SleepDeprived

It's funny that Taiana had more relevance to the plot in this episode (not really, though, since her Mother's connection to Kovar is actually the important part of her character) than in her whole FB run during S4. Heh. The amount of Malcolm in this episode is the amount of Malcolm that we should've gotten in previous seasons. Little teases and not entire arcs/motivations revolving around his infectious brand of crazy. I'm torn. On the one hand, this episode is really good and intense, plus it kept most of my attention despite being so flashback-heavy. On the other hand, much like the consensus of the board, there is just no way that I'm buying what Prometheus was selling--that Oliver killed and kept killing because he liked it and he wanted to. Especially, not after he met Diggle then Felicity. I mean, if I squint hard enough, I guess I can maybe blurry-ly see how the Oliver that came back from Russia/the island 2.0 got so dark that he enjoyed the killings but, and I admit I should rewatch S1 to be certain, the Oliver that I actually remember never relished in any of his killings. He did kill a lot of bad guys, yeah, but not once do I recall him liking it. Anyway, MG can choke on soda if he wants me to believe that, all this time, it's the thrill of the kill that Oliver's been chasing. Kudos to Stephen Amell for his fantastic work! SA really knocked all his scenes in the present out of the park. It wasn't Emmy-worthy yet but certainly he could get nominated for a Saturn Award or something. And I say that without shade at all, just admiration for his superb work in this episode while still being realistic. Prometheus really used Evelyn well in his psychological manipulation of Oliver. What has Oliver ever done to Evelyn that she hates him this much, really? I just don't get her. She can use one of Oliver's special arrows and fly herself to the moon, for all I care. Anyway, Josh Segarra still keeps bringing it as a psychotic villain obsessed with breaking Oliver. Stealing Felicity's glasses to further break down Oliver?!? How dare you, my man?! Then the call back to The Count holding Felicity hostage? Yep. She's definitely going to be his biggest chess piece in this game he's playing.

"Felicity, hold on to me tight..."

Oh! I can see it, too! Thanks for the very helpful circles. But, maybe,they're not sitting down and, instead, Oliver is carrying Felicity on his back for some reason?

For all you Arrow fangirls (I know this thread is a spoiler-friendly one, mods, because it's labeled as such, but I feel like this photo deserves the spoiler bar...): ✌️️

Yeah, girl! I was there, way up in the Mezz area, otherwise I would've snatched Guggie's face fuzz bald after he made, what I think he thought was a "witty remark" to DR. Heh. My camera is really nice (34x zoom capability) so some of my pics turned out pretty good, despite the distance and the fact that I'm a terrible photog. The whole panel was okay, not great but good enough, I guess. But the 2015 ones were waaayyy better. Not only because each show had more time to talk but the whole "feel" of the room was more pleasant, probably, partly, due to Aisha having a better handle at the moderating thing and the casts just being more upbeat with each other back then. I just feel like Aisha made the 2015 panels more about the shows and KS made this one more about how much he loves comic books/The Flash (and, to me, his bias was kinda obvious since he seemed like he barely knew much about Arrow, Legends, and Supergirl other than the basics). I dunno. My opinion of KS was certainly not helped by his really long intro about himself (sorry, I know you liked that part!) because I came to Paley for the shows and I really couldn't care less about him. I just got a weirdly underwhelmed vibe from this panel and it certainly didn't help that some of the actors looked visibly bored and like they weren't sure what they were doing there, at some points. Confession time: I clapped for Mericle! *ducks at the tomatoes* Of all the EPs on that stage, I only clapped for Mericle and Klemmer. Klemmer because I don't have as much beef with LoT and that show is actually fun to binge (I never watch weekly, though). And Mericle because she was the only female EP up there and, despite her obvious lack of skills at giving any good interviews, she co-wrote some of the more seminal Olicity episodes so I had to give her some props--3x20, 4x01, 4x09,

I'm about 98% sure that pic up there was after MG made that "joke" of his about his own show--the ratings blame of which is actually his (I, too, did not clap for him because petty). I kept taking pics of DR throughout the panel (him and SA, mostly, and because I just love DR lots) and I think I caught his reaction after MG made that remark. Melissa and Grant were laughing at the face DR made. I gotta say, I really missed Aisha Tyler. She was really prepared as a host, was very engaging, asked questions where we learned things, made things light and fun, and kept the focus on the panelists.

