apinknightmare

He probably says it to Digg or Felicity. Or Digg and Felicity - probably not Thea. At this point she doesn't know he's been fighting for anything. Although, maybe he tells her in this ep. He could say it to Ra's too, I guess. I'm a romantic though, so I'm hoping for Felicity too, haha.

It's an ornament.

I'm wondering if this issue they're having with the DNA is just to drag out the reveal or if it's set up for ZOMBIE! Tommy being the real killer since these "issues" could explain away them possibly thinking the killer is a woman when it's a man. It looks like Oliver finds out Thea's been hanging out with Merlyn? He probably thinks Merlyn set her up and ENTER VIOLENT CHOKING. That Oliver says he knows what he's fighting for and is intent on returning home makes me so happy. I realize it could be trickery, but I'm feeling so much better about the potential for an upbeat, determined, positive Oliver going out to fight for his life than sad pants Oliver. Sad pants Oliver is difficult to get behind (but I always manage to do it). I'd like it if Digg and Lyla got married before Oliver left, just because I think Christmas is a nice time to get married. Then we'd have a Christmas wedding, Christmas family feels with Oliver and Thea, a Hannukah forehead kiss for O&F, and the merry murder reveal for the Lance family (SHE BETTER TELL THEM - IF SHE DOESN'T I'LL REMAIN CONVINCED OVER THE HIATUS THAT SHE'S GOING CANARYING TO TRICK LANCE). Good stuff.

Based on the extended promo: Looks like Thea is going to be the alleged killer, and he's going to Ra's to protect her. Seems like (possibly due to some clever editing), Oliver has every intention of coming back. OLIVER KISSES FELICITY'S FOREHEAD, THERE BETTER BE LOTS MORE FF to next Wednesday please. Based on the promo, probably. Roy and Felicity know (per their voiceovers). Diggle must know too.

No, but I think the little game that they make out of finding a name for each one is a sign that they're not taking it as seriously as they should. Cisco was right - there's a certain level of whimsy (for lack of a better word) that comes with superpowers. The stakes aren't as high for them because Barry heals faster - he could probably take a substantial blow and still walk away even if he broke a lot of his body. The laws of the natural world don't apply to the villains they're fighting or to the person who's fighting them, so it's easy to forget sometimes that real things and real lives are at stake with what they do. That's not to say Barry should lose his lightness or they shouldn't have fun, but a little bit of gravity wouldn't hurt them.

I think they came to get the DNA evidence, didn't they? I thought Felicity mentioned that she was going to mail it or something? Because Caitlin looked at it while she was there and couldn't isolate some of the DNA and then said she'd call Felicity from CC when she had some results.

If he's going to keep Ra's from killing people in Starling or because Thea's being threatened, I can't imagine her saying anything like that. Unless she means there won't ever be an "us" because he won't be coming back. I don't think she'd ever, under any circumstances, fault him for doing what he thought he had to do to protect people. I'm getting fic-cy again but I'm gonna need him to kiss her or something and then tell her he needs something to hold onto while he's gone. I'm going to be so disappointed with reality next Wednesday, hahaha

Yeah, I liked the infusion of Barry in this ep. A lot. I love The Flash, but I'm SO attached to Arrow. Although The Flash is a lot more enjoyable to watch for me because I'm not sitting there with a Level 10 clench going on wondering how they're going to mess up everything I love in the span of two minutes. Or something.

And now I'm back to thinking that this scene will involve Felicity begging him not to go (her voice was so shaky in the promo :( ) because she loves him, and Oliver asking her if she could still love him if he didn't do what he could to save (thea/the city/whatever), and he's going to do something stupid like tell her he wants to be with her when he comes back (and he fully intends to return), and then cue literal cliffhanger and grief (<----this is me fanfic-ing it already). Obviously I'm steeling myself for some "I want you to be happy without me," BS because that's more likely than not, but if they're truly going for max heartbreak, then Oliver's going to tell her how he feels with every intention of coming back to her, and then he won't.

