apinknightmare

Well, we're taking crazy here, that's why I mentioned it.

Am I the only one who thinks they're going to Lazarus Pit Sara and bring her back as a villain? And have Laurel actually defeat her in real life instead of a hallucination? It's a thought that's been floating around for a while, and every time I see MG joke around on Tumblr about how Sara's dead, and see tweets about how CL definitely isn't coming back to Arrow, I think SHE'S NOT AND SHE IS. It would be terrible and I would hate it, but I wonder if it's actually a possibility. I mean, if we're talking crazy shit.

Could be. It'd be a good way to keep what will eventually be Queen Inc. (or was it Enterprises, I can't remember) in the fold, since they can use Applied Sciences to make souper suits and stuff that goes 'splodey for fighting purposes.

No, she called Olicity shipping bullshit, which...she might've been better off if she did call Olicity bullshit, haha. It doesn't matter - the interviewer got her to give up some clickbait, so they're the ones who win in the end.

Well, he did say tech-savvy Black Canary, not tech-savvy Laurel. So, I'm guessing apart from the sonic devices Felicity/Palmer/STAR Labs might hook her up with some tech to help her out. Makes sense, if Ray's going to be finding out about the Arrow and eventually joining the fray that they'd get some more gadgets.

She doesn't need to be paralyzed to become Oracle though - Felicity was never a costumed hero, so there's no drama in paralyzing her, because she won't need to find another way to fight crime - she's already doing it the same way she'd have to if she couldn't walk. And if Felicity being disabled in some way presented an obstacle to Olicity, then Oliver could go fall off another cliff.

Yep. And I'm hoping the "Suicidal Tendencies" doesn't have some kind of double meaning.

She was meant to give an answer just like the one she did to rile up shippers and get them talking. They set her up and she fell for it, and it'll deliver in spades, I'm sure - angry shippers will be linking to that article from here to eternity, and the sites will get the clicks.

Katie did.

Well, at least we know Oliver gets a hug. So if Felicity tells him that three weeks in hell wasn't enough, at least she wraps her arms around him before she does it!

They seem to do the VotW better over on Flash. I think Arrow needs to do a little more of that, even though the EPs have said they don't like doing it - that way we can see more victories while having the overarching season-long villain. I will say though that while The Flash is more upbeat, I'm not even remotely invested in it. Since the episodes don't really tie into one another that much and nearly every villain is defeated by the time the episode is through, it's the kind of thing that I find myself picking up every now and then. I don't really watch it week-to-week. The emotional stakes are too high on Arrow, and IMO, not high enough on Flash. I know this isn't the place to discuss that, so I'll agree that I would like to see more wins for Oliver. But honestly, I don't finish each ep of Arrow thinking "why does this guy keep getting emotionally beaten down?" I don't even realize how grim dark it is until someone points it out and I'm like, "yeah, he hasn't had a win in a while." So, I can see why the mood of Arrow bothers some people, it really doesn't bother me. I do need a few more bright spots though.

Oliver and Felicity have been pretty low-angst so far, all things considered. I wonder how bad the angst can even be? MG already teased the "I don't want to be a woman you love" line, and fandom already thinks Felicity's going to say that to Oliver. We know they're not going to be together, so everyone's prepared. I doubt it'll be that bad.

Right, that's kind of my point. It's something they say, something they believe, but they can't really detach themselves from their humanity. I mean, Maseo obviously tried - it seems like he and Tatsu aren't together anymore, but he's still Maseo - he still has compassion and does the right thing, he's just not all in. I think the same thing will basically happen with Oliver. He committed to it at the beginning of the season and then Sara died. After that he realized that he didn't want to die alone on a cold slab in a basement. So he reached out to Thea and made amends with her (Thea was way safer for him to reach out to than Felicity). Now he's going to try it again, and he's going to fail again. He'll probably be more dedicated this time, but he's not going to be able to do it for long.

