ohjoy

This part makes me chuckle/groan, because while naming her Dinah Drake apparently gives her every right to the BC name (#BecauseComics), what she really deserved was her own origin story. I don't mean the origin story where she got her cry in a traumatic event and lost a loved one for whom she tries to be a better person. I mean the origin story where she met and joined up with Oliver, not because of any organic happenstance, but because he was searching her out specifically and solely to fill in the role of a different dead "hero". If Laurel weren't dead and Oliver somehow developed the creepy obsession with "honoring her legacy" by replacing her with as close a match as possible (BS didn't want the job, so he had to find someone else, but not any of the people who clearly too good for the role), he would never have given Tinah a second glance. Some special origin for the great GA/BC dynamic duo, that is. (Although the more I think about it, this is a pretty on-point continuation of "Laurel's" legacy, so good catch there.)

IIRC during one of those convention panels back in late fall that scene when Mary first announced she was leaving was brought up, Jensen seemed to imply that Dean's reaction in that moment came across differently in the episode than Jensen had intended when filming. He didn't really elaborate, but it did make me wonder if what we're getting from Dean in these moments dealing with/talking about Mary is not quite what Jensen is going for after all.

Wasn't "David" the name of the character the actor played on Blindspot?

ITA about the rooftop scene -- in fact, much of the episode felt like a backdoor pilot for a show I do not want to watch. I'm not here for the newbies, guys. I don't care how much you show of them. No lie -- that was adorable.

Word -- seriously though. Heh -- this made me chuckle. I eyerolled so hard at the name reveal (way to shut down the "but only Laurel has the comics name!" contingent, writers), then when Oliver started on about "his friend" with that name, I thought, "you mean Laurel's mother, the illustrious Dinah River Song Lance?" Gah, what a mess they've made of the entire BC connection, simply by refusing to let it go when they should have dropped it. And show, pleeaaassee prove me wrong, and don't ship off you other females into "their own storyline" (or straight into storyline ether) just so you can integrate a new female into the team. Action/adventure can still exist without structural damage even if there are more than one or two females in a group. Smh.

When Julian was math-splaining why Barry would never be fast enough, I thought for sure the solution to the problem would be that Cisco would develop that portal space-hopping technique and just move Barry close enough to stop Savitar when the time came. But no, of course the answer isn't cleverness or ingenuity -- obviously the only correct answer is for somebody anybody to run faster. *facepalm* That being said, I did enjoy this episode the most of any this season. And I don't even like H.R. (although I love Tom Cavanaugh, so whatever keeps him on the show, I guess).

I don't either, but "essence" makes me think "top quality" -- as if his butt is so perfectly sculpted that I can't look away. Although "excellence" is probably more apt than "essence" in that case. Sorry. I'll see myself out.

I suddenly realized I hadn't gone through the thread (in my defense, I didn't even realize I was going to enjoy this episode so much until I finally watched it days after it aired), but I have to chime in with this: I'm convince that the photo Laurel handed Ollie right before he got on the boat was just one of a set; while Sara was sneaking on board with Ollie, Laurel was paying off the boat staff to stash the approximately six dozen other copies in various spots on the boat, including at least two or three dozen hidden among the life preservers, and in the back of Robert Queen's mysterious book. Just to be cute. Also: I don't disagree with you, but this term conjures a very different picture in my head than the one I'm sure you were going for.

I just love that Dean Winchester's birthday is within a week of mine, and Jensen Ackles' birthday is within a week of my sister's. She doesn't actually watch the show, but I'm a numbers person, so it's still a minor personal joy.

That tied a lot of stuff up very neatly, especially considering nobody actually moved away. I will always love Eric. Seriously ready for the Farkle spinoff featuring Smackle and Zay (and Lucas) now.

