S03.E11: Midnight City

[apinknightmare]

OK, so the show is saying that despite the massive sword wound to his gut, Oliver lived because of the snow, cold, magic herbs (same ones from the Island or are they Tatsu's?) and some sutures. Wow! Well, not the most ridiculous thing in this episode. (Random thought: Tatsu was rocking some fierce eyeshadow. Love that she doesn't let being in a remote area detract from her makeup game).

 

Also, Felicity asking to borrow Ray's helicopter is hilarious. It really made me laugh, which is a surprise because at that point in the episode my jaw was hurting from clenching and gritting my teeth.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Oliver needs to go back to Lian Yu, harvest the shit out of them, and sell them here as some kind of acai berry miracle pill like Ron Popeil. He'd make all his money back and then some. 

 

And yeah, I much prefer Ray and Felicity in scenes like the helicopter borrowing sequence. Him telling her he wants to make the suit to protect her? Vomit city.

[BkWurm1]

I liked this episode.  I liked the Laurel and Felicity scene.  For anyone that knows me, that is saying something. 

 

Felicity in the first half of the episode was walking around like a zombie.  Even after being attacked at City Hall she was barely aware of what was going on.  Quentin tells her that Sara is back in town and of course she's surprised and she tells him she's been living under a rock and I think that's true, she's going through the motions of being alive but not living. 

 

Back at PI she's patching up Palmer (girl, it's only a scratch on his cheek) and he tells her that she's right about revenge for Anna not being a good reason for what he wants to do and that it's become about protecting the people he cares about to which Felicity says, you mean the people of Starling City and he says no, you.  And she gives the barest of smiles.  There was no hard core flirting, just a moment of closeness (literally since she was dabbing at his face). 

 

Next we see her is when she goes to Laurel to talk some sense into her.  Felicity is still consumed by grief and Laurel is going on and on about how she thought it would hurt less and blaming herself for the Alderman dying (actually not her fault at all unless we count maybe Dig would have done a better job - Brick killed the Alderman in retaliation for Roy's arrow)  Then Laurel says Felicity doesn't have to say anything, she's done with the mask and that she's not strong enough to fight for her sister.  Felicity, with a tear running down her face suggests that what they are doing is maybe not for the ones they lost but to protect the ones that are still living.  Cue foot in mouth Laurel - "I thought you quit"

 

They cut away but then jump back to that scene (presumably with no time lapse) and Quentin is calling.  The mayor has ordered him to pull all police so he needs Canary and anyone else to save the day (Felicity having told him the Arrow was gone)  Then Felicity says, looking at Laurel, she knows how to get a hold of Canary. 

 

Yes she makes the voice changer thing and yes, it's unneeded because Lance would have told Felicity anything she wanted but I do think that Felicity was shown to be barely coming awake and I am totally going with it was Laurel's idea and Felicity is too numb to question the request.  Later, with Laurel standing there pretending to be her sister, Felicity had nothing to do with that at least. 

[Orion]

I was watching trends on Twitter all night because A. I wasn't watching and B. I wanted to see if it trended.

 

Red Arrow trended for about 10 minutes

Laurel was on and off for about 15 minutes

Laurel and Felicity held steady for about 15 minutes

Canary was on for about 5 minutes

and the justice line trended WW for about 2 minutes.

[jay741982]

I liked this episode.  I liked the Laurel and Felicity scene.  For anyone that knows me, that is saying something. 

 

Felicity in the first half of the episode was walking around like a zombie.  Even after being attacked at City Hall she was barely aware of what was going on.  Quentin tells her that Sara is back in town and of course she's surprised and she tells him she's been living under a rock and I think that's true, she's going through the motions of being alive but not living. 

 

Back at PI she's patching up Palmer (girl, it's only a scratch on his cheek) and he tells her that she's right about revenge for Anna not being a good reason for what he wants to do and that it's become about protecting the people he cares about to which Felicity says, you mean the people of Starling City and he says no, you.  And she gives the barest of smiles.  There was no hard core flirting, just a moment of closeness (literally since she was dabbing at his face). 

