TimetravellingBW

I don't mind Flash being in the centre either, what bugs me is when Ray is more prominent than Sara. (Which he normally is since Day 1 of promotional materials being released). Why? Sara is more popular, arguably has more links across the Flarrowverse, more of a leader and was a major pulling card to get LoT off the ground when Ray failed to get people interested in his spinoff. (And if she does become BC she'd be a more iconic comics character? (I think the BC is more well known than the Atom?)). I'm tired of seeing Ray stuck in front of her in LoT promotion just because he's male apparently. I do like the second poster though.

I'd really love it if they paralleled Diggle/Felicity struggling with the dark choices they made at the end of S4 (killing Andy, Havenrock) and getting support from Lyla/Oliver who have more experience dealing with the "darkness" inside of them and making ruthless decisions for the greater good. I adored the scene in S3 with Oliver and Lyla bonding over being willing to cross lines that Felicity and Diggle wouldn't. If they could mine that dynamic and have some Diggle/Felicity bonding over their shared guilt. Diggle and Felicity have always been the moral compasses of the show, it would be great to flip that around and have the darker Lyla and Oliver help them through things. That way both couples could have relationship stuff in a mature fashion.

I'm with everyone on disliking how Rory suddenly became popular and comfortable with rich socialites. I just didn't get how she could go from reading a book through her first college party and not enjoying the Spring Break experience to going out drinking/partying/clubbing with Logan & co almost nightly. It doesn't feel believable. (I'm also biased because I was similar to Rory at university and totally preferred staying in with a book/movie and small group of friends to going out. So I was annoyed when they got rid of that aspect of Rory's character which imo had been pretty integral to her since S1). It does suggest she's worryingly easily led, but it would have been nice to at least have her acknowledge that she still doesn't actually like partying and feels uncomfortable around the L&D Brigade lot but goes with it because she wants to fit in. She was spiralling and going through an insecure phase so that would be believable while still keep her as Rory. But of course they had to keep her *in denial* and not thinking anything deeper than table decorations. If they wanted Rory to take risks at College and "get out there" it would have felt more authentic for her to fall into a crowd that's "edgy" in a different way: Political groups who hold protests, quirky writer/actor/arty/intellectual types pushing back against the system, people almost like Jess's independent arts scene friends in S6. Those are people who'd push Rory's comfort zone but she'd still enjoy hanging out with. For someone who wants to be an international correspondent she seems to take little interest in current affairs or activism aside from one petition signing stall she did in S4. I hated that Rory was super successful as a socialite and party organiser as well as her being perfect at everything else in her life. (Her taking charge of the other people doing community service was sickening). This was meant to be her dark, failing period. Let her suck at working for the DAR, be hated by the others serving Community Service because she's sheltered and spoiled, be an outsider with Logan's friends. Let her struggle with all that and realise actually College and nerdy friends is where she belongs. But as usual they couldn't let Rory fail at anything or have anyone dislike the perfect princess.

Oh god please don't let Felicity become the BC. Not only would it enrage the fanbase and anti-Felicity feeling even more, but I actually really like that a clear weakness/limitation of Felicity is she's not a fighter and not strong physically. Her being able to wack things with whatever object is close by in self-defence is feasible. Her becoming BC is not. It wasn't believable when Laurel suited up and would be even less so with Felicity. Felicity has a lot of strengths and skills: She's a tech genius, she's a world class hacker, she's the heart of the team and emotional compass, she's figuring out being a CEO. She doesn't need fighting skills or a mask to be strong. Hopefully the passing the baton thing was just symbolic of Felicity taking Laurel's place as lead female and Oliver's true love.

