silversauce

Great episode. Faith restored. Even though it's not the typical formula, I understand that they are trying to broaden the Arrow team, and I think they're doing a pretty good job of that, albeit quickly. The whole back-sassing of Oliver was awkward as hell, and I felt it was a little overboard. Sure Oliver needed to understand that they had found a way to go on without him, and that some things had changed, but that doesn't mean that now that he's back they can just be insubordinate whenever they feel like it, especially when Laurel is lying on the table. Ollie handled it pretty well, though. I like how he just kind of backed off instead of blowing up like he might of earlier on in his character arc. And then when he came back and acknowledged Laurel. That was sweet. Feeling really annoyed with the writers (?) when it comes to Felicity's behavior with Oliver this episode. I understand that she's angry and a strong character, but usually she is also reasonable. Yet right now she's passive-aggressively undermining Oliver at every turn instead of just talking to him honestly. Can't wait to get past all this drama. Well, at least the scene with Laurel was really touching, though. I gotta say, even though I miss the core Fearsome Threesome, I think this expansion could turn out...good. Surprise, surprise. Everything with Laurel and Sara was great. And then the scene with Lance was so heart wrenching. 'Nuff said. And I love how Oliver told Thea and she was just like "Thank god you're not the flake I thought you were." Painless, like quickly ripping off a band-aid. Diggle was great too. Diggle: keeping Arrow episodes grounded since S1. Thank you. Plus I love the bromance developing between Maseo and Oliver in the flashbacks. Adorable. While last week was a huge disappointment, this week was a pretty good bounce back episode. Well everything with Laurel/Felicity was great except for the part where Felicity insinuated that Sara had no light inside of her. That kind of made me sad. It also made me wonder if she would say the same thing about Oliver. brb crying

Also all the grandstanding and side taking with Oliver and Felicity is really annoying. First people hate on Felicity, then some Felicity lovers feel the need to be defensive and hate on Oliver to shift blame. Maybe it's both of their faults. Maybe Felicity should have kept on walking and shouldn't have said a word until she cooled off and maybe Oliver shouldn't have followed. Maybe Oliver is making a controversial choice prematurely out of desperation. And maybe Felicity spoke too passionately and took things too personally. Maybe they should have both focused on the fact that they were together again and worried about biting each other's heads off at a more appropriate time. Maybe instead of killing Sara, they should have killed Merlyn. God.

I can't believe the thing coming between Oliver and Felicity is Malcom fucking Merlyn. God. Forced with a capital F. This episode was meh, confusing, and overall the idea of Malcolm as a good guy when he just recently destroyed half of the glades and killed hundreds of people is sickening. I was rolling over in my grave (and I'm not even dead yet) when Roy was spouting that 'he loves this city he just went about showing it in the wrong way.' Oh please. He saves Thea so now he gets a 'I didn't kill hundreds out of rage and vengeance' card. Not to mention he killed Sara. It's way too soon; if he was going to be redeemed it should be after going through fire and brimstone, not just because he gets a glowing endorsement from Thea. Felicity's right, he doesn't deserve forgiveness. Unfortunately, not deserving forgiveness does not equate to not working with him. Unfortunately. Overall I don't like the direction this season is taking... actually I'm starting to think shipping Ollie off to fight Ra's was a bad idea too. They should have focused more on Sara's death instead of having the main character 'die' a few episodes later. It kind of undermined her importance. And don't even get me started on the fact that Laurel was conveniently gone when Oliver returned to the cave... The best part of this episode was when Oliver showed up in his Arrow costume. So nice to see him rocking it again. And Oliver/Tatsu was great. Other than that, nothing feels urgent in the show right now and it seems like the writers are just floundering to manufacture any kind of drama--the fact that it is nonsensical notwithstanding.