 

Next we see her is when she goes to Laurel to talk some sense into her.  Felicity is still consumed by grief and Laurel is going on and on about how she thought it would hurt less and blaming herself for the Alderman dying (actually not her fault at all unless we count maybe Dig would have done a better job - Brick killed the Alderman in retaliation for Roy's arrow)  Then Laurel says Felicity doesn't have to say anything, she's done with the mask and that she's not strong enough to fight for her sister.  Felicity, with a tear running down her face suggests that what they are doing is maybe not for the ones they lost but to protect the ones that are still living.  Cue foot in mouth Laurel - "I thought you quit"

 

They cut away but then jump back to that scene (presumably with no time lapse) and Quentin is calling.  The mayor has ordered him to pull all police so he needs Canary and anyone else to save the day (Felicity having told him the Arrow was gone)  Then Felicity says, looking at Laurel, she knows how to get a hold of Canary. 

 

Yes she makes the voice changer thing and yes, it's unneeded because Lance would have told Felicity anything she wanted but I do think that Felicity was shown to be barely coming awake and I am totally going with it was Laurel's idea and Felicity is too numb to question the request.  Later, with Laurel standing there pretending to be her sister, Felicity had nothing to do with that at least.

I noticed how Felicity was walking around Zombie-Like for a while she was missing her Oliver :( and it was like she came alive as the Episode went on. They didn't say it but I would like to think she thought Oliver would've wanted her to continue but that's the Shipper in me

[foreverevolving]

Soooo... Wish i had my computer than my ipad (soon it's fonally getting fixed- yay!) so I could post a few gif's to share with you how i feel about this episode..

As a substitute I would like to recommend locating my posts on the "The Calm" and "Sara" threads, they'll give you an idea.

Meanwhile:

I can't even... It's official they are slowly trying to character assassin Felicity, I have no other explanation besides that. Because what she did tonight? That was not Felicity!! Seriously it's as if Fakanary and Felicity switched bodies, it seriously felt like I was watching "Freaky Friday".

Also i hope they understand that this entire arc is literally doing a full on character assassination to the character of Black Canary and i fear that once Arrow is over and done that we will see that character portrayed on our screen again anytime soon or ever again. (Nice job guys)

Roy is going to tell Thea the truth right? RIGHT?!? Or she's gonna find out... I just got that vibe but then again I think i'm grasping at straws. Just: #TellThea!! (Seriously we need to trend this on twitter) along side: #TellLance!!!!

I was literally in tears. Angry tears!! every time Lienary (lie & canary) pretended to be Sara.

Also, I counted at least 6 frustrated sighs, 2 eye rolls & They killed Sara for that?!?!, and one WTF!! All from yours truly, i have also sighed 3 times while writing this.

For the (maybe) first time since the season premiere I wanted to shot an arrow at the ep's. I'm giving the show until the end of the season, but right now? I am sad to say this show is slowly moving down to join my "summer binge watch list".

Also the HK kid is totally gonna bite the dust.. So so obvious.

On the plus:

The dream sequence, Hong Kong, the mountain scenes and any scene with brick were the highlight of the episode.

KC kind of did okay in the non fighting scenes, either that or i just no longer care that much so it looks okay. Girl still needs to stop using Botox or whatever it is she's doing, but whatever.

I now officially become fearful of what may happen to The Flash. Just..

Edited January 29, 2015 by foreverevolving

[jay741982]

Soooo... Wish i had my computer so i could post a few Gif's....

I can't even... It's official they are slowly trying to character assassin Felicity, I have no other explanation besides that. Because what she did tonight? That was not Felicity!! Seriously it's as if Fakanary and Felicity switched bodies, it seriously felt like I was watching "Freaky Friday".

Also i hope they understand that this entire arc is literally doing a full on character assassination to the character of Black Canary and i fear that once Arrow is over and done that we will see that character portrayed on our screen again anytime soon or ever again. (Nice job guys)

Roy is going to tell Thea the truth right? RIGHT?!? Or she's gonna find out... I just got that vibe but then again I think i'm grasping at straws. Just: #TellThea!! (Seriously we need to trend this on twitter) along side: #TellLance!!!!

I was literally in tears. Angry tears!! every time Lienary (lie & canary) pretended to be Sara.

Also, I counted at least 6 frustrated sighs, 2 eye rolls & They killed Sara for that?!?!, and one WTF!! All from yours truly, i have also sighed 3 times while writing this.