With Felicity walking right in on it. Right after they talked about his humanity, too. Don't be subtle about it show. I like to be hit over the head and smacked in the face with it over and over and over again. (Seriously, especially where Olicity is concerned, haha). Diggle, ahhhh. Hong Kong Oliver makes my heart hurt.

Judging from the promo, looks like Oliver definitely volunteers to go. Ra's challenges him to a duel? They're totally going to think he's dead.

MORE OF THAT, PLEASE

Isn't she only in, like...one scene? With Oliver, Barry and Quentin?

Yeah, I think it's a long shot, although I can't figure out why it would be necessary to put on a costume unless it was for some kind of diversionary tactic. Unless it is because Oliver's gone, even though she can barely fight, which...LOL

Well, Dinah doesn't even have to be in the know in order for the suit-up to work. Lance is the only one who has to see it - like someone wrote above, he can pass the information along. Dinah is an afterthought on this show anyway.

Yeah, this is kind of how I thought it would go down if they went that route. I mean, if Dinah doesn't know, where exactly does she think Sara is when she's out being an assassin? Was Sara checking in with her at all? Does she not find it strange she hasn't heard from her?

I guess I just assumed Dinah knew what was up after that whole thing with Nyssa at the docks. Like...was she not curious about why assassins kidnapped her? Did she not ask a single question about it? And I shouldn't take MG literally, it was just the "necessary" part that threw me. Her suiting up to help out is not at all necessary - she can barely fight. Now, if she wants to, that's different.

I'm actually growing increasingly concerned that she is going to suit up for a Canary sighting to fool her parents and throw them off dead Sara's scent. Canary hasn't been seen in town since Sara died, so no one would think her absence was suspicious and Oliver going away with the League wouldn't necessitate Laurel suiting up. If the team needs to make sure there's still a vigilante presence in town, there's Roy, and if they're worried people will realize Arrow's gone, Diggle can just put on his suit like he did when they were trying to fake out Lance while Oliver was on house arrest. Anyone who's got a beef with or is looking for Canary would likely know she's dead now that the League is aware of it, so it can't be for any reason related to that. I just can't think of any other reason that would make her wearing that costume necessary other than to keep up the ruse. Hopefully this is debunked when she tells them in 3x09, right as they're trimming the tree.

Ah, good point. I didn't even think of that because the rest of him seems to be unscathed.

This pic was posted in the Spoilers Only thread, (I hope it's okay for me to bring it over here for ease of discussion): Did Oliver always have a tattoo on the inside of his right arm? He didn't have it in Heir to Demon (I watched the tire bashing scene...for science). Wonder if it's significant that he has it in these stills? maybeit's"felicity" lol Is it a League initiation thing or what?

She's a woman, so she's probably dead.

Has anything about the way this mystery has been handled implied that it won't be lame though? The whole thing is terrible.

If Tatsu is still alive (AND SHE BETTER BE, I SWEAR), I wonder if she's in the League? If so, could she be Sara's killer? Sara would know her, and she's shorter so the arrow trajectory would make some sense. I don't know. Or maybe Ra's saw a valuable target in Maseo like he sees in Oliver (wasn't that a spoiler? Ra's seeing potential in Oliver? I can't remember) and convinced him to cut ties with his family, or maybe he gave himself over to save his wife or son (HK parallel). Did Waller make him do it? She has to play into it somehow.

He's been looking Roy G. Biv in the eyes for years. At least he admitted he's not emotionally healthy (just looking for a plus here). He's such a grumpy asshole all the time, but I'm still rooting for him for some reason.

Oh yeah. Ra's is definitely manipulating him. If Thea's DNA is on the arrow that killed Sara, I wonder if he somehow planted it to get to this point in some way, knowing that Oliver would do what he wanted to save her and/or the city. Yes, that would require a LOT of things to go his way, but I wouldn't put it past this show to go that route.