Listen! I didn't mean to keep finding him hotter, the nuttier he got, okay?! It's all Josh Segarra's fault! I just ended up kinda going...

Story of Susie's whole existence on Arrow, tbh. Gotta wonder if Oliver would've ever noticed that Susie was missing if it had already been a few days and he didn't know anything 'til Chase actually outed the hostage-taking. Haah! And pretty much leaving her on her own in the elevator, with just a perfunctory question to ask if she's okay, and then simply telling her to get the heck out. Double haah! Yep, sure, Oliver totes went "all in" with Susan. That Wendy Mericle sure is a funny EP. Do SC Mayors earn huge paychecks? If not, listen, Oliver, you're not that rich anymore. Stop breaking shit in the bunker. That was a really nice flatscreen tv! And those glass casings and metal weapon stands were not cheap! Felicity's stock options at Palmer Tech can't keep bankrolling your tantrums, okay?! The Olicity vibes in this episode was enough that I was pretty content. Choosing to focus on discussing how worried Oliver is about whatever Felicity is doing that she won't tell him about instead of the problem at hand? Yeah, I see those heart eyes and affectionate smiles, you two! Oliver's been kidnapped by Prommy, eh? Let's cut to Felicity staring at his GA costume's mannequin and her worried expression. Girl will absolutely do all the illegal things that Helix and Abigail Hobbs Kojo want her to do so she can get her Oliver back! Which is not a good thing, per se, because this dark arc of hers can only end in something terrible but still, there are feels, man. And since I haven't said it recently, I'm super excited by Felicity's storyline! Finding out that Helix has more big brother capabilities than the NSA, hacking the DHS drones for this shady organization, not knowing why exactly these hackers are doing what they do, not even knowing who exactly is running the show over there, then agreeing to do more shady/illegal things for them... This has some real good story and character development potential. I'm incredibly intrigued by notreally!Chase. Dude is so set on his revenge, he even killed his own wife. The brawl between him and Oliver was great! Really good fight choreo there. JS is definitely turning out to be fantastic, so far, as this season's big bad, especially now that Team GA knows who he is. Is it terrible of me that every time Chase kept saying if he didn't make it back to Susie then she would die, I was sorta rooting for Chase to get into a car accident or something? That huge dent on the left fender of his car already proves he's a bad driver, anyway, why couldn't he have accidentally hit something that delayed his return! Also, his hotness level kind of kept going up the crazier he acted. I can't believe I'm finding this psychopath more and more attractive, the smirkier and evil-whisphery he gets. Stop it, Self!

I'm 12. I'm sorry. Will see my way out of the spoiler thread...

There was a good couple of years there when Wednesdays was my favorite day and I was excited to watch Arrow. That's long done. Apart from Felicity/Diggle and Thea/Felicity (and the reveal of Chase as Prometheus, which I didn't expect at all), I thought this episode was so exasperating because I just do not understand this Oliver Queen anymore. Why does he keep choosing the reporter he's only been dating for what--3 weeks?-- and who slept with him so she could out him as GA over Thea, his sister who was trying to help keep his (and all who work with him's) secret and who he literally brought back from the dead/has put above everyone else for the past 3/4 years? Is it Susan's sparkling personality? Is it her dazzling smile? Was their horizontal tango just that good? But his face after the deed suggested otherwise, tho? He looked like he was high-key wishing for the ground to open up and swallow him whole, tho? Me at Oliver, all the time this season it seems:

