tv echo

We don't really know the status of Felicity's relationship with Ray, do we? They slept together, but are they exclusive and committed, or just friends with benefits?

There's some great fan art posted in this article... The Best Arrow Fan Art So Far by Viktorio Serdarov ⋅ Posted on March 19th, 2015 at 10:57am http://moviepilot.com/posts/2015/03/19/the-best-arrow-fan-art-so-far-2795800?lt_source=external,manual

It could be an editing trick... but it says something that the CW is using a real or pretend Olicity moment to promote the next episode.

I don't think Felicity was all that flirty. She just seemed glad to be on friendly terms with Oliver again - that he was talking to her and confiding in her. At the end, I think she was happy and relieved that Oliver was going to reject Ra's offer, so she was trying to joke and banter with him.

Maybe some fans were turned off by 3x15 - Ra's picking Oliver as his heir is arguably nonsensical and/or the Raylicity sex - or as the culmination of the past several episodes?

I think this was the same teaser that was shown on TTD... The Walking Dead - Episode 5.15 - Try - Sneak Peek 2 Posted by Robert Fruin at Tuesday, March 17, 2015 http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/03/the-walking-dead-episode-515-try-sneak_17.html

This is an interesting analysis... Arrow: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References in "The Offer" By Russ Burlingame 03/18/2015 http://comicbook.com/2015/03/19/arrow-easter-eggs-and-dc-comics-references-in-the-offer/

No 3x16 review posted by Laura Hurley yet, but this tweet... https://twitter.com/lah9891

Even though I enjoyed last night's episode ("The Offer"), I'm still slightly bitter that - even though Diggle and Felicity are apparently still talking to each other (he tells her about Oliver's job offer from Ra's) - the Diggle/Felicity conversations are happening off-screen.

Early overnight ratings... Ratings News - 19th March 2015 Posted by DarkUFO at Thursday, March 19, 2015 http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/03/ratings-news-19th-march-2015.html

Another Pointed Commentary by Matt D. Wilson on "The Offer"... ‘Arrow’ Season 3 Recap, Episode 16: ‘The Offer’ by Matt D. Wilson March 19, 2015 10:00 AM http://comicsalliance.com/arrow-season-3-recap-episode-16-the-offer/

EW review of "The Offer"... 'The Offer' Arrow Ep. 16 | Aired Mar 18 BY CHANCELLOR AGARD Posted March 18 2015 — 9:16 PM EDT http://www.ew.com/recap/arrow-season-3-episode-16

ComicBookResources' review of "The Offer" (I had a similar thought to what's quoted below)... ‘Arrow’ Recap: Oliver Queen Questions His Mission in ‘The Offer’ Thursday, March 19th, 2015 at 4:18am PST - by Marc Buxton http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2015/03/19/arrow-recap-oliver-queen-questions-his-mission-in-the-offer/

Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on Grey's, Bones, Glee, New Girl, Castle, The Flash, Arrow, Shameless and More By Matt Webb Mitovich / March 18 2015, 4:06 PM PDT http://tvline.com/2015/03/18/greys-anatomy-callie-romance-spoilers/

jbuffyangel's review of "The Offer" (parts of this review are hilarious, esp. some of the animated gifs)... A GLIMPSE OF SUNSHINE: THE OFFER ARROW 3X16 REVIEW MARCH 19, 2015 @ 06:49 http://jbuffyangel.tumblr.com/post/114039138883/a-glimpse-of-sunshine-the-offer-arrow-3x16

The Vulture review by Jenny Raftery of "The Offer" (another worthwhile read)... Arrow Recap: Take It or League It By Jenny Raftery March 19, 2015 8:41 a.m. http://www.vulture.com/2015/03/arrow-recap-season-3-episode-16.html

https://twitter.com/ArrowProdOffice https://twitter.com/chico6

Some tweets from the Arrow Writers Room last night... https://twitter.com/arrowwriters

