Carrie Ann

But we're not getting "Limited Oliver," we're getting Zero Oliver (I don't count flashbacks or any story that removes him from Starling/his team). Having other characters get the focus for a few episodes isn't always a problem, but I want Oliver there. The show is called Arrow, and I watch it for him and his relationships. And beyond that--I don't have much interest in shaking up the dynamics or playing around with the normal format. I used to love the dynamics, and I had no problem with the format (aside from boredom with the FBs). I guess that's my problem. That Guggenheim quote was the thing that really made my heart sink. "It literally is a game changer in the sense that the series will never be the same afterwards." I want it to be the same. Not the same as 3A, but the same as the show I loved. Now it's clear that show isn't coming back. And maybe I'll like the new incarnation, once we get Oliver back, but maybe I never will. Based on 3A, I'm not confident that the writers and I are at all on the same page about what makes a good show.

That's actually such a great point that I didn't consider at all, because it was buried in the usual damsel tropes. I mean, Iris herself rose above those tropes, but I wasn't thinking critically about that side of the story because it was so expected. But again, another situation that just made it clear that whatever danger Iris could face because of The Flash, it's too late. She's bringing the attention her way because of the blog, so why not just tell her it's Barry? Even if she keeps writing about him, which she probably would, how does it put her in any MORE danger to know his identity at this point?

Goddammit. I can't believe Bonnie is stuck over there for four more episodes (at least)! Unless Damon gets stuck back over there with her, that is terrible news, since she is the only thing I really like about this season so far.

Caroline is 19. Hayley can't be much older than that, right? My problem with Klaroline in general is that Joseph is right. Klaus is a POS, and Caroline's character would suffer by being with him. You'd have to believe she would find his behavior acceptable, and I won't ever believe that. She, unlike Elena, still has some standards. Sure, she's willing to forgive a lot of her friends, but I don't think she would or should accept that kind of thing from someone she's in love with and in a serious relationship with. I liked their chemistry, but would never want to see them together unless Klaus changed dramatically, and I don't see that happening soon.

Skye herself has improved for me, but I find her sudden fighting abilities and field agent status almost as hard to believe as Laurel's. I mean, at least she was training for most of last season, plus the hiatus. But it weakens the others' skills to me if we're supposed to believe that Skye could just pick it up in a year. But whatever, at least she's not the focus of the show anymore, and I'm willing to handwave the fighting stuff because that's still not supposed to be her specialty--the computer stuff is. (Uh, right? I don't pay close attention to that show.) As of today (and, if I had to predict, until partway through 309) Arrow is still my favorite comic book show on TV. The Flash is second, AoS is third I guess, and Constantine is a distant 4th. I don't watch Gotham. After the Arrow midseason finale leaves me in despair, I think it's possible Agent Carter will swoop into my number 1 slot. I have high hopes for that show.

I think the fact that Mo really doesn't talk much about Arrow at all anymore tells me everything, but I would love a deeper dive into it. Because, yeah, I think she and Ryan McGee are both disappointed, and I think the writers need to hear these things. I mean, none of it should shock them--they went against critics' and fans' prevailing interests in every single area--but they need to know that it didn't work.

There is not one spoiler for the remainder of 3A or 3B that makes me feel anything positive (except maybe the hope that Dig and Lyla might get engaged). That is...distressing. I've been such a cheerleader of this show for such a long time, and even after they killed Sara and had a bumpy takeoff in general for 3A, I've continued to hold onto faith that there was a plan in place that would ultimately make it worth it. But now I'm starting to experience real doubt that I'm ever getting my show back. I don't see how Laurel is suiting up by 311 (?) if there isn't a significant time jump in the hiatus. And the photos of her with Roy (and Felicity, theoretically, since EBR was holding the camera) make it clear that she will be working with Team Arrow, which kills my small hope that she would actually be off doing her own vigilante thing. Oliver is gone for what now appears to be at least three episodes. Even if he shows up in 312, it must not be until the very end if he hasn't been filming at all this week. So he'll (hopefully) be in 10-11 of the 14 episodes of 3B. That's basically the same number Ray will be in. We're going to waste three episodes on building up side characters (Ray, BC, Roy, maybe even Dig and Thea), because the writers can't figure out a way to develop these characters naturally without removing Oliver from the picture. Felicity and Ray will be building a relationship, because, ditto. In the meantime, Oliver will presumably be suffering somewhere (physically, psychologically, emotionally, or all three). Like, nothing could sound less appealing to me than those three episodes.

