tv echo

WeMinoredInFilm's "frustrated review" of 3x21 (rushed Oliver brainwashing, rushed Nyssa/Laurel friendship)... ARROW’S “AL SAH-HIM” (S3,EP21): DID THEY SKIP AN EPISODE? Posted on April 30, 2015 by Kelly Konda http://weminoredinfilm.com/2015/04/30/arrows-al-sah-him-s3ep21-did-they-skip-an-episode/

Robert Dougherty's review of 3x21 (gives it a score of 8/10)... Arrow S3: E21 -- 'Al Sah-Him' By Robert Dougherty April 30, 2015 12:45PM EDT http://www.themovienetwork.com/review/arrow-s3-e21-al-sah-him

Review of 3x21 by Erik Kain, Forbes contributor (he thinks Oliver is playing a long con, and also offers an alternative S3B version)... 'Arrow' Season 3, Episode 21 Review: Bride Of The Demon Erik Kain APR 30, 2015 @ 3:28 PM http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2015/04/30/arrow-season-3-episode-21-review-bride-of-the-demon/

When Oliver and Diggle went to Nanda Parbat to rescue Malcolm a few episodes ago, it looked like they were killing random LOA guys (with bullets and arrows) on their way in. In response to a fan tumblr question, MG said something like they were just injured, but they sure looked dead-dead to me.

EBR is still losing to Amy Acker (POI). Considering POI has 3x the viewing audience of Arrow, I guess this is not a surprise. Plus Amy is one of Joss Whedon's actors (Angel, Much Ado About Nothing), so she may be getting Whedon fan votes as well (not to mention anti-Felicity votes)... Meanwhile, SA did not survive to the Final 2 round of Alpha Male Madness, which is now down to Colin O'Donoghue (OUAT) and Sam Heughan (Outlander)... Alpha Male Madness 2015 Is Down to the Final 2: Vote for Your Favorite Now! http://www.eonline.com/news/651978/alpha-male-madness-2015-is-down-to-the-final-2-vote-for-your-favorite-now

Re the EW pic of Nyssa and Oliver in their wedding garb standing next to each other - that has to be the unhappiest looking wedding couple I've ever seen. Both their mouths are turned down at the corners. I'm hopping on board apinknightmare's denial train and hoping that their wedding gets interrupted, while far away from Nanda Parbat Thea & Roy elope to Vegas.

https://twitter.com/amellywood https://twitter.com/arrowwriters Ugh.. that's a NO on "Olyssa".

Unfortunately, I think that Oliver not maiming his team was the EPs' plot decision because they didn't want them incapacitated for the remaining two episodes. Thus, you have Laurel and Lyla holding their own against trained LOA assassins, and Diggle holding his own against Ra's-trained Oliver and then saved by Thea's arrow. I think Oliver really is brainwashed (courtesy of magic herbs) - at least in 3x21. I agree that it's ambiguous, though.

There must a LOA handbook on assassin tactics. Last season Nyssa kidnapped Dinah to force the return of Sara. This season Evil!Oliver kidnaps Lyla to force the return of Nyssa.

IBT quotes some twitter reactions and thinks wedding is a ruse (yeah, you keep thinking that)... Why Oliver-Nyssa Wedding is Merely a Ruse; Twitter Reactions to 'Arrow' Episode 'Al Sah-him' [VIDEO] By Mangala Dilip April 30, 2015 15:01 IST http://www.ibtimes.co.in/why-oliver-nyssa-wedding-merely-ruse-twitter-reactions-arrow-episode-al-sah-him-video-630884

From Eonline... Arrow's About to Host the Worst Wedding Ever by SYDNEY BUCKSBAUM Wed., Apr. 29, 2015 6:34 PM PDT http://www.eonline.com/news/651882/arrow-s-about-to-host-the-worst-wedding-ever

For comics fans (the first article was retweeted by Jamie Bamford)... Arrow: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References In "Al Sah-him" By Russ Burlingame 04/30/2015 http://comicbook.com/2015/04/30/arrow-easter-eggs-and-dc-comics-references-in-al-sah-him/ Arrow Season 3, Episode 21 Watch: DCU Connections And Easter Eggs BY JESSE CARP 7 HOURS AGO http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Arrow-Season-3-Episode-21-Watch-DCU-Connections-Easter-Eggs-71614.html

JustAboutWrite's lengthy and interesting analysis of 3x21... Arrow 3x21 "Al Sah-Him" (Why Are You?) 7:14 PM http://www.itsjustaboutwrite.com/2015/04/arrow-3x21-al-sah-him-why-are-you.html

More from 3x21... Felicity: "Well, my mom used to feed me nachos from the bar at the Grand before I was off the bottle, and I turned out normal." Thea: "Ish." Lyla: "John - what's the house rule?" Diggle: "No Glocks on the dinner table." Felicity: "If you're going to keep going out into the field --" Diggle: "Do not say 'costume'." Felicity: "OK. Identity concealment."