I'd agree that Farkle is the best/most developed kid on the show. I liked his friendship with Riley and Maya as a trio (when he was allowed to get beyond the overtly weird phase), I liked his friendship with Lucas and Zay. I liked his relationship with Smackle, even with Smackle hitting on Lucas because she thought it would make her seem more like a normal girl (that was the reasoning given in this episode, right?). Farkle settled down into the pretty awesome teen, and he's probably the one I'll miss the most from this show. I really wish more time/focus had been given to friendships that weren't Riley/Maya. I didn't necessarily hate them, but I wanted to see the others develop, and we barely got to. I was enjoying Lucas/Farkle before Zay showed up -- Zay, who I honestly didn't like at first (possibly because I felt he was taking time away from Lucas/Farkle) but who really grew on me. I'd have taken more of any combination of Farkle/Lucas/Zay, more of Zay/Smackle, Zay/Maya (despite that moment in one episode where they basically said "we'll pseudo-date since our friends are dating" that went nowhere because the show never bothered to show their friends actually dating). I hate that the stupid triangle ATE the development of any of the friendships, even Lucas/Maya as friends. I enjoyed them before that dumb plot took over.

ITA, and if I think about it honestly, that is the main reason I was so disappointed with the BMD storyline, and much of what has come after. It's not even a Because Comics thing -- it's that, after all the talk about forging their own path with the show, the writers/showrunners literally can't be bothered to write for what's in front of them. Even when the BMD tanked, their response was to get rid of everything that would have required forward thinking and changing the plan to fit the story that was unfolding. Instead, they changed (and in some cases, got rid of) characters and their development simply so they could reset back to what sort of not really fit the plan that was not created for any of the characters that were currently involved. (No, not even this Oliver fit their plan -- he was on the verge of becoming too mature and emotionally stable to fit where they wanted him to be at this stage of the show.)

I've been liking the shrink a lot more lately. In the first several episodes, I got this weird vibe that the show might try to pair her and Riggs up (she seemed a little overly invested in him), which put me off, but that vibe has significantly faded in recent episodes, and their dynamic is much better now. Maybe it was just the actress finding the right notes for the character, or maybe it was just me settling into the actress in this particular role (I've never seen her in anything before where she wasn't dealing with a complicated romantic relationship), but I hope that eventually down the road when Riggs is a little more stable they keep her around for case consults, to keep that aspect viable.

Question: the triplet baby that was stillborn never actually got a name, did he? I just noticed that most everyone around here is calling him "Kyle", but Kyle was the name they gave Randall before changing it to Randall, right? So are we assuming that Kyle would have been third baby's name regardless?

I had no problem just eye-rolling through the massive explosion that caused no actual harm and the apparent ease and speed with which Eurus dispatched Sherlock, Watson and Mycroft to their respective places for the final act (I just chalk it up to "that's how this show rolls" and go on), but the tiny detail I could not get past was when Sherlock was talking to Eurus about playing the violin and she said she taught Sherlock how to play. When exactly did she teach her older brother to play the violin before she was carted away at the grand old age of six? That line seemed like someone forgot how old all the Holmes children were supposed to be when all the tragedy went down.

I'm still watching too! Love this show, cliches and all. Trish is just fierce, which is scary only when she's not on your side. And in Roger's case, he knows firsthand how fierce she is in the courtroom, so it makes sense that he's especially wary. I can allow that as not totally cliche. I do really enjoy Trish and Roger's relationship. I've no problem suspending disbelief for the big explosions, chase scenes, and high-wire acts -- but how exactly did Riggs get his hand loose from the handcuffs without breaking/dislocating something? (It's the little things that get to me.) Murtaugh & Riggs = Adorable. Glad they've accepted it.

When the show was live I skipped S8 & S9 completely -- I'd had it with Lana and Doomsday and the whole mess that seemingly ruined Chloe's life. (That wasn't my first time skipping seasons -- I was also out for almost the entirety of S5 (and still can't bring myself to go back and watch Jensen Ackles in it), but I came back for Justin Hartley's OQ, and actually enjoyed Lois with him for that little bit.) So it was a little jarring to jump in for the final season and see that it was really a different show. But recently I've gone back and done some scant rewatching/first-time viewing of random S8/S9/S10 episodes, and it's not that bad. (Personal props to the Hangover-themed episode, because before my rewatch I vaguely remember not liking that episode and not finishing it -- but when I rewatched it I found that not only did remember most every scene, but I laughed alot and thought it was weirdly sweet! Must have been Smallville nostalgia.) The bolded parts about Clark though -- HAH! I hadn't really thought about it, but I think I do agree with you to some extent.