For the (maybe) first time since the season premiere I wanted to shot an arrow at the ep's. I'm giving the show until the end of the season, but right now? I am sad to say this show is slowly moving down to join my "summer binge watch list".

Also the HK kid is totally gonna bite the dust.. So so obvious.

On the plus:

The dream sequence, Hong Kong, the mountain scenes and any scene with brick were the highlight of the episode.

KC kind of did okay in the non fighting scenes, either that or i just no longer care that much so it looks okay. Girl still needs to stop using Botox or whatever it is she's doing, but whatever.

I now officially become fearful of what may happen to The Flash. Just..

I don't see character assassination on Felicity I saw a woman who is missing Oliver Walking around like a Zombie for half the Episode then starting to wake up. I didn't like the Lance thing but I think she's not thinking clearly She lost a man she deeply loves

[apinknightmare]

I liked this episode.  I liked the Laurel and Felicity scene.  For anyone that knows me, that is saying something. 

 

Same. I liked it enough - it's not something I'll ever watch again though. Laurel was comically bad at vigilante-ing at times, and comically good at it. I'm not sure what exactly I expected since it's half struggle and half Insta-Canary. It is what it is and I'm not going to nitpick too much because it's happening and nothing can be done about it. And I don't even consider Felicity helping Laurel with the modulator propping, because it didn't make Laurel look good or more capable. It was just baffling, because like you wrote, they didn't need to do it - he would've given Felicity the information if she'd called as herself  - he knows she works with Roy. I've written this before and I'm standing firm in my belief - I think they're going so far with this because Sara is legit coming back. How or why I don't know, but I really think it's gonna happen. It's a shame they're making everyone look like shit in the process of whatever it is they're doing though.

Edited January 29, 2015 by apinknightmare

[kismet]

So its about 1 hour after the show finished... and I am still VERY ANGRY with the writers for continuing to Lie to Quention. How many ways do they mean to break his heart? Its one thing to pretend she's not around, its a complete travesty to lie & manipulate him using a voice modulator & pretending to be alive. Seriously, I still cannot get over how cruel that was to do to him... Is there no one that sees that this lie is only going to make the reveal that much worse. If he wasn't strong enough to handle it earlier, how can they imagine he'll be ok with it later, after he finds out all their manipulation & lies. It is just an EPIC FAIL on all levels emotional, intellectual, logical and entirely unrealistic. There is no good way this part of the story ends...

 

Other than that I didn't hate the rest of the show. Thea showed some spunk & demanded the truth which was refreshing. Malcolm lied to her by omission which was more of the same. At least it seems like she knows something is up so that is good. Laurel was likable for parts, glad they did make her stumble a bit. Roy is growing on me, not bad epi for him. Diggle was underutilized which is a waste. Liked the vodka moment tho. The flashbacks for once were good and frankly more interesting than the main show. I loved Maseo, Tatsu & Oliver. They could have done the whole episode in flashback or on the mountain and I would have been happy. Oliver's wig this episode looked a million times better that the new Canary wig.

 

Big things now:

The dream/kiss/nightmare - phenomenal! Loved it. Go glad I made it home from work in time to see it.

 

Post-reseurrection Oliver - So when he's talking to Maseo about still being able to have a life. Tatsu still loving him. Im yelling from my couch "oliver ru listening to yourself?" He needs to take to heart some of his own spoken words. We need more of this philosophical Oliver. SA nailed just back from the dead.

 

Raylicity - Oh plz NO! I just don't see them together. And their small intimate moments of chemistry to me completely diminished their characters. They should have kept it platonic & professional. All the sudden Ray does not want to do this for Anna, but wants to do it for Felicity. Plz! Felicity all the sudden is getting all misty eyed at crazy eyes Plz. Both of those ridiculous. I get it writers you want us to believe that people are fighting for their loved ones that are alive and not dead, I get it so stop killing them off! I could have taken the heart to heart between R&F if it had a more sincere & believable tone. If they want to stall Olicity, stall it. But plz dont make me sit thru another absurd love triangle.

