tv echo

What's the sweeps period?

I've been trying to decide whether or not I think that Oliver and Tinah* have any chemistry. I've come to the opinion that they have the potential for what I would call 'normal' tv chemistry, meaning, the kind of chemistry you see on most TV shows where there are two attractive characters of around the same age - the kind of chemistry that the Arrow EPs probably expected of Oliver and Laurel when they cast SA and KC without doing a chem test. Unfortunately for them, Oliver and Laurel were unusual in that they not only had zero chemistry, but they had anti-chemistry. But maybe I'll change my mind after viewing more episodes of Oliver and Tinah together. (* To avoid confusion, I've decided to use the popular nickname "Tinah" in this forum.) However, one episode is enough for me to conclude that Oliver and Tinah definitely do not have that special, next-level kind of chemistry that jumps out at you from the start - the kind that makes many fans spontaneously start to ship them without any encouragement from the show itself (or any encouragement from external sources like comics) - like, when the characters have not been romantically linked on the show (yet) or when one of the characters is already in a romantic relationship with someone else. I'm talking fan sites and fan-originated pormanteaus and social media buzz springing up out of nowhere, not based on anything manufactured or pushed by the show's producers/network and not driven by anything in some source book. In short, I'm talking about Mulder & Scully-level of chemistry. Oliver & Felicity do have this special, next-level kind of chemistry. So much so that, as soon as Felicity Smoak appeared in Season 1, many fans and some media started shipping her with Oliver, even though Oliver was caught up in an emotional romantic entanglement with Laurel during that first season, and even though Felicity was not intended as a love interest for Oliver at the time. This special chemistry was apparent to the EPs as well and caused them to bring Felicity back for additional appearances, eventually promoting her to series regular and making the unexpected decision to develop a romance between her and Oliver in subsequent seasons. IMO, this pairing worked for the show because the progression of their relationship was natural and organic (up until the middle of Season 4, when the EPs fell back on plot contrivances and, coincidentally, also when the ratings collapsed).

No comment...

I recommended the show to her last summer (before this season of crap started). However, I also recommended that she watch previous seasons as well, but she hasn't had time to do that yet.

A work colleague of mine just started watching Arrow this season and hasn't watched any previous seasons (yet). Her general impressions: She's confused by Oliver's romantic history. From what she can tell, Oliver used to be engaged to Felicity (she's not sure how that happened), but they broke up because - she guesses - Oliver was still in love with Laurel, an old girlfriend.* Laurel was this wonderful person and Black Canary vigilante who didn't believe in killing. Then Laurel died, leaving Oliver grief-stricken. So Oliver's been looking for a replacement for her. Now he's found one in Tina (Dinah). (* Why? He carried Laurel's pic in the flashbacks. He built her a Black Canary statue. He wanted to marry her in the 100th episode. He was tearful when he thought she had returned from the dead.) I had to set my work colleague straight about what actually happened over previous seasons. But this is an example of how this season has ignored and ret-conned what's come before on the show. However, my work colleague does think that Oliver & Felicity have tons of on-screen chemistry and has started shipping them. She also thinks that Susan is a FOB (friends with benefits) and that Oliver will hook up with Tina (Dinah) in the future because she will remind him of Laurel. And yes, she thinks that's creepy. ETA: She is not a comics reader.

TV Fanatic's 511 discussion is about what you would expect at that site... Arrow Round Table: Welcome, Dinah Drake! Paul Dailly at February 6, 2017 2:00 pm. https://www.tvfanatic.com/2017/02/arrow-round-table-welcome-dinah-drake/

‘Arrow’ Review: “Second Chances” Nora Dominick Feb. 6, 2017 http://emertainmentmonthly.com/index.php/arrow-review-second-chances/

'Arrow,' 'The Flash,' 'Supergirl and More WB Shows Get the LEGO Treatment TV Insider Staff February 06, 2017 3:33 pm http://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/arrow-the-flash-supergirl-lego-billboards/ ‘Arrow,’ ‘Flash,’ ‘Supergirl’ and More Meet ‘LEGO Batman’ in New Promo Kevin Fitzpatrick | Feb. 6, 2017 http://screencrush.com/lego-batman-cw-flash-supergirl-arrow-promo

Oliver & Felicity are still eligible to be nominated for this Eonline poll, but I wonder if they will be... TV's Top Couple 2017: Nominate Your Favorite Couples Now by LAUREN PIESTER | Mon, Feb 6, 2017 11:00 AM http://www.eonline.com/news/826778/tv-s-top-couple-2017-nominate-your-favorite-couples-now

I don't think this was previously posted - it's A.V. Club's discussion last September of DC Rebirth in general... Has DC’s Rebirth successfully redeemed the publisher’s past sins? By Tegan O'Neil and Oliver Sava Sep 2, 2016 http://www.avclub.com/article/has-dcs-rebirth-successfully-redeemed-publishers-p-241743 Even Slade Wilson got a love interest...

Checking back in with the GA Rebirth comics, here's some reviews of Green Arrow #15 (released Jan. 18)... http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/2017/01/18/green-arrow-15-review/ http://www.newsarama.com/32767-best-shots-review-green-arrow-15.html

SA talked about O/F's on-screen chemistry backstage at the 2014 People's Choice Awards (just published on youtube)... "Arrow's" Stephen Amell Talks Oliver and Felicity's Chemistry Published on Feb 5, 2017, by People's Choice TV

2012 flashback - this was apparently the "first look" preview promo that was released before the Arrow pilot debut (video posted by Grace Swetmon)...

This is about the 514 episode... Green Arrow And Lance Are Up Against An All-Female Supervillain Team In "The Sin-Eater" Synopsis Russ Burlingame- 02/02/2017 http://comicbook.com/2017/02/03/green-arrow-and-lance-are-up-against-an-all-female-supervillain-/ So in the comics, Oliver Queen is known both as a "notorious ladies' man" and as part of the GA/BC couple? (If you didn't already know, Gotham City Sirens is an upcoming DC movie, in which Margot Robbie will reprise her Harley Quinn role.)

I wonder if that is one of the reasons the Arrow EPs decided to introduce Tinah (aside from any DC/WB b-t-s motivations) - to increase social media buzz by restarting a new debate, but this time Felicity vs Tinah.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 3 Deleted Scenes Published on Jan 30, 2017, by pestoaioli

Wasn't quite sure which thread to post this in...

Deepcon 18, April 6-9, 2017 (Fiuggi, Italy) David Nykl http://deepcon.it/ Entries for the DeepCon 18 with David Nykl are open http://www.fantasymagazine.it/26654/sono-aperte-le-iscrizioni-alla-deepcon-18-con-david-nykl?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (English translation)