I'd love for Sara to take up the BC mantle - she's already ended up taking on the BC role anyway what with being a world class martial arts fighter, bisexual, battle couple with Oliver, mentoring Sin and going off with a different team rather than being Spare Muscle #4 as Laurel was to Team Arrow. And yeah making Sara the BC would basically confirm they only made LL the BC because of contract reasons and preferred Sara all along. (Which would explain so much about Sara's abrupt death and LL's terrible, rushed arc. I do wonder if there were serious efforts and discussions at the end of S2/break before S3 to get rid of LL but they failed because of contracts/money and so killed Sara instead. Maybe Laurel would have been the shock death/murder mystery at the start of S3 if they'd had a choice). I also expect to be endlessly amused at KC's reaction and if she'll become aware that the writers clearly haven't wanted LL around for years.

Seconded. If it's just about her getting attention and not about actual disappointment/criticism of Arrow then that makes me roll my eyes even more. It's just sad that someone who seems like a well-respected writer needs to leech of a show they allegedly hate just to get attention. Is she not secure enough in her own success and writing that she has to get support from anti-Olicitiers who may not even read her stuff. I also find it deeply ironic that for someone who cares about female characters she attacks EBRs role (an actress is very much her character first, romance second) while gushing over KC who threw LL under the bus to try and be a LI. If GS doesn't watch the show then I'm sure their little chats never included why the hell KC destroyed what was left of GS's beloved Black Canary in order to fulfil her ridiculous headcanons about LL always being in love within Oliver. But meh, I don't follow her on her Twitter and won't give her a response, and she's not going to care if non-comics readers like me are put off from maybe reading her comics. It's just disappointing a prominent feminist in the boys club of comics is catering to such a sexist argument just to get attention.

I'm really disappointed with GS, I'm not a comics reader but I've certainly heard of her and that she was a really strong feminist writer, who developed great female characters/friendships/storylines in comics and succeeded in a male dominated field. So I'm disappointed that she's taking constant potshots at Felicity and Olicity. I get that she's annoyed that Laurel/the BC got shafted but does she even watch the show? Laurel was the opposite to a well-developed female character who honoured the BC legacy and the writers developed much stronger female characters in Sara and Felicity as alternatives. Couldn't she just accept that there are representations of strong, complex heroines in a Green Arrow adaption even if it's not the route she would have gone down or the characters she'd have focused on. If she really cares about female representation attacking Felicity seems like cutting off her nose in spite of her face. Attack the writers for a terrible BC and Laurels weaknesses, not a mostly-female fanbase for liking a better written female character. It's not even like her criticisms are particularly witty or insightful. (Comparing Olicity to Trump really?) If she actually presented a proper argument explaining why she felt Felicity was a poor heroine and Olicity a terrible romance then I might listen. But with the amount of terrible representation of females on TV I fail to see why Genius-In-Male-Dominated-Field/MIT graduate/Takes No Shit From My Bf/part time hero-part time CEO/I-can-wear-pretty-dresses-and-kick ass-Felicity is such an atrocity.

So with you on how much killing Moira has killed the show. And if the writers are keeping MM around because they've realized - far too late - that they need a parental figure, then I have a little more respect for them. But honestly if they need a father figure to bring gravitas to the angsty youths: WALTER. He certainly has the maturity, he can provide the out of lair/corporate/shady dealings/civilian storylines that have been missing since S2, he's willing to poke his nose into things, we don't know much about how the kidnapping and Moira's betrayal has impacted him so that's something to explore - maybe he's more bitter and jaded than previously. Plus he's already got genuine relationships with most of the team as Thea and Oliver's father/step-father and Felicity's boss. Also he's not in on Oliver's secret, so if he was around more it might actually bring back some tension about why Oliver has to hide his identity. Honestly imagine if this season had Walter turning up to advise Oliver on his mayor-hood (even as becoming Deputy Mayor if Quentin doesn't), helping Felicity get back PT or build her own company and reconnecting with Thea. Maybe if Oliver and Thea get closer to him again they'll worry if he finds out about their night time activities he'll walk away from them like he walked away from Moira. Seriously I'd be 100% more excited about Walter being a lead or even recurring character in S5 than any of the other casting announcements they've made.

