apinknightmare

My point (which I didn't make very clearly) wasn't so much about explaining character actions away because of plot, it was more that I don't think there's anything to look into regarding Oliver and Felicity's feelings for each other because the story about them dating other people isn't about them moving on, it's about the people that they're moving on with.

Felicity struggled with Billy because plot - she couldn't have thought that relationship was real because they needed Oliver to kill the dude and for her not to be too broken up about it. She never indicated she was having difficulty thinking her relationship with Billy was "real" because she was hung up on Oliver. Oliver's going to go "all in" with Susan for plot - for whatever idiot twist is happening with her investigating him and being an all around shady asshole. Neither one of those relationships has anything at all to do with actually moving on from Oliver and Felicity's relationship, so there isn't any struggle there because it isn't about them because these writers are hacks.

The bigger question is how he even knows Black Siren exists.

MG said there will still be flashbacks (not in every ep IIRC), but Oliver's 5-year flashback journey is over this season.

Are they gonna go sharpie over the name on her gravestone too?

Same. I still laugh thinking about it.

I wouldn't have minded any of the elements of the scene on their own I don't think. But the magical leg twitching, the standing up, and the shuffling out the door combined together? I could not.

It's like...the head of the LoA being a major stockholder in Pier 1 was amusing, but the magic walking was next level.

That moment really made me shed some tears. Of laughter.

Yeah, I suppose it could just be a random meeting that Oliver isn't involved in and never finds out about for whatever reason.

I suppose we need some kind of reason for Oliver to stage his rescue to get off the island and go back home, but they'd have to be really careful about using Merlyn since it took Oliver and Co. nearly a year to figure out what the Undertaking was, and he wasn't suspicious of Merlyn right off the bat when he returned. LOL @ me acting like this show cares about continuity.

What does any of this have to do with liking him as a person?

I think the concern comes from that Seat42 interview where SA said that this isn't going to be like the Isabel situation, and that Susan's just chasing an interesting story because the mayor of her city says he was one place for 5 years when he wasn't. It comes off like a pre-excuse for whatever is going to happen. Now...whether he was actually giving spoilers in that interview or somehow misdirecting people, IDK. So going off of what was said which is all that we can base our spec off of - it seems possible that Oliver might brush off her shadiness because she was doing as a reporter does. And if he does that, then there's no reason why they wouldn't stay together. It doesn't make sense to go that route if they want to convince any viewers who don't already think Oliver is a level 10 moron that he's not so stupid that he eats rocks for breakfast every morning, but...who knows with this show.

Doesn't Oliver say in the 5x10 trailer that Felicity and Lyla are looking for Prometheus' mother? They could follow a lead to Russia that involves the Bratva for whatever reason (like maybe his mom is Russian and he needs help finding her, or she was somehow otherwise engaged with the Bratva) to keep the storyline going.

Oh definitely. But insinuating herself into Oliver's love life appears to be part of her bigger plot at this point, so that - gathered with the fact that he has an extended case of the stupids for plot = wondering if maybe those two plots (her being his love interest, and her being shady) don't continue to play out simultaneously. I certainly hope they don't! But part of me is afraid that they will.

And that's exactly what Iris wound up doing! ::rimshot::

Easy. He was a decent human being, he treated Iris well, and was the anthesis to Barry - who is stupid and selfish and immature.

Yeah, I think he's gonna go full moron.

I don't mind her hanging around as long as: a) she's already been found out and b) Oliver broke up with her as soon as he found her out If she hasn't been exposed by 16, then WTF? And if Oliver stays with her after, then...yikes.

Just Will, it seems. I really don't get what they're going for here. Oliver (and on rare occasions Felicity) seems hyper aware of what Jules thinks and why, and how those things manifest in her behavior so it's like...he knows its an issue and does actively acknowledge it, but then continues to do shitty things that reinforce her ideas, like in this chapter. Bleh.

DC just tweeted this out: The Arrow and the Canary: The Not-So-Secret History of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance What is it with these people and bones? OMG.

My point was more that the network likely wouldn't be demanding SA to do Q&A's to rally the fanbase or whatever when there aren't any new talking points. He's probably going to talk about what's coming up in the same way the EP's do. If they aren't saying anything different, why would he? Seems like if anything it's a move on his part to reach out to fans he might feel like are slipping away since he'll need them outside of Arrow, and that the regular Q&A's are something he wants to do to engage fans, not something he's being asked to do by CW execs.

He used to do Q&A's regularly, so I'm guessing this is his thing that he wants to get back to, and not network mandated. There hasn't been a desperate grab to win people back yet-the talking points from the EP's prove that. So if they haven't course corrected in interviews with outlets that get traction, not sure why the network would make Stephen do it on Facebook.

DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK

Also, can someone please do some cursory vetting on this chick before they bring her on? I know after Evelyn that vetting doesn't mean all that much, but please don't be a situation where these morons follow a trail that seems like it's E2 Laurel only to find this Tina person and then decide she's a broken lil thing that needs to be taken under their wing without anything more to it than that. Please show, don't be as dumb as you can be.