tv echo

You know what? I don't know if I even care anymore. This show has been a bitter disappointment this season. I don't even recognize my favorite characters, and everything else is a hot mess. Sometimes I don't know if I'm watching Arrow, One Tree Hill, or Sex and the City. I guess I'm moving from Outrage to Apathy. Is Ray Palmer a creepy stalker or a misunderstood doofus? - Don't give a damn. Is Laurel going to fumble at first or be a magical ninja as the Buckle Canary? - Don't give a damn. What will happen with Ra's al Ghul? - Don't give a damn. Did Thea kill Sara? - Don't give a damn. Will Oliver and Felicity ever get together? - Don't want to give a damn. I'm going to watch the Flash/Arrow cross-over episodes. After that, I just don't know. P.S. You just knew Verdant was coming back because what's a CW show without a nightclub and a place to party? I'm waiting for DJ Douchebag to introduce a new musical artist each week, and then there will be an ad promoting that artist's album at the end of each episode. Eventually, there'll be an Arrow music soundtrack that you can buy for Christmas. Maybe Green Arrow and Black Canary will dance their version of the Batusi.

Yeah... that was inevitable. I can't imagine who's leading the charge on that (rolls eyes). Felicity's been the most celibate character on Arrow in the past two years, and wanted to date Oliver even after he lost his money, home and company. Real logical.

This is frustrating. I never said that real women or geeky women didn't like clothes, jewelry and girly things. In fact, I said the opposite - that Felicity does like these things and that was part of her character. My point - which you are free to disagree with - is that there is a difference between liking these things and accepting them from your boss - even as a loaner. And I didn't think Felicity would agree to wear such items offered by Ray. My other point - which was less clear - is not that Ray was necessarily trying to seduce Felicity with the dress and necklace (not consciously, at any rate), but that Felicity should be aware of the appearance of impropriety associated with it and should have a natural distaste of seeing a rich guy showering expensive 'gifts' a la Pretty Woman - even if it's just a loan in her case - from growing up with a beautiful mom in Vegas. Ray picking out a dress and necklace for her was just inappropriate, whatever his reasons. At any rate, we're probably over-analyzing something the EPs probably spent about two seconds thinking about.

It's too bad that Ray Palmer is destined to become a superhero (Atom) because he would make one great stealth villain. For all the talk about him wanting to make the world a better place, he's still got that creepy, stalkerish vibe. I mean, after Felicity returns the blue dress, just imagine Ray taking the unwashed dress to bed with him and sniffing it.

We can all agree to disagree. ; ) I don't think Felicity should accept a tech toy bribe either. I first said it was in character for Felicity to appreciate the couture dress because she likes fashionable clothes. I then said it was out of character for her to agree to wear a dress that her boss picked out for her. I can't help but personalize this. If my boss offered me an expensive dress in just my size to wear to a business dinner with him, I would turn it down and also be wigged out because of the sexual harassment vibes. If he offered me the use of a tech gadget to persuade me to go to this business dinner, I'd turn it down but be less offended because I know said boss is a tech nerd and such an offer would've been made regardless of my gender.

You have to do a lot of hand-waving on this show... that's one of its major flaws. But Felicity being a VP at Palmer Technologies (esp. when she's been shown to be a computer genius person) - and large corporations usually have more than one VP - is more feasible than 18-year-old Thea successfully running Verdant on her own last year (and this year) or Laurel being made Acting DA over more senior ADAs after only being an ADA for about a year. As for Oliver being made CEO of Queen Consolidated, that's not completely unrealistic since he is a Queen scion and it was shown that he was clearly unqualified to do that job. It would've been ridiculous only if he had been successful in running QC.

Regarding some online criticism of Felicity this season... In the past two years, here's the number of people that each character has had sex with (present day, excluding flashbacks): Oliver - 5 (McKenna, Helena, Laurel, Sara, Isabel) Laurel - 2 (Tommy, Oliver) Diggle - 2 (Carly, Lyla) Sara - 2 (Nyssa, Oliver) Thea - 1 (Roy) Roy - 1 (Thea) Tommy - 1 (Laurel) Felicity - 0 I think Felicity is entitled to two or three measly kisses this season. [CORRECTED AND UPDATED - thanks, chaos is welcome]

A tech toy bribe would've been less offensive than an expensive dress (and diamond necklace) bribe for the following reasons: First, Felicity grew up in Vegas with a beautiful mom and probably saw a lot of rich guys trying to buy her mom's "affections" with expensive gifts like jewelry and clothes. So even though it's different in that Ray is only lending her the blue dress and necklace, she's too smart not to see the significance of allowing Ray to dress her like a doll - or a paid escort. Second, by buying her the work dinner outfit, Ray is essentially saying that he doesn't trust her to dress herself appropriately. The real Felicity would've told him "No thank you, you can wear the dress and necklace yourself." But the EPs probably thought it would just be a 'cute' moment.