So by the end of 'The Uprising' I'm left feeling like I don't care what happens with Olicity. Which in turn makes me angry because Olicity was everything in season 1/2 and the flash crossover episodes. Everything in season 3 just feels so forced and overblown - manufacturing drama, will they won't they, angst angst angst when it makes no sense, ruining the awkward yet affectionate dynamic between the two, destroying Felicity as the light and the supporter and the one who stands by the Arrow because she TRUSTS HIM and BELIEVES IN HIM (even if he does make some mistakes). The magic has been utterly ruined, at least for now. Also I don't like the idea of Malcom being redeemed. He was and is horrible and should have died in Season 1.

Yeah, it was clearly done for dramatic impact. That's all. If anything could take away my enjoyment of this episode, it would be the people who're continually harping on the most inane things to justify bashing a character. Well for one, Laurel didn't really get much of a chance to open up and react.... all her closest friends are dead. And it's possible she is in her own state of denial, because she hasn't fully decided to believe Oliver is gone forever (Spoiler: He isn't). But even if he's just gone away for a long while, it's still painful, and if I had to guess I'd think she's probably tired of indulging that pain. Tired of crying. Tired of mourning. She wants to try something else for a change. She saw Sara's mask and she thought, "I'm going to try fighting." I really don't understand peoples' issue with this 'reasoning'. Sure it's not really rational, it's actually irrational (I mean quick do the math: Felicity + Diggle + Roy = saving the lives of countless Starling city citizens), but that's a side effect of being human. It's very clear that when a person is being protective of someone they care about, on some level, it is out of selfishness. This is nothing new. I agree it is unfortunate that it often comes in the form of the Male hero keeping the Female love interest out of harm's way, but when you think about it from the perspective of the character and empathize with them, you realize that you would likely be selfish in that situation too. I guess what I'm saying is that the 'protective crap' need not exclusively be thought of as the man towards his woman, but rather the human towards their cherished person [people], at least for me. Sucks that it is so often framed as only the former, but what Felicity did was understandable, especially on the heels of losing two very important people she cared about.

This was a great episode!! It was kind of The Diggle Show, and I loved every second: First Diggle said what everyone else in the fandom was thinking about Felicity being in denial (poor girl), then he went out into the field with Roy like a BAMF and got into an awesome fist fight with Vinnie Jones, then he pulled out a second gun in response to Meryln's "guns annoy me" boast just to fuck with Merlyn and practically made us all die laughing, and finally he delivered that tearjerker line about being the bodyguard who failed to protect and made us all struggle not to collapse into a puddle of feels. Amazing job by Ramsey. Roy finally seeing some action was really nice and his acrobatics in that pipe scene were great... I think he makes a great addition to Core Team Arrow. Speaking of, with Laurel finally suiting up as Black Canary she'll probably be joining the family soon... I actually found her pretty enjoyable this episode - the way she comforted Felicity with such a personal declaration about Oliver having previously defied death before was a nice moment. And her spotting the mask in the cave was a nice nod to Sara. The only thing I was 'meh' about was seeing her in the suit so soon. I'm not sure she's gonna rock it yet. Also, maybe I'm the only one who felt this, but I was touched by what Oliver did for Maseo. Even under the pressure of a mission he was still thinking about Maseo's pain and wanted to do something to help. And Felicity's present-day comment to Diggle about how it was always Oliver who made it out on the other side, making her believe that saving the city with him was possible... It made me think about what Barry said to Oliver, about how he is the one who can inspire people, not the Arrow, but Oliver Queen. Ugh so heroic. I liked this side of Ray that we got to see this episode too, the more serious side. He's going to need that resolve if he wants to be a hero. And that Emily Bett Rickards.... I was hanging on Felicity's every word this episode. The way she expressed her grief was... fascinating. I'm guessing she'll be back in the field next week, but for now, it was interesting seeing how torn up she was manifesting in all of her decisions, rather than her actually just saying what she was feeling. Holy crap, she might be more similar to Oliver than I initially realized... I honestly enjoyed this episode way more than I ever expected to so I really have nothing negative to say. Shocker.