Stinky, stanky leather smells for everyone!

I think Oliver's going to come back just as The Arrow. I think that Maseo telling Oliver in the climb that "Maseo" is dead, and all that is left was Sarab along with Malcolm declaring that "Oliver Queen is dead" is foreshadowing. Oliver's going to see what's happening to Starling City without The Arrow, and he's going to come back fully committed to his mission. I think that Felicity's going to want to pursue a relationship with him, thinking that of course he'd want to pursue one with her because the last thing he told her was that he loves her. He's going to push her away again, and she's going to be angry. Maybe he's cold and detached, season 1 Oliver, having put those walls up. Maybe that's where the "I don't want to be a woman you love" comes in? Granted, that really leaves us in the same place we were at the end of The Calm, only this time I think it'll be a legit clean break, and it would open Felicity up to the possibility of a relationship with Ray (I hope not, but...yeah), something the writers probably couldn't do if Oliver came back and wanted to be with her and she begs off because she's scared of losing him again. Since Oliver will have rejected her, yet again, we won't be angry at her because what is this, the tenth time? Gah. Anyway, they didn't just randomly tie Oliver's humanity to Felicity in the premiere to be romantic, she's going to be the one to bring him back from The Arrow, too. I imagine she'll probably be threatened at least a couple times (Slade, her nemesis), and he'll nearly lose her (whatever happens in 3x18), and since Laurel will probably have gone off to train with Nyssa and will have "improved" in her already unbelievably competent fighting skills and Ray's suit will be close to being done, he's going to realize that he's just wasting his life by not actually living it. I think Felicity will date Ray (as in go on dates with), and that she and Oliver will kiss or something in May and he'll tell her he's all in, and then she's going to be wary of him. I think we'll end the season with Oliver and Felicity apart but in a good (if wary) place. Maybe Felicity will still be dating Ray? I don't know - we need something to keep them apart through the hiatus because I SWEAR TO GOD IF WE MISS ANOTHER SUMMER FULL OF DEVELOPMENT... Anyway, I'm probably wrong about a lot of this, but I definitely think Oliver's coming back in full shut-down business mode.

I don't think so. Maybe she's going to the Grammy's, but I bet it's more along the lines of some kind of release party or something that might not be public.

Yeah, I'll bet something's going on for that movie that weekend.

I think MG on Tumblr has more to do with getting people through the Oliver-less episodes than the TCAs. The TCAs may play a part, but I definitely think he's trying to keep people engaged and make sure they tune in this week and next. We'll see how much he's on Tumblr after those eps have aired.

No, the spoiler was that she'd be mad as hell at the end of 3x12 (IIRC). I don't know if that that has anything to do with Oliver's return or whatever talk they have though.

Since she's supposedly "mad as hell," I'm guessing it's not a nice confession, like maybe she yells it at him because he's being a dumbass. Unless the thing she's mad as hell at doesn't have anything to do with her relationship with Oliver and is something else.

I think she'll be honest about how she feels. I think we're in for an "I love you, but..." scenario.

Right? Oliver didn't even go look over the balcony to check things out, haha. As for the fighting and stunt doubles, I don't pay one lick of attention to any of that, honestly. I've never noticed anyone's stunt double while I'm watching the ep as it's airing.

Aw, that's cute. I wondered what the note said - A+ folding skills, gift maker.

I think the mayor probably was in 5, but her scene got cut and he doesn't remember. I didn't find the natural hair color comment gross, but the molesting thing, yeah.

DC is releasing an Arrow novel, and a companion paperback for the show called (unsurprisingly) Heroes and Villains: http://dccomicsnews.com/2015/01/25/arrow-gets-first-novel-based-cw-hit-show/ Companion: I wonder if there will only be "costumed" heroes listed in that one. Based on the description...not sure. Novel: I recall news about the novel being posted somewhere, but I hadn't seen anything about the show's companion book.