Coop33

As someone who usually enjoys romantic story lines on TV, one of the first things about Arrow that disappointed me was that I just couldn't get into O/L. There was no chemistry and I found their background to be completely repulsive. Even if KC and SA had had better chemistry and the show had continued to move forward with them as the main pairing, I think the writers would have had a hell of time making up for the history they set up between the two. If they were banking on the Because Comics of it all getting them out of it, I think that makes them look even worse. They had to know that the majority of the TV audience would have no knowledge of the comics history for a B-list superhero. As much as the writers like to pretend, Green Arrow is no Batman in terms of cultural knowledge.

Despite how disappointed I was after Serena's loss, I found Vinci to be really endearing in her post-game interview. I'm rooting for her.

My problem with Alec Baldwin is that regardless of the role he's playing, I only see Jack Donaghy.

Actually, Bradley Cooper voiced Rocket, the raccoon in Guardians. I'm with you though, he will always be Will Tippin to me. Jason Bateman is another example that comes to mind, as well as lot of the guys from Freaks and Geeks - James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel.

Agreed. I wasn't trying to say his response made him look bad, just that it probably makes more sense from where he is in the story vs. where we are.

His DragonCon response does look a little ridiculous right now, but it might not be for what they've filmed thus far. I feel like Stephen tends to answer questions from a place of where he's at with Oliver vs. what we all know. I think once Oliver does get his shit together re: balancing Oliver and GA, that's definitely when he'll attempt to pop the question again.

I mostly lurk, but I've been squeeing so loudly over Olicity the last couple of days that y'all can probably hear me anyway. I've also been enjoying the Alias comparisons as the last time I shipped a couple this hard was Sydney and Vaughn. I had the excuse then of literally being a teenage girl, I don't know what my excuse is now other than these two dorks make me feel things. I honestly have been sitting here in awe of the fact that Oliver wants to marry Felicity. I actually wanted to bring this point up. Felicity is a smart girl and I think she'd be able to figure out what Oliver's intentions were on her own. I would love for them to have a mature, adult discussion about the proposal and why they maybe need to wait a while, until they regain their footing in Starling City. After that, bring on the 100th episode wedding. I wonder if PB training with SA could be at all related to DD's possible shape-shifting/mind control powers?

He just loves her all the more for trying. Ugh, MY EMOTIONS. The entire cast really brought it tonight. Especially Stephen, Emily, and John. The goodbye/not goodbye scenes with Diggle and Felicity nearly broke me. The Diggle/Maseo scene made me seriously worried for baby Sara. Really hoping the show won't go that far. I was so, so happy that Felicity had a plan, even if it wasn't well thought out. She doesn't just stand idle, especially after getting a taste of that sweet, sweet Oliver lovin'. The only misstep for me was having Felicity go to Laurel at the end. That should have been Diggle. The show needs to stop trying to make Felicity/Laurel happen. It's not going to happen. I really hope that once Thea gets back on her feet, she teams up with Felicity to get Oliver back. They are the only two people who will be able to get through to Al-Sah-Him.

That was good. Thank goodness. I've really come to enjoy Roy throughout this season, and I was totally bummed when I thought he was dead.. Colton Haynes has never been the best actor, but I thought tonight was some of his best work. I'm sad that it seems he has left the show, but glad Roy is still alive so he can pop up in the Arrow-verse from time to time. The Oliver and Ray combination was comedy gold, and I wish they had tapped into it way sooner instead of isolating him with Felicity for most of the season. I think if we'd been having this type of interaction between Ray and Team Arrow all season, I would have warmed up to him more. The only misstep for me was having Raylicity still intact at the end. I can buy they just didn't have time in the episode, but the writing was so clearly on the wall. I mean, Felicity could barely keep herself from telling Oliver she loved him, and even did tell him, albeit indirectly. Thea looks in bad shape. If she pulls through she and Oliver will have matching scars!

Outside of the hospital scenes, I thought this episode was pretty exciting. Lots of great stunts and action. Really loved Team Arrow coming together for Oliver. Roy has been growing on me all season, and after what he did tonight, I now really like him and want to keep him, please. They could have gone to a lot of crazy places with Shado reappearing, but I'm glad the explanation was as simple as her having a twin, if still a little contrived. I'm happy Felicity at least has the sense to know she doesn't love Ray, and Mama Smoak had the sense to tell her it was because she loves Oliver. There's no way Felicity just continues to chill with Ray when Team Arrow is in crisis mode, though. Especially after Ray was given the all clear.

Alias did a similar thing when they wrote in in Michael Vartan's real life hockey skills and had a scene where Vaughn was teaching Sydney how to play. Could make for a cute Olicity scene in the future.

I mean, their eyes are basically hearts.

It's been so long since I've truly enjoyed an episode of Arrow that I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with myself right now. I loved all of the fantastic character moments tonight, for everyone, even Laurel. I wish they always wrote these characters as being so open and honest because everything feels more authentic that way. Felicity will always be happy as long as Oliver is in her life? Be still my shipper heart. The only thing missing was her picking up Ray's call and ending it with him right there. Still, I think we're past the darkness and moving towards the dawn for these two.

I'll second what Carrie Ann said. It is definitely the show that has impressed and surprised me the most this year. It's bold and unforgiving in all the right ways.