 

Felicity & Laurel Scene -  I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It was nice to see them sharing a belieable & heartfelt moment. I was sad for both of them. Their connection in the scene made so much sense & was heartbreaking in a way to see strong women realistically struggling to cope with aftermath of unexpected loss & suffering. Then of course they had to completely wreck all the good work they did with those characters, by making us watch the next step in Quentin's betrayal & manipulation. So not cool writers. Im MAD AS HELL at them.

[statsgirl]

Did Diggle and Felicity even talk to each other?

Not really, as far as I can tell Diggle talked to Laurel and shared some of Oliver's vodka with Roy in a bonding moment but the only time he and Felicity spoke is when she brought Laurel back to the lair and announced to Diggle they (she and Laurel) were back on the mission.

[Password]

Such a shame I really liked the Feliggle friendship. Deep sigh.

[apinknightmare]

Post-reseurrection Oliver - So when he's talking to Maseo about still being able to have a life. Tatsu still loving him. Im yelling from my couch "oliver ru listening to yourself?" He needs to take to heart some of his own spoken words. We need more of this philosophical Oliver. SA nailed just back from the dead.

 

I know, I *loved* back from the dead Oliver. He gave me the warm fuzzies and was also really nice to look at.

[quarks]

Red Arrow briefly trended. Felicity and Laurel briefly trended after Felicity decided that she and Laurel needed to help protect the people they care about.  Laurel very briefly trended after her decision to go after the aldermen got one of the aldermen killed, something that might have had more meaning if that alderman had had more than a couple of lines. Interestingly, however, I think this is the first time this season where #Arrow  didn't trend, and nothing else did - not Black Canary, not Tatsu, not Chase, or if they did, it was a blink and you'll miss it moment.  Arrow generally tends to trend in the last five minutes of the show, and had at least one trend worthy moment - the DJ reveal - so I'm wondering if viewers tuned out midway through. The first half of the episode was pretty rough viewing, what with the bloody kiss and Team Arrow getting someone killed.

 

To be entirely fair to Felicity and Laurel before I jump on them, I did like two things: I liked their scene together where they agreed that they still had people to protect that they cared about, and I liked their bit where they did a nice pep talk for Team Arrow. I also cracked up that in the end Felicity was all like, ok, I'll enable everyone's vigilanting here. And now, bad things:

 

1. Holy crap, that early Ray/Felicity scene where she was patching him up. How do I count the mistakes here?

 

First, as I think someone else pointed out, why the hell did they go from the Mayor's Office back to QC for first aid and then back to the Mayor's Office? That entire scene could have easily been filmed in the corner of the mayor's set. For that matter, why didn't they have a paramedic or ER check Ray? It's one thing when Felicity patches up Oliver - he's doing illegal stuff. Ray was just attacked by Brick's goons. And I'm assuming Ray has some sort of gold plate health insurance.

 

I know the Felicity patches up Ray was supposed to be reminiscent of Felicity patching up Oliver. And that would have worked well had it not happened minutes after we watched Oliver dreaming about her if not exactly positively, with a cut to his extremely wounded chest.  Ray has a small cut on his head that won't leave a scar (because this show.)  Oliver has had much worse - and Felicity's seen it. To be completely fair to Laurel, Laurel had a worse wound this episode.  In terms of getting us to think Ray is a hero, this is the exact problem the show had last year when it was trying to gain sympathy for Laurel. No one questioned that Laurel had actual problems. The problem was that she was on a show where everyone's problems were much worse.  In this case, they had Felicity patching up someone with a minor wound and trying to have this played for sympathy when Laurel and Oliver were walking around with worse.

 

And then, the timing of the someone I care about. Yep, I got it, lovely parallels to Oliver's line to Felicity and all that, but beyond the problem that it just added to the feel that Ray is Oliver-lite and someone who needs to hide behind an exosuit, not really a big selling point for the character, holy )(*)(& Ray, she just told you last week that someone who was more than a friend to her died. Last week. This is not the moment to start something.  Not to mention that his original motive for the exosuit was all VENGEANCE IS MINE so where is this protecting people I care about from? Oh, right - the writers wanting someone to inspire Felicity again. Sigh.  I agree that she didn't really flirt back - more came to a realization - but they did have her clutching his arm and so on in the previous scene.

 

If this scene had been moved back, to the later part of the episode, it might have worked.  Or better yet, skipped entirely - let Laurel and Felicity come to their hero realizations on their own. But as it was....auugh.