As I said in my episode review, I don't understand Oliver's position. In the first episode of this season, he was perfectly willing to go on a date with Felicity. But then he failed to check for a tracker while in the field as the Arrow. So he decides that he can't be both Oliver and the Arrow - meaning he can't be in a romantic relationship with Felicity because it would distract him from his mission. But in last night's episode, not being in a relationship with Felicity and watching her go on a date with Ray was distracting him while he was in the field as the Arrow and hurting his effectiveness (as Diggle indicated to Felicity). So Oliver's distracted either way. He was only distracted in the first episode because it was their first date. Once they settled into a solid relationship, he would be less distracted than watching her get involved with someone else.

I agree with this article (warning - includes a little comic book-spoilery stuff)... Let’s Allow Arrow, The Flash and Gotham to Invent Their Own Villains By Paul on Nov 20, 2014 http://www.tvovermind.com/the-flash/lets-allow-arrow-flash-gotham-invent-villains-245126

Dr. Horrible's Evil 10-Step Plan for Destroying Arrow: 1. Kill off Sara, the original Black Canary, who had LOA training and who was played convincingly and sympathetically by Caity Lotz. 2. Fast-forward Laurel into the new Black Canary, with little training and questionable motivation. 3. Design the new Black Canary costume to have a million buckles, so as to make quick change impossible, thus hampering her effectiveness. 4. Minimize the original Team Arrow trio by sidelining Diggle and having Oliver sabotage his own happiness with Felicity. 5. Introduce Ray Palmer as a 50 Shades guy who'll make Felicity act OOC. 6. Give Thea a new love interest, who's an asshole DJ and makes Roy look like a superhero. 7. Spin off Ray into his own Atom TV series as a billionaire tech guy who dons a techie-enhanced suit to fight crime (a la Iron Man) and ship off Felicity to this new show as Ray's Pepper Potts. 8. Have the new Team Arrow trio become Oliver/GA, Laurel/BC and Roy/Arsenal. 9. Introduce a new computer geek to the Arrowcave who's a funny guy, quick with the quips, and who knows his place on the show as a supporting character. 10. Have Laurel comfort Oliver after Felicity's defection, and have them get married (a la Andrew Kreisberg's GA/BC comics). Ratings plummet, and the show is cancelled. MWA-HA-HA!

