S03.E03: Corto Maltese

[JenMD]

A plotline of office gossip causing any of our main characters any consternation at all would make no sense.  So yeah, hey, it could happen.  If it does, it will be stupid.  Just like office gossip.

Sorry, I've probably just rambled into incoherency at this point.  I totally don't mean to suggest that the show is going to do a gossip storyline that's going to hurt Felicity's feelings (just like they didn't last year; other than Isabel's one remark it wasn't touched upon in show that I recall).  My initial question was more about viewers' reaction (or lack thereof) to any potential gossip.  I just found it curious that the reaction was so different to what seemed like similar circumstances (people are still upset about last year and totally unconcerned this year).

[statsgirl]

I'm not concerned this  year because

1. Felicity is doing the job she was trained to do and can frame her MIT diploma to prove it;

2. she's got her own EA who can tell everyone she's doing high-powered tech stuff that everyone else has failed at;

and

3. at this point, Ray isn't spending as much time with her or in as close quarters as Oliver did.

[calliope1975]

Yeah, but it still bugs me because Ray is also making her the subject of office gossip (only Isabel's not around to be catty about it this time), so no difference there except she gets an office and EA out of the deal.  They also could be trying to mask any ulterior motives Ray has in hiring her and getting her help with the tech he's so interested in.  I just think he's still shifty, if not in a bad guy kind of way necessarily but in an untrustworthy kind of way. 

 

Sadly, I don't think there's any way for Felicity to avoid being unfavorably gossiped about at QC. There would absolutely be those who think she got both the EA and whatever she is now position on her back. The same thing was said about my real-life boss and she progressed up the ladder normally and didn't jump from EA to Exec. I doubt the show will be self aware enough to address this, and I'm willing to handwave it because I know Felicity is more than capable of running QC, but yeah, in the real world, her reputation would be in tatters.

[some1105]

Oh, hey (Jen)--it's a fair question.  I guess it's just that my response is that yeah, there might be gossip or there might not be, but people in Ray's and Felicity's positions wouldn't have to care, and therefore there's no reason to give her a different office.   

 

As part of Ray's general Compensation Package of Woo and Shameless Flattery, giving Felicity Oliver's old office might even make perfect symbolic sense to Ray.  Making a huge gesture that might or might not give Felicity even the slightest frisson in her happy parts seems to be right out of Ray's playbook.  Or maybe he has no idea that it would be meaningful to her and it's just available.  But either way, there's probably an express elevator that Ray rides to the E-suite, and neither he nor Felicity is drinking from the water cooler at this point, is all I'm saying.

 

I maybe cared a little more about the prospect of gossip last year because Isabel was a nasty piece of work, I like Felicity, and it would have sucked if Isabel had made Felicity's daily working life a misery with innuendo.  But I still didn't care that much even then because a) we all knew in our bones that Isabel was going to be evil to absolutely everybody, and b) gossips are a sub-set of trolls and thus best ignored.

 

...in the real world, her reputation would be in tatters.

 

Yeah, but in tatters with whom?  People whose opinion neither she nor Ray has to care about.  They don't have colleagues.  Ray has employees.  Felicity doesn't have peers and co-managers.  She has a standalone Whatever She Wants It To Be.  In the real world, people with that level of power really don't have to care about reputation in the rank and file.  There's the board of directors.  That's it--unless Ray fails to turn QC around financially, in which case Felicity's employment and her reputation are the least of QC's (and its gossips') worries.  Until then, if the only people (the board) who have the authority to question Ray actually question Ray, he can demonstrate quickly that Felicity has done what's been asked.  Given that this board found Ray's stats and powerpoints more persuasive than the optics of having a Queen back at the helm, I doubt they care who he's screwing.

Edited October 24, 2014 by some1105

[apinknightmare]

So, I was just rewatching, and when Oliver chases down that guy who was on the same rooftop Sara fell off of and the guy tells him that he didn't see anything, just that a woman who looked like she could handle herself told him to go, um...why didn't Oliver ask what the woman looked like? HELLO. He is the worst investigator ever.

[JenMD]

Thanks everybody for your insight into Felicity's status this year vs. last, I appreciate it!  

[pootlus]

So, I was just rewatching, and when Oliver chases down that guy who was on the same rooftop Sara fell off of and the guy tells him that he didn't see anything, just that a woman who looked like she could handle herself told him to go, um...why didn't Oliver ask what the woman looked like? HELLO. He is the worst investigator ever.

