statsgirl

From the Corto Maltese thread: This seems to be Oliver's default mode -- when things aren't going the way he wants, he turns into a jerk. He does it with Diggle, he did it with Moira (rejected her for the Malcolm secret when he was keeping an even bigger one), he does it with Felicity and I think he may have done it with Sara too. Now I know things were rough during those five years and before that he was a spoiled douche but it's a really crappy way to act to someone you supposedly love. Diggle is strong enough, and manly enough, and mature enough to let it roll over him. But how many times can he do that to Felicity and still expect her to hold out her arms for him? I wonder what Thea will do when he tries it with her. What I'm worried about is not that they are setting up an Oliver/Laurel romance right now (it's too soon since he's supposed to be in love with Felicity (which is also why the The Calm numbers are an outlier) but that they are setting up Laurel to be the de facto leading lady (with a possible Oliver relationship in s4 or 5). Laurel screentime, whether alone, with Oliver or with someone else, is something I'm not interested in so the idea that she's going to get even more is a turn-off for me. No, I don't think he ever wanted to continue in the family business. When he went to Laurel, he was looking for a way to get out of it. What I think is selfish is using The Mission as an excuse to get out of the messy hard work that is Life.

I'm not concerned this year because 1. Felicity is doing the job she was trained to do and can frame her MIT diploma to prove it; 2. she's got her own EA who can tell everyone she's doing high-powered tech stuff that everyone else has failed at; and 3. at this point, Ray isn't spending as much time with her or in as close quarters as Oliver did.

I think they are having Ray so generous with office, EA and a job doing what she wants to do is to contrast with Oliver making Felicity his EA last season when she didn't want to be, and also making her the object of office gossip. The audience's feels are for Oliver, but wow, does Ray treat her well.

Do we need to start an Arrow Watchers Anonymous? JayKay, Danny Franks,and everyone else who has stopped watching but still writes great snarks. Don't go! I enjoy reading your posts, and they give me a reality check when the show's delusion gets too much.

I think there was a spoiler that said that it's Iris who sets up the date with Barry and Felicity, presumable because she's happy with Eddie and wants Barry to find a relationship too. Awwwkward.

I was thinking Head of a Research Division, maybe VP for Special Projects. If her title has a C- in it, she'd be doing too much administration to pull off the technical miracles Ray wants from her. Doesn't he have his own company somewhere in another city? He's got a proven business track record so he must have run another company somewhere else.

I can see that could be it. But this is where the plan of separating Felicity from Oliver becomes a problem for the show. It seemed like he had the same 'don't mock me, I'm mad' reaction to both Felicity and Diggle. But later in the episode, there was smiling and camaraderie with Diggle so we know they're okay whereas nothing with Felicity, even to the extent that Diggle was the one to phone her for information this time, which made sense since it was Diggle's case but still, the separation from Oliver. I want Arrow to pass the Bechdel test too. They did it with Laurel and Joanna when they talked about Laurel losing her job and Joanna's firm not being willing to hire her. They almost did it with Laurel and Thea except Laurel helped Thea because Oliver asked her to, and then they were about Roy. I'd like it with Felicity and Lyla, and I wish they had not cut the scene between Felicity and Sara. But I can't see Laurel and Felicity being friends, they're just too different in terms of the type of people they are and when the writers try, as they did in that scene, it feels forced. Hey, it's a blue pill! And with Oliver, it was a red pill. It may raise a few but her EA would be telling people that she just pulled off a computing coup that no one else managed. There are probably a number of great offices in the building (I'm sure Isabel claimed one) and since Ray's primary office would be out of town, the old CEO office would be free. There may be gossip, probably will be since there was about her before, but I think the writers wanted to show how much Ray values her as an employee.

If the director of photography is involved, then it's going to be an action sequence rather than a reveal about his kid is my guess. SA seems most excited for the action stuff (see: The Promise) I really hope that Oliver told Felicity that Barry woke up with super speed and that's why when she read Iris' blog she decided to go to Central City. Because if he didn't.... just no words. I'm not a fan of gauzy long skirts over short solid ones but I think that dress works better with the long skirt as a dressy affair. For a casual dinner with friends or even a fake date, it seems a little sleazy. I know they love to put Felicity in cut-away dresses (which seems strange to me because she's not a Look at me! type of person) but that seems too much for a casual dinner with a friend, even more so to meet friends of your friend.