I liked this episode, despite its flaws. I was jotting down notes as I watched (+ is positive reaction, - is negative reaction), so this is essentially a rambling play-by-play... + Flashback to 6 months ago with Oliver, Felicity and Diggle in the van. Both nostalgic and bittersweet to see Classic Team Arrow. - Shirtless Ray on the salmon ladder. Incredibly inappropriate in the office and in front of your subordinate. SWM alert. - Felicity squeeing over a couture dress was IC, but accepting the dress to wear on the work date was OOC. Are the EPs actively trying to sabotage her character? - Ray announces PT and references smart people who'll help him. Why doesn't he introduce Felicity by name and title? Why else is she standing conspicuously in front of the podium? + Oliver smashes the red arrowhead. Jealous much? + Hey, Arrow show logo has been changed to have red heart arrowhead on arrow behind show name! Cool. + CH is doing a nice job showing his guilt and torment over murdering the cop. - Felicity isn't really asking your permission to take the night off to go on her work date with Ray, Oliver. She wants you to say something. Oliver: "Do what you want." Bzzz! Wrong answer. - First impression of blonde DJ guy? What an asshole. - Oliver calls Roy "Arsenal" out in the field. Great, but he's still using Diggle and Felicity's names over the coms. + Roy is outmatched by Carrie Cutter. That's actually believable. + Diggle visits Felicity in her new office. Oh, Felicity is only borrowing the blue dress - maybe only 25 Shades of Grey then? Felicity: "There is no me and Ray... But if Oliver has a problem with it, then he should be the one to talk to me." You tell 'em. +/- I don't get it. Oliver ended any relationship with Felicity because being with her distracted him from his Arrow job. But now he's distracted because Felicity's out on a date with someone else. Catch-22, Oliver. + Even the therapist thinks Oliver needs therapy. - Hong Kong flashback seems pointless. +/- Felicity looks fantastic in that dress and with her hair up like that. But agreeing to wear the diamond necklace? Back to 50 Shades again. No, not creepy at all, Ray. - Is it really that easy to find the Arrowcave pinpointed right next to Verdant? Yeah, no one will make the connection to Oliver Queen. + Oliver admits he's bothered by Felicity moving on and being on a work date with Ray. Oliver: "I just want her to be happy." Diggle: "If that were true, you'd be with her." Listen to Diggle, you moron! + Finally, we get Felicity's new title. VP of PT. - Second impression of blond DJ guy? Still an asshole. +/- Felicity sees the best in people and props up Ray at dinner. She also manages to help Diggle via phone. But WTF? Felicity: "He inspires... He wants to make the world a better place", blah, blah, blah. When did Felicity become such a smooth talker? She's the one who blurts things out and is awkward at social conventions. I guess she's matured in two years, but enough to become such a great PR gal? +/- Oh Oliver, your speech to Cupid is really directed at Felicity. "I know what it's like to love someone but can't be with them. To can't be with anyone. To have to be alone" (or words to that effect). + Cupid is now part of the Suicide Squad! + "You gotta tell her before it's too late." Diggle's giving you good advice, Oliver. Listen to him. Otherwise, you got no one to blame but yourself if you're miserable. - Third impression of blond DJ guy - he kisses Thea! Ewww. Annd... we've reverted back to typical CW teen soap drama. - Ewww again! Ray kisses Felicity - just when Oliver stops by. Of course. Ray is still creepy. Felicity is alternate-universe Felicity. Oliver continues to suffer in silence. (Bet the Felicity haters will be out in full force posting online after this episode.) + Whoa! Oliver crashes stuff off the table in a mixture of anger, jealousy and frustration. Then he and Roy go off to dinner at the Diggles. + First look at the Atom exosuit schematics. Forget 50 Shades of Grey. It's 50 Shades of Iron Man. Yep, spin-off. + Boomerang Guy appears! + + That hour flew by fast, plus no Laurel. So WIN-WIN all around.

In The Flash, they showed a future 2024 newspaper with the headline "Flash Missing". But the paper also showed a "Wayne Tech / Queen Inc Merger Complete" headline. Does that mean sometime down the road, Oliver gets his company back and Palmer Technologies changes to Queen Inc.? http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/07/flash-cw-harrison-wells-newspaper-theories-spoilers/

Yay - Chris Hemsworth is People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 2014. http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20315920_20873901,00.html Go Thor!

Maybe someone else said this before (I don't remember) or maybe I'm just slow... but I just realized that Felicity is Oliver's first adult love. Pre-island Oliver was a boy so his love for Laurel was a boy's love. Today's Oliver is a man - a flawed man, certainly - so his love for Felicity is a man's love.

This is a great review. I loved the red and blue pill analogy, and the lighted fern symbolism! Great insights (it's not about the perfect man, but the right man). The Just About Write review was also good at providing insights into Felicity, Oliver and Ray.

Have you seen the promos for the new ABC show called Galavant? It looks incredibly cheesy, but they should get John Barrowman to make a guest appearance - it would boost ratings. The show is "an upcoming American fairy tale-themed musical comedy." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galavant

Here's a cute little behind-the-scenes video of SA and GG on the TV Guide cover shoot:

The CW’s ‘Arrow’ teases Cupid episode with one-page comic by Kevin Melrose | November 19, 2014 @ 10:00 AM http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2014/11/the-cws-arrow-teases-cupid-episode-with-one-page-comic/

2014 Fall Finale hype! (There appears to be a common theme.) Arrow - "It literally is a game changer in the sense that the series will never be the same afterwards." Castle - "[A]n episode-ending twist promises to 'change the shape of the show' for at least a short while." The Flash - "It's a huge turning point for the show...." Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - "In the end, our team -- and our show -- will be changed forever." Once Upon A Time - "Two of the show's most beloved relationships will be tested and changed forever...." Ho-hum... (http://tvline.com/gallery/2014-fall-tv-show-finales-photos-midseason-spoilers/#!1/draw-back-yourbow/)

The new Mayor of Starling City is probably off somewhere with the new DA (also unidentified), who abandoned the city to the tender mercies of Acting DA Laurel Lance, who's been with the DA's Office for only a year. In fact, I hope the new DA is a woman named Rachel Dawes and that she fires Laurel for incompetence, ethics violations, and identity theft.