 

I assume the woman 'who looked like she could handle herself' was Sara, not whoever killed Sara.  Maybe I'm reading it wrong though.

[catrox14]

I think he meant that Sara was the one he saw.

[apinknightmare]

I assume the woman 'who looked like she could handle herself' was Sara, not whoever killed Sara.  Maybe I'm reading it wrong though.

 

Yeah, but isn't it kind of stupid for him to assume that it was Sara the guy was talking about? It's not like a woman couldn't have gone up on that rooftop and killed her.

[statsgirl]

Oliver assumed it was Sara.  But why would Sara tell other people to get off the roof?  Wouldn't she be wearing her mask so they wouldn't know who she was?  Doesn't she had Laurel's cellphone number to say 'Hey, Laurel, there are some kids up here. Can we meet in the stairwell instead?"

 

I thought it was teasing that it was another woman entirely. Does Amanda Waller do her own dirty work?

[some1105]

Maybe he was just grateful that "looked like she could handle herself" ruled out Laurel. 

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[catrox14]

Here is the dialogue. Pretty clear to me IMO

 

Oliver:Black leather, blonde hair, wore a mask!

Guy:I didn't kill her.

Oliver:You were there!

Guy:I don't know anything about it!

Oliver: Your fingerprints are on this.

Guy:From a fifth I drank up there, but I--

Oliver:What did you see?

Guy:Nothing! I was up on the roof with some buddies.This lady, she showed up and she-- she told us to go!  Looked like she could handle herself, you know? Whoever it is you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him.

[apinknightmare]

Here is the dialogue. Pretty clear to me IMO

 

Oliver:Black leather, blonde hair, wore a mask!

Guy:I didn't kill her.

Oliver:You were there!

Guy:I don't know anything about it!

Oliver: Your fingerprints are on this.

Guy:From a fifth I drank up there, but I--

Oliver:What did you see?

Guy:Nothing! I was up on the roof with some buddies.This lady, she showed up and she-- she told us to go!  Looked like she could handle herself, you know? Whoever it is you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him.

 

It's the "this lady"that makes me think it's someone other than Sara. "This lady" implies that it could be someone else. "That lady," would be more along the lines of the one in black leather, blond hair, wore a mask. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, IDK. Plus, Sara wasn't wearing a mask when she met with Laurel.

Edited October 25, 2014 by apinknightmare

[catrox14]

I took this lady to me "This lady" as in the one Oliver described.  But I can see both interpretations. Either way Oliver is not an idiot nor a professional investigator as in CSI kind of investigator.

 

But I do like the call of it being Waller. That never even crossed my mind.

Edited October 25, 2014 by catrox14

[pootlus]

I took this lady to me "This lady" as in the one Oliver described.  But I can see both interpretations. Either way Oliver is not an idiot nor a professional investigator as in CSI kind of investigator.

 

But I do like the call of it being Waller. That never even crossed my mind.

 

Hehe yeah, this is why I post and read here.  Other people are smarter than me and think of these things, I make the same assumptions Oliver does :)

 

I wouldn't enjoy the show nearly as much were it not for the posters here!

[foreverevolving]

Wouldn't waller use a gun, as that seems to be her weapon of choice?

[apinknightmare]

I took this lady to me "This lady" as in the one Oliver described.  But I can see both interpretations. Either way Oliver is not an idiot nor a professional investigator as in CSI kind of investigator.

 

But I do like the call of it being Waller. That never even crossed my mind.

 

I'm just suspicious because Sara didn't have her mask on when she met with Laurel (not that she couldn't have just pulled it off, but IDK), so I'm just thinking of the possibility that it might not be her the guy was talking about. I personally do think Oliver is kind of an idiot though, and I think that if he was being diligent in the search for Sara's killer he would've asked the guy for sure what this woman looked like and he also wouldn't have ruled out the League of Assassins.

[statsgirl]

Wouldn't waller use a gun, as that seems to be her weapon of choice?

Not if her intent was to set the cat among the canaries, so to speak.  Maybe she wanted Oliver to think it was Ra's or the LoA and start some trouble between them?

 

If her weapon of choice is a gun, then she wouldn't want to use that because it could point to her.  A crossbow is fairly easy to use; Helena mastered it in a couple of weeks.

