apinknightmare

It's speculation that the "irreversible damage" in Diggle and Oliver's relationship is physical, not emotional, based on DR's comment that Diggle's getting some kind of a suit or something that he has to be fitted for and the preview last night where Oliver is told to fight Diggle (thus leading to the injury).

She was the one Cisco was referring to.

I get the Hail Mary, because they wanted us to realize that there really wasn't any way to get Oliver out of there at that point in time. They were within the confines of Nanda Parbat, and Ra's had just tried to kill his sister. There isn't anywhere Oliver can go to hide now, and if he left, Ra's would for real off Thea or Felicity or Diggle, and there would be no coming back via the Lazarus Pit this time around. So, the Hail Mary worked for me here. Maybe we'll find out later that it was some kind of a test run for something or to suss out how the League handles escape attempts for a plan to be hatched later? Doubtful, but maybe. I'd like if there was something more to it.

And yet...he had nothing.

HE'D STILL HAVE ONE

I certainly hope they're going to get back together post-Nanda Parbat. I think they've put too much weight and meaning into the relationship for it to be just some kind of desperate, last-chance hookup. Whether "post-Nanda Parbat" means this season or further down the road, I don't know. The finale being called, "My Name is Oliver Queen" makes me think they probably will get together by the end of the season, but I'm not sure of it.

Because plot, basically. Based on MG's answer, it seems like they wanted it to come at the most heartbreaking moment, which is right before she had to say goodbye to him.

Edit: I mostly see "fan service" used as shorthand for "romantic stuff I don't like about the show."

I loved Felicity's "plan" because it was so desperate and stupid. And especially because Felicity is never desperate and stupid, I found it endearing.

He posted on Tumblr, IIRC. And he's gone because he was cast on another show.

One of the writers. She's produced before though, just not on Arrow.

No, he's still alive per MG.

That's because Sara had a rich, largely unknown backstory to pull from (like Oliver's) that Laurel just doesn't have.

Nope. And the 3x23 synopsis is TBA as well. I'm guessing they're delaying it because of spoilers, probably because Evil!Oliver only lasts the one ep and they want to make sure people wonder if he's actually going to stay evil.

MG mentioned Felicity going through the seven stages of grief and then specifically mentioned whether or not Felicity loses faith in Oliver, so I think maybe he's just being hyperbolic again regarding the amount of "grieving" she'll do just to make people think she might actually give up on him this time. The anvil Oliver dropped about Felicity being the first person he saw as a person when he came back from the island suggests that she'll be the one to bring him out of it. So I can see them having a hard time getting it together, but probably not as hard as the first time considering at this point they've already done it once before. Anyone remember which ep MG said that Ray and Felicity have that great scene in? Because if he's the one who convinces her to not give up on Oliver, I might throw my shoe, haha. No, MG confirmed that it's a present-day wedding.

MG just announced on Twitter that Wendy Mericle is going to be a show runner (next season, I guess?).

Looks like Wendy Mericle is going to be a show runner.

You realize that wasn't a shipping issue for most people though, right? It had more to do with how the Team Arrow dynamic has suffered this season, and I don't think the show made it clear enough for some people to realize that Felicity wasn't going to Laurel for comfort, she was going to Laurel to let Laurel know what happened. The confusion probably sets in because it's ludicrous to think that all of this went down and Laurel didn't seem to know about any of it. I think if it had been a bit more clear that Felicity was going to Laurel to deliver information and then broke down while delivering that information, there would be a lot less "why didn't she go to Diggle" comments. Not saying that shipping doesn't make some things super ugly, because it does. I just don't think this is one of those things.

See I thought it would be something that would be fixed by technology that would actually give him an edge out in the field instead of giving him a reason to stay out of it.

Yeah, the "irreversible damage" could be physical, not emotional. Palmer Industries better get to work on a go go gadget arm (or other appendage)!

Honestly, the thing that bugs me about the Laurel/Felicity scene has absolutely nothing to do with Laurel. It's nice to see her comforting Felicity after Felicity comforted her a couple of times (I know this is a bone of contention here, so...just MHO). My problem is, WHY DID LAUREL NOT ALREADY KNOW? I mean, she seemed to genuinely not know a damn thing about what was going on. The show makes a point at having her forgive Thea immediately when Thea tells her that she killed Sara, and then Laurel goes to the loft to check up on her and makes a point of telling us that Laurel thinks of Thea like a sister (which I believe she absolutely does), but then she doesn't even get clued into the fact that Thea was on the brink of death and Oliver was going to join the League of Assassins in order to save her? And we know there was a hangar scene shot because we saw stills of it. I mean, I don't care that much because I really do not care about Laurel, but they devote screen time to her for stuff lately and then completely leave her out of the payoff. Like I wrote on the last page - it's just weird.

Also, I'm really excited to see Thea suiting up in the NZ promo. And that it seems like it's gonna be her vs. Oliver to save...who was Oliver threatening there? Malcolm or Diggle?

See, I think it does make sense from a practical perspective - she's got a weapon that she can use without using her hands to activate it. I think it's kind of handy, I just think it looks really stupid in reality. And it's another one of those things where I'll wonder why she doesn't use it all the time. Someone on another board said that the actual Canary Cry doesn't affect people who are standing behind the Black Canary (I have no idea if that's true), so maybe that's how this works, but if it does then why doesn't everyone huddle behind her every time there's some shit going down and then she can scream at the perps, incapacitate them and send them to Quentin or whatever stooge is running the SCPD?

Thank you for watching. For science. Because I was confused by him putting her against the pillows while he still had his pants on, and the...thrusting. I was like, damn, if she looks like that while things are still, you know, tame, imagine what's gonna happen when Oliver lets loose.

Yeah, it's not got anything to do with Laurel at all, I just think it's one of those things that works in comics and is trickier to pull off, mostly because it looks kind of funny? I liked the solution they came up with for Sara, and I was (and am) pro-collar, but it would've worked better for me if she didn't have to actually scream to get it to work. And also if it didn't sound like a car accident was happening in the background, but maybe it'll sound better in non-promo form.