Carrie Ann

In the metro area where I live, the average cost for full-time daycare in a center (versus in-home) ranges from $250-325 per week, which is $13k-$17k/year, depending on age (preschool/toddler/infant). So if, like me, you have one preschooler and one infant, you'd pay $31k per year out of pocket. It is INSANE. You have to ask yourself if you're willing to do your job full-time for what is remaining of your take-home pay after those costs. Which is why I freelance now, and my childcare (when I have to work outside of evenings/weekends) is a hodge-podge of preschool and very awesome grandparents.

I assumed the emojis meant Arrow Baby, basically. People generally use that bullseye or the bow emoji as shorthand for Arrow.

I'm not saying that I know who Marc mutes, despite his own claims. That paragraph was mostly a joke that actually feels a little true to me--if he does mute the people who make him most upset, then the people who are left might have a better chance of being heard. But I don't care if he mutes every person who ever criticizes him or the show or who he just finds annoying, because I don't particularly care if the reasonable people do get through to him on Twitter.

This might be your preference for how Marc (or anyone) should use Twitter. But that doesn't mean it's what would be productive or enjoyable, or even simply tolerable, for him. I might agree that Twitter is best used as a dialogue--that's just true of any social media. But I don't agree that there's some sort of implied contract to engage on any level with anyone who tweets at you, even just to read their tweets, even if you have engaged with them before or engaged with others like them. I don't think anyone should be tweeting at him with any sort of expectation that they've now entered into some sort of mutual communication. And if you DO expect some level of discourse, then theoretically you would be civil in that discourse. But some people aren't, so those people are either just venting their own spleens in his mentions or looking for a fight or looking to hurt his feelings or make him feel bad for his behavior or whatever. I don't think he should have to see it from the comic book stans telling him he's a liberal cuck who let Olicity ruin the show, and I don't think he should have to see it from Olicity fans telling him they hate him and want him to be fired. He doesn't need to entertain any of those things if it ruins his experience and makes it unpleasant, unlikely, or even impossible for him to cut through the noise to engage with people/things he'd rather give his time to. (For the record, I'm not here White Knighting for Marc--I can hardly stand him, and he's a grownup who doesn't need my defense. This is just how I feel about anyone on social media. I don't think Emily or Katie should have to read tweets in their mentions from people calling them names and wishing for their death or even just saying they don't like their characters, for example.) I also don't see muting as passive-aggressive. As you say, the people might have no idea that he's muted them, so how could they have any feelings about it when no action has been taken from their perspective? He simply no longer reads their tweets at him, which they have no reason or right to assume he will do or ever has done anyway. As far as biased information, again, ultimately anything beyond a fringe opinion will bubble up to him one way or another. There's no reason to believe he mutes one type of fan over another, and I doubt he's muting everyone who ever tweets something critical at him given how often he references "Twitter" or "the internet" giving him crap for something. In fact, I think there could be a benefit to muting the worst, loudest, most prolific offenders. If what's left in his mentions are people who are tolerable enough that they haven't stood out to be blocked/muted, then when something happens in an episode (for example), and his mentions are suddenly full of people saying "what the?," that might make more impact than when those people are drowned out by the general noise of the people who tweet hate at him 20 times in a row on a regular basis. Again, I don't want him writing the show in the direction of "Twitter," but if he realizes that they kinda skimmed over something and people didn't get it, then maybe he won't make a similar mistake in the future. It's possible! Keep hope alive!

I would personally prefer if Marc never directly responded to fans on Twitter or Tumblr, aside from positive responses. Explaining show choices or things that weren't clear on SM is a bad idea, as he admits. I think it's a crutch for him now to clear up mistakes the show made. The only instance I can think of where the show actually "fixed" something onscreen after they got major blowback is Otherwise, Marc just makes his pronouncements on Twitter/Tumblr and we all have to accept them as canon explanations even if they're never addressed on the show. It's lazy. But anyway, I have a lot of things that I'd prefer MG not do, but I wouldn't prescribe for any public figure the "right" way to use Twitter or other social media (there are plenty of wrong things to do, obviously), except whatever makes it not horrible for them. Because it's not mandatory that they use it at all, so whatever they do with it should be to maximize their own experience, and secondarily to maximize benefit to their projects if they care to use it that way, IMO. So no matter what, I don't think they should have to endure abuse or constant negativity, and muting is a great option. (Personally, I would just go ahead and block, but that's because I don't care whether people know. In fact, I'd prefer those people know that I'll never see their tweets again, even if they also take some satisfaction from the initial blocking.) But also, I don't think he should write the show in the direction of his Twitter mentions. So missing things that some segment of fans urge him to do because he's muted them or because he's not reading mentions for a few months? That's really okay. If those things are more widespread opinions, he'll hear them from other sources. Critics probably, but also from his own bosses and colleagues who feel inclined that way, and those are the people whose opinions would be more likely to influence what ends up on screen anyway.