Oh O'Brien isn't Chris Pratt level yet, but he's leading a movie franchise and people other than the Teen Wolf fandom know of him. And yeah I agree he was always the strongest actor of the cast. I was just thinking right at the beginning in S1 when he came in with basically zero acting experience the producers could never have imagined he'd be their wild card. By S3b with the nogitsune arc it was pretty obvious they'd realised what he could do and other directors/execs had too. I never would've called Jason Momoa either, though maybe that's because he wasn't given much range as Ronon. but I haven't seen the rest of the SGA cast in anything since. So we'll see what happens with Arrow. I mean going in KC was tipped to be the rising star to bigger and better things. But we'll see what roles the cast get outside of Arrow.

It's always amusing to go back and see the actors (often playing secondary characters not leads) that become the break out stars. Like Chris Pratt from Parks and Rec, and Dylan O'Brien from Teen Wolf going from comic relief to Hollywood leads - they were both good on their shows, but at the time no one would have guessed they'd be the ones who'd become so well known. Wonder which/if any of the Arrow cast will be known after the show has finished. I think my hopes have just dropped after S4 and the BMD. S3 was still worse imo but I hoped it was just a weak phase and adjusting to losing show runners/launching the Flash at the same time. S4 has proved the poor writing is a trend and they're pursuing the criticised aspects of S3: Olicity melodrama, the BMD everyone loathed, the lair overcrowding, lack of non-vigilante stories, comics characters galore. They give nods to things that worked - like the OTA references - but it's all very surface level stuff. Getting rid of Laurel and actually having Diggle/Felicity centric storylines are about the only real shifts they made to fix their mistakes. (And even those things had issues in the writing).

I feel Logan did bring out a more impulsive, outgoing side to Rory - he was basically Tristan 2.0 and Logan's different energy and banter was great. For me it always comes down to feeling Logan is a good character, but not liking Logan/Rory together, or Rory's characterization with Logan. Logan/Rory just seemed too different to be viable as a long term couple. It never felt authentic that Rory, who in the first four seasons disliked the partying/clubbing scene so much, (see: Her first party at Yale, Spring Break episode, going out with that guy Emily set her up with) would actually fit in with Logan and his partying lifestyle and friends. That leap was always too big and unbelievable for me. Rory became unrecognizable - and not particularly likable - after getting together with Logan. I agree with posters on previous pages that who Rory became was not Logan's fault, but it means I could never root for them as a couple. Also yeah, Logan felt too "temporary" to be sold as end game for Rory. It's notable that their biggest stable, adult relationship stuff happened in Season 7 - post ASP leaving. A big theme of the show was Rory exploring between the mother's world (Stars Hollow) and her grandparents wealthy world. (Chilton and later Yale). The guys she dated always felt like they represented those two sides: Dean was the small town boy and Logan was the rich Yale socialite. Rory "trying out" her grandparents world was an essential arc, and Logan fitted that at the time, but it felt like a phase. I thought the show was leading to Rory finding a guy balanced between the two worlds: S6 suggests Jess could offer an alternative world of her own (artsy, intellectual etc.), though in S2 and 3 he was more just her rebellious/sexual awakening. Someone like Marty would have worked - Yale student, but poorer background. (I actually loved Marty and in real life he'd definitely be the most compatible with Rory, but Logan was a more interesting, if douchy character and made better TV). Also yeah, they went overboard with how much of a dick Logan was initially. With their first meeting, him not remembering Rory was her being oversensitive but the way he treated Marty was way too much- and that was Logan's establishing character moment! (Reinforced with the maid debacle later). The whole witty "well he is kinda my servant" banter would work as a hypothetical debate, but not when Logan was actually treating people like dirt. It was a level of self-absorbed, petty cruelty that crossed a line, despite his character development later. (For me that's the main difference between Logan and Jess: Both were douchebags, but Jess lashed out at people who had power/input over his situation while he had no control - Luke, Lorelai, the principal, even the townspeople. Logan deliberately and carelessly hurt people he had power over and weren't impacting him).

