Carrie Ann

I don't think that occurs as often in real life as it does on TV. Just like faking a sexual assault is close to statistical 0% of all sexual assaults, but in fiction, it's fairly common. I get that Veronica Mars likes to show that sometimes the stereotypical bad guys haven't done anything illegal and the good guys have, and motivations are complicated and whatever. But, they also subverted that on their own show by having the animal rights activists be like normal moral people. I just wish they could have done the same thing for a group of feminists. RT and the other writers are free to do what they want, and I don't hate the show or judge them or anything. But I think it was unnecessary, and I will always wish that they hadn't done it.

I felt like Diggle was more present this episode, and not just as a sounding board for Oliver (in the opening scene with the whole team and in the final scene in Slade's lab). In previous episodes, it felt like he was left out of the action in favor of Roy and/or Sara, and I'm glad they brought him back in the mix.

I think this is kind of a chicken and egg question, because a lot of times characters are hated because they are poorly conceived, poorly portrayed or both. So I think "fans" get credit for a character getting the axe when the writers and producers probably share the feeling, and take the necessary measures. I know there are Laurel fans in the Arrow writers/producers group, but I also have strong suspicions that they've already changed their original plans for her and that they will continue to do so as necessary. I think they'll try everything they can first, but at some point if she's just not working, I do think they would get rid of her, canon or no. There are plenty of canon characters who don't appear on the show. I see no reason to keep her just because she was in the Green Arrow universe.

Yeah, I liked Braeden. I think she'd be a great cast addition, and a good partner for Derek.

Correct, @sugarbaker design!

Sorry, what don't you like about romance for Derek? Everyone else on the show has love interests--why shouldn't he?

Yeah, it's rehearsal footage.

That's a good point. Tywin DID have a succession plan--Jaime as Lord of Casterly Rock, Cersei as Queen and her progeny succeeding her, Tyrion keeping a low profile. But he has been too slow or too proud to change course as circumstances demand, instead believing that he can just bulldoze and maneuver everyone into doing what he wants.

Oh yeah, I thought "mermaid" as soon as she stepped out of the dressing room--it's just why did he stop and say it in that way? I think he wanted to say she looked pretty, and that just came out instead. It was a cute, and very Jake moment.

Well, looks like my many hours spent watching Nickelodeon while babysitting have finally paid off. I loved that show. OK, my turn: A group of young women practice spells and codebreaking, despite opposition and danger all around.

I think Oliver trusts Diggle and Felicity equally, but I think he is more open and real with Diggle than anyone else. Not because he thinks Felicity might break his trust, but because I think he still has a lot of guilt and he doesn't want to lose her good opinion of him. He knows she has a strong moral code, and I don't think he likes talking to her about some of his dark times. Also, he doesn't ever want her in jeopardy, and he has complicated feelings for her. These are things he doesn't have to worry about with Dig, so I think their relationship is by nature more open and honest at this stage. I think about Three Ghosts, when he pulled Diggle aside to ask him if he thought he was going crazy. Oliver doesn't want Felicity to see him like that. He's getting there--he and Felicity have had moments of real honesty with each other this season; he's opening up more about the island now and acknowledging that he needs other people. I like the development there, because it feels very natural.

Right, I think the way this show works, it's never going to be like a procedural or a sitcom, where every episode has 2-3 scenes with each series regular. Depending on the season-long arc and the episode-specific mission, certain characters will feature heavily with Oliver, and others will barely appear if at all. I'm OK with that, but I do think that so far, Original Team Arrow is the most appealing combination. I think that's sort of the general consensus (not just with super-fans or shippers, but with critics, etc.), so when we're missing that for even a couple of episodes, the show lacks a certain spark. The writers might do well to keep that dynamic central to the show, with the other characters sharing time around it. So, more Sara might equal less Roy/Thea, but it wouldn't mean less Diggle/Felicity. But here we are. I think to some, it seems like she's taken over the show, but I just think Sara is critical to the Slade story and Diggle and Felicity aren't. So we have Sara in the flashbacks because of Slade, and we have Sara in the current story because of Slade. They're building to a big showdown here, and she, Oliver, and Slade are intertwined. Also, in terms of Oliver's growth, it's interesting to see the conflict between the person he was on the island and the person he is/is trying to become now--and then to see how he compares to/interacts with Sara in those situations. You can see how Sara was more pragmatic and pessimistic than he was to begin with, and even though she seems to have come away from the LoA with a lot of humanity intact, she still does lean toward the simple (lethal) solution rather than deal in gray areas.

