S05.E06: Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Ray plans a date night for him and Nora, but all goes awry when an Encore shows up making the team think on their feet and create a lie to keep the Encore at bay.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

“Soul harvesting pyramid scheme” is so perfect a description of the Encores. I love this show so much.

Pippa the forever unimpressed fairy godchild is a delight. “Do you need to change your shoes?” Awwww. And went home to her family because the Legends are, well, the Legends. Wonderful child. 

Zari helping Mick deal with the online troll who dared trash Rebecca Silver (you monster!) only to learn she’s his daughter. The actor playing Lita was perfect. 110% Mick’s daughter. 

Nora invoked Book Club. Shit got real.

Hee hee hee Charlie conned Con into searching Antarctica.

Speaking of Con I loved everything about his interactions with Damien. He’s Damien’s Dream Son-In-Law! Hahaha! 

Neal McDonough. There is literally no way to overstate this man’s talent. One second he’s proud papa in tears watching his baby girl getting engaged and then he seamlessly shifts into scary ass fucking Encore ready to destroy everyone around him. 

Attention everyone! Nate made me laugh tonight. When Pippa wished for everyone to be on Mister Parker’s Cul de Sac Nate started to facepalm and that really worked for me.

THE PUPPETS ARE BACK! Puppet Sara deciding to tell Wild Dog to shove it was everything. 

Nora likes being a fairy godmother. She really is perfect for Ray. They and the wedding were lovely.

[Primal Slayer]

It was a decent weighted episode as far bringing the serious moments and the more quirky moments....the more serious ones I especially miss from this show.

Seeing Damien again was a delight, another moment in Arrow Post-COIE history we can mark off as happening to some degree. 

Im not sure if it's making more sense for Ray's time on the show to be coming up or Sara's time on the ship coming up, her reaching out to Rene for a job? Not the first person in Star City I'd reach out to but all the OGs time on the ship seems to be in a weird moment, they could all go move on, especially Rory of all of them now that he has a kid out there he can focus on.

[Lantern7]

A little too farcical for my tastes. I mean, it was funny, and we got puppets one more time without being gratuitous, and Damien actually shows growth. I'm just thinking Nora's wrists were sore from spinning all of those plates.

Oh, and Mick's a dad! Only a Legend could meet an old love at a high school reunion in the past, get her pregnant, and then meet the smart-ass daughter one month later (his time, give or take). Mind erasing was probably for the best, at least in the short term. And it was a good subplot to stick the Zardashian.

Thinking about it, I don't think LoT has ever got full Three's Company with the falsehoods. Since this is LoT, we wind up going full-on PBS thank to Pippa. Nice bit of extra: Nate facepalming as he and the others got zapped into Mr. Parker's Cul-de-Sac. The rest was predictably unpredicatable: Gary got turned into a train (awesome given that he almost got run over by one), Sara and Ava's tension got cleared up without incident after getting turned into puppets (lingering question: what was Sara going to do back in Star City? Bodyguard Mayor Wild Dog?), we got to see the Safe Space Sombrero (that had to have come from Ray), and Damien got to be a proud papa before sending himself back to hell. And he has a tender moment with Sara. You think he would have murdered Laurel if he knew another one would pop up to replace her? Probably.

Cute . . . Ava made Gary clean up the bits of Beebo. Very in-character.

[Alice Mudgarden]

1 hour ago, Primal Slayer said:

Im not sure if it's making more sense for Ray's time on the show to be coming up or Sara's time on the ship coming up, her reaching out to Rene for a job? Not the first person in Star City I'd reach out to but all the OGs time on the ship seems to be in a weird moment, they could all go move on, especially Rory of all of them now that he has a kid out there he can focus on.

I get the feeling Sara's not going anywhere. We know Ray is. Mick could go either way at this point with the daughter development but I'm not pressing the panic button. Yet.

I'd be devastated if Mick left, though. We really don't need to be losing any more OG legends, and Mick's been my favorite since S1. It's bad enough we're losing Ray.

