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The Doctor was better in this episode, although his defeat of the Mummy/Foretold seemed too easy. Once the Doctor was the target, you knew he was going to win. Peter Capaldi is much more believable when they don't try to make his Doctor too quirky. It was cruel of the show to make us think that this was the last episode with Clara, and then give her a quick change of heart. P.S. If you're interested in seeing Jenna Coleman in another role, see the Small Talk thread.

I'm not ready to quit the show yet. We've worried about the EPs killing off Sara for awhile now, so the fact that it has happened isn't a huge surprise - even though they did it too soon and in a really crappy, shameful way. Their blind commitment to Laurel becoming the BC does confound me. Her journey does not interest me at all. If Team Arrow ends up being Oliver, Laurel and Roy in costume (as I said in another thread), or if they screw up the Felicity character, then I'm out. As has been said, the failure of the Laurel character is due to both the writing and the acting. Writing is only half of the character portrayal. Acting is the other. A good actor can take bad or minimal writing and add nuances to the performance that elevate it above the written material. On the other hand, a bad actor can take good writing and flatten it into a one-dimensional performance. At this point, Katie Holmes would make a better Laurel than Katie Cassidy (considering Laurel was apparently derived from Rachel Dawes of Batman Begins) - and that's not saying much.

I've been reading through all the posts since Sara was killed off (and it became clear that Laurel was going to become the Black Canary come hell or high water), and it's interesting to note that we seem to be going through the four stages of grief: Denial, Depression, Anger, and Acceptance. As crazy as it seems right now, I won't be surprised if it turns out that a lot of fans do accept Laurel as the BC once she dons the costume and starts fighting (most likely after some unbelievably quick training journey, and with generous use of stunt doubles). Let's face it, KC can pull off hostile & aggressive much better than warm & compassionate. And superhero fans mostly love kickass females. Of course, you'll need to hand-wave a lot of things... Speaking of kickass females, since the EPs seem to believe that you can only have one such female on the show at a time, will Laurel's ascension to BC mean Nyssa's death?

Considering what they've done so far, I am forced to conclude that the EPs really do think the problem with Laurel has been that she wasn't the BC and wasn't in the know about Oliver's vigilante identity. They probably think they've now fixed the Laurel problem and that fans will all love her this season.

I agree that it's more likely Thea (and not Laurel) who won't meet her comic destiny. If Laurel decides not to become BC, then, with Sara's death, there will be no BC - and I doubt the EPs would go that path, esp. if they still harbor hopes of a BOP spin-off in the future. A third, kinda compromise path to Laurel's journey of "am I me or my sister" is this - Laurel decides that she's not her sister, the Canary, but will become her own kind of superhero, the Black Canary. So she's still Laurel, but she's still BC. A cop-out, I know. Yes, she would continue her hypocrisy of being a DA who prosecutes law-breakers by day while being a law-breaking vigilante by night. But consistency has never been one of her character traits. JJ928, I also hope for a Lazarus Pit. But I'm not optimistic. Sara looked pretty dead at the end of episode 1 and in next week's previews. Someone would have to steal her body from Team Arrow's custody and the burial site. Her resurrection (again) would undermine Laurel's journey this season and make all of the EPs' comments about the reason for Sara's death meaningless.

Sorry, I had a temporary brain freeze - I forgot about the live tweeting. From the NYC Comic-Con... Stephen Amell Talks LEGO Batman 3 Published on Oct 8, 2014

Too true.

I like these...

Spoiler Room: Scoop on 'Grey's,' 'Horror Story,' 'Agent Carter,' and more By Natalie Abrams on Oct 10, 2014 at 4:49PM http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/10/spoiler-room-greys-horror-story-carter-spoilers/

'Walking Dead's' Surreal Zombie World Behind the Scenes [VIDEO] 07:25 | 10/11/2014 http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/nightline-walking-deads-surreal-zombie-world-scenes-26119726

When I watched that last scene with Laurel wailing over Sara's dead body, I realized that no amount of writing, retconning or revisionist history was going to save this character. It's the acting that makes the difference. One actress will take what was intended to be an emotionally devastating scene and make it so hammy that it takes the viewer out of the scene. Another actress will take one-note writing and add nuances or complexity that elevate the material. (In contrast - EBR took what could easily have been a 2D character, added depth and personality, and parlayed it into a regular cast role. Norman Reedus did the same thing on The Walking Dead.)

