statsgirl

In the Hall of the Mountain King from the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Greig. Peer Gynt and Greig are Norweigan, Storemare is Swedish. I guess they thought it close enough. I'm so upset they killed Sara. If they were willing to kill her so that Laurel could become the Black Canary, they're willing to kill Felicity so Laurel can have Oliver..

You know, I don't really care. As far as I'm concerned, it was Laurel who killed Sara. First Tommy, now Sara. How many more popular characters will be killed off to prop Laurel?

I was actually starting to like Laurel in this episode, And then they had to go and kill Sara, just so Laurel can be the one to become the Black Canary. Really, really bad move, show. (If nothing else, it puts paid to Oliver thinking it makes a difference if the woman he is with can defend herself or not.) After he hacked into QC's files, using the advice Felicity gave him not knowing what he was going to do. No wonder she was mad. I like Brandon Routh, but Ray came across as smary in this one.

Lazarus Pit! This better not be the end of Sara, or they've completely ruined that whole episode. Maybe the whole season.

The caption to this picture made me laugh. http://www.thewrap.com/arrow-the-flash-crossover-behind-the-scenes-with-star-emily-bett-rickards-exclusive-photos/4/ "Ditched theses guys." I can see why. Come to think of it, shirtless salmon ladder scenes also got short-changed in all the storylines they were trying to do in 2b.

I thought the guy they went to look for on the island for ARGUS was Manhunter. And that Sara is tracking an international assassin through Europe. It all so confusing. Ray must really have been impressed by Felicity at Buy More if he goes looking for her after that death glare. I'm also curious how they're going to write the Oliver/Felicity angsty scene so that she still comes back to work for Team Arrow the next day. I doubt I would want to see the guy so soon again after that talk. Or the Hart Hanson cry. There's nothing like your leading lady getting pregnant to finally force the couple together. I'm hoping @cadymack had inside info when she tweeted that three seasons was long enough to keep them apart.

Since there was not. one. mention. of. Felicity. in the Flash episode, and the only two people mentioned at Barry's bedside were Iris and her father, it's going to be a goobye kiss. Otherwise they would have set her up better. Yep, that's exactly how MG described Oliver and Laurel in an interview during the summer after s1. Not my idea of a good time, but at least we know MG's thinking of Olicity seriously. You go, girl. Quality over quantity but you're doing both. Superhero catnip indeed. Canada got a promo without Felicity so it's nice to come here and see that.

From your picture, I'm guessing you have one of your own. For me, the universe changed when I found out I was pregnant. But I guess for a dad, it would be when he sees the baby.

I remember AK saying about Laurel's actions when she finds out Oliver is the Arrow -- the people who love her will love her even more, and others will be surprised and like her for what she does (I'm paraphrasing the second part). You gotta hand it to them, they keep trying to make people like Laurel. Late, but here are my guesses for the quotes: Maseo: “There is nothing more important to me than family.” Maseo: “A man cannot live by two names.” Diggle re baby: “The second I looked at her, the whole universe changed.” Felicity (second choice Oliver): “Don’t ask me to say I don’t love you.” Oliver: “You stop seeing people. You see threats or targets.” Ray after Oliver's speech and before his pitch (possibly unidentified guy Oliver is talking to): “Good speech. Hard to top that.” Oliver: “This is my crusade, which makes it my decision.” Roy: “There is no yellow wire.” Felicity: “Believe it or not, I’ve had worst first dates.” Sara: “Don’t look so surprised. I wasn’t gone that long.” Sara: “We are not our masks and we need people in our lives who don’t wear one.” Diggle: “Now the only person you’re fooling is yourself.” Felicity: “I’ve already seen you shirtless. You are shirtless all the time.” Laurel: “You catch ‘em and I cook ‘em. Laurel (but possibly Quentin): “There is another slimy human who needs my attention.” Quentin: “You’re welcome” [in response to Starling City's reduced crime rate]

A very good article, well written and well-argued. Especially great that it's not written by someone who can be accused of being a fangirl or shipper. Well, maybe somewhat of a shipper.