Dear Arrow: I don't appreciate the visual assault in this episode. My reflexive reach for eye bleach because of that post-coital scene is totally on you! Eye bleach is not gentle to the orbitals, okay? I'm suing for damages. I see Thea Queen is still doing an impeccable yet outstanding impersonation of Carmen Sandiego. Where in the world are you, girl??!! This is the very first time I've seen Tinah in action and I'm super whelmed. Cannot see any romantic chemistry between them but more of a buddy-bud kind. At least, she pulls off the looking/acting tough thing as SC's Next Black Canary much better than her predecessor? Meh. I am neither thrilled nor am I offended by her presence. She's just... there. Talia, on the other hand, is cool and I hope she pops up in the present timeline because I like her. She can bring along Nyssa, too. But, much like Curtis and Wild Dong (whose scenes with Lance were absolute filler but I didn't find him annoying so that's a good thing, I guess), Tinah can just sit in the background, and be extra muscle or whatever, while my OTA works together. OTA together again. I've missed their trio a lot. It was really good seeing them in scenes talking to each other again with Felicity and Diggle being allowed to acknowledge that they are actually friends, too. I liked that concerned glance Diggle gave Felicity as she tried not to look at him when Oliver mentioned that they were both crossing lines. Shout-out to David Ramsey's black tank top! I appreciate it's presence so much and almost think that it absolutely stole the whole episode (the scene with Felicity and her bodyguards was a reeeaallly close second). You mean to say that I should pay attention that Diggle was torturing a dude by pummeling him like a sack of meat and going off-the-rails? Oh, oh, yeah! But the tank top! It was tight, perfectly fitted, cut in just the right places, showed off all the right assets... It's the best male article of clothing on this show, so far, this season and should definitely be the only thing Diggle wears now and forevermore. Felicity was all kinds of hot and scary as a blackmailing faux-Russian mobster, though. I'm digging the "dark Felicity" arc, so far. I hope the writers don't boil this down to a simple black and white/wrong and right thing but that they actually delve into the morally gray aspects of all that Felicity is starting to do now/has gotten herself involved in. I'm probably hoping for too much, knowing how these writers operate, but a girl can dream. Anyway, I really love Rory and Felicity's friendship. I love how perceptive he is and his being so concerned about Felicity that he sought her out when she was having her alone time in the van was sweet. Also sweet was how he tried to tattle on her so fast when Oliver came bursting in the van. Their hangar scene with Felicity wanting to take responsibility for the nuke to save everyone else and him thinking fast with his rags so he can save her from herself was also great. He's my fave boob so, of course, he's the one the show gets rid of. Le sigh. Rory:

Man, I can't believe it took this long for Arrow S5 to finally hook me back in. It's been a very long time since I've enjoyed an episode of this show as much as I did tonight. I know I'm more than likely setting myself up for disappointment but I'm hopeful the rest of 5B will be similar to what we got in this episode. Yike at that very first scene between Laurel and Oliver at the lair, though. I was cringing so much at the awful attempts at acting--from both of them. But anyway, KC is good at playing the villain. Further proof for me that she was so very, very miscast in the Laurel role. Hopefully, the fact that the writers had BS, herself, destroy that BC statue means this ends the Saint Laurel retcons from now on and I never have to hear about her again (a girl can dream). I've skipped a bunch of episodes but when did Rene become palatable? He was surprisingly not annoying at all and I kinda liked his scenes with Curtis. Rory's still the only newbie I wanna keep, though. His friendship with Felicity is great and I love them. Rise Raglicity! Probably the only thing I wasn't keen on about this episode is the minimal Diggle time. I did like his scenes with Chase. And I know they're setting up his storyline for the rest of the season but I need him out of that jail and back with Team Arrow because I always want more Diggle and I don't like how his story is very much in the periphery right now. They need to tie him into the main arcs and soon. I'm intrigued by Talia. But only because I like Lexa Doig. How awesome is Felicity? I love how smart she is. I love that she was proven right about BS. I love that the boobs follow her and trust her decisions, even if it means going against Oliver's orders. I love how well she knows Oliver and I love that Oliver knows that. I love that the show is finally allowing Oliver and Felicity to have their talks again and showcase their bond. I loved that I can see the conflicts going on with her right now and all she's struggling with. Basically, I love Felicity Smoak a lot and this episode made me love her more. I honestly can't wait to see how her arc turns out. Don't let me down on this, Show! Also, my favorite moment, aside from that pumpkin smash(!) was this:

Also, cats! BR was pretty adorable as a fireman who takes in a stray cat in that Lifetime Christmas movie my Mom was watching last year (okay, fine, it was actually me binge-watching Lifetime holiday flicks on a lazy weekend).