Never mind! ?

I don't think it's a grey area--I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to use spoiler tags in threads that are marked with the spoiler badge.

Marc or Stephen mentioned that 522 was unlike any other penultimate episode they've done and I was wondering about that. It could just be because it ends happily, sort of, with the team thinking they've defeated Prometheus. But I wondered whether they maybe actually do defeat him in that episode? And then the finale is a different kind of battle, on Lian Yu, and more of a start to a new journey, like SA said. I haven't seen talk about JS filming for this ep (though I could have missed it), and I just thought about the fourth season of Buffy, where the Big Bad was defeated in the penultimate episode and the finale was a weird prophetic group dream that set up some things in the latter seasons. Not that I think Team Arrow is going on a vision quest. Just thinking out loud.

Yeah, that's what I saw here too. I was questioning why there seemed to be a response to something I hadn't seen--not liking the trope of a character physically forcing another character to address something. I saw people suggesting that the show is forcing the issue--for both of them--by keeping them in one place, and the chip might be a factor in their not being able to leave, but no one seemed to me to be in favor of Oliver physically forcing the issue (even passively, via chip malfunction). So I thought I missed something.

I thought MG also referred to KC's role next season as an antagonist.

Yeah, I get those little bowls of pre-measured spices; it saves time for the TV presentation. But in the Eggs in Purgatory segment, Becky actually insisted that it was necessary to the recipe to pre-crack each egg into its own separate bowl. I was kind of surprised Chris (old episode) didn't scoff at those eight bowls lined up on the counter, because he sometimes eyerolls at the fussier steps they take.

I'm confused too. Marc's answer to @wonderwall allowed for the option that the chip/paralysis is just discussed again in that episode, not that there is necessarily a malfunction. And even if there is--and I kind of hope there is because it would be a twist based on the show's history, and would throw a real wrinkle into the works and could get Felicity back on track in terms of doing something related to that technology--I am confused as to why people would think that that is the way O/F are "trapped," when they are obviously isolated in another way and the team has to rescue them. Was anybody here saying that? I haven't seen it. But I'd be confused if people think Oliver would take some sort of forceful advantage of that "opportunity."

505 is about the only time this season that they've talked to each other about their relationship, right? But Oliver has been cautiously trying to talk to Felicity about whatever's going on with her since, what, 512? 516 was the most direct he's been so far, but again, that was a convo about Helix, not about their relationship. And my guess is that when they're trapped together, that conversation will also start out being about her actions with Helix and will develop into a conversation about them and their relationship. Based on what we've seen this season and what has been implied by Stephen and the EPs, being trapped together is what it would take to force them to forego whatever agreement they have about keeping certain boundaries in place with each other. So what it says about the relationship--that they don't relate to each other like they used to and something needs to change--is the whole reason for doing the Trapped in a Room trope plot in the first place. It is intriguing that Felicity's chip could play a part in that, but I do hope that they handle it carefully. Given that they appear to need a rescue from the rest of the team, I don't assume that the chip malfunctioning is the only thing keeping them in place together.

I recently saw the episode of Cooks Country where they made Eggs in Purgatory, and they cracked each egg into its own bowl, so eight bowls total for the eggs alone. They did this, apparently, to speed up the part where the eggs go into the sauce, but when I was watching, I was like, no chance I would do that. What's funny is that the recipe as written on the site does not call for that step. I do wonder if sometimes they do things because they forget the reality of what those recipes would really be like in a non-professional kitchen where space is limited and people are doing their own cleanup! Maybe the home recipe testers give them those kinds of notes, and that's why that step is missing on the site.

She looks like she's riding a Segway.

Yeah, every character/relationship on any show with a fandom has their share of haters, and that's really okay. And it's also okay if your personal preference is to avoid giving hits to people whose take on a character/ship isn't to your liking. But making a Haters List to share feels...unnecessary at best, embarrassing and counter-productive at worst. There's something about the tone of this that rubs me the wrong way, where it goes beyond just people who are actively negative about Emily, Felicity, or Olicity (which I would still not understand, because if you would find this list "useful," you would have probably already noticed that those people/places are negative about the thing you like?); it's also people who have just been kind of dismissive or indifferent. Maybe this is where I diverge from "stans," because I would never "defend X at all costs," or swear off a web site or writer just because we disagree on a character. Critics, fan artists, media/industry people don't need to "show respect" to your faves or your fandom by whatever measure you deem adequate. They're people with opinions and preferences like anyone else. Who cares? In your next fandom, your preferences could align and then they'll be off the Enemies List, I guess?

