ohjoy

Ah Arrow, with it's complete inability to remember plot motivations from season to season (or from episode to episode). Never change. (Actually, do change. Change a lot, please.)

Honestly at this point nothing about DCTV (or CW as a whole) scheduling surprises me -- nor does it make any sense.

Okay, I know nothing about comics (I never have paid any attention to anything I did not already remember from the Justice League cartoons), and even though last week I thought Chase was Prometheus (I knew something was off, but didn't know what), the show made it so incredibly obvious tonight that Chase is actually Vigilante that even I was able to get it. And then they went the "mysterious getaway" route instead of outright revealing what they'd already telegraphed. Smh.

I've been trying to find a way to say pretty much this. Randall's sense of humor and quick wit tends toward a dry, slightly mocking tone. It's fantastic as self-deprecation ("We gotta go, I'm still black"), but it has the potential to be cutting when used against others, even when he doesn't necessarily mean it to be -- especially when that person is someone who deals with things much more openly and doesn't seem to follow subtly all that well (i.e. Kevin). I could see Randall intending his jokes (about the basement, for example) to be taken good-natured teasing, while Kevin perceived them to be mocking and wanted none of it. Kevin doesn't appear to typically come up with in-kind responses as quickly as Randall, so his go-to move is to shut down and shut out the competition. (Seems like he's always trying to leave or go hide when he gets too emotional about things.) And the harder Randall tried to force a breakthrough (either through being sweet and perfect like his mom kept reinforcing or through brute force on the football field), the less Kevin wanted to deal with it. As Beth implied, they could pretend to be fine as long as there was someone else there for them to focus on, but when left alone things just went south quickly, because neither one would/could say what they really felt.

Excellent birth order analysis; that's what I'm seeing too. Although, I've read that sometimes birth order characteristics flip (particularly between first and second children), so that what I'm going to chalk it up to here. ETA: I've also read several birth order items discussing the particular conflict dynamic between first- and second-born sons -- how the second son tends to go the opposite way of the first one, in an attempt to establish his own place in the family and still potentially be considered an equal. It's hard to move past comparison when the siblings are similar, so one tends to deviate. (What? I studied birth order for a senior paper in college). It's part of the reason I've been so obsessed fascinated with Kevin and Randall's relationship; I've been wanting to see how true to life it is (you know, for a tv show.) Boy, it does not disappoint.

If we can just get Kate to move to NY/NJ, my life (while watching this show) will be complete. I reallywant to see all three siblings interacting as adults. Sterling K. Brown and Justin Hartley both brought it tonight. It was so interesting and heartbreaking to see Kevin and Randall finally show some honesty about their relationship. The teen versions were so spot on as well. I felt bad for both of them; pitting jealousy and inferiority against a need to prove oneself for acceptance, on top of preexisting teen emotions and natural sibling rivalry, is a bad bad BAD combination. I loved the olive branch at the end with them both in the basement, watching The Manny. Oh, Kate. There are some things you just can't do for people without hurting yourself, no matter how badly you want to. I know she said, "I'll just have to handle it," but if she can't (which apparently she can't), then... (I guess we'll find out next week.) Still, if her needing to be away from Toby and his lack of diet is a factor in her deciding to move closer to her brothers, then I'm all for it. (By the way, is teen Kate's actress related to Chrissy Metz? Because WOW does she ever look like adult Kate.) As always, really looking forward to next week.

I didn't even know she was gone until my sister pointed it out as the credits began to roll.

The new D.A. is a lawyer, who has a bit of a history with pre-island Ollie, and is replacing somebody who was fatally wounded while working with the Green Arrow. Plus IIRC he was the first person shown on screen at the crime scene when that woman got a throwing star to the neck in her own home. My realistic bet is that he's Prometheus. (That's not who I want, but it's more in line with the level of writing the show's been giving me lately than my crack pipe dream casting is.)