Enjoyed reading the Vulture review as usual - esp. liked these bits:

EW's review/recap of 3x21... 'Al Sah-Him' Arrow Ep. 21 BY CHANCELLOR AGARD Posted April 30 2015 — 12:32 AM EDT http://www.ew.com/recap/arrow-season-3-episode-21

From the print issue of next week's TV Guide, May 4-17, 2015 (Double Issue,with Scott Bakula on the cover)... Flash EP Andrew Kreisberg calls the May 19 finale "an unbelievably emotional" conclusion filled with questions about destiny:

From the print issue of next week's TV Guide (with Scott Bakula on the cover)... AOS EP Jeffrey Bell breaks down three revelations to come: 1. Cal's destructive power "will be on full display in a surprising way." Although we've seen him have PCP moments of rage strength, those moments don't jibe with the tales of Cal annihilating a whole village and doing other terrible things on a vast scale. That will change. "We're taking a cue from the comics where Cal -- or Cal Zabo, as he's known -- is Marvel's Mr. Hyde, as well as a very fractured and broken Dr. Jekyll." 2. We will know exactly where Grant Ward stands by the season finale. "He may be the most changed of any of our characters." 3. The SHIELD vs. SHIELD conflict will be settled in the wake of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and a new, unified SHIELD will move the series into next season. The impact of Age of Ultron will be "much more nuanced". "A secret revealed in the film changes many key relationships on S.H.I.E.L.D. and repositions the conflict between Coulson and Gonzales. It leads to a major decision regarding the Inhumans, one that assures not everyone is leaving the finale alive." Per Bell, "We will leave you with a little catharsis, a little emotion, a little mystery. Blend it together lightly and have a nice summer!"

It really makes a difference when you are able to watch an entire relationship develop on screen... When Felicity went to the old Arrowcave at the end of 3x21 and collapsed into the chair weeping, I could really feel her grief - not just due to EBR's amazing acting (imo), but also because I just spent the past three years watching her and Oliver go through a lot of stuff together. We saw her first meeting Oliver when they were strangers. We saw their relationship slowly evolve and deepen over three years. We saw Team Arrow's successes and losses. We saw their highs and lows. We saw them both risk their lives. We saw their somber moments, humorous moments, happy moments, sad moments, intimate moments, and heartbreaking moments. We really got to know Oliver and Felicity over time, and everything they went through together. So yes, I felt her loss.

In 3x21, Ra's al Ghul says,"When I joined the League, I was conscripted with another man. Damien Darhk. We would become the prized agents of Ra's al Ghul. We were his horsemen. And he molded us into warriors the likes the world had never seen. We were as brothers... Damien continues the League's ways, but through his own organization filled with a hive of agents devoted to his own agenda. Last year, he tried to purchase Malcolm Merlyn's earthquake generator. He gave Gholem Qadir safe haven to Markovia. And he hired Mark Shaw to steal a secret file from A.R.G.U.S." So now we know that season 4's Big Bad will be Damien Darhk, who's the head of HIVE. But the mention of "horsemen" made me think of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They've set up Damien to be equal to Ra's in power and evil. What if they're saving up two additional "horsemen" to be the Big Bad in later seasons?

Now would be a really good time for Felicity to have that invisibility device that LEGO Felicity has... From the extended promo, it looks like Felicity is yelling that "you asked us to trust you, we trusted you" line at Oliver (unless it's editing). Maybe in that beach stand-off, he gets them to back down by telling them to trust him. Then he locks them up. I think Oliver really is brainwashed in 3x21, but glimmers of the real Oliver remain inside him. He did not lose his memories - just his emotions. He remembers everything and everyone. He remembered John Diggle and Lyla. He remembered that Felicity is not a physical fighter and would (normally) not carry weapons. He just doesn't care anymore. He's like Angel without his soul. However, the glimmers of the old Oliver remain in that: (1) he should've easily defeated Diggle, but he didn't (though question as to whether he really would've delivered the death blow without Thea's intervention?); and (2) he gave permission for his henchman not to search Felicity (he should've remembered the Slade fake-out and not underestimated her, plus he didn't want anyone touching her). I think Oliver will somehow snap out of the brainwashing by the end of 3x22 and then pretend to still be brainwashed in 3x23 in order to save Starling City. Also, here's my crack theory of the day: Maseo is still an ARGUS agent. Waller heard that the LOA has a vial of the deadly virus and sent in Maseo undercover to infiltrate the LOA and find the vial. That's why Tatsu comes to Starling City in 3x22 and contacts Team Arrow. Malcolm probably tells them about the wedding and the plan to infect Starling City (he probably has a mole in the LOA). So that's why they all go to Nanda Parbat in 3x22.

https://twitter.com/ArrowProdOffice

From 3x21... Al Sah-Him: "My name was Oliver Queen. For three years, I worked to save my city. But to save my sister, I had to become someone else. I had to become something else." Ra's al Ghul: "When I joined the League, I was conscripted with another man. Damien Darhk. We would become the prized agents of Ra's al Ghul. We were his horsemen. And he molded us into warriors the likes the world had never seen. We were as brothers." Al Sah-Him: "What happened to him?" Ra's al Ghul: "He believed himself worthy of becoming heir to the Demon, but I was the one chosen." Al Sah-Him: "So you had to kill him." Ra's al Ghul: "Yes. But you see, I hesitated. And with that hesitation, he found an opportunity to escape, taking with him his loyalists and water from the Lazarus pit. And he has vexed me ever since. And you." Al Sah-Him: "I don't follow." Ra's al Ghul: "Damien continues the League's ways, but through his own organization filled with a hive of agents devoted to his own agenda. Last year, he tried to purchase Malcolm Merlyn's earthquake generator. He gave Gholem Qadir safe haven to Markovia. And he hired Mark Shaw to steal a secret file from A.R.G.U.S." Al Sah-Him: "This was all the work of one man?" Ra's al Ghul: "The list goes on. Many lives have been lost, others endangered. And all because I was slow to swing a vengeful sword. And I will not have my heir haunted by the same mistake."

http://marcguggenheim.tumblr.com/

http://marcguggenheim.tumblr.com/