I understand now why the dummy writer's room decided to use flashpoint to change Baby Sara to John, Jr. Because after this episode, Diggle will no longer be able to have any children. That must've been a helluva wedgie Digg had to deal with after getting abruptly yanked onto a plane going as fast as that was. Which, I still don't understand how Oliver and Lyla managed to pull that off. I'm just going to chalk it up to 'arrow-to-the-moon' and 'inverting-the-horizon' Science! that the show loves to do. Anyway, RIP Diggle's nuts. Also, if that anti-molecular compound spray destabilizes/disintegrates molecules, how come Oliver was able to make a perfectly circular cut of the floor in Diggle's cell? It's in an aerosol spray bottle. The nature of which is to dispense the liquid particles as a mist. Ergo, the liquid particles would have been all over the floor and the cement should have crumbled down instead of dropping down as a perfect circle. They should've put it in, like, a medicine dropper or turkey baster thing so Oliver can make his perfect circle. I understand that this is kind of a weird thing to think about in an obviously things happen because the plot needs it to episode but these are the inconsequential things that I can't help but think about, Arrow! Anyway, this episode wasn't anything special. I enjoyed parts of it but also found other parts unremarkable. Lyla, who is usually a very lovely presence, came off really cold to Felicity in the beginning. Didn't like that. Thought Lyla and Oliver's plan was dumb but then again, I think Diggle's plan to stay in prison is also dumb. As much as I like the Oliver/Diggle bromance moments. It's just... It's very whiplash-y that Digg was all PTSD-leave-me-to-rot the last time Lyla was at the prison pleading for him to fight on behalf of their family, then suddenly he's all grateful and thanks for getting me out of there-never change, bro after Oliver's you're my brother-my stubbornness trumps your choices pep talk. Rory continues to be the best boob. I really like his dynamic with Felicity. I hope they use him well in exploring the Havenrock guilt that Felicity is still dealing with (and the pain that he's, also, dealing with) and mine their connection to each other. I like Rory and Felicity's budding teammate-ship more than any of the other boobs. And his little quips about Oliver/the team continues to make me laugh. It's kind of a 'meh' C-plot but I do like how the show is handling Lance's struggle with alcoholism and that Thea is trying to be there for him. It really helps that PB is able to actually convey being a recovering alcoholic past just lip service. The DA is pretty to look at but still just there. Chad L. Coleman's a really good actor and I do like what he's doing with Church. The thug mentioned something about a "Trust" during his interrogation that DA Chase and the ACU wouldn't be able to stop. Is that the name of Church's "Undertaking"? Make me care about Wild Dog, Show! And Evelyn! And why Curtis is on the team! Do something about those 3 because they are snoozeville to me. And whoever reads fanfic in the writer's room needs to stop making Wild Dog call Felicity "Blondie." Roy can get away with doing that in fics because it's usually said with affection/teasingly. But Rene is too much of a cocky boob (heh) that I feel like he's being very dismissive and mocking her whenever he uses that nickname for Felicity.