 

I really, really liked this episode. Strongest of the season so far? I kind of want to say so. I think it really says something that it was so full and strong and by the end of it everyone was together. It must be hard to incorporate every team member every time, but whenever they're all in the same place, it's so much richer. Even with new pieces, like Behrad, it all works. Since Ray is leaving, I do hope Behrad becomes a regular, since I believe the actor is recurring right now. He already feels comfortable, if that makes sense.

[thuganomics85]

Figured it was only a matter of time before an Encore would be one of the past villains from the Arrowverse, and I definitely will not argue with it being Damien Darhk!  Neal McDonough has always been great in the role, but this show always seemed to have a better handle on the character than Arrow did, and it was great to have him back and get some final closure with Nora.  I'm glad it ended with Nora standing up for herself at the end, and Damien accepting her happiness and relationship with Ray, and acknowledging that he was a horrible father to her.  And then him committing suicide with the the sword from the last episode was a fitting permanent (?) death for him.  All in all, I thought it was f great one-off appearance.

All the stuff involving "Mr. Parker's Cul-De-Sac" had me dying.  Someone in the writing clearly was a huge fan of Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood.  And Brandon Routh really nailed down the aspects Fred Rodgers has brought to that show.  I'd like to believe Fred would have found all of it amusing.

The only thing better than seeing the return of the Legend Puppets was Constantine's reaction to the return of the Legend Puppets!

Mick and Zari were a fun duo for the B-plot.  I'm guessing this won't be the last we see of Mick's daughter.  The actress was really well-cast.

Ray and Nora get hitched!  Naturally, Nate would walk Ray down the aisle!

Nice of the show to answer the question of what exactly happened to the remains of Giant Beebo!

Probably my favorite episode of the season.

[MarkHB]

As soon as I heard the daughter's name was Lita, I knew exactly where it came from and it was so perfect! They graduated in 1987 per "Slay Anything," right? "Kiss Me Deadly" was everywhere the following summer! Plus she played a concert in my state a couple of years ago and literally said on stage, "I got laid in Bangor last night!" So, her levels of classy align perfectly with Mick. And then he had to be a dick and mind wipe them.

[darkestboy]

The end really is nigh for Ray and Nora and while I still think the show is making a mistake losing these characters, I loved this episode, loved the wedding they got and I loved the return of Damien Darhk to boot.

Damien has always worked better here than Arrow and he had great scenes with Nora, Ray, Constantine, Sara and Ava. His final death actually made sense too.

Nora liking her job as a fairy godmother made sense too, nice character moments there too.

Loved the Cul-De-Sac scenes in this one, especially with Constantine's reaction to the puppets again.

The Sara/Ava conflict eh, just seemed a bit tacked on but didn't hamper things either.

Mick having a daughter feels like a set up for a departure for him. I did love the team up with him and Zari this week. Same with Constantine and Charlie and their scenes.

Time to meet Charlie's sisters now though, 9/10.

[teenj12]

I actually really liked this episode. Definitely one of the best, if not the the best, of the season.

Only thing, why does it seem like the writers discretely set up exit stories for Sara and Mick too?

[scarynikki12]

2 hours ago, teenj12 said:

Only thing, why does it seem like the writers discretely set up exit stories for Sara and Mick too?

I hope not. Sara’s didn’t make any sense because the backdoor pilot stated Star City is crime free for twenty years. Sara’s skills would be wasted.

Maybe for Mick but I can see them bringing Lita on the ship for shenanigans instead of writing him off. 

[Featherhat]

Caity said she wasn't going anywhere when people worried about what she was posting on Instagram about new beginnings. It was most likely about her break up. It seems like way too much of a random send off for Sara unless she's being shoved over to the new potential spin off (nooooo!!) but even then getting dropped off in the future by the Waverider would be easier. I would imagine there's more to be revealed, especially if CL needs more episodes off this season to film the crossover/Arrow finale. 

With Mick DP posted something that sounded quite a bit like goodbye to LOT a few months ago and this would be one way of giving him a good send off for next season if not this one, ala Lily Stein. But we haven't heard anything more and maybe this is just an actual storyline for him and those don't come around often so we don't know what to make of it. 