I had not planned on posting another Addendum so soon after the last one, but there were a lot of EP interviews published within the last month... ADDENDUM #6 TO SUMMARY OF S5 SPOILERS BY TOPIC New Team Arrow -- On what kind of condition Team Arrow is in when the show returns in the midseason premiere, WM: "With the death of Detective Malone at Oliver’s hand, they aren’t happy. That said, at the end of the season we saw Laurel come back which has given them a small ray of sunshine. Coming into the back half of the season the team is really feeling that Prometheus is more formidable than they thought." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- JD: "What's cool about the next part of the season is that... you'll see them either pull together or not, based on how strong they've gotten... We've shown a lot of the sort of dissension and the cracks in the team, you know, as they sort of come together and form and put it all together. Um, but I think we'll be surprised at how strong they've actually become, especially in the face of Evelyn detracting - that was a really galvanizing thing for the team... and I think it'll keep them together and make them stronger than even they thought they would be... But there will be a struggle to ... stay strong and stay together because they're facing - you know, Prometheus is a pretty formidable foe, who's really sort of - whose main sort of focus is to - is to sort of turn everyone against, uh, the Green Arrow... And because the team is new, he can become quite successful at times with that, because no one is that close to Oliver yet. So it's a cool dynamic - they're getting very close, but they're also - there's also wedges being pushed in constantly. So it's a very cool back-and-forth in the second half of the season." (Jan. 30, 2017 We Have A Hulk podcast interview with Joe Dinicol, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Original Team Arrow ("OTA") -- MG: "In episode 12, both Diggle and Felicity, for different reasons, are flirting with some darkness in their lives. Oliver basically, in this really great moment, tells both Felicity and Diggle, 'Look, I’m basically a dark dude, I do bad things, but the ship has sailed with me. The whole reason I am aligned with you guys is because you guys are fundamentally just better people, you guys are more moral than I am.' Part of the fun of that episode is seeing how that advice to both Diggle and Felicity operates on them. It’s not necessarily going to operate on them the same way." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: “It’s really in keeping with what we’ve been doing this season, which is trying to have Felicity and Digg experience a lot of what Oliver’s gone through in the past four seasons... Felicity’s going to understand what it’s like to lose somebody close to her -- as a result of her being a vigilante -- and Digg is going to know what it’s like to sort of have to live underground with a secret life and a secret identity. It’s going to bring the team closer together, emotionally, and as a team.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On whether a Diggle rescue is in the works, WM: "We did our prison break in episode four so I’d expect something different. Dig is in jail again, but the outcome is going to be different and his attitude about it is going to be very different. It’s going to also involve Oliver pulling some fast ones on Felicity." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Oliver & Felicity ("Olicity") - On whether Oliver will help Felicity navigate her dark times or whether she will push everyone away, MG: "I don’t think she’s really pushing everyone away, but she’s definitely on her own path. The best answer to the question is it’s neither one or the other fully. Oliver for sure will be trying to — not help her — but give her some guidance." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On being reminded this season that Oliver & Felicity are such great friends and teammates, WM: "We are. We made a choice at the top of this season not to … not to get them back together right away, for sure. And to leave that question up in the air. Which I think is a really real thing to happen. Going back to the real and roundedness, these are two people who have been thrown into this mission, and it’s not really a traditional workplace, so to speak. It’s a very unique situation. And we wanted to honor the reality of, it’s always hard to work with somebody you really care about. In season four, we saw them work together while trying to maintain a relationship. Now, they’re working together in the context of not knowing what their future is, romantically. ... I think both sides provide — having them together and apart — certain types of storytelling opportunities. This season has certainly given us different ones. But I think ultimate the key thing, and i think is true for so many series, especially ones where you’ve been fortunate enough to go to 100 episodes and beyond, that you have that central core relationship and as writers you have that opportunity to explore it. And you can take it many different directions. We definitely have some ideas about where we’re headed in Season 6. We’ll see where that goes." (Dec. 19, 2016 Blastr article, page 50 of Spoilers thread) --- On the EPs' acknowledging the fact that they probably broke Oliver & Felicity up too soon last season, and on where Malone's death leaves Oliver & Felicity moving forward, WM: "That's true. I think for us, the decision to have Malone be in the crosshairs and die when he did was more motivated by what we wanted to do with Felicity this season, independent of Oliver. Regardless of whether we get them back together or not down the road — and I know there's a huge controversy out there about which way that should go — I think for us, our promise at the start of the season was to see what their lives would be like without that romantic relationship. That's really what we wanted to do. ... For us going forward, and for Felicity too, it's really about, 'what does this loss mean?' What it means for her and Oliver I think is a question we will have to address in the future, but ... I think at the earliest, it will be towards the end of the season. She's a great character, and she deserves to have her own storylines. Emily Bett Rickards is amazing. That's been the goal this season, and that's why we've been going the way we have." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On how does Felicity struggle working with Oliver since he killed Billy, WM: "I think we’ve explored Felicity being mad at Oliver for his role in things she didn’t agree with. Nothing has happened to this extent, or this personal, but she knows the circumstances. We did not want to do a story where Felicity was mad at Oliver again. For her, she understands that the blame really lies with Prometheus." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On the emotional backlash that will come from Oliver killing Felicity’s boyfriend, in terms of their personal and professional relationship, per WM, the former couple will still be divided, fighting separate battles towards the same goal. WM: “For us this season, our intent at the beginning was to do stories with Oliver and Felicity independent of the romantic relationship -- sort of take a break, and let them date other people... Going forward, to continue that, Felicity is going to be on a revenge mission against Prometheus. She doesn’t blame Oliver for what happened in 5x09, I think rightly so, and she’s going to be on her own path towards avenging Malone’s death. And Oliver will be on his own path dealing with Prometheus. Ultimately, they’re both going to be facing off and dealing with Prometheus, but in their own, independent ways.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: “We’ve said many a time that this [season] is our answer to season one, and him looking back at his legacy... I think it’s different in the sense that he’s more evolved, he’s more mature. He’s not as quick to go on that revenge journey the way that we’re going to see Felicity do." (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "We really wanted Felicity to go through a journey this season of really understanding, in a way, what Oliver had been through in season one... I think Felicity now understands in a really profound and tragic way, what Oliver means when he says that you can't have a personal life." WM: "We wanted to put her in a normalized place at the beginning of the year, after the breakup and everything that happened in season four, and lighten her up a little bit only to again pull the rug out from under her in the middle of the season and see where we can take her." Per WM, Malone "represented a certain innocence" and that meant he had to go. (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- While Felicity's new understanding will not necessarily put her and Oliver back together romantically, it will make them better partners in crime fighting. WM: "[Malone's death] is going to deepen her understanding of what he went through, and it's also going to deepen her as a character, which was honestly the primary goal of telling the story... We always are looking for ways to give her more story and more autonomy, and this is a way to do it. She's trying to have an outside life in some ways in season five, independent of the team, and we're going to end her, I think, in a very interesting place, and detective Malone's death is really the kickoff of that journey for the back half of the season for her." (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow -- MG: "You know, the big challenge facing Oliver in the second half of the year is, he's trying to be a more optimistic person. He's trying to evolve and grow, both as a mayor and a man and as a hero, but, uh, the threat of Prometheus and the nature of Prometheus' agenda keeps threatening to sort of pull him back... He's basically a guy who's like trying to take a step forward and the past is like grabbing him by the ankles and yanking him backwards. Uh, so the big question, you know, in everyone's mind is going to be, 'Can Oliver finally break free of his past?'" (Jan. 24, 2017 DC All-Access video, page 250 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- On how Prometheus forces Oliver to reassess his decisions, MG: "This goes to the larger arc of the year, which is Oliver questioning the consequences of his actions in general. What has been the prevailing theme of the season is Oliver is trying to grow and develop as a person, but the actions of his past keep literally haunting him, so it’s going to affect Oliver in a very big way going forward for the rest of the year." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- Now that Mayor Queen has been informed of what has happened with Malone's death, that will further complicate Oliver's life. MG: "We're putting together, I think, a wonderfully intricate, uh, chessboard, um, where all these little elements start to realign in the second half of the year. And, um, you see that there were little seeds that were planted in the first nine episodes that start to come to fruition. And certainly the death of Malone - the death of Malone.is in many ways the inciting incident that ratchets all the action up, uh, in the second half of the year. It wasn't just a, you know, death to end the midseason finale... It will impact Oliver and it will impact Felicity and, uh, it really plays into a lot of the things you will see laid out over the course of episode, you know, 510 and beyond." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Malone's death, WM: "I think we're playing it in ways that no one is going to expect... Everyone understands the circumstances under which this happened, but it's unquestionable that the man who's the Green Arrow, and also the mayor, at some point, these things have consequences." (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On finally learning who Prometheus was, and based on the fact that he’s a product of Oliver’s violent beginnings as the Arrow, whether that changes how Oliver deals with future criminals, WM: "Maybe not in the way he deals with future criminals, but it will definitely change the way he deals with Prometheus. He knows he is directly responsible for the creation of this person, and it is going to make him question why he did what he did in Season 1 — and really everything leading up to now. It’s very much keeping the general goal of the season, which was to talk about his legacy and to have him question it." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On how Laurel's reappearance shifted Oliver's perspective to hope, WM: "I think fundamentally it's Laurel and a whole bunch of other things that have been happening with him that are really making him rethink his legacy and his mission. It's Laurel coming back, and someone seemingly coming back from the dead; then combined with that is the fact that he literally just killed Felicity's boyfriend — which sounds really horrible, but obviously it was under very different circumstances than that sentence would normally imply. ... We really explored the question in Season 2 of 'to kill or not to kill?' We don't want to repeat that or retread that territory, but what we do want to do is have Oliver ask these questions in the context of his legacy. He killed Prometheus's father, and that has given birth to one of the worst villains he's ever gone up against. There's no way he's going to go through the rest of the season and not be questioning that. It's a fundamental part of the season; him wondering 'was this the right thing to do' and is he truly honoring his family legacy by doing it?" (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "I think in the back half of the season Oliver will really be assessing whether he's more effective as mayor or more effective as the Green Arrow." (Jan. 25, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: “We’ve said many a time that this [season] is our answer to season one, and him looking back at his legacy... I think it’s different in the sense that he’s more evolved, he’s more mature. He’s not as quick to go on that revenge journey the way that we’re going to see Felicity do." (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "The other difference this season is that he has a different legacy evolving through the mayor’s office... I think we’ll make him question which path is the right one, which path is the one that’s more effective for accomplishing his goals of helping the city.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Oliver having a lot of balls in the air and how he is going to be juggling all of them, WM: "He’s struggling! I mean, one of the things that we’ve really enjoyed playing with Oliver… for the first time on the show, he’s had a real job where he’s accountable. People are depending on him! In the beginning of the year, he did not take the mayoral stuff seriously at all, and — as the season’s evolved — he’s really starting to, and I think it’s for a couple of reasons. One, he’s finding that he’s actually pretty good at politics, and second, he’s really questioning whether or not this is the right way — maybe the mayor is a better path in terms of helping the city and helping people that don’t have a voice. So, I think for as many balls as he has in the air, there are new balls and there are new possibilities and these new paths that are opening up to him that are different than the ones we’ve seen him explore in the past and, therefore, are kind of exciting. I think, for as much as he’s struggling with the guilt of what happened Malone and also obviously getting down to business and finally finding out who Prometheus is and finding out how to capture him and stop him. He’s got hope! He’s got hope in the form of the mayor’s office and this burgeoning relationship with Susan Williams." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, before Oliver can take down his "dark mirror," he's going to have to do some serious self -reflection. WM: "For us, it's a different way of fighting. It's not going to come down to him punching or killing Prometheus necessarily... What it is going to come down to is a very psychological need for Oliver to accept the last five years and everything he's done, good and bad." (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Felicity Smoak AKA Overwatch -- Interviewer (Kyle Anderson) said that he was a big fan of badass Felicity taking charge (in 510) and whether this was going to be a new avenue for Felicity in the second half of this season. MG: "Yeah, you know, I think - as I've probably said in other interviews - that the first half of the season sets up the second half of Felicity's arc. And, um, we went into this year always knowing what we were going to do with Felicity in the second half of this season. Um, and the way I sorta - I don't think of it in terms of, like, making Felicity tough, so much as I think of it as Felicity's ongoing struggle to define herself beyond or outside of her, you know, former romantic relationship with Oliver or, you know, her membership on Team Arrow. Um, sort of like, you know, who is she when she's not in the Bunker? And does she have a life outside the Bunker? And, um, you know, certainly with the death of Malone in the midseason finale, we've given her a - I think, a very compelling reason to develop that sense of agency on her part." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On how dark Felicity will go to get revenge on Prometheus, MG: "This is something we went into the season with. At the beginning of every year, we figure out: What do we want to see our characters go through? What are their emotional journeys for the season? We were intrigued by the idea of Felicity flirting with the dark side. The reason I say flirting is Felicity is very much the light of the show; she provides a lot of lightness in what is otherwise a very dark drama. One thing you don’t want to do is you don’t want to tell a story where she suddenly starts becoming this dark element. You don’t want to tell a story where all the reasons why people love the character are gone. It’s this delicate balancing act. ... In the wake of Malone’s death, she’s very influenced by her prior four years of watching Oliver and Diggle — and Laurel, Roy (Colton Haynes), and Thea (Willa Holland) for that matter. She’s been watching Team Arrow respond to darkness with what I would describe as moral compromise. What we’ve done is we’ve found a story where Felicity could be tempted by taking moral shortcuts in the name of the greater good, which is very much in keeping with the central dilemma at the heart of the whole show, which is becoming judge, jury, and executioner is the ultimate moral shortcut. She’s not going to become judge, jury, and executioner, she’s not going to become a killer, but we found the Felicity version, or the Felicity equivalent, of making a moral compromise in order to accomplish good." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "We always said we had a storyline in mind for Felicity for the back half of the year, and we're finally in the back half of the year. So, we always knew we were headed in this direction with Felicity. And I think, sort of the reason to tell the story is, you know, Felicity is the light in an otherwise very dark show and one of the themes this year, in addition to legacy, has been the effect of that darkness. In many ways it's sort of the overall theme of the show. We sort of address it in different ways every season, which is, when you dabble in the darkness, how much of that clings to you? And what we've done with this story for Felicity is we've basically been spending now four-plus years of Felicity swimming in these dark waters -- what happens when she starts letting it get to her?" Per MG, the show is doing the new storyline in a way that "honors the character of Felicity." MG: "We're not turning her into a dark, brooding vigilante. We're doing it in a way that honors who the character is and honors the things that people like about the character... But yeah, we're going to have Felicity flirt with a darker storyline than we've typically done with her." (Jan. 25, 2017 Access Hollywood article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Just like Felicity was there during Oliver's training sessions with the new recruits to pull him back when he needed it, her friends will be there for her. MG: "We've already sort of written scenes – we haven't shot them yet … separate scenes, with Oliver, Diggle and Curtis specifically that they're all trying to sort of reach her in their own way because they all really care about her." (Jan. 25, 2017 Access Hollywood article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Havenrock, MG: "By the way, we haven't seen the end of that story... I mean, obviously, we've gotten the secret out and Rory and Felicity have aired their feelings about it, but we're actually going to revisit it in episode 12. Episode 12 draws together a lot of threads from the first 11 episodes of the season and it ties off some of them, and it just connects different things that