Did y'all know that Laurel Lance is totally dead? And that her statue is by the pier? And that it commemorates how she tried to help the city? But she got killed because of her inexperience? Everyone just needs to go to the pier and look at the statue, damn it!!! Such super vital information that keeps getting repeated in every episode, so far (okay, it's only been 2 episodes but still, it's kinda overkill that she keeps getting brought up). No never mind that Damien Darhk had actual magical powers so no one could've stopped him at the prison, and the reason why she died was for Quentin's manpain. Gonna echo most of the posts that it was a pretty good episode. Such a shame that the promo for it was terrible and would probably result in not-that-great ratings. Someone really needs to get a good talking to at the CW PR department Chico and the Arrow writers room Wendy/Guggie for the super meh/unappealing promos and interviews for the show. Gonna also agree that, among the newbies, Ragman stood out and I'm most interested in his story. The fact that his vigilante story is tied to what Felicity will be dealing with because of Havenrock is probably a big factor in why he peaked my interest more than the others. I just feel so bad for both of them (that Ragman lost everything and that Felicity has been carrying the burden of the guilt about Havenrock, even though she saved millions in Monument Point and everything was all really Darhk's fault). I still like Curtis (though I sort of am getting tired that he keeps getting to have all these monologues that lead to an epiphany of sorts for Oliver) and Evelyn is okay in small doses, I guess. Wild Dog's "rebel/you're not the boss of me/I do what I want" persona isn't exactly clicking with me since I feel like I've seen that arc so many times on this show and other shows already. We'll see how that goes. I'm sorry to say but the actor playing Det. Mayo TinyHands has miniscule screen presence and is just super bland. He inspires no reaction from me, not even an eyeroll at the obvious stall LI role he's playing. At least, when Palmer was in the stall LI role, I felt things whenever he was on-screen--annoyed, creeped out, and sometimes rage-y feelings but BR got reactions out of me. TinyHands' part in this episode might as well have been played by some nameless tech extra who would've probably been cheaper to hire. Also, his leather jacket looked a size too big on him. I don't know why that bothers me but it does. Felicity deserves better than him. I liked the flow of the scene with Thea, Oliver, and Felicity. It just had a natural, easy vibe among three people who seemed like they felt comfortable around each other. So many good interactions between Oliver and Felicity, though! EBR and SA's chemistry is just effortless and a joy to watch. Good luck with trying to write away from "Olicity," writers! Actually, I don't want to wish the writers any luck because I really don't care for lazy stall tactics and tropes. I, also, liked the Diggle sub-plot and how they connected it to the rest of the show. I always love seeing Diggle be all mentor-like, even though that poor soldier was gunned down in cold blood right in front of him. Can't wait for Digg to come back to SC, though, since I miss my OTA moments (which, I hope we still get to have even with the noobs around). Also, DR should always have scruff. He looked so damn good. I really wish he can just keep his scruff and be in tight t-shirts all the time. /shallow

Aw, look how adorable they are! I don't know if this is part of damage control or just SA simply saving the best people for last (WH, DR, and EBR), but this still makes me smile and gives me good feels. Thanks for doing the job of CW PR, SA. I do agree that the EBR photo isn't old. Unless the pics SA just posted with both DR and WH are also old photos since his hairstyle, the slight graying of the front of his hair, and his scruff are pretty much exactly the same in all 3 pics. Anyway, this is a nice way to end the night. I hope we don't get more bleh interviews and such in the morning so I can enjoy this for a little while longer (I probably already jinxed myself and WM will have more to say tomorrow since there's a new episode).

Frakking Barry and his selfishness!! Why couldn't you just have wiped your own existence instead of messing up everyone else's?! I'm really glad I quit that show. But I hate how it has already affected Arrow and how, apparently, it might keep changing it. Honestly, though, HOW did flashpoint manage to change the winning sperm in Diggle's arsenal that penetrated Lyla's ovum? I'm so confused. Like, the relationships that got affected because of FP, okay, fine, I can see how that might get altered. But that FP would have a significant impact on Diggle and Lyla having sex that resulted in Connor instead of Sara is just super weird. And stupid. And so ill-thought a plot point. I guess since boys are given more importance in Barry's world, his interference with the timeline impacted even the fertilization process and caused boy sperms to swim faster, too?

Co-sign. Best, most accurate description. I hate it so much that Baby Sara became a casualty of his stupidity. Me, almost EVERY time I visit the spoiler thread the past couple of months: Nothing. Nothing I read is making me excited to watch the upcoming episodes. Whatever fleeting happiness I felt when I heard about Lyla being in the supposed Diggle-centric episode or that Felicity might actually be given a POV with the Havenrock fallout, or having Moira around for the 100th episode, or even the idea of seeing Diggle, Oliver, and Felicity deal with Supergirl has been squashed and I just feel let down. I still have some hope that something will come up that can finally give me something to like about the rest of S5. Just keep WM away from the media, though! Also, @CW and @WB, Chico sucks at her job so bad--please let someone else handle Arrow PR!