The show has always maintained that The Hood had a serial-killer mentality, even though it was usually his second, third, or fourth go-to move, rather than his first. Even in Season 1 Lance kept calling him a serial killer, and much of Tommy's problem when he found out it was Oliver was that Oliver had killed people. (Never mind the sometimes multiple chances he gave people to come clean before he killed them.) So they're somewhat consistent in that in everyone's mind, "The Hood" was basically known for killing people. That's why Oliver switch to going as "The Vigilante" in Season 2: he was trying to dissociate himself with the killer ways of The Hood. Now what makes no sense at all is why the noobs or anyone else who knows Oliver now is getting all self-righteous with him about how he was long before they ever met him. It was nonsensical for Evelyn to feel "betrayed" because Oliver convinced her not to kill Darhk in retribution for her parents' deaths; Oliver had long since stopped being Killy McStabby about most people by then. Just because he killed people a long time ago doesn't make wrong for him to try to stop you from putting that on your conscious now. In fact, maybe listen to him on that mark, since he's clearly got way more experience than you there. The B team being mad at him for hiding stuff from them that OTA knows is actually more plausible -- although I feel like that anger should instantly dissipate every time they look at Rene. I want to punch him full in his mouth every time he opens it to snipe the word "Blondie" at Felicity. And then I want Felicity to do it. Then I everyone else to take turns after her. (Shut your freakin' face, Rene.) Mayo (sorry, not calling him Billy) came this close to being remotely interesting this episode. Something about the way he was questioning her new "friend" in his first scene made me think he might actually have already figured out her secret; and then when she was actually telling him her secret and he got upset about her being a criminal I thought hey, maybe they're going to let this guy have a character/backbone after all (or maybe I thought he was about to break up with her and I got all excited) -- and then he instantly flipped to fanboy and I lost interest again. By the same token, I don't care how many times Oliver has to tell people to stop calling Susan Williams his girlfriend -- I will put up with that joke for as long as necessary as long as he never actually sleeps with her. If this show pulls the ultimate 5th season culmination/surpise and somehow manages to bring back Colin Donnell as Prometheus/LP Tommy I might actually forgive them for everything else. I don't mean CGI, or dream sequence/hallucination, or flashbacks (only) or anything else -- I mean present day, flesh and blood Tommy Merlyn as the Dark Archer that everyone thought he was going to turn into in the latter part of Season 1 before they threw us the biggest of curveballs with his death. I know I would have panned it as a Spiderman ripoff if it had happened back then, but now... mad props if the show could pull that off with any believabliity.

Thanks @Morrigan2575 for clearing that up for me. Berlanti et. al. made such a big deal about the crossovers being on the 8th episode of the season I thought the crossover episodes were actually the 8th episode across the board. ("So tell me again why Arrow's 100th episode had to be part of the big crossover, instead of a truly Arrow-focused episode? Never mind, I think I know the answer.")

Can someone explain to me how the crossover scheduling is supposed to work? Because right now I'm confused. Supergirl and LoT started a week later than Flash and Arrow. But Flash aired a rerun tonight, so next week (the week before Thanksgiving) every show except Arrow is airing their 6th episode (Arrow is airing 5x07). However, I'm assuming Arrow is going with a rerun during the week of Thanksgiving, so that would put it in line with the other shows -- except LoT. Is Legends airing a new episode on Thanksgiving night? 'Cause that's the only way I see it airing its 7th episode before the crossover week. (Unless I'm badly mistsken about the crossover week is exactly.) It just seems odd to throw out a new DCTV episode on the night of a major holiday when they're (apparently) going with a rerun the night before. Am I thinking about this right?

It's ridiculous that I even care this much about it, but I'm kinda hoping they have a girl, so they can have two boys and a girl to go with Jensen & Daneel's two girls and a boy.

ITA about the movie needing more/better defined time jumps. I know that time was supposedly fluid for Strange as he mastered the elements and then joined the fight, but the structure of time for those of us regular mortals was a little too confusing, specifically at the points you mentioned. Which reminds me -- I know I saw some of the gray coming into his hair throughout the movie, but did most of it come in at his temples before or during his countless deaths while we was annoying the daylights (heh) out of Dormammu? It was another time marker for me the kind of got lost in the shuffle. I went into it knowing virtually nothing about Dr. Strange; Benedict Cumberbatch really made the movie for me. It's funny -- I didn't mind the American accent at all; sometimes it doesn't work for at all (ex. Haley Atwell's accent on her new show), but I didn't even notice it here. Most of the parts I didn't enjoy I can chalk up to character/story introduction, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of Dr. Strange in other movies.

This is the second episode this season that I decided to keep on my DVR! Good job all around. (I just wish they had aged Auggie up a year or two at the beginning of the show, because I feel like the actor is going to hit a growth spurt soon that will make it difficult to buy that he's still early-elementary age.)

If that's the clarity they were going for, then bravo and brava. Mission accomplished.

Just chiming in to say I pretty much agree. Ray and Felicity worked for me on a platonic level, but I think I always like BR as someone's friend or especially an odd-couple buddy rather than as a LI. To be truthful, "Broken Arrow" is actually my favorite episode of season 3, partially because I actually got to enjoy Ray and Oliver for once as the perfect humorous balance to all the very serious drama going on. (The depressing and ridiculous LOA and LP stuff in 4x20 puts it in second place for me.)

These two lines sum up exactly my problem. My DVR space is limited; I don't have time for a crap show to keep stringing me along, promising me it'll eventually get back to the thing I actually wanted to see while it continues to destroy that thing before my eyes. (And I watched all four seasons of The Pretender, so I know whereof I speak.) I know the more optimistic people keep talking about how it's the journey, not the destination, but even if I actually believed I was being taken where I wanted to go, I don't want to feel like I got trapped inside a car that was shoved off a cliff and is rolling downhill across jagged rocks to get there.

