Carrie Ann

Exactly. There are so many scenes this season that play as though they are already together. You know, you up the level of physicality a bit, toss in some affectionate words, but really all they need to do is to allow the characters to return to the dynamic that made viewers like them in the first place.

I still think Malcolm's ultimate dream would be to be the next Ra's, and in terms of the universe, he's the best option if they want to keep him around (preferably in recurring status, not regular) and keep Ra's as a real nemesis. Nyssa is too sympathetic a character to be Ra's. I still hold out hope that this has been Malcolm's goal all along, and that there's some last twist coming that will make that happen for him.

Ha, I've been feeling the same way. But I do have hopes that without the burden of a spinoff character and the BC origin story, and once we are theoretically through the worst in terms of Oliver's existential crisis, that the show could become something fun and coherent again. And I think, handled properly, O/F as a couple should fit right into that. So fingers crossed that they take a break from romantic angst, and just let the relationship be happy and functional for awhile, and that the show improves for it.

This was the first thing I thought of, and still think it's the most likely. What the two other things are that Oliver has to do to complete his transition, though, I have no clue. I am just hoping so hard that this Nyssa marriage thing is not happening that I am happy to separate those two clauses and assume they're not connected.

This isn't really based on any spoilers, but since it doesn't appear that my dream of Felicity moving in with Thea to take care of her is coming true, can I just say that it seems like a not great idea to let Malcolm be the one who tends to her while her ~soul~ is in flux or whatever? Like, maybe it would be good to have someone around who is a positive influence? Even Laurel? Anyone besides Malcolm alone?

Yeah, I think you're right. It just sucks, as someone who was not in the know about that (and I still don't think there's been any public clarification about this), to get invested in a character who I believed was a series regular (she IS, according to the official web site, and everywhere else), only to find out that she's really not. Feels like a bait-and-switch, and it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

This person also used "fanwank" when they meant something like fan-service, so, yeah, I'm not sure I'd take them as an authority. (That's one of the nerdiest things I've ever said!)

If Dig has to be hurt in a permanent way, I'd prefer it be something that can be replaced/fixed with technology, because yeah otherwise I will see it as a convenient way to keep him out of the field so others can take prominence.

The brand is the same as the S3 Arrow graphic, yes, so they either knew at the beginning of the season that it would be Oliver's LOA brand, or along the way, they decided it would be cool to tie things together that way. I'd guess the latter, honestly.

I didn't have a problem with that scene, but I think it would have been better on a character/team level if it'd been implied more strongly that Laurel knew about the plan, and Felicity was coming to tell her in-person how things had gone down. And yeah, having Laurel in the hospital scene would have been a quick way to bring her into the picture too. Even if she didn't come to NP after that, I would have assumed they let her know what they were doing about Thea. But, it's a small gripe for me, and I'm willing to fanwank that she did know and Felicity was there to update her.

MG confirmed at the 320 press screening that Felicity is not going to be pregnant, so we can rest easy about that part at least. I also feel like the 322 wedding is less and less likely to be O/F and I couldn't be happier about that.

The branding/brainwashing piece confused me too, but now I don't think we're supposed to believe Oliver was like instantly assimilated or anything, so okay. But the whole thing is just...why would I believe that Oliver would become completely LOA amoral darkside evil when even Maseo, who has apparently been at this for five years, is so easily swayed by his emotions? Or Sara? Or Nyssa? Or, hell, even good ol' Ra's himself with his tales of woe? I guess in that way, I'm glad this storyline will probably be over in 2-3 episodes, because it's just not all that believable that Oliver would turn dark and stay that way for long. Otherwise, what's left to say? I've watched a particular 15 minute section of the episode like *mumblemumble* times at this point. (It's, ah, minute 34-50, if anyone is curious.) Felicity getting into that whisper-threat mode with Malcolm was outstanding, even better than the showdown with Ra's for me. EBR really was as great as advertised this episode. But, man, Stephen Amell. And his cry face. And his face full of wonder that he was really about to have sex with Felicity. He's the reason I'm still here with this uneven beautiful mess of a show, but on nights like tonight, I'm glad I stuck around.

I'm sorry, it is so ridiculous to see four people walking, three of them with no disguise at all and then the Black Canary in all her Buckles. I'll assume there's a reason she's in full costume and the others are there but not incognito, but it just throws this whole costume/code name thing into sharp relief. And I want that Alias stabbing thing to happen. I really don't want to believe that this show would kill Akio in FB and put Baby Sara in danger in the present day. So, God help me, I am hoping that Oliver does hurt Dig. Just leave Lyla and the baby alone.

I think #Thea trended too, or at least it was on my little trending list for the first half of the episode.

Well, it could be that it does end well, and that O/F end the season together, and because we're doing the 5-month jump as usual, they didn't want to skip over their first time together.