Hmmm. it's hard to say. They do love Oliver, no one else is as good, but they also want to make sure he gets beaten down regularly. If they do have Felicity hesitant because of Ray just when Oliver finally gets his head out of his ass, I'm afraid I'm going to be channelling Danny Franks on that. Ah, but in Blind Spot Laurel didn't know his secrets (say the producers). She wasn't becoming the Black Canary. It's a whole different game now that the fishnets are within sight. I guess we'll see how the numbers come out next week. I would watch just for Nyssa but I don't think the general public necessarily feels the same way, especially after we just had a big mourning episode for Sara last week. Which wasn't about Sara but neither will next week be except for Nyssa and Quentin if she tells him. Will Quentin be mad that Laurel didn't tell him in time for the burial? Are we supposed to feel sorry for Laurel, sad and trying her best but always doing the wrong thing?

Yeah, it was like "give me strength to deal with this flake". Are we supposed to ship Felicity with Ray now since he treats her better than Oliver does? They didn't give us Oliver and Felicity happy together long enough to have patience with this crap. That would make sense if he did it after she mentioned she had to go to work. But he's disagreeable right from the time he first gets back.

The sociologists call it "idiosyncrasy credits", that if you're that good, you get allowances that aren't made for other people. I appreciate that the hot wax scene looked painful but hey, I've had my legs waxed, it's not that bad. It's not like hot oil would be. Oliver telling Diggle he didn't know how to behave on a holiday seemed strange since I bet the old Oliver Queen knew how to holiday with the best of them. When doing something calms down the fire inside of you, that's addiction, not redemption. And while it might be interesting to see Laurel addicted to vengeance and the power that comes with it, I don't think that's where this show is going. I have the feeling that KC was very happy that now she could have some make-up bruises too. And to tell them to tear up just one towel instead of halves of two because they'd only be charged for one then. She knows from the Las Vegas hotels where she worked as a chambermaid. Here in s3, it's easy to forget that Felicity was first put on the show regularly because she brought the funny. Diggle is great deadpan but the lair was a pretty hujmorless place till Felicity joined. Do they pay for the hotel room and meals too? More than the seating in the airplane, I want to know the sleeping arrangements in the hotel room.

I don't think it's so much about Laurel/Oliver bonding as a chance to try out Laurel as truly the leading lady, as opposed to the nominal leading lady, now that she's no longer hampered by not knowing Oliver's secrets and is on her way to becoming the Black Canary. Spreading her wings, so to speak. I think they may be trying out how the audience reacts to a set-up for the Green Arrow/Black Canary show. That's the problem with having a Black Canary on the Green Arrow show -- she can't be a sidekick because the character is too strong so she has to be equal (as Sara was) or .....?

I missed the "Returning soon" because I was done with it by then. I was pretty sure I was done with Charlie and Dawn in the elevator, and Joes and Alex bumping uglies sealed the deal. What got me into this series in the first season was the fierceness of how Alex and Charlie fought for each other. That paled in s2 but at least there was the quirk of Charlie seeing dead people. Now with Gavin gone on the wretched triangles/quadrangle, even that's not enough to keep me watching. Is someone going to tell them this is not the CW? Apparently I'm pretty sure I won't be watching though. Charlie sleeping with Dawn and Alex sleeping with Joel does not a cliffhanger make for me.

One point does not a picture make, or even a line, so I'll see what happens in the following episodes. It seemed to me as if they were deliberately distancing Oliver from Felicity in this episode even more than in the last one. When Oliver arrived in the lair and started talking to Felicity he seemed angry at her even before she said she had to get to work, and that was when she said she worked for a week to get a printoff the whateveritwas. Where was that coming from? It seemed like more than just frustration from another dead end. It's also strange that he didn't tell her that Barry was awake, she had to find out from the news site (which she shouldn't have been reading at work anyway) even though Oliver knew it from the first episode. Why didn't he tell Felicity between then and when Laurel showed up with Sara's body? He knows Felicity was worried about Barry. SA has said that there is only one woman in Oliver's life this season, but that doesn't mean they won't test out how the show goes over with Laurel as the leading lady/proto-Canary when Felicity isn't around.