I'm finally almost all caught-up with the S5 spoilers (thanks so much, tv echo!). I've mostly been skimming threads lightly the past couple of months and pretty much avoiding fandom so I could feel a little bit of happy anticipation for the premiere. Alas, with Wednesday fast approaching, my curiosity won out and boy, so many fail promos and interviews. Apart from the spoiler about Susanna Thompson (Moira!!!), almost every spoiler released, so far, has little to no appeal to me. Me, while reading: On the bright side, since I have zero expectations and negative excitement levels for the premiere, maybe I'll end up being surprised by something and mildly entertained come Wednesday night. How are they going to solve the anti-chemistry between SA and KC, though? They were exes, lovers, fighting on opposite sides, fighting on the same side, friends, teammates--4 years and not a single damn thing could be done about it. Laurel was on her death bed and Oliver still looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin at being left alone with her in her hospital room. I would be worried about Geoff Johns making Arrow align with the comics and following this strategy, ONLY if they suddenly announce a recast of a rebooted BC. Otherwise, nah. KC and SA just don't mesh well together, and I think everyone BTS knows it. Same. From that MG quote, it kinda seems like he's implying that BC's legacy (whatever Oliver thinks it is) is not a real good one since it is making Oliver revert to killing mode again a lot more than he should? So, much like the curse of "Laurel Lance, always trying to save the world," does this mean following BC's legacy leads to death? And with Oliver trying to live up to Robert's legacy in S1 being, apparently, the reason why Prometheus will cause destruction in SC, maybe this season will lead Oliver to realize that he needs not be weighed down by both Robert's and Laurel's "legacies" and that he should just make his own (starting with the new team the show's shoving at us). Also, I have come to really, really appreciate so much that the alter egos of Laurel's different Earth personas' initials are BC and BS. My mind just automatically defines it each time I read it and how it transforms the meaning of whatever I read amuses me so. Because I'm petty.

Listen, I know this is all fake science and everything is make believe. For goodness sakes, we had actual magic and mystical totems and year-old corpses coming back to life and Laurel, apparently, getting canonized into Sainthood but... Where will the missile Curtis and Felicity diverted go? Is it just going to keep flying in the air? Drop into the sea or somewhere else? Not detonate at all since they made it think it exploded itself already? I know Felicity had all the other 15,000+ missiles detonate into space by inverting the horizon or whatever (lol. That's really not how you Science, Show!) but what about that one lonely missile that was headed to Starling City? Heh. It's the inconsequential things that keep me up at night.

I just realized something. Didn't the #Poppy actress say something on one of her Twitter or Instagram posts that the moment Arrow fans were waiting for between Oliver and #Poppy was finally happening in the finale? So, she meant Oliver killing #Poppy, right? Aw, man. That kinda makes me feel sad for her that she knows how much people really didn't like/warm up to her character and that her death has been something people have been wishing/waiting/hoping for (and, in my case, celebrated with drinks). The actress was kinda sweet and I did love her enthusiasm for such a thankless character/job that she was saddled with in the flashbacks. Anyway, at least, she got a steady gig and was in almost all of the episodes of S4? #Blessed. I'm still mighty glad the magical island flashbacks are done and hope that we'll have better flashbacks in S5 with the Bratva.

David Ramsey was correct. Baby Sara does steal scenes, even when it's just her voice. That phone call was really cute. And, as always, Lyla's presence in the episode made me happy. She's just great. Diggle really should just listen to her all the time because killing Andy was the right action. The only thing that I disagreed with Lyla on was her wrong call to try to get her A.R.G.U.S. people to kill Darhk, though. Poor, nameless agents. But I'm here for possible Diggle Family Drama in S5! Especially if it leads to more Lyla on my tv! Cooper's final moment actually made me care about him. That was kinda sad. His scenes with Felicity were pretty good this episode. I did laugh (quite a bit) that, after all those bullets flying around the lair, the only fallen mannequin was Laurel's during the shootout. Heh. Anvilicious symbolism!

I thought that was a pretty good finale. Not super fantastic but good enough that I'm content and am sort of excited about the direction of S5. At least, Team Green Arrow were acting, mostly, smart and actively trying to save the world instead of being selfishly dumb with their actions (looking at you, Barry Allen). I think the only thing I really didn't like about this episode is all the Saint Laurel stuff. Listen, Show. Your retcon of Laurel's character isn't going to fly. I have all the season box sets, okay. Stop propping her, damn!

#NoPoppyNoArrow Lol! Totally kidding. I'm already indulging on the bubbly.

Spawn did get along with Daughter. Quite well, I believe. Didn't they bond the last time over their love of coloring and such? It might be because I haven't really been following the spoilers all that much, just reading the discussions here and there. But, man, this episode is kinda making me feel tense. Really liking it, so far.