Yes to all of this. The writers really haven't realized that making Oliver and Felicity the source of the drama is the worst possible route to go. It annoys Olicity fans, it annoys anti-Olicity fans, it annoys neutral fans who don't watch the show for the relationships. I don't know who the writers are targeting with their terrible romantic angst but they're staying quiet in their appreciation of it. It's not like Arrow is a show without other sources of drama or excitement. Mine drama from the villains and the stresses of living a double life and Oliver's dark past, and let Olicity be the stable aspect of the show, as they were in S1, S2 and 4a. (Periods when, FYI writers, the pairing was popular). I also think there's an element of truth in Felicity's character suffering from losing her funnier, comic relief aspects from S3 onwards. I don't think her character should be pigeonholed into "the funny girl" and not allowed to develop layers or express her feelings, but the fact she was snarky and funny and awkward and added lightness to the show was a big appeal of Felicity initially and the writers have killed it through throwing on Olicity angst relentlessly. But joining in not being enthused for Season 5. I don't know how the show lost everything that made Season 1 and 2 so good, but it has and Arrow is now an awkward mesh of a run-of-the-mill action show and poorly written soap opera.

It sounds like she was annoyed about other aspects of the show, not just Olicity. Her comment about never knowing what was coming next really sounds like frustration with the writers for having zero direction with the plot and not giving her anything to go on. And when talking about SA it's obvious they didn't click or hang out much. So yeah can't blame her for feeling bitter. And it must suck for her because almost every other flashback character eventually linked up to the present day plot/appeared in scenes with the main cast and at least had more characters to play off. (Slade, Sara and Shado all interacted with each other, and Sara and Slade had big roles in present day. Even Tatsu and Maseo had more to do in flashbacks and popped up later. Poppy's role was to be a sounding board for a blank faced SA).

The posters in general are terrible. I remember the Season 3 one which excluded Thea and just had Oliver, Laurel, Felicity, Diggle and Roy all obviously photoshopped walking down a street totally out of synch and disproportionate. (And people were worried because Laurel was put in front of Diggle and she'd sideline him that season, which turned out to be correct.) I liked the Season 2 poster, which looked pretty cool although Felicity wasn't in glasses and it was missing Moira and Quentin. It still amazes me that fans can produce amazing art, posters, graphics and promo with no budget and without actually being employed, while the actual marketing department is useless. Seriously, just contract fans to make stuff.

Ugh, really not impressed with Manu. First he shit talks Arrow all over Twitter (and I'm still not sure why, the worst thing his character suffered was being beaten by the hero of the show and a slightly confusing villain origin story, it's not like he was unceremoniously shot off a building). And now he's bailing on cons and fighting over payment? That's super shitty to both the con organisers and fans attending. And it sounds like the company is pretty pissed at him.

Wow. I always forget how crazy good Caity is athletically until the behind the scenes stuff comes out.

Moved from the Behind the Scenes Thread: With everything that's happened with KC and being utterly out of sync with the rest of the show, I find the "I built backstories for every character!" thing hilarious. And kind of bizarre. Creating a backstory for your own character and even their past with other characters is normal. (Though imo that approach works better in theater or film where the story isn't always changing like TV). But she's implying she created backstories for other characters as well. And although she claims she adapts her backstories if the writers outright contradict them, her track record with clinging to the same lines right from the pilot "Laurel has always seen the good in him!" "It just makes her love him more" suggest she doesn't exactly adapt much. Which would explain why she has such weird views on the rest of the characters. Now I'm imagining KC holed up in her trailer, reinterpreting every scene because Oliver is still in love with her and linking his actions back to their mythical past relationship where they lost their virginity to each other and Tommy was a douche. I mean, the weird gasp reaction scene: "Oh! He touches her shoulder at the wedding because her orange dress totes reminds him of what she wore when they went to senior prom together!' She probably didn't bother with backstories for Diggle and Felicity especially in S1 and 2 when she thought Felicity was temporary, but I'd love to know what she cobbled together about them if she tried. Arrow According To KC. That's my take on KC as well. She might be able to act ok, but her problem (aside from the fact she genuinely can't play warm and kind) was just that she was clinging to her headcanons - about both Laurel and others - and didn't take into account what was actually going on in the show. She probably acted best with PB because the Quentin/Laurel backstory didn't change much from the pilot. I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been for other actors when she's acting out a completely different scene from them.