I'll take this one since I made that same mistake in my head before coming here. :-) Chadwick Boseman was in Get on Up with Jill Scott, who was in Cavedweller with Kevin Bacon. Next Up: continuing my current obsession with Sterling K. Brown

This Show. Ugh, why am I still watching this show? I wish I knew how to quit you, Arrow. Rene, you had one job. Sigh. Welcome back Diggle! Please don't get stuck spending all your time with the noobs. Hey, Wil Traval in a role I actually like! ('Cause I can't with Will Simpson.) Not looking forward to the cries of betrayal when everyone finds out that Oliver didn't spend the entire five years on the island. This is the second time this week that I've yelled at a good looking 30-something blond man to not sleep with the two-faced female who clearly cares only about using him to play out her work as she sees fit. Hope Oliver actually listens. I laughed at Felicity's "you have failed this city" from behind the mask. And my sincerest apologies to perfectly grown and mature men named "Billy" everywhere, but I cannot take any show conversations about this guy seriously. (My apologies to Tyler Ritter as well; I'm sure he's a nice guy, and his talents would be much more appreciated elsewhere.) I look at him, and then I look at Oliver, and I'm just like, Nope. He just looks so young and gullible, and the way he's totally letting Felicity get away with the obviously bad lying about wanting him to meet her friends, or Oliver already being fully aware of their relationship -- he's not even a challenge for her. (And there's no way he can do the salmon ladder, which I'm pretty sure is the deal breaker Felicity never realized she'd made for her life.) The heart eyes were just as subtle as everything else on this show is nowadays. Doesn't make me ragey, just makes me wonder why I'm sitting through the crap that doesn't matter when I could just come back if/when the show ever attempts to get back to the stuff that does. (However, see my beginning statement.)

Can we make this a party of two? Because ITA.

Did the writers decide that we all hate quippy, funny Cisco and forget to tell me? I liked "grey" Wells and "fun" (or at least "funnier") Cisco, and now I've got neither. I was enjoying Julian too, but couldn't he have softened toward the Flash but not Barry? I liked the idea that somebody, somewhere wouldn't fall prey to Barry's charms. He needs a foil. Not a villain, but a foil in his everyday life. Sigh. The episode was okay, I guess. I just miss the characters I used to know.

I will say it again: Justin Hartley is killing it as Kevin. I knew he'd bottled up the emotions he needed to work that part of the play, but it hurt when they finally came spilling out. I wanted to hug both him and the widow during that scene with the pickles. (Not a fan of Olivia though. I did not trust her from the moment she invited him out. Every time she interacts with Kevin offstage, she's always making some calculated maneuver to disarm him so she can get what she wants for the play. Don't be sad she'll never sleep with you again, Kevin. Be glad.) Man, I enjoyed Kate kicking the bratty teen out of the car. (Who hasn't wanted to do that?) I also enjoyed her making the most out of the circumstances under which she was hired. It's a shame her relationship with Rebecca is strained, but I look forward to seeing the journey that will hopefully lead to better understanding for both of them. That's what the show is about. Jack and young Randall. Oh my heart that was sweet and beautiful. I love the tie thing, and I love that adult Randall could recognize that he was doing something he loved, even if nobody else did, because his parents helped foster that. (No I don't mean playing the piano and singing.) Next week's scenes with Kevin and Randall are going to crush me, I know it.

Just wondering if Joan waking up while Sherlock was trying to determine where she might need a poison ivy salve tops last week Sherlock playing "Gimme Some Lovin'" on the violin as the most disturbing way he's woken her up.

Since I'm having a hard time getting mentally prepared to go back to calling him "Dean" (seriously, Jensen stole that name from him in less than two episodes of SPN), I really hope he's moved on from Rory. It'd actually be really great each of Rory's major loves were healthy, happy, and stable and in their own ways encouraging her to find that for herself.

About ten minutes into the episode I planned to come here with this statement: "I think Justin Hartley is doing really great work on this show, that even when I'm physically cringing away from Kevin on the screen I still want to know more about him." And WOW, he so validated by the end. That was beautiful. In a way I'm relieved about Jack. I can go back to innocently enjoying his life with Rebecca, and even his friendship with Miguel, without being suspicious of how they came together. And having Kate make the introduction (although I'm still 60/40 on Toby) was not nearly as weird as she was worried it would be. Randall and Beth are so real, and so great. And of course, so was the "wise old owl." I'm pretty sure that was a flashforward of Randall packing up William's things after his death; it was part of the montage during Kevin's explanation of life -- past, present, and future -- being represented in that painting. Oh, and we got Randall and Kevin interacting! Kevin was being typically self-absorbed self at first, but I actually loved when the exchanges when Kevin offered to babysit. Beth was not amused, but Randall was. That was when I could see what it might have been like during childhood moments they actually got along. Another stellar episode.