I think Felicity's screentime was more an extension of Oliver than Sara's was. Independent of Oliver Sara had Ivo, Sin, Nyssa, when the LoA came for her and all the Lance Family Drama. Independent of Oliver, Felicity's screentime was .... nothing. Even the Barry story was about Oliver and how he reacted to Barry being around. Laurel's plot lines in s1 were entirely Oliver-related. In season 2, she had the addiction arc and Sara's return, which were independent of Oliver, and most of her interactions with Sebastian Blood was too. Oliver's mama drama in s1 was about whether Oliver would take his place at QC, Walter's kidnapping and the Undertaking. In s2 she was running for mayor, which had nothing to do with Oliver until the very end when Slade killed her. Next season, Roy joins the Team full strength and will probably be the one accompanying Oliver on his vigilante trips because Oliver will be mentoring him, continuing on from s2, while Diggle stays behind. Will that be okay, or will it be a problem that Roy will be responsible for cutting down Diggle's screen time? In other words, is this about Diggle the character, or about the Guys Fighting Team?

This isn't a comic book where relationships can stay static, it's a TV show and by the nature of the medium, things have to change. It couldn't remain Oliver and Diggle as a buddy movie twosome fighting crime like Strike Back. Diggle's role in Oliver's life being diminished was inevitable as Oliver grew emotionally healthier. At the beginning of the series, Oliver was a stone cold killer and while Diggle signed on for The List, he also signed on to make sure that Oliver stayed sane because being a soldier chips little bits off of you. As Oliver got healthier, he didn't need Diggle to do that for him as much any more. And as Oliver reached out to more people to help him (Felicity, Sara, Roy, Quentin and now Laurel) his reliance of Diggle grew less. Felicity was on the show from 1x03 and joined the foundry team in 1x14. What was different about s2 was the Slade arc and the addition of Sara plus Laurel addiction stuff. Season 1 was The List and Diggle had a big role to play in Oliver's journey through that and occasionally with Felicity (the Big Belly Burger delivery in 1x22 is hilarious). Season 2 was about Slade and the Lances and there was no room for Diggle there other than to warn Oliver off of Laurel. The writers tried to balance that with two episodes pretty much devoted to Diggle, his backstory and his dealings with ARGUS. Wy not blame Sara for joining the Team and being the one to go on missions with Oliver while Diggle stayed behind with Felicity? Unless someone wants to do an analysis comparing season 1 and 2 of scenes Diggle was in and what lines he spoke, I don't see how we'll ever have data on this.

I adored Castle, it was My Show, until at the end of season 2 when Beckett had broken up with Demming because she realized she wanted Castle and he waltzed in and out on the arm of the ex who had been shrewish to him, according to him, and headed up the the Hamptons with her for the summer and most of the rest of next season. I gave up, I even stopped reading all fan fiction till this summer, because I thought it was such a cheat. After that, my expectations for the show plummeted and now I get what I can out of it. So as long as Castle and Beckett aren't being as stupid as they were in seasons 3 and 4, I'm pretty much enjoying the show. I even didn't mind the silliness of her ex last season and the season finale. For the premier last week, I like that they were left in a weird place, not knowing how much to trust each other (better than an ex coming back or being tempted by Ioan Griffud). I lost the channel that played Dr. Who early in Matt Smith's day (curse you, cable company that changed the game) and I haven't caught up on the newer episodes. I read a review that said that Clara was in the group of "better with their second Doctor" because she had a purpose now.

Maybe the mystery that unfolds at the end is Palmer twisting his mustache as he prepares his plans for the Applied Sciences division of QC. A goodbye-before-we-start-because-we-can't-have-this kiss then? I may cry.