 

2.  Team Arrow going along with the original voice modulator calling Quentin thing.  Why not just have Felicity do it? Quentin knows Felicity works with the Canary.

 

And now, Laurel:

 

On an encouraging note, this is now two episodes in a row where Laurel has had some nice scenes, which I think is a first. So yay.  And at least the show has sort of given her a reason for suiting up. She does have a point that the Canary has a bit of a reputation in the city, and since Diggle isn't managing/willing to pull off the Arrow impersonation, that's something.

 

And she jumped out of a window on to a ladder dangling from a helicopter. Which...was also something.

 

And she showed some actual regret that the alderman died - one of the first times Laurel has immediately taken responsibility for her own mistakes on this show. Nice. More of that, please.

 

Unfortunately, we have everything else:

 

1. Number of times Laurel fails as a lawyer this episode: Only one, but it's another jawdropper: What the hell was that "I can just charge you with anything I want?" Laurel, you're a freaking ADA, and no, you cannot just charge people with anything you want.  (Unless you join the CIA or I guess ARGUS on this show.)  The guy's attorney can just file one of those habeas corpus things and then sue the hell out of you. I know he's a low life criminal and you were trying to threaten him, but honestly, all you had to do was point out "We're charging you with assault," (legitimate) "and I'm afraid my case load is very very heavy right now," (also legitimate because the DA still seems to be on vacation), "so I'm afraid you may be spending a long time in [dangerous prison] awaiting trial."  No need to fake charges - about six people witnessed the assault!

 

2. Number of times Laurel fails as a vigilante this episode, three: 1, Laurel, rule number one of being a secret vigilante: avoid the damn cameras. (I know, Roy failed there too, but still.). 2, Needing to be rescued by Roy during her first rescue attempt.  3, Getting the alderman killed. This is promising. Sigh.

 

3. Number of times Laurel fails as a human being this episode, one, but again, a biggie: impersonating your sister to maintain a completely unnecessary lie?

 

My head, it hurts.

[jay741982]

Such a shame I really liked the Feliggle friendship. Deep sigh.

Yep it's important to Prop up Laurel and gross Raylicity. Maybe I'm that hardcore of Olicity shipper but their scene where Ray said he only wanted to protect her was gross. I feel I'm gonna be grossed out by Raylicity sex this season am I wrong in wanting her first love scene on this show to be with Oliver? Dammit their relationship is more natural and they love each other deeply. I don't buy her even considering Ray unless Oliver is a huge douche when he comes back UGH this couple is gonna kill me lol

[foreverevolving]

I don't see character assassination on Felicity I saw a woman who is missing Oliver Walking around like a Zombie for half the Episode then starting to wake up. I didn't like the Lance thing but I think she's not thinking clearly She lost a man she deeply loves

The assassination comes with Felicity actually taking part in this crazy Sara's voice pretense that was going on. I could never hate Felicity, but i am sad, because that is just not her. As someone else said, Felicity is all about the truth. This lie? It's not Felicity, and trust me I know and understand first hand how grief over someone can change you completely, but... This doesn't feel right, as they say: something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

[jay741982]

The assassination comes with Felicity actually taking part in this crazy Sara's voice pretense that was going on. I could never hate Felicity, but i am sad, because that is just not her. As someone else said, Felicity is all about the truth. This lie? It's not Felicity, and trust me I know and understand first hand how grief over someone can change you completely, but... This doesn't feel right, as they say: something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

As a big lover of Felicity I hated the lying to Quentin like that too. I'm blaming the writing

[apinknightmare]

The assassination comes with Felicity actually taking part in this crazy Sara's voice pretense that was going on. I could never hate Felicity, but i am sad, because that is just not her. As someone else said, Felicity is all about the truth. This lie? It's not Felicity, and trust me I know and understand first hand how grief over someone can change you completely, but... This doesn't feel right, as they say: something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

 

Yep. The only way I could ever see her agreeing to do something like that is if the fate of the whole city was at risk and they needed information that he would ONLY tell Sara. This was not that information, and I'm so distraught over it. Bleh.

Edited January 29, 2015 by apinknightmare

[pivot]

I'm surprised that Black Canary didn't trend this episode.