I can't really see them getting rid of Ray, Sara and Mick all in one season. Much as I enjoy the show I would certainly be out. I'm iffy with Ray and the way that was apparently handled and he wasn't even my favourite character. I'm not watching for Captain Ava and her "quirks" or Nate and his relationships much as I also love Zari.

Caity could have been lying about stay but they announced BR and CF leaving early and announced VG leaving before he did, I imagine if one of the other OGs are leaving there will be an announcement before or at least strong rumours. If/When Sara goes I imagine it will be a big deal finale (heh) heroic death or wedding and babies with Ava (meh) like Stein, Rip, Snart and Ray. Again unless they've made a deal for the GAATC spin off which seems fairly unlikely. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Featherhat
spelling and added some extra thoughts.

[shantown]

I enjoyed this episode. Constantine and Nora made a fun duo (and a fun trio with Ray). Throw in Ava and Sara and that was a great group plotline. Also enjoyed Zari 2.0 and Mick being paired up. I know we all keep saying it, but this show does really well with making the most random character combos work well. I hope Charlie is brought into the mix more now that the loom stuff is moving forward, she's good with Constantine but it feels like she's been off in left field on her own for too long.

Nate as the sun made me roll my eyes and think of Meredith Grey as the sun. Nate could be a lot more likable with less screentime and some reasonable flaws.

[LeisureTime]

Gary the Unspeakable Train Abomination got a legit laugh out of me. Not so much because Gary was funny as a train, but just the whole lighthearted abomination bit. Constantine was great. Everything was great. 

For a minute I was afraid the poisoned mousse would end up with Constantine, but I'm glad it was the ring mixup instead.

[twoods]

Norah and Ray are so stinking cute. When she saw the ring and just looked at Ray my heart melted. They looked so happy in their wedding scene that I felt we were catching a glimpse of how happy the two of them were at their real wedding. Kudos to them for making their characters so much fun and not having the anti-chemistry some off screen couples do. I’m going to really miss them.

It was good to see Damian, and I loved his scene with Sara. Maybe this is the closure she needed seeing that he sacrificed himself for the better good?

I couldn’t stop laughing at the Mr. Parker scenes. This show knows how to do crazy perfectly. 

[Bruinsfan]

It went a bit differently than I thought. The proud papa bit with Damien was so over-the top I thought that his reaction to the "poison" dessert and Sara being ready to assassinate him with a supernatural weapon would have resulted in him beaming "just like a chip off the old block!" and holding his arms out to Nora for a hug.

Overall I think it's my favorite episode of the season. Nora and Ray are just so awesome together! And Damien's dismissive snark about Astra's plan was hilarious.

[srpturtle80]

On 3/11/2020 at 12:43 PM, teenj12 said:

Only thing, why does it seem like the writers discretely set up exit stories for Sara and Mick too?

 

On 3/11/2020 at 3:12 PM, Featherhat said:

With Mick DP posted something that sounded quite a bit like goodbye to LOT a few months ago and this would be one way of giving him a good send off for next season if not this one, ala Lily Stein. But we haven't heard anything more and maybe this is just an actual storyline for him and those don't come around often so we don't know what to make of it. 

Dominic just posted on IG this week that he has no intention of leaving the show, and that he has two years left on his contract and fully intends to honor them. Whew!

Absolutely LOVED this episode. I laughed out loud several times, something I really needed tonight after the past few days. It felt more like the show I love than the last few episodes have.

 

[lurker22]

36 minutes ago, srpturtle80 said:

Dominic just posted on IG this week that he has no intention of leaving the show, and that he has two years left on his contract and fully intends to honor them. Whew!

Not that I think Dominic is really leaving the show (though I felt that the writers were setting up his happy ending/exit with the kid), but Brandon probably also had 2 years left on his contract, and he was let go anyway. It might not be up to the actors' if the writers don't want to write for these older characters anymore, and prefer to write for their shiny new toys (Ava, Constantine, etc) instead.