weren't previously connected. But one of those threads is going to be this Havenrock situation and, I think, hopefully, if we've done our job correctly, just the fact that we're revisiting Havenrock and then the way we do it, with respect to Felicity and Rory, will be surprising." (Jan. 25, 2017 ComicBook article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Matt Mitovich: "And, of course, everybody's asking about Arrow and Felicity's upcoming dark arc... Marc Guggenheim made clear it's an ap - as far as the levels of darkness, it's appropriate to the character of Felicity. He says it's an edgier storyline for Felicity, but it is still a Felicity storyline." (Jan. 23, 2017 TVLine's Ask Ausiello Live facebook video, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Felicity not getting over Malone's death right away, WM: "The grieving is not going to stop. We're going to be feeling the repercussions of what happened with Malone at least through episode 520." (Jan. 25, 2017 ScreenerTV article and Feb. 1, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "Felicity's gone through a lot. She inadvertently killed a bunch of people — 20,000, give or take — in Season 4. We wanted to do a little bit of a reset with her at the top of the season, and she was very happy with Malone. I think there's no way this is not going to take her down the darkest path we've seen her on, on the show. To us, in a lot of ways, this season is her island. She's going through things that she's never been through before. She's got, I think most importantly, a new understanding and appreciation for Oliver's sense of the dangers of this life and the dangers of having a personal life while doing it and the consequences of that in a really direct way now, because ultimately Malone wouldn't have been in the crosshairs if it weren't for her. She knows that." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "For Felicity it's going to be pretty dark. She's not blaming Oliver for Malone's death... She is blaming Prometheus and she's going to be hell-bent on getting him. To the point where it is going to consume her and take her down some unexpected paths." Also WM: "She's actually going to reconnect with an old part of herself. It's not going to play as something dark and negative. Ultimately I think it will be revealed to be that, but she's excited about this new path." (Jan. 25, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Felicity's unknown online adversary in 511, WM: "I can tell you it's new and that we're very excited about it. In keeping with what we were just talking about with Felicity and Oliver, we really wanted Felicity to go down her own path this year. Even though it is a new organization and it's a completely new set of characters, we are going to come to find out later in the year that she unwittingly had a part in their inception. We're excited about that." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "I think we actually wanted to do something different this year with her, and Felicity has always been super smart, super capable, but she fundamentally never really had something that’s her own. I think what this is, this is going to kick her off on this revenge story and she’s going to experience a lot of what Oliver experienced in the first season, in the sense that she’s going to on a pretty dark path towards revenge. I think it’s going to be less about throwing herself into her work and more about how she’s going to avenge Malone’s death and get Prometheus once and for all, because she knows he’s the one ultimately responsible for what happened." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On whether Felicity's unknown adversary is going to heckle her throughout the season and be one of those elements that's all her own, WM: "It is. We’re definitely going to be kicking her off with a new organization and it’s going to take her to some pretty interesting places and also reconnect her with pieces of her past. We’re really excited about this new path for her." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Felicity in particular will be be “hellbent” on making Prometheus pay for orchestrating the death of her boyfriend, Detective Malone, gearing up for a true “revenge mission” in the second half of the season. WM: “She’s definitely seen her share of dark times... But this is very different, and it’s very personal this time, in the sense that, this was her boyfriend and he wouldn’t have died if it hadn’t been for her. She knows that despite what Oliver did, Prometheus manipulated the entire thing, and she’s hellbent on getting him and making him pay.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "This is really Felicity's island, what she's going through this year, and we wanted to see how she comes out of it on the other side." Also WM: "We really wanted Felicity to go through a journey this season of really understanding, in a way, what Oliver had been through in season one... I think Felicity now understands in a really profound and tragic way, what Oliver means when he says that you can't have a personal life." WM: "We wanted to put her in a normalized place at the beginning of the year, after the breakup and everything that happened in season four, and lighten her up a little bit only to again pull the rug out from under her in the middle of the season and see where we can take her." Per WM, Malone "represented a certain innocence" and that meant he had to go. (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Malone's death] is going to deepen her understanding of what [Oliver] went through, and it's also going to deepen her as a character, which was honestly the primary goal of telling the story... We always are looking for ways to give her more story and more autonomy, and this is a way to do it. She's trying to have an outside life in some ways in season five, independent of the team, and we're going to end her, I think, in a very interesting place, and detective Malone's death is really the kickoff of that journey for the back half of the season for her." (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 18, 2017, PB tweeted pic of himself with Ken Shane and EBR with comment: "Today our man #KenShane steps up from 1st AD to DIRECTOR! Great to have you at the helm Kenneth @EmilyBett #Arrow." (PB tweet, page 51 of Spoilers thread) Felicity and Diggle -- WM: "Part of Felicity's dark path that she's going to be heading down will be ... It'll be kicked off by her drive to save [Diggle]. It'll be a very complicated, we hope, story between Felicity and Diggle for the back half of the year." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, part of Felicity’s battle will include lending a hand to Diggle, who was captured at the end of the midseason finale, assumedly by the corrupt Colonel Walker, who is a “formidable foe" for Diggle. WM: "I think the key thing for [Diggle] emotionally is, whereas in the past he was willing to let Oliver bust him out of jail, now he’s not... He’s going to fight on his own terms, through the right channels, and Felicity is going to be the one that really seals the deal and helps him get on the other side of this.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "Yeah, well, I can tell you [Diggle's] not going to be punching his way out of jail this time. We just saw him do that in [season] 5 [episode] 4, and — as fun as that was — I think he recognizes… he has to take a different approach. And he is! He has some tricks up his sleeve, as always, and one of those tricks is Felicity. Felicity is going to be very, very crucial in getting him on the other side of this challenge and, also, Dig is really going to be dealing with the ramifications of that. Felicity is going to be doing some pretty questionable things to get the evidence that she needs." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, while Diggle's quest to regain his morality after killing his brother will "come in for a landing" this season, it's Felicity he should be worried about. WM: "He's going to be grappling with a different set of challenges in Felicity... Part of what kicks her off down this darker path is she's going to find evidence to exonerate him -- and he's going to have to deal with the fallout of the fact that Felicity is now going down a questionable path in part because of him." (Feb. 1, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) John Diggle AKA Spartan -- Fan tweeted scanned pic of Diggle's prison transfer document, showing that his full name is John Thomas Diggle. (Jan. 26, 2017 alwaysbett tweet, page 1318 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- On what's next for Diggle, MG: "Coming into the second half of the season, we felt a very strong impulse to basically bring the whole General Walker storyline from the beginning of the year to a conclusion. There’s a reason why we returned Diggle to prison and it’s all to set up what will be a climactic episode. We’ve dedicated basically a whole episode to resolving the General Walker storyline. What’s nice about that episode, that’s episode 12, is that it ties into Oliver’s Russia storyline, it ties into Felicity’s storyline, and it even echoes back to the Diggle storyline with his brother last season. So a lot of threads get tied together and some threads get tied up in that 12th episode." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- Oliver forced/persuaded Adrian Chase to represent Diggle (in 510) in his military trial. WM: “Diggle comes out of there with a much bigger drive, and not the same fatalism that he had earlier in the season. He’s regained his moral compass, and he’s going to come up against [General] Walker in the early part of the back half of the season, which we’re pretty excited about. He’s also going to grow closer to Adrian Chase.” (Jan. 25, 2017 TVLine article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) Thea Queen AKA Speedy -- On whether Thea will take on a more active role in Team Arrow, WM: "You know, we bring her into the costume at different moments. It was an alien invasion; as she quipped in the episode, 'We’re fighting aliens, it’s time to do it!' But I think Thea’s arc this season is really much more about trying to be normal. What she was trying to accomplish in Season 4 and ultimately failed to do she felt was a result of being a vigilante. So, this season, she’s only going to get into that costume when circumstances are really dire and, obviously, things usually get pretty bad around right around May every year, so we’ll see what she ends up doing at the end of the season, but I think — for most of the time — she’s trying to just focus on politics and helping her brother in the mayor’s office." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Curtis Holt AKA Mr. Terrific -- On previous Evelyn/Curtis sparring scenes in the Arrow Bunker that showed Evelyn winning with ease, MG: "It actually spoke to her storyline and it also speaks to Curtis's storyline and you'll start to see this more in the mid-season premiere... If you've been watching the first nine episodes, he does have a tendency to get his ass kicked, as we kind of promised. As far as I'm concerned, turning Curtis Holt into a superhero is probably the biggest turn we've ever done on the show. Even more so than turning Laurel into the Black Canary. To my way of thinking, the only way you really earn that is if you show how difficult it is, and that means that Curtis ends up getting his ass kicked quite a bit. I think in episode 10, the mid-season premiere, he kind of hits bottom as far as his self-esteem is concerned, especially in light of the ultimatum that Paul gave him. Starting with episode 10 is his turn, I think, really more towards the Mr. Terrific we know from the comics." (Jan. 25, 2017 ComicBook article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On how Curtis' husband's ultimatum (stay on the team or stay with him) is weighing on him, WM: "For Curtis, as torn as he is, the thing that Paul tells him — that he’s never seen Curtis happier — is true. It’s going to carry Curtis through the back half of the season, with the hope that he can have his cake and eat it too. He’s not going to give up his marriage or his role on the team without a fight." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "I think we're going to be seeing Curtis try to save his marriage and keep his role in the team. Curtis is going to be evolving into Mister Terrific through the back half of the year, which is really exciting. He's finally going to find his place. We've really given poor Echo [Kellum] a real beating out in the field. He's going to be coming to grips with what his role on the team really should be and coming to terms with his physical limitations and also with his marriage." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Evelyn Sharp AKA Artemis -- On what's next for Artemis, MG: "You know, it has sort of played out, like we haven't seen the last of Artemis, but at the same time, there's not a lot for us as writers or the characters to do with the fact that Artemis betrayed them... It happened. It's sort of over, and they've got some other, bigger problems that are coming their way. You haven't seen the last of Artemis, but in the short term, they've got some other fish to fry." (Jan. 25, 2017 ComicBook article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On tying up the loose end of Evelyn's storyline, WM: "Evelyn is going to ... Definitely we're not going to leave her dangling. We love Madison, and we loved having her on the show. We're going to bring her back in a very surprising way. I would say it's somewhere in the teens [of the season]. Prometheus very much still has his claws in her, but Prometheus is not a nice guy. His goal is to get Oliver, and he doesn't care who gets hurt or killed on his path to doing that." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On the effect of Evelyn's betrayal of Oliver & Felicity, WM: "It absolutely shakes [Oliver's] confidence in the team. But I think fundamentally it also shakes his confidence in himself and his mission... For him, all of this is feeding into the bigger and more global question of his legacy -- but it does has repercussions for the team. They were all very close, and I think Rory, Curtis and Rene never saw it coming. They never would have guessed, especially not her. She was so innocent and kind and open-hearted. To have that level of betrayal occur on their watch is devastating." Also WM: "And I think it will hit Felicity as well, because she recruited Evelyn." Also WM: "They have a job to do so they'll move on... But I think it is with a certain degree of caution." (Jan. 28, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On whether we have seen the last of Evelyn/Artemis on Arrow: When Matt Mitovich last spoke to WM, the Arrow writers were in the midst of hashing out a return scenario for Evelyn. WM: “We have a really cool, exciting twist for how she’s going to reappear... The interesting thing about the choices Evelyn has made is that as much as she took the moral high ground when confronting Oliver, she has allied herself with someone who is even worse [in Prometheus]... She’s gone from the frying pan into the fire." (Jan. 31, 2017 TVLine article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- When asked about Artemis' "exciting twist," MMcL tweeted: "I can say...it's definitely a twist ?? y'all I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after I found out. Buckle up. Season five is ??????????????" She also tweeted: "Evie's coming back this season. In a...surprising way." (Feb. 1, 2017 MMcL tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread, and Feb. 2, 2017 MMcL tweet, page 1332 of Spoiler Discussion thread) Rene Ramirez AKA Wild Dog -- WM: "Then for Rene, we've sort of hinted that he has a bit of a tragic backstory, and we're going to be delving into that with a lot more specificity. We love Wild Dog, and I know that there's a little bit of a mixed reception with the fans, but hopefully when we see where he came from and what his origins are, we'll get some people on his team." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Matt Mitovich: "And here's some news that probably not quite many people wanted. We're getting a Rene flashback episode. Episode 13. We're going to have flashbacks for Wild Dog, who's not exactly been the most popular new team recruit." (Jan. 23, 2017 TVLine's Ask Ausiello Live facebook video, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Rory Regan AKA Ragman -- On Havenrock, MG: "By the way, we haven't seen the end of that story... I mean, obviously, we've gotten the secret out and Rory and Felicity have aired their feelings about it, but we're actually going to revisit it in episode 12. Episode 12 draws together a lot of threads from the first 11 episodes of the season and it ties off some of them, and it just connects different things that weren't previously connected. But one of those threads is going to be this Havenrock situation and, I think, hopefully, if we've done our job correctly, just the fact that we're revisiting Havenrock and then the way we do it, with respect to Felicity and Rory, will be surprising." (Jan. 25, 2017 ComicBook article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "Then with Ragman, there's a really cool story coming up for him in episode 512 that we're really excited about that will set him on a slightly different path, but ultimately he'll still be kind of working with the team." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- When asked if we'll see more of Rory's abilities (like in the comics), JD: "Yeah, well, I think - what's kinda cool about the show - what's cool for me anyways - is we're kinda - because that is, let's say, a pretty out there concept, right? ... And because Arrow is of the - I guess, of the four shows - the most grounded in reality, we're sorta finding out what of that stuff works in this world and what doesn't. Um, the other thing that's sorta cool... Rory is sorta discovering these powers as he goes. You know, the rags were put on him in a - at a great inflection point when his parents were - you know, when everyone he knew was wiped off the face of the earth. So no one was really around to let him know the ins and outs of these powers. Uh, you will definitely see him stretch - I will say, you will definitely see him stretch the boundaries of those powers, um, as far as he can go. I won't say anymore about that. But you will definitely see him really go to the - to the far reaches of those powers and see what they can do. So I will say that - that's one of my favorite episodes coming." (Jan. 30, 2017 We Have a Hulk podcast interview with Joe Dinicol, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per Beth Schwartz, she had to make a recording of a Hebrew prayer for one of the actors to learn. Even the name of the prayer or the particular character couldn’t be revealed. (Jan. 24, 2017 The Detroit Jewish News article, page 522 of Social Media thread) -- On Feb. 2, 207, fan tweeted: "Sadly 5x12 is probably Ragman's last episode. ??." (LuLuLemonLime83 tweet, page 1336 of Spoiler Discussion thread) Quentin Lance -- On Jan. 18, 2017, PB tweeted pic of himself with Ken Shane and EBR with comment: "Today our man #KenShane steps up from 1st AD to DIRECTOR! Great to have you at the helm Kenneth @EmilyBett #Arrow." (PB tweet, page 51 of Spoilers thread) Captain Frank Pike -- On Jan. 19, 2017, Adrian Holmes tweeted pic of himself standing outside Capt. Pike's office with comment: "Another day at the office... literally.??@cw_arrow #arrow #Pike #ACU #whatsournxtmove #itsajungleoutthere #StarCityPoliceDept." (adrianholmes tweet, page 51 of Spoilers thread) Prometheus -- On Oliver's next move now that he knows Prometheus’ vendetta is personal, MG: "He learned two critical things in the midseason finale that will help him track down and identify Prometheus: He learned that Prometheus and he share a trainer, and he learned that Prometheus obviously was Justin Claybourne’s illegitimate son. That gives him two good clue trails to be following. He’ll be doing that in fits and starts as the season kicks back up." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On whether that will change Prometheus’ M.O. at all, MG: "No, I think Prometheus has a very clear plan. He’s not altering his plan to make accommodations to anything that Oliver has learned." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On how Prometheus forces Oliver to reassess his decisions, MG: "This goes to the larger arc of the year, which is Oliver questioning the consequences of his actions in general. What has been the prevailing theme of the season is Oliver is trying to grow and develop as a person, but the actions of his past keep literally haunting him, so it’s going to affect Oliver in a very big way going forward for the rest of the year." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Prometheus is "Oliver's true dark mirror." Oliver's initial drive as the Hood was his father's death, and Prometheus is propelled by his own father's death at the hands of the Hood. WM: "We wanted this season for Oliver to take on a villain that he had never encountered before, and what we like about Prometheus was understanding that he too lost his father... He is determined to make the man who took his father's life pay. We wanted someone to be as close in his backstory to Oliver as we could create." Per WM, we haven't learned everything there is to know about Prometheus just yet: "There are a couple more surprises in store." -- Per WM, before Oliver can take down his "dark mirror," he's going to have to do some serious self -reflection. WM: "For us, it's a different way of fighting. It's not going to come down to him punching or killing Prometheus necessarily... What it is going to come down to is a very psychological need for Oliver to accept the last five years and everything he's done, good and bad." (Jan. 25, 2017 Eonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "We really explored the question in Season 2 of 'to kill or not to kill?' We don't want to repeat that or retread that territory, but what we do want to do is have Oliver ask these questions in the context of his legacy. He killed Prometheus's father, and that has given birth to one of the worst villains he's ever gone up against. There's no way he's going to go through the rest of the season and not be questioning that. It's a fundamental part of the season; him wondering 'was this the right thing to do' and is he truly honoring his family legacy by doing it?" (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Prometheus is an “uber-villain” whose ultimate goal is to prove to Oliver that “he’s not the hero he thinks he is. ... However he can do that -- by hurting the people around Oliver, by hurting the people who work with him -- he’s gonna do that... It’s more of a psychological game, he doesn’t want to kill anybody necessarily, but his ends are to bring Oliver to his knees.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- While Oliver and Team Arrow narrowed in on Prometheus' identity and motivations in the midseason finale, WM hinted that Prometheus is still “10 steps ahead” of the team, and they may only think they know who he really is. WM: “There is absolutely more to the mystery… We’ve never dealt with anybody like this... He’s really playing the long game, and it’s a very long, psychological con that he’s pulling on Oliver. He’s really smart. He’s really good at what he does. So there’s a lot more mystery to unravel in the back half of the season.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Adrian Chase -- After Diggle was represented by Adrian Chase in his military trial, WM: “He’s also going to grow closer to Adrian Chase.” (Jan. 25, 2017 TVLine article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 30, 2017, SA posted facebook video chat in which he's wearing his flashback wig. He said that he's "doing a lot of work with Josh Segarra right now." (SA facebook video, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Konstantin Kovar -- MG: ""Russia is very much in the zeitgeist these days, and coming into the back half of the year, we're doing a lot more with Russia... We're going to do a Russia-centric episode, a flashback-centric episode like we did in the first three years of the show. We'll be doing that later on in the season and that will have Dolph Lundgren's character, Konstantin Kovar, very much front and center. ... In that episode -- assuming the scheduling works out because we're still writing this episode -- the plan is for Konstantin to have a very key meeting with a corrupt, American multimillionaire businessman. Make of that what you will." No word on which episode he's talking about, although later in our conversation he made specific references to events that will take place in 512, so it seems likely that the Kovar-centric episode will be at least 513. (Jan. 17, 2017 ComicBook article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On finding out about Kovar’s endgame, WM: "Oh, we are! Once we cast Dolph Lundgren, we knew it was a game changer, so we’re very excited about Kovar. We have a great plan in store for the back half of the season and how they’re going to finally face each other down and what that final battle is going to look like. It’s going to be cool to see Stephen [Amell] and Dolph trading blows." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Susan Williams -- Media writer tweeted pic of triangular arrowhead tattoo on Susan Williams' wrist. (Oct. 20, 2016 VladaGelman tweet, page 1305 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- MG: "There’s going to be a very cool and awesome payoff to Susan’s investigation of Oliver. That payoff is going to come sooner than you think. In other words, it’s going to come sooner than the season finale." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "Oliver's trying to make things work with Susan, as we saw in the big midseason finale." On whether Susan's secret investigation into Oliver's ties to Bratva could lead to further revelations that could cost Oliver his double life with Susan, MG: "[The question] will inevitably come up, is it possible for Oliver to continue with Susan while he leads this double life. To which I say, stay tuned." (Jan. 25, 2016 ComicBook article, page 181 of Relationships thread) -- On whether Laurel's return affected Oliver’s relationship with Susan Williams, WM: "I think the short answer to that is no. Any sort of romantic relationship between Laurel and Oliver we pretty much put to bed in Season 2." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On whether we find out what Susan's after sooner rather than later, WM: "Yeah, Susan definitely has a very specific drive. I think what’s cool about where we’re taking her is, yes, we’re going to find out what she’s up to and how much she knows in the back half of the season, but — starting in [season] 5 [episode] 7 — they have a really genuine connection. I think she is, for all of her journalistic ulterior motives, also a really good person and they have a genuine chemistry. So, it’s going to get complicated for her and for him as well. It’s not going to be as straightforward as a reporter exposing some truth about the mayor. It’s going to be complicated by the fact they genuinely care about each other." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Oliver's "burgeoning relationship" with Susan Williams will be a bright spot for him. WM: "I think there are, for him, places of light and hope." (Jan. 25, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Oliver's] got hope! He’s got hope in the form of the mayor’s office and this burgeoning relationship with Susan Williams." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 16, 2017, in response to fan who asked if Carly Pope was still filming, papp tweeted: "she sure is" and "It was a generic question 'Is she still shooting Arrow'. Yes. She filmed Friday. Yes she is coming back to film more" and "No problem. As far as I've been told she'll be back for ep 16" and "I don't ask for storylines of the show, nor do I invest much in them. I have a source working on the show that said she's back" and "I didn't ask if it's her last. Guess if she doesn't work in ep17 then we'll know." (lemon_buzz tweets, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 24, 2017, papp tweeted: "Also since I'm sure I'll be asked at some point, Carly Pope is working on Ep 16 of Arrow this week." (pursuit23 tweet, page 51 of Spoilers thread) Dinah Drake (formerly Tina Boland) AKA New Black Canary -- MG: "You’ll get a glimpse of [Tina Boland] at the end of the midseason premiere. It’s funny, I don’t want to tease too much about her. There’s a lot of stuff that’s out on the internet in terms of casting breakdowns, which I hate talking about because a lot of the casting breakdowns we release are false because we know they leak. But I think we have a really wonderful character here. Juliana [Harkavy], who plays her, is a terrific actress. We’re going to be doing some new and different kinds of things. Because of the internet, I guess I’m very tempted to — as always — I’d prefer to let the story tell itself and play out, and then people can make up their minds." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- When asked about the appearance of Tina using Canary Cry tech at the end of 510, MG responded: "Well, you know, I guess I can say - I have to rewatch the episode - I don't know if I saw any tech... dun, dun, dun." When asked if we're dealing with a metahuman, MG: "That's all I'm going to say. That's all I'm going to say... But, uh, I will say... I will say, you know, we've had Sara Lance, we've had the - you know, Laurel Lance, we've done, you know... there're two Canaries already. Um, you know... last year, when, you know, Greg said, 'I really want, uh, one of the new recruits to be a New Black Canary,' um, we went back to the writers' room, um, and said, 'okay, but how - you know, how do we make that character or that Canary different from the two we've already seen on the show?' Um, so, I keep avoiding using the 'm' word, but I'm clearly [unintelligible words-heaping strong tea?]." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Tina] is a total badass, basically. I love her character. She's a former cop who has gone off the deep end because of tragic events that really sort of set her on this dark path. What I like most about her is she's a fully-fledged fighter. She is Oliver's equal in many respects. She's a grown-up, and she's just basically a total baller. I think she's going to be kind of a fun, cool addition to the show. The actress we've cast is fantastic." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Tina is a cop who “knows how to handle herself with a gun.” WM: "She very much a badass, she’s a very accomplished fighter... She’s very much an equal of Oliver’s, and I think we’ve never seen anyone quite like that -- Laurel had an evolution in training, as did Speedy, when Thea was donning the hood -- but she’s going to be a different type of colleague for Oliver, which we’re all very excited about.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Tina's] going to factor into the back half of the season. She comes into the story in a really interesting way. She’s like Oliver, has lost somebody and is hellbent for revenge. She is an amazing fighter. She has a lot of skills, and she’s very much a peer of Oliver, so they have an instant connection since they’ve both been through a version of hell. It’s ultimately him that’s going to show her a different way to do this - a different way to get revenge than just killing people." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Tina] has a lot of emotional connection with Oliver, in that she’s been through her own sort of hell, her own sort of ‘island.’ She’s got a very tragic backstory.” As such, and coupled with her hand-to-hand combat skills, WM touted the new arrival as “a peer of Oliver’s,” in that “we’ve never really had anybody on the team who is as formidable as he is and really views herself as an equal.” Because of that, WM teased, “there are going to be some new interest dynamics!” (Jan. 26, 2017 TVLine article, page 1317 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- Per WM, Tina will form a connection with Oliver, seeing as “she has been through her own hell, her own sort of ‘island.'” (Jan. 4, 2017 TVLine article, page 50 of Spoilers thread) -- When asked if Tina will eventually, formally assuming the mantle of Black Canary, WM said that it's “definitely a possibility” that Laurel Lance’s successor will be in place by season’s end, adding: “Look, it’s hard to do a show about Green Arrow without having a Black Canary.” (Jan. 26, 2017 TVLine article, page 1317 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- On whether Tina was created for the show or a character from the comics that has been repurposed, WM: "We’re going to reveal her to be somebody very much connected to the comics." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "We are so excited about Juliana. She is amazing." Per WM, Juliana Harkavy “brings a very different energy, a different vibe to the show." (Jan. 26, 2017 TVLine article, page 1317 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- Reddit poster's 511 end scene dialogue: "Man: Mr. Mayor. Excuse me, But there's someone here to see you. Her name is Tina Boland. Oh. Yeah. Send her in, please. Mayor Queen. It's impressive. Maybe you should have led with that. I got to admit...I didn't think I'd see you again. Yeah. Neither did I. I guess I thought I would feel different. With Sonus gone, I thought I would feel liberated.I wish it worked that way. Heh. How do you do it? How do you keep living with so much pain? I'm still working on that myself, But I can tell you it helps to not be alone.That's why you're here, right? That's why I'm here. Back on that roof, you asked what Vince would have wanted. We were more than just partners. We were lovers. I hated Sonus for killing Vince... But I hated myself more for not being able to stop him. Rene, the guy in the hockey mask, told the other guy that was with us - Curtis That this team is all about finding second chances. You said maybe we don't get second chances. Well, maybe I was wrong. Maybe you're my second chance. That's a lot to put on my shoulders. Well, Tina, there's something that tells me you can handle it. So about that name. Tina Boland was my official cover for undercover work. It was to protect my family. My real name is Dinah, Dinah Drake. Dinah? Does that name mean something to you? I had a friend named Dinah. She's the reason I sought you out. What do you think she'd think about all this? I think she'd be proud of both of us." (Jan. 31, 2017 YonkouProductions' reddit post of 511 dialogue, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 26, 2017, MG tweeted 511 promo video with comment: "Team Arrow Recruits a New Black Canary in Second Chances Promo." (MG tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 29, 2017, JH posted pic of her backside with comment: "Always remain a work in progress but don't forget to love what you've got. When I started going to the gym and training in October, @t3athletics, @james2bambamford, and the @cw_arrow team told me something women don't hear very often in Hollywood. "You don't have to be 'skinny'. Be strong." As I began taking that to heart, I started finding gratification in lifting heavier weights, rather than how much food I could restrict. I began looking at how I felt, rather than the scale. If we want lasting health, we must work on our inner strength first- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As far as the aesthetics? There ain't no harm in a big strong ?????? either! ?? (It's fun to wiggle when you dance and good for lower back pain!) " (JH instagram post, page 522 of Social Media thread) -- On Feb. 1, 2017, papp tweeted: "That #Arrow spoiler I told you I cant talk about yet. I see a few people figured it out. Tina Boland = Dinah Drake. (canadagraphs tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Twitter rumors: Tina/Dinah and Diggle bond in 513. The Russia photos resurface in 513. Tina/Dinah is given her costume by Felicity in 514 and they bond. Team Arrow finds out about Susan's investigation in 514, but Oliver doesn't. Tina/Dinah has a lot of screen time in S5B, like Sara in 2B, but there's nothing romantic. (Feb. 4, 2017 LeighAn and Chaser posts, page 1336 of Spoiler Discussion thread) Talia al Ghul -- On Talia al Ghul, MG: "I don't want to spoil too much. I will tell you a few things. She will definitely play a pivotal role in both the present day story and the flashbacks. With respect to the flashbacks, you know, we're basically at the - sort of the midway point of Season 5, which we all know is the last year of the flashbacks. And, um, I would say that there's still a fair amount of movement that Oliver Queen needs to make in those flashbacks to go from where he is right now in 510 to the guy who we all met in episode 101. So Talia's instrumental in, you know, sort of moving that evolution along. Um, she also will have a very significant, you know, impact on, you know, the present day story." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "Talia provides a lot of key elements to what becomes Oliver’s crusade. We’ll also be dealing very directly with the fairly obvious question, which is: Wait a second, when Oliver met Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable), why didn’t he say, “Hey, wait a minute, I think I met your daughter back in Russia!” We have a very specific answer for that." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On how different Talia is to Nyssa al Ghul, MG: "She’s definitely her own person; she’s not a Nyssa clone, by any stretch. You can definitely sense a familial resemblance. Having Ra’s al Ghul as your dad, it’s likely to forge a very specific kind of person. They’re close enough and different enough that I would love, at some point, to do a story with Nyssa and Talia. I think that would be a lot of fun." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On the introduction of Talia al Ghul, WM: "We think we found a really cool way to bring her in and reveal who she really is. Like what we’ve done with Laurel, we’re bringing someone in from the DC Universe but we’re going to have a different way of revealing how we deal with her true identity." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On what Talia adds to the show, WM: "It's interesting. We're very excited about her because we have a way of revealing her backstory that we hope is very surprising and fun for the audience. It's certainly surprising and fun for Oliver. I think for us, talking about her — and ultimately we will find out that she is from the al Ghul family — it's a fun nod to Season 3. It's always cool to have that presence and the feel of the League or some nod to the League somewhere in the show. It's fun to have it, and especially in a season when we're not talking about it or seeing any of those people at all." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Talia is “someone who trained Oliver in the past.” WM: “He doesn’t necessarily know the full extent of her backstory... We’ve come up with what we hope is a really cool, surprising way of revealing that to him. She’s definitely not who she seems.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Talia al Ghul, WM: "Well, I can tease that she’s not what she seems, and that — when Oliver finds out who she really is — it’s a massive gut punch for him. He did not see it coming." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Kojo Sledgehammer -- On Feb. 1, 2017, when asked if we'll see Kojo Sledgehammer on next week's episode or any future episodes of Arrow, Kacey Rohl tweeted: "@EmilyBett @CW_Arrow you'll have to wait & see! ??" (KaceyKadoodles tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Return of Malcolm Merlyn and Damien Darhk -- Arrow: WM: "We will definitely be seeing Malcolm make an appearance. The show just isn't the show without John Barrowman coming back somewhere, somehow. We have some really cool ideas. He might be just popping up here and there, maybe in a flashback somewhere which we're really excited about. I'd say it's less about their awareness of what he's been doing elsewhere and much more about Oliver's needs at the end of the season when he's going to take on Prometheus in a big showdown." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- LoT: On why Malcolm Merlyn wants the Spear of Destiny, Aaron Helbing: "Malcolm’s a guy who has enormous regret over the mistakes he made, like the crashing of the Queen’s Gambit, which led to the show Arrow, but also the estrangement of his child, the death of his wife, etc." (Jan. 23, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 249 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- LoT: On why Damien Darhk wants the Spear of Destiny, Aaron Helbing: "The Damien Darhk who we have on our show, who was plucked out of the ’80s, has been told by Thawne, 'Hey man, your future sucks, you die at the end of Arrow season 4, so you need me if you want to fix that.'” (Jan. 23, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 249 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) Return of Laurel Lance -- MG: "She's [Katie Cassidy's] always been so embracing of the shows and this recurring sort of role that she has now among all four shows. And, I think one of the things quite frankly that took us all by surprise was, when we made this deal crossing her over, sort of made her untethered to all the shows, was how many stories we had for 'Arrow' that involved Katie. We came up with this one for the midseason finale and Katie was all in and it's always great to have her back... I think she was fully embracing what we were asking her to do here." As for details on Laurel's return, MG said, "time travel." (Jan. 25, 2017 Access Hollywood article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On whether seeing Laurel again will help improve Oliver's spirits, MG: "One of the fun little things about the episode was -- and it really comes from Felicity and Diggle -- is sort of commenting on how good stuff just doesn't ever happen on 'Arrow.' Like Diggle says, 'It seems to me like you're due a win; you're due something positive.' So I think in many ways we sort of used it as a little meta-commentary on the often dark nature of the show." (Jan. 25, 2017 Access Hollywood article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Team Arrow's reaction to Laurel's return, MG: "I would say they react pretty positively. Obviously, this is wonderful news. We have a very good explanation as to how Laurel returned. The team is, by and large, pretty happy. Bear in mind, there are a few members of the team that didn’t know Laurel, so it’s fun to see their reaction, especially when they learn that time travel played a role in it." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- Interviewer commented that the character Oliver saw at the end of 509, Laurel, is someone who definitely wants to keep bringing him back into his past, and MG responded: "Very, very true. Very, very true. I will say, there's no - there's no, uh - there's no time travel, uh, explanation there to be had." On whether Laurel is a ghost, MG: "She's not a ghost." (Jan. 24, 2017 DC All-Access video, page 250 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- On 510's "heartbreaking reveal that the resurrected Laurel was not our Laurel" and why they must "toy with our emotions like this," MG: "Because it's just so much fun... I mean, it is fun to have twists and turns. I think Arrow has always sorta been about the reversals and the plot twists and, uh, you know - also, at the end of the day, I think we sort of saw an opportunity to tell, you know, what we thought was an interesting story. Um, and I think one of the nice things that the episode did for us is - it sort of took Black Siren back from Flash and sort of, you know, put her more in Arrow's orbit. Um, and that just opens up all sorts of interesting storytelling possibilities for us." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Interviewer (Natalie Abrams) said that Black Siren was definitely a villain, but one that Oliver still hoped to redeem, and asked whether they hope to explore a Black Siren redemption story down the line, MG: "Well, I will say that that was very intentional. You know, like I said, there's a good chunk of the end of the episode was about sort of putting, uh, Black Siren back in Oliver's orbit. Um, we could have very easily just have returned her to the pipeline in Central City. But, um, Oliver and us as writers wanted to keep Black Siren close. Um, you know, just yesterday in the writers' room we were talking about all the potential stories for Black Siren. So, um, you know, assuming, uh, Katie's up for it, you haven't seen the last of her, of Black Siren. I think there's a lot of interesting stuff, uh, to be done. At the end of the day, like, you know, just - going back to the point of toying with people's emotions - you know, we really do break story according to a very simple barometer, which is, 'Is it interesting?' You know, 'Do we have stories to tell?' Um, uh, Black Siren - there's a lot of potential there. I mean, you know, just this morning, driving into work, I was thinking about just how much I wanted to see a scene where, uh, Lance meets Black Siren. Um, I just think that would be, you know, really really rich, juicy emotional stuff. So, um, again with Katie's, uh - with Katie's, uh, participation, you haven't seen the last of her." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On how much we'll be seeing Laurel for the rest of the season, WM: "We'll be seeing her when we come back in the first episode. Then, as always with Katie, if we find the right story, we bring her back and we want to have her on the show as much as possible. It has been proven by the recent events that she's obviously a huge fan favorite, and we love working with her. That said, she won't factor hugely into the back half of the season, but I think the way we brought her back and the twist and the reveal, will really help set the tone for the back half of the season for Oliver and Felicity emotionally, and also for how Prometheus operates." (Jan. 25, 2017 Mashable article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "Any sort of romantic relationship between Laurel and Oliver we pretty much put to bed in Season 2." (Jan. 25, 2017 Variety article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 16, 2017, papp tweeted that KC was "not in Vancouver currently" and "not working on anything here currently." (Canadagraphs tweet, page 51 of Spoilers thread) Other Possible Returns or Debuts in S5 -- China White (Kelly Hu), Cupid (Amy Gumenick) and Liza Warner (Rutina Wesley) will return in 514. (514 episode synopsis in Feb. 3, 2017 SpoilerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 18, 2017, in response to SA tweeting pic of smashed up black limo, Amy Gumenick tweeted: "I recognize that limo!" (SA and AG tweets, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jan. 30, 2017, papp tweeted: "Was told Kelly Hu was spotted arriving In Van this morning for #Arrow." (pursuit23 tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- In response to fan who asked if the Suicide Squad is coming back to Arrow, SA: "A member of the Suicide Squad is coming back to Arrow pretty soon, but I don't know if the actual Suicide Squad is coming back to Arrow." (Jan. 30, 2017 SA facebook video, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Flash/LoT/Supergirl Crossovers -- Arrow: In podcast interview about 511, MG said: “Next week’s episode of Arrow features the - I will say, the fastest crossover with Flash we’ve ever had." MG also tweeted pic of The Flash zooming past CCPD Captain Singh, who's on the phone at the police precinct, with comment: "Next week's Arrow features the fastest crossover with Flash we've ever done. #dontblink." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article and Jan. 26, 2017 MG tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Arrow: On Feb. 1, 2017, RG tweeted a pic of himself with EK and Carlos Valdes. (RG tweet, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Supergirl/Flash: The two-part musical crossover between Supergirl and Flash will air March 20 and March 21, starting at the end of Supergirl, but saving most of the musical action for The Flash‘s portion of the event, appropriately titled “Duet.” Dermott Downs will direct the Flash half of the crossover. Grant Gustin, Melissa Benois, Jesse L. Martin, Victor Garber, Carlos Valdes, Jeremy Jordan and John Barrowman will all sing. Supergirl‘s David Harewood and Chris Wood will appear in “Duets,” but they’ll be doing so amelodcially. (Jan. 20, 2017 TVLine article, page 247 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- LoT: MG: “We’re going to be seeing the Black Flash on Legends." (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- LoT: MG: “We, just yesterday, um, made an offer to an actor to reprise their role, um... from one of the other shows in the season finale of Legends... Oh, and in the penultimate episode, ... we’re gonna have — I can’t be specific about this, but it’s one of the most fun things I think we’ve ever done on the show — we're going to have a character from one of the other shows on Legends in a way that you’ve never seen before, uh, you may never see again, but will, I think, just send fans into squeals of joy.” (Superhero Insider podcast in Jan. 26, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) Black Lightning in the Arrowverse -- GB's new DC Comics series, Black Lightning, moved from Fox to The CW and got an official pilot order, thus filling the final pilot slot on The CW's roster this season. (Feb. 3, 2017 The Hollywood Reporter and Variety articles, page 253 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- If Black Lightning is greenlit for 2017-2018, sources close to The CW Network explained that the 5 Berlanti DC TV shows (Arrow, Flash, LoT, Supergirl, Black Lightning) would be staggered throughout the year, rather than scheduling five separate nights of superhero programming. (Feb. 3, 2017 Variety article, page 253 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) Looking Toward Season 6 -- Per Mark Pedowitz, The CW anticipates that it will continue with the 4-show crossover in December 2017. MP described the 4-show DC crossover as The CW’s version of the Doctor Who Christmas special — an event people can anticipate. (Jan. 16, 2017 Seat42F article, page 246 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- WM" “We’ve always known that, once we reach season five, and we pick up where the pilot started, that the flashbacks are probably going to go away. That said, we’ve used the device to great effect. I would not ever say that we wouldn’t go back to them, but we’re really going to be looking at season 6 as a fresh, clean slate.” Also WM: "We’ve closed this chapter on the first five seasons, and it’s going to be time to start looking at new ways of writing the show and exploring different structures as well... We’re a little bit freed up by not having to do the flashbacks, as well, which is actually really refreshing and exciting.” (Jan. 25, 2017 ETonline article, page 52 of Spoilers thread)

Flashback Sunday - here's some old EP/CW interviews that give some background on Arrow... From 2012: http://www.blastr.com/2012/02/the_cws_green_arrow_will.php http://www.greenarrowtv.com/interview-marc-guggenheim-unlocks-the-secrets-connections-in-arrow/ http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=41446 http://nerdist.com/the-cws-arrow-takes-aim-at-our-expectations/ From 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNfUCpnByN4 From 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpoC1GhMAP8 From 2016: http://collider.com/arrow-season-5-wendy-mericle-interview/ http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/dc-comics-greg-berlanti-c-v-r.html

FWIW, Prometheus and Pandora are connected figures in Greek mythology - here's one version of their story... Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867). Age of Fable: Vols. I & II: Stories of Gods and Heroes. 1913. http://www.bartleby.com/181/021.html

Professional female reporters have been treated horribly in a lot of superhero entertainment. Even Iris on The Flash (and I like Iris) went from coffee barista to news reporter with minimal training. Then there's the overused trope of having the female reporter sleep with the superhero (from Iron Man to Arrow).

That's my general impression also, although I haven't checked the diehard comics sites (which probably love her).