Skye and Coulson were both unbearable this episode. First, Skye tells-not-shows that turning in her SHIELD ID is hard for her because she finally belonged to something blah blah blah, but OH! It's probably so much harder for Coulson, huh? And then Coulson spends the rest of the episode all ME ME ME my pain my mission my SHIELD. Like May said, he's not the only one going through this. They've all lost something. I also enjoyed how spiteful Coulson is toward May for spying on him, while still feeling nothing but reverence and love for Fury who put her in that position in the first place. GRRRRRR. I do like Ward better this way, but having him genuinely care about Skye is terrible. Please, writers. Like the song says, Let It Go. At least he does appear to be full evil and not brainwashed, so I appreciate that. I don't know how they'd bring him back from just wantonly killing SHIELD agents, so I hope they don't bother to try. Let him be the nemesis who can get under their skin, but don't try to bring him back on the team.

(Just to be clear, GRRM isn't actually on Twitter, but this is funny anyway.)

I found the same thing when I rewatched the series this year. In a lot of ways, I found Season 2 harder to watch than Season 3. In the first half of Season 2 especially, Veronica doesn't act like herself. I get it, from a storytelling perspective, but having her regress to try to reclaim her old life isn't enjoyable for me to watch. Ditto Logan's treatment of her (and her responding hostility to him). In fact, if it weren't for the epicness of the Epic Speech, I'm not sure I'd have so quickly forgiven Logan the cruel comments he makes to V all season. In Season 3, although the characters make mistakes, they seem in-character to me, and that's more appealing to watch. And, like you say, knowing that there is another chapter makes it more palatable too.

I've watched the show since Season 2 (I think S2-4 were the height of the show), but since Season 5, I always seem to check out halfway through the season, and then catch up again after the finale. But I do still love it. I thought this past season was strong, and they seem to have found the best balance for integrating the All-Stars and having only one episode per week. Can't wait to see you all here in May!

You're right--my husband corrected me on that one too! I watched too fast...

Yes, Leekey says that Sarah Manning was like the white whale. I don't think he knew her name was Sarah Manning until she took over Beth's identity and appeared on the Clone scene. So they knew about Helena, but her twin had managed to stay under their radar until now. That's why I think Mrs. S is not evil. Because she has been hiding Sarah and Kira for as long as she's had them--at least from people like Leekey.

Plus, the back-to-back Pangs and Something Blue combo is kinda the height of Funny BtVS (political/racial ickiness aside). There is a lightness to Season 4 that never comes back to the show, and that makes it fun to watch.

Season 3 is one of my favorite seasons of television ever. The Mayor is my favorite villain. The Prom and both Graduation Days are my favorite series of episodes. The Class Protector Award is my favorite moment. I mean, this is just perfection. I love Season 2 as well, and there's a lot to say for Angel being the Big Bad, but there are also a number of stinkers that season, and it takes a little while to get going. Plus we get Faith instead of Kendra, and while Faith was never my favorite character, that's clearly an upgrade.

I would definitely be interested to learn why Spike seemed to retain a certain measure of human feeling for others, while no other vamps we saw did. I would prefer if he was exceptional in some way, because as previously mentioned, Buffy was out there killing vamps with no regard so I'd rather not believe they all could have been redeemed.

I just finished the series today, and my speculation about Mrs. S is that she is the woman in the photo; she was a part of whatever group created the clones and implanted them in surrogates; she (and others maybe) had a crisis of conscience, so when she/they learned about what Amelia did, she/they found a way to get Sarah into the custody of Mrs. S who has been hiding/protecting her (and Kira) ever since. DYAD being headquartered in Toronto confuses things a bit, but who knows? I just don't want Mrs. S to be evil.

Elena's reaction to Bonnie's faked death in Season 2's Decade Dance episode (and Bonnie's response to Damon when he proposed the plan) gave their friendship weight and real feeling. I just think that for the past two seasons, the show has been relying on its history to fill in the blanks of the friendships, but not spending any time on them anymore. Also, I think the Damon/Elena relationship has hurt the girls' friendships, which is appropriate because Bonnie and Caroline have every right to not be in support of that, but it's still a bummer to lose that piece of the show. As far as siblings, no relationship on this show has been so trashed as Damon and Stefan. Starting with Damon referring to Stefan only as Elena's ex and continuing to now, where Stefan's only interactions with Damon are to follow him around trying to clean up his messes or push Elena to get back together with him.... Clearly the show doesn't care about them as brothers anymore. Which is sad, because for the first few seasons, I would have said that they would have died for each other. And in terms of "endgame," the only one I cared about was that the show ended with the brothers on good terms.

I guess I'm trying to separate reasoning from justifying/excusing when it comes to characters like Derek with checkered histories. I think, given all of the background for his behavior, the growth he's shown since that season is impressive because of all he had to accept and overcome.