At this point if they did a 75% flashback episode, it probably wouldn't even be Oliver's flashbacks.

I was referring to my own cracked-out theory! Which would involve: a) Tommy not really dying in S1; b) Malcolm saving him somehow; c) Tommy being paralyzed; d) Tommy in a wheelchair on that roof with arrows; and e) Tommy killing Sara for some reason. That is straight up bananas. AND YET it seemed plausible to me for a minute. But to your second point--I wouldn't be surprised at all if in the next episode, they were like, "Well, there were those weird track marks up on the roof, like some vehicle was up there...something with wheels." As people keep pointing out, this is not how you do a murder mystery. It's fine to slowly dole out clues if our heroes are only finding them bit by bit, but revealing clues slowly when the characters have had that information all along is nonsense. And yeah, it makes you question whether any of the "clues" are actually real or important, or only there to serve that episode's needs. Ugh. Let's just get this "mystery" over with already.

I thought of the wheelchair thing, but w/r/t Tommy as the killer. Like, maybe his dad was able to save him, but he was paralyzed or something. But then I thought the roof probably wouldn't be accessible, so I wrote it off. BTW, some of this spec regarding Sara's killer is going to be sort of hilarious to re-read when we really know what's going on. The above, for example, is cracked out craziness, but seems as possible as anything else, right?

I'm intrigued by the quoted excerpt you posted: That last part especially. I'm struggling to understand how the evidence in Sara's death would impact the Flash Mob, and future joint adventures. Hmmm.... Also I find it funny that in "Guilty," Felicity was suddenly able to perform DNA tests and other bloodwork, but now she needs to call Caitlin for that kind of thing again. C'mon writers. It's not that hard to say Felicity has a contact at a lab who does these things for her, no questions asked. She doesn't need to be able to do everything science-y on the show.

I forgot to mention that I loved Jack's line at the end when Phryne's baiting him about Rosie's fiance, "You're waving a red rag at me, but I am no longer in that ring." Awwww, Inspector Robinson.

If I had to bet, I'd say that they won't have a big event crossover again this season, but maybe one or two characters will go to the other show. That requires less coordination of storylines and schedules. Unless they do a big blowout finale event.

This is a really fun episode. Classic MFMM. Phryne flirting her face off with Jack; Dot being judgy but good-hearted; cat-burgling antics; the feather fan dance! Plus we meet Rosie Sanderson. Yay.

I don't know. It seems like a simplistic assessment to say that because Felicity isn't "fighting" Oliver on it, then she must not really love him enough. She has emotional issues and baggage of her own, and in my view of her, those issues would factor into how she handles this situation. I think she may be so afraid of putting herself out there completely--of saying, "Choose me, choose us, instead of________"--because if he doesn't choose her, then that would be too much for her to handle. So she takes the "tough but survivable pain now" to avoid the truly devastating pain (to quote Logan Echolls). She has insecurities; she has abandonment issues. I don't think those make her weak. They make her seem more human, IMO. I think she's going to have to put herself on the line at some point, but I'm not surprised that she wasn't sold enough on his feelings after one date to feel confident that things would go her way.

I think it will come from an angry place too, but knowing Dig, he will manage to be perfect and wonderful about it at the same time. In my mind, he has three angles to come at her: 1) Andrew/Sara comparison; 2) Oliver is putting himself in grave danger to solve your sister's murder (theoretically) and you're out there trying to get yourself killed too; 3) Quentin has one daughter left--I have a daughter and would be devastated if anything happened to her--stop doing this.

Well, on his Tumblr, Orlando continues to not give a single eff. In case he edits, which I doubt he would, but just in case--here are the relevant/shady tags:

Yes, Ray is also going to be pursuing his own Hero path (*cough* spinoff setup), but without Felicity as a personal connection, there's no dramatic heft to that on this show. They have to keep Felicity tightly in his orbit, not just in a professional/hero capacity. They have to have a personal relationship in order for any of that to work dramatically. We're not invested enough in Ray to care about his journey yet, except as it affects Felicity. He's not going to be out of the picture as her romantic interest as of the end of Episode 9, in my opinion. As far as viewers not liking Felicity if Oliver declares his love and leaves anyway, and she proceeds with a relationship with Ray...shrug. She's not a doormat, and she already told him her position re: waiting with him while he heads down a path to his own death. If he takes another step on that path, and she goes down a different one, I'll applaud her. But again, this is why I feel like Oliver has to make this choice to leave. If he doesn't, and he's just missing or presumed dead, and Felicity's like, "Eh, onto the next," then I agree, that would be tough for viewers to take.