Personally, I think each superhero show should have only one masked & costumed superhero. More than one, and it looks like you're at a comic-con. I still think Nyssa is a viable suspect as Sara's killer even though she showed up at the Arrowcave and vowed vengeance. Part of her mission could've been to throw Oliver off the trail of suspecting the LOA and maybe framing Malcolm. If Nyssa hadn't shown up in the Arrowcave, and Oliver only knew that Sara was killed with three arrows, wouldn't he immediately suspect the LOA? Also, why did Nyssa leave before killing Sara's murderer? Also, Nyssa is the one who told them that Malcolm was alive and that Sara was in Starling City to track down Malcolm for the LOA. When Sara saw Oliver and then Laurel, she didn't say anything about Malcolm, I believe. So how do we know that Nyssa was telling the truth about Sara's purpose in the city? Finally, about Felicity's getting a DNA test run on the arrows, what if that DNA turns out to be Oliver's but it's a frame-up (planted DNA)?

The Flash is slipping down in my superhero show rankings, while Agents of SHIELD is moving up. Flash - While Dr. Wells and Detective West remain the standouts of this show for me, I'm starting to feel like I'm watching the same villain story week after week: a superfreak created by the Star Labs explosion starts causing trouble; Barry has trouble defeating him or her at first, but eventually figures out a way to prevail. Also, too many scenes remind me of scenes in other shows or movies. It's disconcerting. For example: * Iris: "I'm a cop's daughter. I know how to take care of myself." = Laurel: "Cop's daughter. Remember?" * Iris punches the bad guy (who kidnapped her) after he's already been super-punched and disabled by The Flash. = Laurel punched Slade's henchman (who kidnapped her) after he'd already been shot by an arrow and disabled by Sara. * Eddie teaches Barry how to punch a punching bag, wearing boxing gloves. Flashback scene of Detective West teaching child Barry and child Iris how to box. = Ted is teaching Laurel how to box. (Do these EPs have a boxing fetish or what?) * Barry watches Iris smooch with Eddie. = Clark watched Lana smooch with Whitney. * Iris meets with The Flash on a rooftop and is all fan-girly while trying to interview him for her blog. = Margot Kidder's Lois Lane met with Chris Reeves' Superman on a rooftop and was all fan-girly while trying to interview him for The Daily Planet. * Iris is reporting on the Streak for her blog and will now be investigating other superpowered people as well. = Chloe reported on the Blur and was investigating other superfreaks as well. AOS - The search for the hidden alien city is an intriguing storyline. The mystery of the origin of Skye's mother is also intriguing. More focus on the rest of Team Coulson is good. Ward is now irredeemiably evil. Bonus points for the flashback scenes with Agent Carter. The problem is still Coulson. As a mild-mannered bureaucrat who showed up briefly in each of the Marvel movies, he was fine. As the ruthless new director of SHIELD, he's not believable to me. Whenever he threatens a bad guy and has to act menacing, I find it hard to take him seriously.

I did some research because I'm not as up on my Biblical knowledge as I should be, so here goes... The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are mentioned in the Holy Bible in Chapter 6 of the Book of Revelations, which tells of a “‘book’ or ‘scroll’ in God’s right hand that is sealed with seven seals. The Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons four riders on white, red, black, and pale horses. Athough the Bible only names one rider (Death), the four Horsemen are commonly known as Conquest, War, Famine, and Death, respectively. http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse/ The Horseman of Conquest (white horse) refers to an Antichrist who will be a false imitator of the true Christ. He will lead many astray and will be a ruler who will conquer, perhaps in the name of peace and/or religion. The Horseman of War (red horse) will bring terrible wars. The Horseman of Famine (black horse) refers to a great famine that will take place, likely as the result of the wars and earthquakes all over the world. The Horseman of Death (pale horse) symbolizes death and destruction, and is the culmination of everything else brought by the other Horsemen. http://www.gotquestions.org/four-horsemen-apocalypse.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2014/05/17/who-are-the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse-a-bible-study/ On Sleepy Hollow, we've seen the Horseman of War (Henry Parrish/Jeremy) (no red horse so far) and the Horseman of Death (Headless Horseman/Abraham) (pale horse). So the producers could be saving the Horseman of Conquest (white horse) and the Horseman of Famine (black horse) for future seasons - assuming the show lasts that long.

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