As much as I like Colton Haynes, I really do think that he and Katie Cassidy are the two weakest links (acting-wise) on the show. As it is, watching Roy scenes and Laurel scenes are barely tolerable. If Team Arrow ends up being Oliver, Roy and Laurel, all in costume - that's it for me. I'm still holding off on buying the Seasons 1 and 2 DVDs because I don't want an incomplete set. If I buy one season, then I'm going to have to buy all of the seasons. But if the above scenario is the endgame or looks like it's going to be the endgame, then I don't want any of the seasons.

If I were a crimefighting superhero, and I had to choose between Diggle and Roy to back me up, I'd choose Diggle every time.

Stephen Amell is a vastly underrated actor. Before Arrow, I was not impressed by his acting skills (esp. on that bland Hallmark movie). But his performance on Arrow has impressed me a lot. His pre-island Oliver is very different from his post-island Oliver. He's managed to portray Oliver's various and myriad emotions convincingly - douchey, weak, terrified, repressed, stoic, angry, bitter, barely holding it together, vulnerable, warm, hopeful, happy, disappointed, desperate, strong, ruthless, stubborn, blind - while still maintaining the same character, even as that character undergoes transition. I never feel like Oliver is schizoid or inconsistent, but one person changing through his life experiences. SA's Oliver is the glue that holds this show together, as it should be. (I was turned off The Flash forum because there was some bashing of SA (as well as Felicity) over there - saying Grant Gustin/Barry was so much better and more likeable than SA/Oliver in their pilot episodes, which ignores their completely different back stories and characters.)

Getting arm muscles, and putting on a mask and costume, aren't enough to turn someone into a convincing Black Canary. You still have to explain how Laurel is going to be trained well enough (by a boxer?) in less than a year to match Sara's five years of LOA training. Maybe they're going to have Nyssa drop in from time to time to give Laurel fighting tips. Hey, maybe Laurel can replace Sara as Nyssa's love interest as well. Not to mention the hypocrisy of a DA prosecuting criminals for breaking the law, while she herself is breaking the law as a vigilante.

I like the way this website reported the renewal... http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/under-the-dome/32450/under-the-dome-and-extant-renewed-by-cbs

quarks, you're right. If Sara knew Malcolm was alive, then it could be Malcolm. (I didn't recall Moira telling the LOA that Malcolm was still alive.) I wasn't sure where to post this - although it's behind the scenes stuff, it's for a future episode, so here's hoping I picked the right thread! CW's ‘Arrow'-'The Flash’ Crossover: Behind the Scenes With Star Emily Bett Rickards (Exclusive Photos) PHOTOS | By Emily Bett Rickards on October 8, 2014 @ 11:45 am http://www.thewrap.com/arrow-the-flash-crossover-behind-the-scenes-with-star-emily-bett-rickards-exclusive-photos/ I'm wondering what #12 ("My best friend") is...

ALSO... we find out that her mother was killed in the Star Labs explosion. OR... With Kate Spencer's death, Laurel becomes head DA because she's just that good. Laurel decides to change careers, enters the police academy and becomes a cop. Laurel advances quickly to detective because she's just that good. Captain Lance is killed and Laurel takes her father's place as Captain because she's just that good. (Heavy sarcasm)

I don't think Sara's killer is Malcolm. My recollection is that everyone other than Thea (and Moira) thinks Malcolm is dead. So when Sara first saw her killer on the rooftop, she would've said something like "I thought you were dead" and not "what are you doing here". I think her killer is likely some LOA assassin that she knows, sent by Ra's al Ghul - perhaps to punish her for leaving the LOA last year or perhaps to punish Nyssa for some reason.