What I find interesting about their journeys is that they both started off from a position of being hurt. Thea decided that she never wanted to be hurt again and so she fought to become strong and self-sufficient. Laurel decided to take on the qualities of Sara and go out and fight like Sara, without learning how to be strong first. I'm really really glad that someone finally appreciates Felicity for who she is and what she does. It's about time, and I hope this theme carries into later in the season. What is it about fathers and guns? First Quentin replies to Tommy's "How are you sir?" with "Proficient with guns", then Joe threatens Eddie in this week's The Flash and now it's Diggle foreshadowing. But as an EA, Felicity should have been used to putting people in her real life on hold to do her job. Oh, wait, she has no one in her life. Oliver really should have told her about Barry waking up . That's really pissy not to. I thought Laurel's storyline here was something I can live with (so glad Oliver refused to train her) but it depends on how much screen time she gets. I'll give the show till 3x09 to prove to me she's worth it. I

When it's that obvious what they're going to do, it's really bad writing. Next season, they kill off Ted and Felicity in a freak accident when she's trying to get him out of jail, and Oliver and Laurel bond over it.

Isn't Nov 12 during November sweeps? Does this episode really sound like 'must see TV'? Is Laurel prosecuting since she's with the DA's office? Or defending? That was true in s2 too. She had her addiction arc in the first part even though she wasn't in on the main stories except for the Dollmaker. And then it took 5 episodes after Christmas to deal with it, and then she was all up in the Brother Blood stuff.

But Thea was living in a mansion -- Malcolm's mansion. That's where Felicity pinged her phone to. It's possible Diggle had some of the $1 million left from the end of s1. But Roy, how does he have any money since he's not working for Verdant any more? Or selling drugs?

I think the show they had in mind had the Black Canary was the Green Arrow's True Love interest. But I think they soon realized that wasn't going to happen. What makes me bitter is that they are still trying to make Laurel Black Canary happen. To the detriment of other characters (Sara) and others' screentime.

So Oliver is still all about Laurel in ep 306? Better a Roy episode than more Laurel.

But The Flash and Arrow don't have to take place at the same time. The crossover, for example, they move from Tuesday in Central City to Wednesday in Starling. I think there is one promotional photo with Felicity and Oliver in his Arrow gear, but yeah, she's not going to be in the episode much, if at all. I too think that they're testing Oliver/Laurel without Felicity around. Ever since Laurel went blonde and Felicity is letting her hair down, it's getting harder to tell them apart in small pictures.

In my house, the TV listings are the first thing that gets read when the Saturday paper comes. It's not the internet but the description of what's on does affect what we watch.

From KC's interviews, I get the feeling that they took the script to her first even before they hired SA, although they announced her casting later (maybe it took months to work out the contract). At first I thought that having Felicity visit Barry was to give The Flash a boost. Now I'm thinking that it's a chance to try out the show with Laurel as Oliver's main female connection. I'm retreating to here because out there, the internet is full of people who think that Laurel is perfectly right to call up Felicity at work and have her google the guy's phone because that's what Oliver and Diggle do and Laurel is part of Team Arrow now. My feelings that 1. Diggle has a 2 year relationship with Felicity of friends and workmates 2. it was about Lyla's and baby Sara's safety and 3. he couldn't have got the information any other way are my bias talking I agree it's consistent. Why does it bug me so much when she does it to Felicity? Is it because Felicity is a nice person and will do what Laurel asks, while Laurel wouldn't reciprocate? Or is it because I think a woman should be nice to another woman because it's a cold, cruel, male-biased world out there? Before the big board meeting, Felicity asked him which suit he was wearing that night -- and whether he even remembered where his business suit was. At that time, all Oliver was thinking about was Slade and giving QC a pass. Which may be understandable, but it's also understandable why the board went with the guy who was an actual businessman with a history of making profitable business decisions. I do think that Felicity should have had a bump in title and pay during that period though. I think when Oliver said that Ray was a better person to run the company than he was, it was like giving Felicity permission to work for Ray. But maybe not. Oliver seemed pretty pissy about it in Corto Maltese. They really should have had a scene with them talking just so we could get a handle on their relationship right now, But since Felicity is off to Central City, I guess I have to wait till November sweeps to find out.

From the scene where Cisco and Caitlin wonder how Felicity knows their assailant had "man parts", it looks like they don't know Felicity works with the Arrow yet. In The Flash promo for the next episode, Barry is introducing Felicity as someone who works with The Arrow and Cisco says "cool". This is totally possible to up the pressure on Laurel. Two people died for her storyline, now it can be three. But given that someone said something about Ra's wanting Oliver to work with him, it seems unlikely.

Does anyone think this isn't going to come back and bite Oliver, hard? I can agree with Diggle that that was not the time to tell Thea, but I hope he tells her soon. Once she's back and settled. It's going to go better coming from him, and you know if it's not from Oliver, it's going to come from Malcolm at the time he can use it best. I'd be okay with Laurel and Felicity being team members together. What I'm not okay with is Laurel treating Felicity like her servant. Zero empathy, Laurel.