With everything that's happened with KC and being utterly out of sync with the rest of the show, I find the "I built backstories for every character!" thing hilarious. And kind of bizarre. Creating a backstory for your own character and even their past with other characters is normal. (Though imo that approach works better in theater or film where the story isn't always changing like TV). But she's implying she created backstories for other characters as well. Although she claims she adapts the backstories if the writers outright contradict her, her track record with clinging to the same lines right from the pilot "Laurel has always seen the good in him!" "It just makes her love him more" suggest she doesn't exactly adapt much. Which would explain why she has such weird views on the rest of the characters. Now I'm imagining KC holed up in her trailer, reinterpreting every scene because Oliver is still in love with her and linking his actions back to their mythical past relationship where they lost their virginity to each other and Tommy was a douche. I mean, the weird gasp reaction scene: "Oh! He touches her shoulder at the wedding because her orange dress totes reminds him of what she wore when they went to senior prom together!' She probably didn't bother with backstories for Diggle and Felicity for most seasons, but I'd love to know what she cobbled together about them if she tried. Arrow According To KC. Edit: Just saw the request to move to the LL thread. Will take my post over there.

That's true, and the loss of sets is another thing that's damaged the show imo. I really miss Luthor Queen manor from Season 1 and 2. That was a gorgeous set and gave the show a more genuine feel than hanging out in offices and lairs all the time. S3 and 4 has just been switching between the lair, the loft, PT office and that warehouse every villain in Starling hangs out in waiting for the mini-bus of masks to ambush them. (I'm assuming they have some sort of booking or roster system). Plus the occasional appearance from Laurel's or the Diggle's apartment. They really didn't think through the implications of making Laurel a lawyer. Even if they planned her character thinking they were going to be in LA with standing courtroom sets, the lawyer plan had so many issues - writing and logistically - they should have scrapped it early on. But then the writer's plan for Laurel basically extended to: "Rachel Dawes now" "Black Canary later" with very little thought for Laurel Lance herself.

Ugh, I really don't think Oliver/Felicity can take more cliched drama. But as the writers have completely missed that Oliver/Felicity worked and were popular because they weren't angsty, melodramatic and on/off, they might merrily introduce more love triangles or love interests and pointless fights next season. Honestly, my only hope is that the showrunners looked at last season and realized no one - not critics, not Olicity fans, not comics fans, not general viewers, not Reddit, Tumblr or Twitter - liked the Baby Mama Drama. Seriously, I don't think I read a single positive thing about that arc from any source, apart from "h8ted the story but nolicity broke up 4EVER yay!" There were different reactions - some people turned on Oliver, a lot turned on Felicity, most turned on the writers - but it was hated across the board. (Second only to the Flashbacks). I know the writers don't write according to fan reaction and the internet complaining, but they might have at least realized they made a mistake there and Olicity can't take more drama. They can't depend on SA and EBR's chemistry/acting to save their appalling writing. This isn't their chance to do Lauriver again with different actors, this is writing for what works and is organic for Olicity. (You like that word so much writers? Use it.) If the break up was network mandated like @quarks suggested then I have more sympathy with the writers, but the poor Olicity build up in S3 is all on them, so they got themselves into the hole of rushing the couple into an engagement so early. S5 is their chance to redo what they should have done in S3: Sexual tension, flirting, slow build up and keeping it low-key. A new love interest doesn't make sense for either Oliver or Felicity's characters. Oliver basically took a vow of "Felicity or Celibacy For Life" after he took her out on that one date. Felicity takes relationships very seriously and takes a long to recover from them. (She didn't seem to have any serious boyfriends after Cooper "died" - and he was probably her first/only relationship - and took months to get together with Ray after one kiss with Oliver and then stayed close friends with him after their break up).