Well, Maseo says "Oliver will be spared grief, in a manner that was denied to me," so that indicates something will happen to Akio. Nothing about it made me worry for Baby Sara though.

But that's the point. Felicity isn't actively making the choice. She isn't going to Ray's office and saying, "Ray, I need your plane because I'm going somewhere with Oliver to help him." And Ray says, "Oh..." And she says, "Yes. I am so sorry that things happened this way, but the thing is, I still have feelings for him, and I tried to move on but I can't." Etc., etc. She doesn't get to be the one to say these things. She doesn't assert herself. She keeps trying to hedge her bets, to not make a choice at all, and basically stays passive long enough that Ray has to break up with her. Add that to Ra's telling her to go to Oliver, and it's just piling on a bunch of things that make this "choice" unsatisfying for me personally. But hey, if she admitted that? If that was a part of her talk with Oliver, to say, "you know people keep telling me how I feel about you and I kept pushing it down and denying it, but when even Ra's Al Ghul was more willing to see my feelings than I was? That was when I realized how ridiculous it was, blah blah." Then I'd probably end up okay with it.

Ah, gotcha. I didn't remember that.

Right, but that's what I'm saying. SDK isn't the creator of the show, so he would have had to negotiate for a producer credit in perpetuity, without having been the creator of the show. So I'm not sure he will get that credit. I don't have a dog in the fight, just saying I don't know that it's a given like it is for Goddard.

I'm wondering the same thing about the Canary/Black Canary's notoriety. If the "Canary" was a name known widely enough that the Star Labs people would know who Felicity was talking about when she asked Caitlin for help with the DNA sample, but no one knew that she died (except a group of people who wouldn't be spreading that around), then it makes no sense that suddenly "she" would start to be known as the Black Canary instead. I have to conclude that the general public thinks this is the same person, and they've always called her the Black Canary, in which case, yes, that's just Laurel bein' Laurel. Also...pretty sure she casually revealed to Cisco that Sara was the Canary in this ep, which I don't think any of them knew beforehand. People just lose all ability to keep a secret around these Central City guys I guess.

The BC posturing (and that is ALL it is right now, posturing) still really irritated me on The Flash, and that's when I realized: KC was basically playing Laurel-playing-Sara last night. Laurel was trying to be this cool badass that she isn't (the threat about Cisco telling anyone was laughable), and she seemed more open and light-hearted (like Sara was, despite her trauma). But she was still Laurel underneath that. She was charmed by a guy who was fawning over her, and when she realized who he was, her first thought was to ask him to do something for her. Very in-character. Someone here mentioned that the only thing she really "did" in the episode was to accept a gift, but it wasn't a gift. She made a...request for an upgrade to her sister's gear, and accepted it as her due, then threatened the person who made it for her. So, I didn't actually like Laurel more on The Flash, but I DID like KC more. She's just such a poor fit for the Laurel character, who is a poor fit for the BC role, which is a poor fit on Arrow in general. It's...frustrating.

Yeah, you know, I can already say that I'm basically going to be flying so high tonight that afterward, I won't really care how it all went down. But now, while I'm still semi-rational, I will say that having four people (so far) tell Felicity that she loves Oliver before she finally brings herself to say it is NOT IDEAL. Particularly when two of those people are the personification of evil, and one of them is Ray. I wish it had only been Donna who said it, if anyone had to. And I absolutely wish Ra's didn't tell her to go to Oliver. I'm positive it won't be narratively necessary for him to do that, because I'm sure she would have done that on her own, right?

I have no feelings about Electra, but if they're going to continue to shortchange Claire or spread her out among several shows, then I would be interested in a new non-Karen love interest because I just don't feel it between Matt and Karen at all. They certainly don't have the chemistry RD and CC have. Otherwise, being a non-comics person, I have no specific hopes for new foes or side characters. So my hopes are more general. I want them to improve the lighting in Season 2. I want Karen to learn about Matt early on because there's literally no reason not to tell her, and it's boring to watch the hero dodge the people in his life. I want the new staff to do a better job with the female characters. I want the new EPs to make it a priority to get RD to commit to being a regular, because I want Claire in every episode, and her role expanded (okay, I'll accept as few as ten episodes).

Right, Goddard is credited as the creator, DeKnight was the Producer/Showrunner of S1. Not sure if he'll even have a producer credit on S2, if he's not going to be involved. Goddard will continue to appear in the credits as creator. I'd be surprised if either DG or SDK wrote for the season, since their prior commitments are the reason they're not running the show to begin with. I hope they get a few women in the writers' room next season. They had one woman co-write a single episode of the first season. That's it. And it showed.

The dagger puts Klaus into the suspended animation state he puts his siblings in whenever it's convenient for him.