Yes! I finished the first season over the weekend, and started it over again last night. 30 Rock is one of my all time favorites, so I'm not surprised I loved it so much. The theme song has been in my head for days, and I'm not even mad. ooooooooooooooo, damnit!

I saw Caity Lotz at Chicago Fan Fest today. She did a short Q&A panel. Someone asked her what it's like to work with Manu Bennett and she said he was great to work with and really creative. Apparently he would get so into character as Deathstroke she would actually feel afraid of him sometimes. She also said her favorite episodes of Arrow are "League of Assassins" and "Unthinkable" and she mentioned some things about the spinoff which I posted in that thread. I also got the chance to actually meet her and speak with her for a few minutes. I pretty much just babbled at her about Arrow and Mad Men, but she was really nice and generous with her time.

I just saw Caity's Q&A at Chicago Fan Fest and she spoke a little about the spinoff. She said she was super excited to be coming back for a new show. With regards to how Sara comes back, she said "I would love to tell you, but I think they might kill me." She also alluded to the number of time Sara has supposedly died, so you never know.

Stephen just posted this story on his Facebook:

Yes! She can be the Kenny of the DC Universe. "Who Killed Sara?" could be the mystery every week!

The AU Sara theory works best for me too. I think that has a lot of story potential, explains how Sara could take up a different name, and makes sense for why Sara just wouldn't be in Starling City all the time. If they were to resurrect our Sara, that would be third time she's come back from the "dead" which seems a little too ridiculous to me (although I shouldn't put ridiculous beyond these show runners). Plus, if they were to do that, they more than likely would use the Lazarus Pits, and I'm not fond of the idea of those being introduced to the show in that way, unless they are destroyed some how immediately afterwards. Ultimately though, I think they will just resurrect our Sara. Or maybe clone her. I know they've spoken some about time travel on the Flash, but we haven't come close to any sort of mention of alternate universes, which, as BkWurm1 said, is a whole other giant can of worms. You must be in Chicago! I'm thinking of going to meet her on Saturday.

Stephen Amell in suspenders? I know that's what I'm hanging on to (metaphorically, sadly).

This is exactly why I loathed that scene so much. It's twisting the knife and they know it.

So little of that made sense that I don't really know where to start. People's motivations and feelings for each other are changing so fast I have whiplash. I am a champion of female friendship on television since it is criminally under represented, and I would love to see a great one on Arrow, but I can't get behind Laurel and Felicity being BFFs if Felicity is going to be written out of character to make it happen. There's no way in the world Felicity, who barely knows Laurel and has a tremendous respect for Sara, wouldn't have qualms with what Laurel is doing. But instead, she tells Laurel she has a light inside of her. Ugh, I never want to hear about that again. I love Caity Lotz, but I hope if Arrow ever asks her to come back she tells them to fuck off. Having her actually say the lines "Why did I have to die? I didn't have to die." is ridiculous. Especially when there's no good answer to the question. I hate that she had to come back and do that. This might have been the lowest moment of the show for me. On a more positive note, Thea finding out Oliver was the Arrow was everything I hoped it would be. I loved her reaction, and I think Oliver really needed to hear it too. Really looking forward to these two finally telling each other the truth and growing closer. I'm also really glad that Quentin finally knows about Sara. I have to say, I thought Katie Cassidy was as good as she can be in that scene. I usually feel like I'm watching the "Katie Cassidy: Acting!" show during her scenes, but in this one I was just watching Laurel. Paul Blackthorne was obviously terrific, he completely broke my heart. Lastly, Felicity and her can't even attitude with Oliver was great. "So you're leaving again?" Keep throwing that shade, girl.

Overall, this wasn't too bad. Laurel as Black Canary is still completely unbelievable to me, and it looks like they've dropped the storyline about her struggling for now. I'm looking forward to Oliver chiming in on what he thinks about all of this. Regarding Olicity, I'm sad with how it ended, but I am happy that it mostly makes sense for these characters, and they're no longer separated "because reasons." This is good angst. That final scene was really well done, and I loved when Oliver went to move toward her and Felicity completely shut that down. Emily Bett Rickards performance was phenomenal, and Oliver looked almost as upset as he did when he had a sword plunged through his chest. A rebound with Ray seems almost inevitable though, and the thought is making me nauseous. Finally, it's ridiculous that everyone can tell Roy is Arsenal, yet Thea and Quentin can't pick out their own masked family members. At least Quentin will be in the know regarding Laurel soon. Thank God for Sin.

I liked this episode more than I thought I would, so there's that. Diggle and Felcity's reactions to Oliver's presumed fate wrecked me over and over again. Emily Bett Rickards especially did a knock-out job throughout. I can only imagine it will get harder and harder to watch these two as they continue to process Oliver's "death." I was really surprised that they revealed that Oliver is alive so soon, though I think it's smart on their part. I feel like most casual fans wouldn't stick around for long if they played it as though Oliver were really dead for more than an episode or two. What's going on with Malcolm and Thea really intrigues me. I can't tell if Malcolm is being sincere, or if he knows something we don't. I did really enjoy getting to see Thea in action, and her worry over her brother. Although it is way past time someone actually told her the truth about something. I'm imagining it took Laurel a few tries to figure out the Canary Cry device and she most likely shattered all the glass in foundry.