Same, I remember Laurel being better acted early in the show and getting worse when KC realized her role wasn't what she was promised. But here she's already bland and flat so early on. (Admittedly SA isn't giving her much with his robot perform, but he's at least meant to be playing a closed off, masked killer holding back while KC/Laurel is supposed to be the caring, curious one). It will never not be hilarious that Oliver acts on auto-pilot the entire scene and then jerks into action like a wind-up doll when she gets close. Clearly Laurel hitting on him is the only thing that can still touch his dead soulless heart. Oh sorry, I didn't mean to imply you thought that was the main/only reason for Laurel's demotion, my post got rather convoluted. I was just theorizing that if Laurel's character had been a success the writers might have kept the law/court aspects of the show despite the high cost and expenses. But even then making her lawyer still felt too far removed from Oliver's vigilante life, it would have made a lot more sense have her as a cop from the start: a) It would be easier to write Oliver and Laurel teaming up from different sides of the law, she'd be more involved with his work catching criminals rather than just dealing with the aftermath. b) The show never would have run into the expenses/logistical problems of filming court scenes. c) They could still do Laurel's Losing Faith In The Law arc. d) Laurel would start out with better fighting skills/street experience. This. I think the show realized doing three separate, series-long arcs: Oliver, Laurel and Tommy, was simply biting off more than they could chew. (Especially as the Black Canary is such a huge character in her own right) and it restricted their storytelling options. So they made it just Oliver's story and shifted to Diggle and Felicity as Oliver's trio. Even though Diggle and Felicity are clearly the most significant characters after Oliver they're still supporting characters for his story and don't have the destiny arcs Laurel and Tommy would have had. But it is incredibly awkward that the writers clung to the "Black Canary is Laurel's destiny" after they moved on - Roy and Thea both had better development to becoming vigilantes (probably because they weren't depending on comic book destiny to justify their actions) and didn't spout "we were always meant for this!" spiels. It's depressing that the reason Laurel never worked is because she was still written for a different show that no longer existed.

I wonder if another factor that contributed to reducing the court room/law part of the show (on top of court room scenes being expensive, realizing that either only Laurel or Oliver could be effective, having to launch Ray, bringing in other characters to the team) was simply that the show switched from Laurel being the second main character to minor character. Like @quarks said: In S1 they very much set up Oliver and Laurel's stories running parallel to each other, with him on the streets and her in court. While other characters revolved around Oliver, Laurel had her own separate set up: CNRI, Joanna, Quentin etc. If Laurel's character had hit off with the audience, if she was a well-written character and if Lauriver worked, then the writers could have given Laurel's arcs more screen time. It wouldn't necessarily have to be Oliver or Laurel being useful, and "Oliver has to help Laurel" - Oliver and Laurel could have separate Plot A and Plot B stories with their own victories that sometimes overlapped. If Laurel was a well-written, popular character, it might have been worth investing money in courtroom scenes, making them more central and bringing in other characters to support that side of the show. (Or at least having more law-related/Laurel stories out of the courtroom set, whether it's Laurel investigating crime or helping out the police or law discussions in CNRI/prison sets/not the court rooms). As it was, Laurel's character turned out to be a mess, and the Lauriver relationship bombed so hard, I'm convinced MG and SA still say prayers of thanks to Felicity's existence every night. They hit the jackpot with Original Team Arrow and realized that's where the show worked best. So the show switched Laurel from second lead to minor character. And with her went most of the court/law/legal side of the show, as she was the character it mainly benefited. (Even Quentin as a police officer was more involved with the action side of things). It wasn't worth keeping that aspect of the show just for a lukewarm, minor character. Also, switching from Lauriver to Olicity meant having Oliver and Laurel's journey's running parallel to each other and framing the two of them as the most important characters just didn't make sense. With their romantic relationship/End Game gone, why would Laurel get the second most focus? She ended up as the character least connected to Oliver and wasn't a strong enough character to carry her own story separate from him. (If they ever wanted a shot at doing a Green Arrow in the A-Plot and Black Canary in the B-Plot style of the show - platonically or romantically - they should have kept Sara around, she at least had a chance of remaining interesting outside of Oliver's sphere. Even then the BC was always too big of a character to have on a GA show imo). Basically rather than: Courtrooms scenes are expensive/failed --> Laurel's role is reduced. It went: Laurel's character failed ---> Law side of the show reduced. (Honestly, the writers showed so little interest in giving Laurel decent screentime since the beginning of Season 2, that I wonder if they actually considered getting rid of her at the end of Season 1. After all Tommy was a major player in their original plan, but they killed him off to give the show a shock. What if their first choice was Laurel? Set up an epic-starcrossed-seemingly end game romance and then kill the love interest off? (A love interest who happened to no longer fit with their new direction for the show). Pure speculation, but given how they half-assed every one one of her plots - her "crucible", Black Canary arc and resurrecting Sara - it's hard not to wonder if the writers just didn't really want her around anymore).