 

 

I personally do think Oliver is kind of an idiot though, and I think that if he was being diligent in the search for Sara's killer he would've asked the guy for sure what this woman looked like and he also wouldn't have ruled out the League of Assassins.

It's like a soap opera -- "If only she had talked to Jason and asked where he was that night, she wouldn't have divorced him and married Matt."

Edited October 25, 2014 by statsgirl

[some1105]

...he also wouldn't have ruled out the League of Assassins.

 

Now this bothered me last week.  I interpreted the witness thing the same way that catrox does, as a frustrating dead-end for Oliver (and why it made sense that he referred to the trail running cold this week, giving him a little window to shuffle off to Corto Maltese in Diggle's checked luggage).  But I rewound three times in Ep. 2 to make sure I'd actually heard him say that the League wouldn't go after one of its own.  The same League that had already come after Sara once, the same League that Moira had threatened Malcolm with to make him run?  I have absolutely no comics knowledge of the LoA beyond quick wikipedia checks and Batman Begins, but in this show, the first thing I sputtered when Oliver said that was, "but what if she pissed off Nyssa again and just didn't tell you?  What if she farted near Ra's' soup and ran?"

[calliope1975]

But I rewound three times in Ep. 2 to make sure I'd actually heard him say that the League wouldn't go after one of its own.  The same League that had already come after Sara once, the same League that Moira had threatened Malcolm with to make him run?  

 

This line was just idiotic. Oliver repeatedly fought the LoA guys who came after Sara. Once in his own home. He was there when Nyssa kidnapped and threatened Dinah. Come on! 

[DrSpaceman10]

This line was just idiotic. Oliver repeatedly fought the LoA guys who came after Sara. Once in his own home. He was there when Nyssa kidnapped and threatened Dinah. Come on! 

 

That's because Sara was trying to leave/had left the LOA. I think as far as we know she was a "practicing" member when she was killed.

 

I also think when that guy Oliver questioned in the alley said it looked like "she could take care of herself", he might not have been referring to Sara.

[apinknightmare]

That's because Sara was trying to leave/had left the LOA. I think as far as we know she was a "practicing" member when she was killed.

 

I also think when that guy Oliver questioned in the alley said it looked like "she could take care of herself", he might not have been referring to Sara.

 

He also shouldn't have assumed that she was still a practicing member, either. He knows that people don't get out of the League once they're in it (she lucked out once), and when he asked her if her being in Starling was a permanent thing, she said "we'll see." How could she stay in Starling and still be a member of the League, unless they were looking to set up shop in the city?

Edited October 25, 2014 by apinknightmare

[statsgirl]

 unless they were looking to set up shop in the city?

Ah, I sense a possible future story arc.....

[apinknightmare]

Ah, I sense a possible future story arc.....

 

LoA: Starling City

[KirkB]

Guy:Nothing! I was up on the roof with some buddies.This lady, she showed up and she-- she told us to go!  Looked like she could handle herself, you know? Whoever it is you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him.

 

   At the time I was watching I assumed the guy was talking about Sara being the woman who showed up and told them to go. But in hindsight he could have been referring to someone like Nyssa, or Talia, or for all I know Cupid. There's also the matter of his last line. "Whoever it is you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him." Now, was he just using that word in the generic sense, or did he see more that he's not telling? Not that it matters since Oliver let him get away before making sure he clearly understood what the drunk guy was saying and may or may not have seen.

Edited October 25, 2014 by KirkB

[apinknightmare]

   At the time I was watching I assumed the guy was talking about Sara being the woman who showed up and told them to go. But in hindsight he could have been referring to someone like Nyssa, or Talia, or for all I know Cupid. There's also the matter of his last line. "Whoever it is you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him." Now, was he just using that word in the generic sense, or did he see more that he's not telling? Not that it matters since Oliver let him get away before making sure he clearly understood what the drunk guy was saying and may or may not have seen.

 

This is all so misogynistic. Women are murderers too!

[yellowfred]

There's also the matter of his last line. "Whoever it is you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him." Now, was he just using that word in the generic sense, or did he see more that he's not telling?

 

I think he probably meant it in the generic sense, but it does imply that the woman he saw was the one Oliver described, since he otherwise would have assumed that that woman was the person Oliver should be going after.  At the same time, I kind of wonder if she actually was the same woman, since Sara wasn't initially wearing her mask and wig on that rooftop.  I mean, I guess she could have had her mask on, taken it off to talk to Laurel, and then put it back on again.