I didn't think of Caitlin as exactly a damsel in this episode either. Her being kidnapped made sense as she was out in the open after speaking with Jason. Her spat with Heat-wave was the most interesting she's been, for me. But she's still missing something... I may or may not go watch the pilot of Prison Break now. x) Iris and Caitlin definitely need help in the characterization department. I'm still waiting on Cait to become Killer Frost...! I wouldn't mind if she went evil, at least temporarily.

It really is a nice thing to see. And what's more, I hadn't even noticed there were so many people of color until you mentioned it, which means it feels natural. Is it me or does The Originals just have one of the better casts on all of the CW? The guy who plays Finn is certainly compelling (loved when he went beserk on Esther), and the new girl playing Rebekah was also very enjoyable. (I need to learn their names so I can praise them properly, haha.) The main cast is rock solid too. That scene of Cami and Elijah playing board games and drinking... so cute. I know a lot of people dislike Pipes' character, but I get a kick out of her spunk. If Haley doesn't want him, I'll take him. Did Klaus know that his 'merciful lies' speech would backfire? Maybe he was counting on it? Also excited for Freya, and with her entrance that means Dahlia is not far behind...?!

Joe and Barry really are the best things this show has to offer. They play off of each other so well. The Captain Cold/Heat-wave team was also good, although I can't help but wonder why Barry didn't just run up to them and steal their weapons in the blink of an eye instead of trying to make their waves cross. Jason Rush seems promising... I like him. Barry if you can see the future, then you should know that you and Iris are going to be more than friends. [ Eventually ;) ] So sad how he's been thoroughly friend-zoned for now, though. I mean, a fist bump, really? I don't like how Iris is acting so awkward but still trying to pretend nothing has changed. I really want to know more about what she's thinking and feeling, but she just keeps giving her vapid smiles... come on writers, give her some more depth.

All I can say is that I disliked Felicity for most of this episode, and as someone who started watching the show [marathoned the show in the last 2 weeks and now I'm caught up] largely because of her, that fact is entirely distressing. This was without a doubt one of the weaker episodes in the first half of the season. Felicity got out of the foundry only to fall into Palmer's waiting arms. Instead of giving her increased agency, the writers are shoving her to be with another guy while simultaneously distancing her from the core group action. She's now saying things like "I want more in life than living in this cave" when last season (or season one, I forget) she was saying "You showed me I could do more, be more than just some 9-5 IT girl." The focus is no longer about how being on Team Arrow made Felicity a hero, but now seemingly revolves around her needing to be with somebody, and if not Oliver then she needs to immediately 'move on'. The irony is, with the introduction of Felicity's 'own story', her character has become more dependent, not less. Felicity is now inextricably tied up in the romantic cliches, (alongside Oliver). Now, most of these issues stem from the decidedly romantic turn Olicity has taken recently, but so far it's not panning out very well for either Oliver or Felicity. Hopefully this whole front half of the season is just growing pains.

This episode was frustrating. Too much separation and little to no Kennish-Vazquez family interaction, which is basically what makes the show. No Toby in sight, instead we get Tank. Still wishing Angelo Jr. somehow would transition from the alternate reality to the real world.. he could definitely add some drama to a so far scatterbrained season. Josh so far is the only thing keeping me interested. Speaking of, Daphne was pretty much a douche to him. But when he came to apologize of course she just deigned to "rehire" him instead of apologizing for her inappropriate outburst and treating him like dirt for trying to help. SHE DOESN'T DESERVE HIM. Josh, quick. Get out while you still can. Get to Bay (maybe? I do like Bemmett.) Speaking of Bay, her selflessness is bordering on door-mat at this point. She and Daphne really need a dose of what the other is taking. Characterization-wise, Bay could use a *little* more bite, and Daphne desperately needs some softening.