I definitely see this line of thinking, but I think it's a matter of nuance. First, I would argue that Felicity's not a saint. She's capable of being selfish (she comes around, but in the moment, she often asks Oliver not to go out there and fight the thing when she's afraid for him, for example). She's also capable of having feelings that are at odds with her rational understanding of the situation. But more than that, I don't even think her feelings would be at odds with her rational mind--she can come to understand that Oliver has to do this, and that's the reality of his life, but the feelings she has could make her believe that it's not a reality she can live with. Like I said, that doesn't mean she would direct these negative feelings AT Oliver, ultimately, as though he's done something wrong. But experiencing feelings of abandonment, or fear that he won't ever stop or lessen his load and will end up dead as he predicted, is natural, and I think she would go into self-protective mode (she's already there, so it's not hard to go deeper).

Yeah, she is clearly done with this show (all the leads are) and ready to move on. She is so talented and deserves a great career. In the past, it was so awesome to see Katherine (RIP) sometimes, because even when I was at Peak Hatred with Elena, Kat was always a great reminder that Nina is not the problem. I do think she phones in her scenes as Elena these days (yes, even the crying scenes), but the writers have lost track of her character too, so I don't blame her for not bothering.

We met the twins in The Ebony Falcon. Jake goes to their apartment, and then becomes over-protective of Terry because he is so worried about him being there for his girls. It was pretty sweet.

I guess I don't think it's selfish for Felicity to want Oliver to find some other way than offering himself up to the LOA, whether for Thea or to infiltrate them. I don't think she'll stay angry with him or anything, but even if she ultimately comes to see it as an impossible situation, her own history of abandonment and her fears of losing Oliver could make her put those walls back up. I would believe that from her character.

I just don't think there's any way they're resolving the love interest dimension of Ray before the winter hiatus. That still leaves 9 or 10 episodes with him in them, and there's just not enough for him to do, dramatically speaking, if he's not Felicity's love interest. So he needs to still be in the picture when we return from winter hiatus. Either they just begin dating at that point, or they're dating through the time jump, and the latter makes more sense to me if you want to up the dramatic stakes. If they are more firmly entrenched in a relationship by the time Oliver returns, then it will be harder for him to get her back. So I think that while Ep 7 may end with Felicity on the fence about Ray, I suspect that we'll have some indication by Ep 9 that they are seeing each other. Obviously we still don't have even a glimmer of the circumstances around Oliver leaving, but if the writers were concerned about writing O & F IN character, then I just feel like Felicity's concern for Oliver if he were to disappear against his will, or mourning of him if he were to "die," would be so great that it would prevent her from dating Ray. And then when they get Oliver back, I think the relief would be so intense that she wouldn't be dating anyone else then either. Like, it would be painfully obvious that her heart is elsewhere. So I think Oliver's leaving is "voluntary" on his part, and I think the big scene in Ep 9 could be Felicity laying it all out for Oliver, and asking him not to leave, and he's going to do it anyway. Even if it is a big martyr gesture on his part, that's sort of the problem. Felicity's left behind, again, by a man who claimed to love her, in what looks like a fatalistic move by a man who told her he believes he's going to die in that hood someday. She's not going to take that well, and I think if they say goodbye on that kind of note--where he's making a choice that he knows will hurt her--then it could cause her to close off those feelings for him, which allows her to continue to date Ray. She would still have major feelings when Oliver returns, and I think it's the examination of all those feelings (as well as whatever work Oliver's going to put in) that will ultimately prove that he's the one for her, not Ray.

Oh God, I didn't even think about that. But if I had to guess, I'd say she'd be one of the retconned characters--Freya or Dahlia. (Also, seriously, you're going to name the 1,000 year old sister Dahlia? As in the flower named after an 18th century botanist?) (Also, Dahlia, one episode after Talia? Let's try a little harder, writers.)

If you're right, and I think you are, then there's a two month break without Oliver--from December 3 until February 4. I don't count flashbacks, personally, and Arrow isn't Arrow without Oliver. I just...don't think I want to watch 10 & 11, but we'll see if the episode synopses or more concrete spoilers make them seem more appealing.