[apinknightmare]

I think he probably meant it in the generic sense, but it does imply that the woman he saw was the one Oliver described, since he otherwise would have assumed that that woman was the person Oliver should be going after.  At the same time, I kind of wonder if she actually was the same woman, since Sara wasn't initially wearing her mask and wig on that rooftop.  I mean, I guess she could have had her mask on, taken it off to talk to Laurel, and then put it back on again.

 

It'd have to be the generic use of "him" since there is no "him" in the equation - there's the woman Oliver was looking for who was murdered, and the woman who asked the guy to clear off the roof (both women, whether they're the same person or not), unless A) there is another person that guy didn't tell Oliver about or B) the guy thought Oliver might be looking for someone who had more information (like him) and assumed whoever it was had a penis.

Edited October 25, 2014 by apinknightmare

[some1105]

This is all so misogynistic. Women are murderers too!

 

Right on!!!!!

[blackwing]

Dialogue makes it clear to me that Sara is the one the guy saw and was talking about. Oliver describes her, he says he didn't kill her. He says this lady showed up and told him to leave. Then when he says "whoever you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him". If "this lady" that showed up wasn't blonde hair and black mask then it's possble she could have been the blonde hair's killer, and I think the guy wouldn't have said "him".

[FishyJoe]

I really wish Laurel would join the League of Assassins to get her training, AND STAY THERE PERMANENTLY. 

[Carrie Ann]

So, I was just rewatching, and when Oliver chases down that guy who was on the same rooftop Sara fell off of and the guy tells him that he didn't see anything, just that a woman who looked like she could handle herself told him to go, um...why didn't Oliver ask what the woman looked like? HELLO. He is the worst investigator ever.

 

Man, it's a good thing the police were on the scene to take evidence and statements and ask pertinent questions of witnesses, because if we had to rely on Oliver Queen to solve this mystery...oh wait.

 

For the record, red flags immediately went up for me at the witness's statement too, and on rewatching, it still seems intentionally vague. Oliver was growling at him at the beginning of that "interrogation" and the guy was barely keeping it together, and seemed kind of blank after Oliver said the thing about the someone being killed, leather, blonde wig and mask. Could be an acting/directing issue of course, but he didn't respond to that part one way or another, except to say he didn't kill her. Then he admits that he was on the roof, and "this lady" shows up, looks like she can take care of herself, you know. It seemed intentionally vague to me, and stuck out right away. I think he would have indicated that he saw the person the Arrow was describing. And the "I wouldn't want to be him" just seemed like another intentional mislead. Enough to make me think we're dealing with a female killer.

[apinknightmare]

Then he admits that he was on the roof, and "this lady" shows up, looks like she can take care of herself, you know. It seemed intentionally vague to me, and stuck out right away. I think he would have indicated that he saw the person the Arrow was describing. And the "I wouldn't want to be him" just seemed like another intentional mislead. Enough to make me think we're dealing with a female killer.

 

Yeah, the "this lady" makes it seem to me like the lady he's talking about is someone other than the one Oliver described. I mean, we have a 50% chance of being right, so...

[dtissagirl]

Man, it's a good thing the police were on the scene to take evidence and statements and ask pertinent questions of witnesses, because if we had to rely on Oliver Queen to solve this mystery...oh wait.

I was just reading this thread and thinking, "if only Quentin could interrogate that dude, I bet he'd get way less vagueness and weird pronouns." Alas.

The more I think about Laurel's decision to not tell Quentin -- and she had the perfect opportunity in the hospital scene -- the more it looks to me not only like a dumb character choice, but a big waste of storyline possibilities. They decided that the mystery of season 3A is a murder. They have a character who's a Police Captain, and another who's a DA. They're both related to the victim, so right there you have two highly motivated characters put into action. Arrow has always had a procedural aspect to it anyway, so it's not like having Lance and Laurel use real world investigative skills would deviate from the show's structure or anything. But instead, they're legit choosing not to turn those resources into story beats because... reasons? It's just plain weird story breaking if you ask me.

But then, in this episode Laurel goes into Ted Grant's gym looking for a dude that I'm assuming was relevant to her day job, except that thread of story is completely forgotten once the Learn to Fight! anvil drops, so maybe these writers really do not want to write lawyer!Laurel and cop!Quentin AT ALL. For reasons I cannot fathom, since they GAVE THEM actual jobs in the first place. Ugh.