I'm not. It didn't trend last week and Laurel is an incredibly unpopular character. I love that Felicity trended though even in an episode where the EPs did everything possible to destroy her character to make the audience like Laurel more. Not gonna happen. MG must be so pissed.

[NoWayOut]

This whole lying to Quentin storyline is infuriating and unnecessary. Why is Felicity enabling Laurel's nonsense? Not one person stop to think, "Hey, this isn't right. Are you sure about this?"?  What's going to happen once Quentin finds out? I can't imagine they'd drag this lie out for 10+ episodes only to have it be resolved within an episode or two after Quentin discovers the truth.

 

Ray telling Felicity that he's doing this for her? No, take it back.

 

This episode was basically them taking my worst case scenarios and magnifying them by 10. Take it all back.

[Sakura12]

Of course they are going to have Laurel be nice to Felicity, the EP's think that a character is nice to Felicity people will suddenly like that character or that scene. From some comments on here it seems they weren't wrong. Same goes for Laurel putting on the costume. 

 

Unless the ratings are really bad for this ep. The EP's got what they wanted. 

[apinknightmare]

This whole lying to Quentin storyline is infuriating and unnecessary. Why is Felicity enabling Laurel's nonsense? Not one person stop to think, "Hey, this isn't right. Are you sure about this?"?  What's going to happen once Quentin finds out? I can't imagine they'd drag this lie out for 10+ episodes only to have it be resolved within an episode or two after Quentin discovers the truth.

 

Quentin's not going to discover the truth, because SARA IS ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

[opus]

Quentin's not going to discover the truth, because SARA IS ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

That kind of is the only rational explanation.

[steelyis]

Tonight's episode was better than last week's. I didn't realize until I saw and enjoyed Team Arrow + Laurel moving on and becoming a new team how much I hate the Oliver Presumed Dead storyline. I can't wait for it to be over.

 

I wasn't crazy about the show using Felicity to prop Laurel, but since Felicity wasn't torn down in the process I can live with it. I HATED what was done to Captain Lance! That was so fucked up I can't even deal with how much fuckery was involved! What the hell, Laurel! Next week looks crazy, so I'm glad Midnight City was a decent watch because I was seriously considering walking away if it had been anything like Left Behind.

[Sakura12]

In my mind Sara never died, she never came back to Starling City and instead sent a lab created clone that she knew would be killed by Malcolm all so she could leave the LOA for good. 

[apinknightmare]

Of course they are going to have Laurel be nice to Felicity, the EP's think that a character is nice to Felicity people will suddenly like that character or that scene. From some comments on here it seems they weren't wrong. Same goes for Laurel putting on the costume. 

 

Unless the ratings are really bad for this ep. The EP's got what they wanted. 

 

Honestly, I could've gotten on board with Laurel in this ep until she worked with Felicity on that stupid ass modulator so she could fool Quentin. I was completely off when she went to visit him as Sara. 

 

But she didn't have any ridiculous lines, she wasn't good, she wasn't terrible. She was laughably bad in a believable way, but she was good enough at fighting that I could believe it would be a little helpful to have her around since they didn't have anyone else, and that she wasn't going to get herself or someone else killed (mostly). My impression of her is probably helped by the fact that I really do want to - if not like her, then at least tolerate her. She was tolerable to me, not necessarily likable. To me, she was still Laurel-esque in her attitude and stubbornness, but she was appropriately taken down a couple pegs when she realized maybe she wasn't so great after all. IDK, maybe because I expected it to be worse I didn't think it was so bad. Which isn't a complement necessarily, I know.

 

The show definitely is a bit off the rails though, and I do think it suffers from Oliver not being around in SC. Two eps was enough, I'm glad he'll be back soon. 

[pivot]

Considering that the actress who plays Sara says she isn't going to come back to Arrow, I think we can rule out Sara being alive.

[ban1o]

For people who didn't watch it, the episode is getting pretty good reviews. It got an A- form avclub and an 8.8 from ign so maybe try it out? Maybe you'll like it lol? 