[tennisgurl]

As happy as I am that they seem to be writing Nora and Ray off with a happy ending, I am still so pissed that they are going to be gone soon. Especially Ray, one of the longest running characters on the show, it seems like the show got distracted by their new "wackier" characters and got bored with Ray, who, while certainly frequently wacky, is a bit more "normal" all things considered. Or they just want to focus on the new shinys and are bored with characters they have used before, I dont know. 

Anyway, I am just going to focus on this episode for now, and its one of the best of the season. I love Ray and Nora so much, and I am so glad to see them to happy and together. Adding proud pappa Damien just added to the fun! I have been wondering if a former villain would show up at some point to start trouble, and I think that, despite him being originally an Arrow villain, the LoT writers always had a better handle on him, especially when they added in his relationship with Nora, so I am happy that they were able to use him so well here. 

I also love that Damien and John actually seemed to get along super well. Damien is so happy that Nora found a nice warlock boy, just like her dad! I also like that, while Damien has turned from evil more or less for real this time out of love for Nora, Sara hasn't forgiven him for killing her sister. She wont get revenge on him or anything and will be civil for her Nora's sake, but it isnt all over and done with, he still did something unforgivable, and he understands that and is pretty cool with it. Considering how easily people forgive really heinous shit in this franchise, its nice to see something more realistic. Also that Nora didnt forget she was raised by a demon cult to be possessed by an evil demon monster, and that Damien clearly felt awful when he got called on it, look at that continuity! Its everywhere, and it makes the interactions between characters so much more interesting.

Speaking of people that are forgiven too easily, yah I would ignore calls from Wild Dog too Sara. Ugh. I wouldn't want to chat with someone who came at one of my best friends with an ax during a petty argument either. 

Mick has a daughter! I love that any version of Zari and Mick get along great, and I am interested to see where this goes. What is it with people on this having sex in the past and ending up having kids in the present day they didnt know about? 

I freaking love Ray as a Fred Rogers type host, who better for the job? Its Gary the Unspeakable Train Abomination! Plus, the return of the puppets, to Johns annoyance. "Not the bloody puppets." You can tell someone on staff is a big fan, they really nailed that very calm, soothing energy, even with the wacky shenanigans. I feel like Fred would have been quite amused by this all. 

I freaking love Ray and Nora so much, and they're wedding was so sweet. They just glow at each other, they just drip love off the very screen, and I love how much Nora has grown to love helping people, she and Ray really are perfect together. And Nate walked Ray down the aisle! So sweetness. 

[legaleagle53]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I freaking love Ray and Nora so much, and they're wedding was so sweet. They just glow at each other, they just drip love off the very screen, and I love how much Nora has grown to love helping people, she and Ray really are perfect together. And Nate walked Ray down the aisle! So sweetness. 

I agree. I got the feeling that Brandon and Courtney didn't really have to do much acting, if any, during that wedding scene. I know Brandon has said that they often bring in little elements of their real-life marriage into their onscreen interactions, and it definitely shows. I really hope I get to see more of them together in future projects. And I loved that Sara officiated!

You know, I'm actually kind of sad that we're apparently permanently done with Damien now. Neal has clearly always had a blast playing him, and I myself got a little teary when Damien finally had his epiphany and saw how wrong he'd been all along about everything. The fact that he actually started crying hit me right in the feels. In a way, I hope we HAVEN'T seen the last of him, especially now that he's reformed for good. I just wonder what Sara thought when she realized that Damien had deliberately used the Demon Sword to send himself back to Hell because he knew it was where he belonged for everything he'd ever done?

Oh, and Sara? Not a good idea to hide something as big as a permanent job offer away from the Waverider from Ava. She should have been the first person you told, since you knew that it would have a serious, direct impact on your relationship. I'd have been just as pissed off as she was!

Funniest moment? Big tough guy Mick fainting at the news that he had a daughter he never even knew existed. I agree with Zari that mindwiping her and her mother was a mistake that he's going to regret. It looks as though Zari managed to talk some sense into him, though, so we'll see how he adjusts to instant fatherhood.

Great episode all around. As Charlie once said, I love the insanity that passes for normal around here!

[bettername2come]

On 3/14/2020 at 4:54 PM, legaleagle53 said:

And I loved that Sara officiated!