[statsgirl]

It's making less and less sense to me that they didn't tell Quentin because with Nyssa's arrival, he's probably going to find out now anyway. So for a mere two episodes, they threw all that storyline and investigating away.

[apinknightmare]

It's making less and less sense to me that they didn't tell Quentin because with Nyssa's arrival, he's probably going to find out now anyway. So for a mere two episodes, they threw all that storyline and investigating away.

 

Unless Laurel somehow convinces Nyssa not to tell Quentin. But that doesn't seem likely since we know the three of them have a scene together, and what would they tell him if they don't tell him she's dead? That she got kidnapped? God, that would be gross.

 

I wonder what's going to happen when Oliver finds out that she didn't tell Quentin. Doesn't he think she told him? But then, wouldn't he have wondered why Quentin didn't show up to their stupid secret burial? Was this mentioned in the show and I blocked it?

[statsgirl]

No, there was no explanation on screen as to why Quentin didn't show up. If Oliver asked, we didn't see the answer.

 

Did they keep Quentin out of the loop so that Oliver and Laurel could share scenes comforting each other? They already had that during "Sara".

[dtissagirl]

No, they didn't mention anything in the episode. I'm assumming Oliver knows Laurel didn't tell Quentin because Amell said [in the set interview last Friday] that Oliver respects Laurel's choice in not telling her father. UGH

[apinknightmare]

No, they didn't mention anything in the episode. I'm assumming Oliver knows Laurel didn't tell Quentin because Amell said [in the set interview last Friday] that Oliver respects Laurel's choice in not telling her father. UGH

Ew, what?!

 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE, OMG THEY ARE ALL TERRIBLE HUMAN BEINGS

 

(talking about the characters, not the actors, because the all caps doesn't make that clear)

Edited October 25, 2014 by apinknightmare

[dtissagirl]

I'm so disgusted by this entire storyline. I think I'm at the point that I wish Felicity WOULD meddle. Anonymous tip to Lance, "Sara's grave's been dug recently, what's up with that" just so he could be able to DO HIS JOB, which would in turn honor his daughter's memory way better than Laurel and Oliver are doing right now.

[apinknightmare]

I'm so disgusted by this entire storyline. I think I'm at the point that I wish Felicity WOULD meddle. Anonymous tip to Lance, "Sara's grave's been dug recently, what's up with that" just so he could be able to DO HIS JOB, which would in turn honor his daughter's memory way better than Laurel and Oliver are doing right now.

 

I'm disgusted by it too, and it legit surprises me that there are people who think this is in any way okay (I actually had to comment on a Tumblr post that someone wrote saying Laurel was being kind to Quentin by keeping it from him. He may be startlingly unobservant sometimes, but what exactly is he going to think when Sara never, EVER contacts him or comes home again? He's bound to notice that. Is he going to be grateful that he didn't get the closure of seeing her body, of getting to bury her properly? if the show goes there, good lord. Help me). 

 

Like...what is the endgame for this storyline, I can't even tell. To drive a wedge between Quentin and Laurel so she can throw herself into her "training" and he can fall back into his addiction? To make us feel compassion for Laurel for being such a "good" daughter? To give Oliver a reason to chase Sara's killer for half a season since (and I know I'm being generous here) the SCPD might be able to get the ball rolling sooner? Is it to further Laurel's drive to be BC? Because last ep her desire to become her sister had nothing to do with Sara being murdered and everything to do with her being dead. I don't even know anymore.

[olicityfan25]

I hope Felicity or Roy band together to tell Quentin. That they couldn't hold it in anymore and wanted to tell him the truth.

 

Because Laurel and Oliver are way too self-serving this season imo. It's really leaving a bad taste.

[statsgirl]

I call it the Laurel Effect.  She seems to bring out his douchiness every time.

[apinknightmare]

I just really hope he meant that Oliver is respecting her decision as in he doesn't agree but he's not going to interfere, not that he respects her decision as in her actual decision-making process because that is for real terrible.

[catrox14]

Oliver might be self-serving but he has been a hero and he has saved lives so I'll give him a pass. Laurel has been self-serving from minute one on this show and she still is.  

 

Her becoming BC isn't to help other people not right now.

Edited October 25, 2014 by catrox14

[statsgirl]

I'm telling myself it's just a guy thing, that he doesn't want to get all into messy relationships.  Quentin is Laurel's father and she made a decision and Oliver has enough on his plate without fighting her on that.