I think it was Which character would take care of your dog [if you had to leave for a while]? in an interview last season. She picked Diggle because Diggle is Oliver's bodyguard so he protects things. I don't know if she was trying to be funny but it gave the impression that she really didn't understand Diggle's role on the show. Would people be saying that if the scene in s1 taking down Max had been better? It's not a hard stunt and she shouldn't have needed a stunt double. I think people are criticizing her because of what she did in the first two seasons, when she wasn't physically able to take on the role of BC and I think the producers knew that or we wouldn't have got Sara coming back as the Canary. It occurred to me that acting, like medicine, psychology, law and a number of other professions, is a job where you have to learn a lot of stuff you may never use. Medical students have to study diseases like Still's disease even though they may never encounter them while practicing because if they should, there isn't time to learn it, they have to be able to identify it. A psychologist has to learn about sexual abuse in case one of their on-going patients has to deal with it, and lawyers have to learn about all sorts of legal issues they may never deal with. An actor isn't going to have time to learn everything between hearing about the audition and actually doing it. I think if I were in the profession, I'd want to learn basic martial arts, accents, some dance, riding lessons and maybe even shooting and swordfighting, just in case I ever got the chance to do a role where it was required.

I agree with him about most of those episodes. First, he really has to stop saying "Emmy-worthy" because while Kingston does a really good job, it's not going to win her an Emmy. But that was the scene where I noted that Kingston was so good, and PB was too, and KC's face over her mother's shoulder just looked blank. The one on the list that I really disagree with was The Promise. In terms of effect and directing and action scenes, it was great. But in terms of storytelling, not at all essential, really nothing we didn't already know or suspect.

David Ramsey is the reason I watched Blue Bloods, and only episodes he was in. (Tom Selleck stated very publicly that he didn't want Blue Bloods to be shot in Canada.) I think there are a couple of reasons why it seemed like Diggle went to the background for Felicity. For one thing, Felicity brings an obvious humor to the show while Diggle's humor is subtle and a lot of times non-verbal, so when Felicity was babbling, it was more apparent. The other thing is that she moved up to be teased as Oliver's love interest, and that's something Diggle couldn't be. In terms of vigilante scenes, I don't think that he was put into the background because of Felicity so much as the show focused on Laurel, Sara and Slade for much of season 2, leaving little time for either Diggle or Felicity in 2b. I think the producers were aware that Diggle was getting less time, and tried to make up for it by two Diggle-centric episodes, both of them dealing with flashbacks for him as well as the Deadshot arc that carried over a number of episodes..

I'd like to see Laurel in her own area of competence first, putting away the criminals that the Arrow catches and working as an extension of the team rather than on the Team proper. Then, after she's accepted that she doesn't need to control everyone and the world won't fall apart, she can start meeting Felicity and Diggle and Roy on equal terms. As for the webisodes, all those would be great. But I was referring to seeing Laurel becoming the Black Canary in terms of her training and development, I'd rather have those in webisodes and put the Diggle/Quentin/Thea on the main show.

They seem to limit them now to either occasions when she's nervous, such as seeing Scary Moira, or relating to Oliver sexually, such as the "spend our nights" or "penetrates just fine." If she gets more comfortable with him sexually, maybe after 3x01, I expect those will diminish.

Yes, please. Promote the heck out of that pairing! So Felicity is working at Buy More (over the five months?) before Oliver makes his pitch to re-acquire QC? That sounds like "Look, Oliver and Laurel are over right now but they have a history so don't get upset every time they have a scene together, okay?" Later "Roy is now a part of Team Arrow, deal with it." I really want Quentin to get a good love interest, and not only because I'd like to see a female character on the show over 34.