Cause she's the captain of a ship!

I really liked this one. Nice use of Damien. I was waiting for the ring to be them/Ava think Sara was proposing to her. I also thought they resolved their issues too quickly. I guess things are just easier for puppets. Ray Palmer is the nicest guy in the world. He makes a great Mr. Rogers. I liked all the Nora and Damien bonding. I liked that she really loves her job now - although I'd be sick of that shade of blue eventually. Too bad Stein's not here to help Mick deal with the sudden appearance of a daughter. They finally have something in common! And while I'm mentioning Stein, I was so happy to see Jax in the previouslies. I miss him. And Stein. But Jax could come back. I wish they would bring back the living Legends occasionally. Heck, I'll even okay a visit from Carter if it means we get some Ray and Jax in the future. Please?

[tarotx]

On 3/13/2020 at 10:47 PM, lurker22 said:

Not that I think Dominic is really leaving the show (though I felt that the writers were setting up his happy ending/exit with the kid), but Brandon probably also had 2 years left on his contract, and he was let go anyway. It might not be up to the actors' if the writers don't want to write for these older characters anymore, and prefer to write for their shiny new toys (Ava, Constantine, etc) instead.

Any actor can leave no matter the contract. I think Ray "left" the reason why Laurel was killed. Their actors were signed as leadish characters and their screen time weren't worth the price. They even had Brandon play an evil version of his character to get screen time last seaosn. 

I haven't actually seen the episode yet. I will watch it Tuesday (and the new episode as well)...

I think Ray is the type to leave to support his partner. Him leaving actually fits his character. He was happy off ship when it was just him in Kendra in season 1.

I don't think Rory is the type to settle down for a daughter. At least not easy. Him having family can lead to stories. I can see him staying the 2 seasons which is how long I think Legends will last any way.

Wasn't Sara just looking for work off the Waverider because Ava was unhappy and Sara was willing to leave everything she loves for Ava? Now that Ava loves the waverider I don't see them leaving. Even with her father alive, Sara doesn't have much of a life off ship. I don't see her as someone who can do nothing. Even though the show has her neutered, she is technically doing stuff. She would be beyond bored in a clean Star City.

[benteen]

Very fun episode and the use of Damian as an encore was logical.  Neal McDonough was a lot of fun again and I enjoyed the whole sequence where Constantine was playing Nora's fiance.  

Real-life married couples sometimes don't have great on-screen chemistry but that's not the case for Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford.

[Bruinsfan]

I think it helps that the couple's primary vibe is of fond affection and admiration for one another, not unbridled passion. The latter tends to fizzle out fast in TV relationships, particularly between actors who are romantically involved in real life.

[legaleagle53]

9 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I think it helps that the couple's primary vibe is of fond affection and admiration for one another, not unbridled passion. The latter tends to fizzle out fast in TV relationships, particularly between actors who are romantically involved in real life.

Brandon has said that he and Courtney like to bring little things from their own marriage into their scenes together as Ray and Nora. I think that's what makes it feel so authentic and organic -- they're not always acting when they're playing opposite each other.

[statsgirl]

I loved this episode. This is the LoT that I tune in for. It was fun and character-consistent. Nora has found her calling as a fairy godmother. Who would have known?

I really disliked Damian Darkh killing himself. Unnecessary way to get rid of a character that has been very good for the show. Smacks of getting rid of any Arrow history, like a jealous new wife.

On 3/15/2020 at 10:09 PM, tarotx said:

Wasn't Sara just looking for work off the Waverider because Ava was unhappy and Sara was willing to leave everything she loves for Ava? Now that Ava loves the waverider I don't see them leaving. Even with her father alive, Sara doesn't have much of a life off ship. I don't see her as someone who can do nothing. Even though the show has her neutered, she is technically doing stuff. She would be beyond bored in a clean Star City.

This is one of the reasons I dislike the AvaLance pairing, because Sara is always making concessions and trying to please Ava while Ava is always the one who needed to be treated as if she's the sun and the moon when she's nothing special.  Very unbalance relationship and spoiling Sara who is one of my favourite characters.