I also suspect the line is a polite way of saying the cast and crew have had enough of facilitating all the supernatural, fantasy stuff that's come with the Flash and LoT, and want to go back to what actually made Arrow successful. (Rather than being stepped over because of shiny new toys - and then getting unfavorably compared to the shows they made sacrifices to accommodate).

I really hope they don't kill a main next season. We've had four seasons with an obligatory "what major character shall we kill this year." (Tommy, Moira, Sara, Laurel). Tommy was a shock, Moira less so - and her death has harmed the show ever since, Sara only caused outrage and a miserable mood all season and Laurel fueled the grave mystery but her death itself was underwhelming. Also the constant merry go round of introducing characters, spending so long setting them up and then waving goodbye feels like a waste of time. Plus the 1 Big Death Per Season has become so freaking formulaic - that's why everyone bought the Roy fake out in Season 3. Writers for Season 5, please let the big twist be someone not dying. (Unless it's Malcolm. In which case go ahead). But if they do kill someone. Paul seems likely (as commented before), because the law of the Arrowverse is a loved one dying gives you vigilante powers. (Again, it would be great if they did something different). He'd probably have a tragic death bleeding out in Curtis's arms or something along those lines :( I think Donna or Quentin are more likely to die than Curtis, but hopefully they'd get more "heroic" deaths than Sara and Laurel's undignified endings. I think it's true the writers are good with trios: Original Team Arrow, Teen Arrow with Roy/Sin/Thea, (the show dropping that dynamic is still one of the things I'm most bummed about, I remember being really annoyed Teen Arrow investigating Blood got handed over to Laurel because she needed something to do). Also Slade/Oliver/Shado, Slade/Oliver/Sara and Oliver/Maseo/Tatsu in flashbacks were pretty good. But more people than that and the writers struggle. Also having smaller teams in Season 5 would give some layers to the show, as having different characters off providing different plotlines rather than 85% of the cast crowded in the lair all the time would be more interesting.

Given Curtis's thing is being "terrific" at everything, it would have been better to make him a genius surgical doctor who invents and develops medical technology. That way he could still be invent some ~miraculous spine healing doo-dad ~ to fix Felicity. (I know as much about medical and surgical science as the writers clearly). And then his main role would be the team doctor. We already have Felicity as a hacker, Ray as the inventor last year and Cisco as an engineer when they need to some new gadget. Is Curtis's role going to be inventing new things in the background that will conveniently tie in with TA's weekly problem? Hacking is an active, day to day useful skill for team, inventing not so much.