This is an interesting theory by Robert Dougherty (published yesterday before "The Offer" aired)... 'Arrow' Theory: Ra's al Ghul As Mastermind Of Sara's Death & Season 3 By Robert Dougherty Mar 18, 2015 03:17 PM http://www.themovienetwork.com/article/arrow-theory-ras-al-ghul-mastermind-saras-death-season-3

All the Ra's stuff still leaves me skeptical - like why he picked Oliver as his heir (is he that committed to fulfilling prophecy? or is this all a test for Nyssa to see if she's strong enough to fight for the position?), or why he let Malcolm go free, or why Ra's himself came to Starling City to impersonate the Arrow rather than sending an LOA minion to do it. But handwaving that stuff aside, I liked this episode overall. It had a surprising number of heartwarming scenes between people. And just how often has Ra's bathed in the Lazarus Pit? As others have said, the Oliver & Felicity scenes were great - seeing them talk and listen to each other, give and get advice, smile at each other, joke a little. The Oliver & Diggle conversation - bromance. The Oliver & Thea conversation - sibling closeness. Thea going to Roy for emotional sanctuary - yes, she got the dialogue tease line. Even the Laurel & Nyssa scene was endearingly awkward but touching. Incidentally, does Quentin know that Malcolm is still alive? Because isn't Malcolm still on the SCPD's most wanted criminal list? If he finds out that Laurel and the Arrow knew that Malcolm was hanging around, that's another deception he shouldn't forgive. Also, aren't Thea and Oliver now harboring a known fugitive from justice? P.S. Did Karl Yune (Maseo) have any lines at all last night? Or did he just stand in the background during all the Ra's & Oliver scenes?

How about this for speculation? Ra's is the one with the secret plan. He's trying to find his successor. Nyssa has shown weakness by having a close relationship with Sara, so he needs to test her. So, knowing of the prophecy, he deliberately doesn't stab Oliver (the only challenger he's had in 67 years) through the heart and gives him a chance to survive. Oliver does survive and Ra's relies on the prophecy to support his choice. At the same time, he deliberately drives Nyssa away from Nanda Parbat by disinheriting her. He wants to see if Nyssa will toughen up, come back, and fight Oliver for the position. If she does, he's willing to change his choice back to Nyssa. Oliver is forced to consider Ra's offer once more. At the end of this season, Nyssa works something out with Oliver where they decide to jointly share the Ra's position. They return to Nanda Parbat. Laurel goes with them because Quentin has been killed and there's nothing left for her (she thinks) in Starling City, and because she's become Nyssa's training protege and friend. Thea goes with them because she doesn't want to lose her only family. I still think Malcolm and maybe even Roy are going to be killed this season. Diggle doesn't go because he has a family and he disagrees with Oliver's decision. Felicity has to decide whether she is ready to give up her whole normal life to go to Nanda Parbat in order to be with Oliver (her 3x16 words, "As long as you're in my life, I am [happy]", come back to haunt her).

People who watch Arrow and don't follow spoilers are just going to make their decision whether to watch or not based on previously aired episodes. If ratings are down, it'll be a combination of the hiatus, Empire competition, and dissatisfaction with previous weeks' Arrow episodes (imo).

If you want to watch last night's O&F scenes (surprised that their total screen time together last night was quite short)... Arrow:Oliver and Felicity 3x16 ALL SCENES(As Long As You Are In My Life I Am Happy) Published on Mar. 18, 2015, by KalElHDClips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lftm40sj2No Note the blue dress - now I think they're just playing with us...

From the EOnline article (posted in the News & Media thread): Another reason why Ray is in the spinoff.

But Sara became an LOA member and killed for them, so she didn't get her training for free. Is Laurel going to do the same? And even if Nyssa doesn't give a damn anymore, will Ra's? He may not kill Nyssa, but he could easily kill Laurel (unless he magically falls in love with her). I just think it needs to be addressed in some way.