I hope Sara meant it in the sense of "Oliver needs all the friends he can get" when she told Laurel that he needed Laurel as Sara was leaving yet again for an unknown length of time. Let's hope that Laurel's speech about letting the darkness in means that she's not the light Sara was referring to. I agree, Laurel strikes me as the kind of person who sees other women as competition, as well as not paying attention to those people she perceives as not important or who can't help her. I wonder if Malcolm would dismiss Walter as being too weak. Malcolm thinks that a relationship is about controlling the other person, whether through money, manipulation or emotional control, and since Walter doesn't control Thea, to Malcolm he would be a failure. Webisodes would be a great idea. They could show Laurel training and developing the skills to be the Black Canary, and it wouldn't take time away from the episodes themselves.

Or else she's trying to get people to believe that she can do the physical part of the Black Canary role. The difference for me between Stephen Amell posting his work-out videos and Katie Cassidy flexing her muscles at cons is that a year before SA starting posting his routines, SA was doing some pretty amazing things on my screen so it's a case of once having established what he can do, we now see how he gets there. But in KC's case, it seems more like she's trying to show everyone that she can do the Black Canary physical things so it's okay to give her the role. No one else on the show doing fight scenes, like David Ramsey, Colton Haynes, Caity Lotz or Manu Bennett is out there flexing their muscles to show what they've got. It's like "the lady doth protest too much". I can believe that she can do chin-ups. But unless she can actually do the salmon ladder, which is far harder than chin-ups because you not only have to pull yourself up, you have to have enough momentum to push the bar to the next level, she shouldn't challenge the show to put her on it because it looks like boasting of what she can't deliver, again.

Sara isn't mentioned, probably because the media interviewing KC didn't know she was going to be alive, all they'd seen is the pilot episode. My comment was about KC's statement at SDCC 2012 and how her thoughts on Laurel and the other characters may affect how she plays Laurel. I think if the story for her is Laurel's romance with Oliver rather than who Laurel is as a person, it will affect how she acts in scenes with Caity Lotz since she will see Sara as an impediment to Laurel's relationship with Oliver. I agree that from her comments it sounds like Tommy was the tag-along. But from Tommy's lines in the pilot episode about how the Queen family virtually adopted him when he was eight and his mother died and Malcolm disappeared, the timeline suggests that Tommy's friendship with Oliver pre-dates Laurel. (The "half my life" life suggests Oliver and Laurel met in high school.) If KC sees Oliver/Laurel as the primary relationship in the group and Tommy being a tag-along, it explains how she portrays Laurel on the screen. And how she plays her scenes with Felicity, Diggle and Roy, and possibly her scenes with Thea, her future sister-in-law. Sara said it in the jacket hand-over. I'm good with Oliver needing Laurel the lawyer to help clean up Starling City. But is that what KC meant when she said "Oliver needs Laurel"?

It diminishes Sara because she becomes the person who took Oliver away from Laurel, rather than the little sister who they thought was dead for 6 years and who suffered horrendous physical and psychological abuse during that time. It diminished Tommy because he was the 'best friend' role. Yes, he was Oliver's best friend but when she talked about the three of them together, it was Oliver&Laurel, and Tommy was Oliver's best friend, like an add-on rather than an important part of their group. (This is why I like how they are developing Oliver/Diggle/Felicity. Diggle and Felicity have their own friendship and support society, independent of Oliver. Or maybe in reaction to Oliver.) With respect to Diggle, in the interview it seemed like she was thinking Oliver/Laurel-- Arrow/Black Canary. It's true that they were asking her about Laurel and her relationships to the other characters on the show and she didn't have a scene with Diggle yet (was he in the courthouse scene? I can't remember) but her emphasis is on Oliver/Arrow rather than the show being about Oliver and his vigilante team, although to be fair at that point it was just Diggle. I don't think she's ever talked about Oliver's relationships with anyone else on his team other than to dismiss Felicity as a love interest, but I could be missing something.

In my imagination...reality, on the other hand... at one of the cons he said that when they shot the scene where the LoA comes for Sara at the Queen manor, he ripped his pants doing the fight scene. I guess normal clothes don't allow for a lot of ass kicking.