I'm now rooting for Kini to win, though that skirt was wrong for that coat (again, following Tim Gunn's advice led to a fail for a designer this season). However, Kini isn't the most original designer. We've seen both that coat and that red dress design before. I would've liked Sean's design a lot more if it had been in a color other than white, but it was certainly different. I think the judges just get tired of seeing the same old designs season after season (which would also explain their inexplicable love for Sandhya's early designs). But I did feel for Sean getting that horrendous little pink onesie for his redesign challenge. I didn't like Amanda's cut-out tent dress and thought it was hideous. But I did like her comment about how no one likes to be eliminated (re Korina). Korina's continued upset was fueled by her disbelief that the judges didn't recognize how superior she is to Char. I was meh on Char's design, but the color combo was cool. I don't think she'll win. I hated Emily's design, both the blah hoodie jacket and the pajama-like underclothes, and agreed with the judges' decision to eliminate her. But I agree with another's comment that at least she exited with class.

I honestly don't think Felicity will be killed off. If the EPs want to reunite Laurel and Oliver (gag), I think they'll give Felicity an alternative love interest and ship her off to another city. This was speculated on before - but perhaps they're hoping that she and Ray Palmer will prove popular with enough fans that the Atom will get its own spin-off superhero show; then EBR and BR will go off on that show. That would pave the way for Laurel to become the main love interest again. This is all speculation fueled by bitterness and pessimism. (Regarding POI, I read an interview once with Taraji Henson where she said that she knew when she was hired that Carter's death was planned from the beginning.)

I still hate that they killed off Sara. Although there were times last season when I thought there was so much Sara that the show should be renamed Arrow & Canary, I always really liked Sara as the Canary and I especially liked Caity Lotz as Sara. Why was Sara such a good Black Canary? Because not only did she have the plausible back story and journey from regular girl to trained assassin, but because she was played by just the right person. Caity had the training and skills to make the fight scenes memorable. She also was convincing as both the pre-island weak Sara and the post-island confident Sara. In the present day, she could portray the strong, ruthless killer, or the vulnerable daughter, or the warm friend, in a way that seemed natural. Contrast that with Katie Cassidy as Laurel, who seems to be rather a one-note actress, whether she's playing Laurel's past or present self. Laurel just doesn't seem like a real person to me. Just speculating - You know how this show loves its past-present parallel stories.

I don't know who killed Sara, but, at this point, I'm not sure I care. If I had to guess, it's another LOA assassin sent by Ra's (not Malcolm). If Laurel blames Nyssa for Sara's involvement with the League of Assassins, then why was Laurel so happy when Sara left to rejoin the LOA last season? When Sara was swept into the water (again) six or so years ago, she was probably picked up by the LOA. Nyssa is likely the one to save Sara from being killed and the one to teach her how to survive and fight. And if Laurel is so grief-stricken at Sara's death now, then why was she so hostile and bitter - showing no joy whatsoever - when she discovered Sara was alive last season? She's also never asked Sara about what she went through when she was away. I just don't buy that Laurel loves or ever loved Sara. At best, she regarded Sara with tolerant affection. At worst, she viewed Sara as competition - for her parents' love and for Oliver. Unfortunately, I don't think the EPs are going to make Laurel a villain. They seem pretty committed to their original vision of Laurel as this heroic, saving-the-world, 'compassionate' person (gag). She may be tempted to go dark, but if so, they'll probably just have Oliver pull her back into the light because he knows her to her bones, that she's a good person, and he doesn't want her to end up like him - or some similar vomit-inducing BS. This will, of course, bring them closer together (as their present-day selves, with no secrets) (add sarcasm). We've been wondering, with bitterness, about why they'd have Sara flashbacks now that Sara is dead. Considering how the EPs love parallels, we're now likely going to be subjected to flashbacks of Sara training with Nyssa, cross-cut with present-day scenes of Laurel training with... Ted Grant? LOL

After last night's episode, I need to relive this moment...

I don't believe this has been posted yet, but there's been so many posts that I might've missed it (not a spoiler now)... The Big Olicity Kiss On ‘Arrow’ Was Never Part Of The Plan Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim explains the genesis of Starling City's greatest 'ship. by alex zalben 18 hours ago http://www.mtv.com/news/1957195/arrow-olicity-kiss-interview/?utm=share_twitter