the new owner of his family company) under suspicion of offing Ray and assuming control of the company would be a great way to bring them back to Starling. That, or she and Oliver see a news report toward the end of the summer that "Palmer Technologies owner Felicity Smoak" is missing and they realize they need to go back. She may have been kneeling physically but her face said she'd be kneeling on his pulverized bones next season. I was expecting Malcolm to offer to revive Sara in the Lazarus Pit at the end to gain Nyssa's loyalty. Old Ra's was a disappointing villain, but the new Ra's will be a lot of fun, both in terms of internal LOA fighting, getting involved in the HIVE business, putting Starling in danger (in May). I wonder at what point Malcolm set his eyes on becoming Ra's - at the beginning of the season, when he arranged for Sara to die, or once Oliver became Ra's in training?

It's apparently so hot that the web site crashes everytime I try to go into the Spoilers Only thread! Sigh...I guess I can wait until next week to see if they all die or not. :) I think this is along the right approach - they are at the start of their relationship, despite the build-up over the last three seasons. They admit that many things were done wrong or went poorly and that they want to re-start on the right foot. It could also slow down the relationship, enough that most of their development is on screen and not during the hiatus. I think the marriage will only exist going forward for quipping purposes - Nyssa will announce her presence with a sarcastic "husband" and Oliver will roll his eyes. Or Felicity will see Nyssa on her monitors and say "your wife is here. Oh my God, does that make me your mistress? I am totally your mistress!" and Oliver will roll his eyes. I think they'll have enough "family issues" angst to draw on (Felicity's dad, the Dig-Oliver detante, Laurel-Quentin).

As an ultimate frisbee player, I must applaud Felicity's tablet technique - she had excellent spin to maximize distance and accuracy. I think you're right! After a nice, refreshing nap, Malcolm will tell them this is totally part of their plan, Tatsu will break them out and the team race back to Starling to stop whatever Ra's is planning next, either for destroying Starling or planning a romantic honeymoon. But is it sufficiently twisty for this show, though? Maybe the team is actually in the know - one of those they know what Malcolm knows but Malcolm doesn't know that they know type of deals. Oliver shouldn't trust Malcolm - there's still time to quadruple-cross or whatever level he's up to - and it sets up an opportunity to sass him about their acting abilities. And maybe make some sense about their mindsets about what Oliver is up to. Whatever the case, it undermines Ra's as a diabolical mastermind - he seems awfully easy to deceive. The Thea-Roy storyline was done nicely, although she seems pretty back to normal. Although maybe there are some mixed messages in telling her that a life on the run from the police isn't a life and then bequeathing her his vigilante suit.

Poor Eddie - I didn`t feel a lot of urgency in searching for him and Wells was mean girling him with his spoilers. It would be nice to have Eddie reflect on the impact of what he now knows on his life (e.g., whether to forgo fatherhood). I thought they did a nice job with Iris` reactions - hopefully there will be a little friction going forward, in terms of her involvement with the team and the extent to which she was kept in the dark, despite her forgiveness. This counter argument by Barry made me cringe - I was worried for a moment he has going to dig a bigger hole by telling her they kissed before he reversed time. Also, Iris must have been loitering in the super secure and unmonitored labs a couple of times, as she jumped in at the right moment in conversations to drop a truth bomb. So, Wells has a backup particle accelerator/time machine, yes?

I hope that dude Oliver killed at the beginning wasn't some poor backpacker who got lost in the mountains. I think this is my ultimate reaction to this episode as well. There are some very good scenes (that baby! too much!) and good progression based on (non-NP based) logical character reactions. Kudos to the transitional shots, which were extra creative tonight, particularly the transition from the not-happily engaged couple to the two corpses in Hong Kong. But the episode was built on the most obvious plot points possible (the arranged marriage, the brainwashing, the "turning" against the team) and a story plan that starts with a twist and then tries to work its way backward. The brainwashing doesn't make sense except to create turmoil. To the extent that he is under the influence, it must wear off - Thea isn't under the effect of the drugs now, and the guy destined to be in charge can't be drugged forever (although how you would stay on when you come to your senses is beyond me). I don't mind that Ra's lied to Oliver about how the LOA could be remade into whatever benign organization he wanted and withheld the LOA orientation practices, but I mind that I don't get his end game in doing all these reversals. I don't like evil for the sake of being evil. Is he trying to build the best LOA possible in order to fight this Damian guy? He's watched too many soap operas? Well, not all engaged couples make it to the altar, so maybe (I haven't seen a preview, so let me live in this slightly more innocent world)? They also didn't position it as the big twist, given the checklist approach to the last five minutes (Starling Citythreatened! Roy alive! The kid whose name I can never fully remember!). If the show wants Thea to be unaware Roy is alive until the end of this episode because that works in the structure of the season, okay. But there have to be more plausible reasons than "it wasn't the right time to tell you", like maybe they told her but she was too foggy to remember properly.

Agreed - I wonder if this was because they couldn't truly sequester them in Namibia without confining them to their tents, or if they've gone back to ESMs in order to encourage more blind dating team interaction or maybe inter-team hook ups (e.g., season 2).

Great episode to set up the final bunch. Cisco's pop culture reference game was on point. I've liked how they've positioned Wells as the big bad - the fact that we knew who he was long before the team, the limited interactions with the team as the Reverse Flash, that he didn't reveal Barry's secret to Iris... I almost want Wells to win in the finale. I wouldn't be suprised if Barry, in order to beat the Reverse Flash, does something that changes that timeline - the newspaper fluctuated back and forth in at least one episode, right? Hopefully the changes are not to the extent that Iris no longer knows he's the Flash, but maybe enough to delay their relationship for some season two angst? Gideon is an Apple watch, sent from the fuuuuuuuuture....I do wonder if Gideon was programmed to go along with Barry's request and maybe even to say Barry is the inventor, so that the team doesn't suspect the computer is on Wells' side and that he is in the know. Gideon did have a sly smile when she spoke to Wells.

She gets credit for really going for it, at least. But should screaming like that be necessary, given Cisco amplified the collar thingy? The show could just have her whisper something quippy with sound effects in the background and then have the bad guys rolling around in pain or flying into a wall or something. That might help with the translating to screen, and make the device seem more powerful. I agree - at this point, the team is about readiness to act. And then when it becomes clear something unexpected has happened, or the length to which Oliver is "gone", the team swings into gear and borrows the jet again.