From studies I've read and people I've seen (sets of twins in both friends and family) birth order still seems to have an impact. One child is "older" and one is "younger", and they act accordingly when certain situations arise. It seems fairly obvious with fraternal twins, but I've seen it occasionally even with identical twins. (Birth order is fascinating.) I do think it's interesting, because it's seems as though the childhood birth order dynamic was Kevin-Kate-Randall, but the adult birth order dynamic is Randall-Kevin-Kate.

Born in '83, and this was hours of my childhood. I was the youngest in my family, but most of my school peers were the oldest in theirs, so that's an interesting observation. I agree that Randall's personality is that of a first-born, and Kevin is very much second-born son & middle child combined, but I don't know that the show is treating it that way. On previous episodes Randall is referred to in the family as the "little" brother. The Big Three mantra seems to indicate the birth order in which Jack and Rebecca raised them, even if the reality of their births line up with what you stated. OT: I liked the episode, but didn't love it. I guess I'm really here for The Big Three (plus Beth, minus Toby.) I like the flashbacks of Jack & Rebecca - with the kids.

Thank you, I kept thinking her face looked familiar.

I actually do pretend the BMD didn't happen - by replacing Arrow 4x08 with Flash 4x08 and lopping off the last few minutes. (What can I say? It works for me.) So with that in mind, I can get through 4x11 pretty happily. That's it for me though.

I thought it was simply that he wanted to give her what he could/did not before: time. Eurus' whole ritual/riddle was for Sherlock to discover that she wanted him to spend time with her. He didn't figure it out in time to save Victor, but he did in time to save John. She had to be locked up again (clearly), and she was no longer talking, but Sherlock could still give her time, and someone to "play" with. (When he first broke in to visit her, one of guards said she played all the time.) I really liked those scenes in the ending montage, culminating in the whole family being able to enjoy Sherlock and Eurus' music. Such a screwed up, traumatized family, finding a little moment of something akin to normalcy. (Yeah, I know who caused most of the trauma in the first place, but as a potentially series-ending montage it was sweet.)

This is a pretty good list -- I'd move "The Final Problem" below "The Great Game" and "The Empty Hearse" above "The Abominable Bride", but otherwise it seems right. Weirdly, reading through here, both positive and negative comments, is pointing out more of what I liked about the episode. Guess I'm just looking for the positive and nostalgic about this apparent send-off. These are the little things I keep going back to. It may not have been a great episode, but these moments always leave me wanting more adventures. I'd be totally fine with a random Christmas episode brought to us every two or three years that was simply Sherlock and Watson just being who they are and solving crimes (along with Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade, Molly, and yes, Mycroft).

I feel like there should have been more to it than that, but at the same time I was totally okay with it? Benedict Cumberbatch's performance in that scene was just sooo good. Heh -- makes perfect sense to me. I'm liking it more on rewatch -- the little details in the character performances are my favorite things to examine. And while the plot and episode structure maybe all confused and convoluted, those little details are definitely still available to enjoy.

I'm happy to say I figured the girl and the plane did not exist in the present-day narrative pretty much from the jump. At first I thought she was somehow Eurus in the past, but then when Eurus was using her against Sherlock I began to think the plane situation was a recording that Sherlock would never be able to solve -- just something to string him along for all those stupid experiments. In theory I get what they were trying to do/reveal about Sherlock's personal growth with this episode, and the acting was certainly on point (I'll be watching it again just for nuances because that's what I do), but the plot structure and execution were a mess. On the whole, this trio of episodes gave me the same bell curve of feeling I got from reading The Hunger Games -- first one was decent enough but I was really hoping it got better, the second one was really engaging and fantastic and I was really amped up for the finale, and then the third one was this depressing slog and I missed the secondary characters more than anyone else. (YMMV about both those and these episodes.) Yeah, I'm not a shipper of anyone on this show (I would have preferred that Molly/Sherlock had remained the sweet friendship that seemed settled in 3x01), but how can you have such a beautifully intense moment like that, and then have no follow up at all?! Even a tiny moment of definite eye contact and a smile of understanding passed between them would have counted for me (though that's probably not enough for others), but to have zero interaction at the end, barely even a glimpse of her coming through the doorway, was a major oversight. ETA: Also, zero follow-up on Lady Smallwood changing her name to Alicia and giving Mycroft her number, huh? Oh well.