I wish these guys understood shipping fandom culture better, because I'm sure people do tweet these kinds of "domestic" requests at him. And they're (mostly) jokes. No one actually expects the show to be like that. Asking to see a couple doing dumb domestic shit should just auto-translate for writers to read: "I'm invested in this couple and their happiness." That's the extent of its meaning. And it actually ISN'T bad drama to show those kinds of scenes sometimes, Marc! Honestly, I can't decide whether he's being disingenuous when he says this kind of thing (like @tangerine95 said above) or if he is just this out of touch.

That's because she isn't one. She's a PERFECT ANGEL QUEEN and as usual Wendy Mericle needs to never speak.

Same. I really enjoyed the previous two episodes, but this one really felt like Arrow for me. I think it's actually the first one since sometime last season, and even then they were few and far between. It's such a bummer that the writers can't seem to figure out how to do this the majority of the time, but I'll take what I can get for now. For the first time, I didn't feel disappointed by any OTA actions or interactions. I felt like I recognized them all, and understood where they were all coming from with each other. I loved all the Dig/Oliver stuff, obviously. Dig felt powerful and important to the story for the first time this season, IMO. So refreshing. I didn't mind Oliver being so down, because Sad Oliver is one of my favorite flavors of Oliver, and I was kind of surprised when he started to turn around because it felt a little fast. But it is for the best, because the energy of the whole episode definitely picked up after that. Really loved all the Felicity stuff, and it was really fun seeing her in break-in mode. In non-OTA news, it turns out I like the noobs now. I'm not sure exactly what happened. I think they've done a better job of putting them in their place, so it feels like they appreciate OTA (and even Lance, when relevant) where earlier on it felt like they were petulant, arrogant, and fighting for prominence--with each other, but also with the core cast. The show just handled all of that really clumsily. So, now that some time has passed, they feel more integrated to me and their mere presence doesn't grate so much. But they've also toned down the attitudes, I think. Like, Rene still has all that abrasiveness, but now it's directed toward people that I don't feel defensive of (Chase, Dinah, Curtis), and his attitude toward the core cast is respectful and caring. Same for Dinah and Curtis, IMO. I found myself smiling at them all several times this episode. What has become of me? Finally, Chase is my favorite villain ever on the show. He's like the definition of Love to Hate for me. I adore him and never want him to leave but ALSO I want him dead ASAP. Please, can Simon be a twin? Or wearing a Human Target mask? Can Josh Segarra play another role and stay forever?

Piz also apparently expected Veronica to drop her summer internship in order to be closer to him, after dating for a handful of months? Because that's what he wanted to do regarding his own internship, but the thought never crossed Veronica's mind. I would argue that it was because that relationship was never all that important to her (as shown again in the movie), but it was also because that's not who she is.

Oh I was agreeing with you! Sorry, should have been clearer.

I understand this motivation and I can even see that bringing it to his attention could be a good idea. What doesn't make sense to me--every time this comes up--is all the follow-up questions/demands/rants, acting like SA is somehow responsible for the show's or his fellow castmembers' PR decisions, or that he's at the center of this grand PR conspiracy to keep Emily out of the spotlight. Because of this, for one thing: He's never going to comment negatively about the job being done by people who are his colleagues. It's just not going to happen. So what response do people want him to have, after he's acknowledged their complaints (or others like them)? He's not going to force Emily to do more interviews and I don't think her fans would really want her coerced into doing something she doesn't want to do, right? So then the best you can hope is that he will talk to the involved parties BTS and even if he did that, you will never ever know because he will never imply that they weren't doing their jobs right. Complaints about what goes on on his FB page, though? Those are all his problem and he should deal with them better. Come up with a single line that affirmatively supports anyone who receives abuse on your page, particularly women, and condemns the abusers, and then ACT ON IT swiftly and consistently. This isn't hard, FFS.

I'm putting my money on RG and JH as regulars for S6, which I'd be surprisingly fine with. I'm resigned to the idea that they want to have a larger cast of costumes than I will ever care about. But rather than continue to waste time introducing new characters every season, I'd rather just settle down with the ones we have and let them exist mostly in the background like they did this season. I have turned around on Rene post-MSF, because I think they made some adjustments to the way they were writing him and I find him more appealing now. I don't care about DD yet, but I think JH seems like a capable actress at least, and if she could maybe just tone down the bedroom eyes she throws everyone's way, I'd like her fine. (I'd probably also like her better if she weren't saddled with the BC ~legacy~ baggage because that's still really weird and I'm also just tired of hearing about it, but it is what it is.)

Wendy. Please.