 

It's interesting though that Corto Maltese seemed to be all about Laurel's bad decision-making, going after the guy when she didn't know if the girlfriend was a liar or not, going after him physically with a bat when she couldn't defend herself and if she got caught her career would be over again, and then having Quentin show her that it's much more simply and elegantly done by using his other misdeeds to have him arrested.

 

I wonder if they will show that this was the wrong thing for her to do too, or just hand wave it away as her love for her father.

[dtissagirl]

I just really hope he meant that Oliver is respecting her decision as in he doesn't agree but he's not going to interfere, not that he respects her decision as in her actual decision-making process because that is for real terrible.

Yeah, I think that's what he meant. Oliver doesn't agree with Laurel, but he's respecting her stance, and he's not gonna tell Lance himself.

I don't want to watch the interview again to be sure, but I actually got the impression from Amell that

Quentin still doesn't know by 309.

I HOPE I GOT THAT WRONG OMG.

Edited to spoiler tag, sorry. It's the middle of the night for me, loopiness abound.

Edited October 25, 2014 by dancingnancy

[apinknightmare]

Yeah, I think that's what he meant. Oliver doesn't agree with Laurel, but he's respecting her stance, and he's not gonna tell Lance himself.

I don't want to watch the interview again to be sure, but I actually got the impression from Amell that Quentin still doesn't know by 309. I HOPE I GOT THAT WRONG OMG.

 

OMG I HOPE SO TOO

 

I thought for sure he'd find out this next ep, because if not what kind of tangled web do they weave to explain why Nyssa's there?

[olicityfan25]

Oliver might be self-serving but he has been a hero and he has saved lives so I'll give him a pass. Laurel has been self-serving from minute one on this show and she still is.  

 

Her becoming BC isn't to help other people not right now.

Yes that's right. I just mean Oliver seems even more self-serving when Laurel is involved. Not including not training her to fight. In other things. I can't put it into words right now. I'm just furious lol.

[BkWurm1]

Dialogue makes it clear to me that Sara is the one the guy saw and was talking about. Oliver describes her, he says he didn't kill her. He says this lady showed up and told him to leave. Then when he says "whoever you're looking for, I wouldn't want to be him". If "this lady" that showed up wasn't blonde hair and black mask then it's possble she could have been the blonde hair's killer, and I think the guy wouldn't have said "him".

 

For me it is the dialogue that brings up the question.  Oliver describes Sara and the guy says he didn't kill her.  The next logical thing for him to say (and for the writers to have him say) would be SHE showed up and told him to leave.  Choosing to say "This lady" implies to me that it is a new character being introduced into the mix.    He did refer to the killer as a him, but IMO that was because he was putting himself in the killer's position.  He was really glad he wasn't him and the him would be used since the guy is a guy so IMO the use of the male pronoun had nothing to do with any kind of guess about the killer, just a reflection of how the guy sees himself.

 

Of course it could be a throw away line but I'm leaning toward it having meaning.  Maybe Waller through one of her other operatives?  Perhaps one Oliver has already met? 

 

On a totally different subject:

 

am a terrible person for laughing when Laurel got knocked out...but it was comedy, I am sure. 

 

I thought the people over on ONTD were joking about this, but I guess not. Sorry, I have a thing about people laughing at women or people in general getting beat to the point of hospitalization....whether they're a real person or a fictional one. ....but humor is a subjective thing, I suppose.

 

 

The problem with Laurel’s scene when she gets beat up is IMO that the whole thing is so ridiculous and over the top from tracking him down in a dark alley, to the ski mask, to the baseball bat and culminating in the monologuing, (not to mention most of her reason for being there was not to save the woman, but to have an excuse to hurt someone) that by the time he hit her, I was so pulled out of the scene that I had zero investment in watching a couple of actors pretend “drama!!!!” and only salvaged my time in watching it by being pleased that the script didn’t call for Laurel to be the bestest fighter ever! 

 

When I was watching, I wasn’t watching even some fictional version of a woman hitting a guy and in turn getting beat down.  It wasn’t "a story" in the sense that I found myself completely unable to suspend my disbelief over that scene at all.  It might as well have been kids yelling Whap! and Pow! and Ack!  Less than that because even then the kids would at least be buying into their narrative.  For me everything screamed “This is not real on any level!” which is why I have no guilt over my reaction.  I didn’t laugh but I might have done a fist pump along with shouting YES!!