[KenyaJ]

The assassination comes with Felicity actually taking part in this crazy Sara's voice pretense that was going on. I could never hate Felicity, but i am sad, because that is just not her. As someone else said, Felicity is all about the truth. This lie? It's not Felicity, and trust me I know and understand first hand how grief over someone can change you completely, but... This doesn't feel right, as they say: something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

 

The worst part is that during TCAs, the writers said she was the moral compass of the show, and what they did to Quentin was the complete antithesis of that. I can't even put into words how much I hated it. The writers are smoking crack if they don't realize how problematic those scenes were. I hope Quentin rages on them when he finds out.

[apinknightmare]

Considering that the actress who plays Sara says she isn't going to come back to Arrow, I think we can rule out Sara being alive.

 

It's not like she'd confirm it, especially if it's supposed to be a shock (which it would be). That's the only way it makes sense that they're going so far to keep Quentin from finding out. So until he does (which, watch - he will next ep), I'm keeping my tin hat on.

[SonofaBiscuit]

I find that you can't go by the episode reviews.  The Promise got good reviews too, and that episode was absolute shit (A from the AV Club, and 9.0 from IGN).

Edited January 29, 2015 by SonofaBiscuit

[benteen]

I did like the initial Roy and Laurel scene.

[Sakura12]

That's what my earlier post was about. It seems the EP's know their audience better then we think. All they needed to do was have Laurel be nice to Felicity and wear a costume and kick ass and people will start to like her. Why it took them over 2.5 seasons to put that play into motion is another thing though. 

 

Felicity and Laurel teaming up to trick Quentin and use Sara is a huge factor in me not ever watching this episode. 

[BkWurm1]

Laurel stumbled a bit at the beginning but she was AWESOME.  Diggle stayed behind to work the comms so she could go out with Roy and that's when they failed.

 

True. 

 

Dig staying back at HQ was ridiculous but at that point Laurel is the only one that knew where Brick was …and how did she know?  By blackmailing a henchmen (tell me or I lie and get you sent somewhere that gets you killed)  Nice to know her ethics haven’t changed. As was pointed out upthread, she didn't even need to lie but that's how she roles but virtually everything to do with Laurel is consistently awful and absurd so I was at least happy to have had that one scene where I didn’t hate her.   

 

Of course they are going to have Laurel be nice to Felicity

 

Honestly, she wasn't that nice.  She barely let Felicity talk and at the end of Felicity's very kind speech, she's like, wait, what's this WE protect the ones alive, you quit.  It was very Laurel.  The thing that made it work was I genuinely believed the emotions coming from both of them. EBR knocked that one out of the park with barely saying a word.  It probably was supposed to be Laurel's big speech but it was Felicity's empathy that moved me. 

 

I am choosing to believe her usual good sense and compassion was overcome by her grieving, as evidenced by her monotone voice during those scenes.

 

Agreed

I see the second half as Felicity finding a reason to keep carrying on.  She’s still grieving but she’s reclaimed her purpose but at the same time, I think part of her is a little numb to the possibility that Ray or Laurel might die.  I mean, after Sara and Oliver, nothing is going to be as bad. Otherwise I cant' explain why she'd let Laurel go out.  The only thing I can think of is she's decided the best thing she can do is her best to help them since they are going to go out anyway.  I think her reaction with Ray is a part of her grieving.  It's almost like a bargain, that she' going to do better this time and that will make losing Oliver less impossible to bear?

 

Oliver's wig this episode looked a million times better that the new Canary wig.

 

Best his hair has looked in the flashbacks. 

 

Post-reseurrection Oliver - So when he's talking to Maseo about still being able to have a life. Tatsu still loving him. Im yelling from my couch "oliver ru listening to yourself?" He needs to take to heart some of his own spoken words. We need more of this philosophical Oliver. SA nailed just back from the dead.

 

 

It's interesting, there has been so much spec that Oliver will come back all doubled down on I can only be the Arrow but that is the opposite of what I saw tonight.  Makes me concerned that Felicity will be the one being irrational when he returns

 

Plz! Felicity all the sudden is getting all misty eyed at crazy eyes Plz.

 

I did see a glimmer of emotion but the timing of everything felt more like she was touched by the idea behind Ray's words.  Also, her giving him the quantum processor (maybe she was working on it in the Lair in her spare time? Or maybe she'd figured it out earlier but wasn't going to give it to him?) came off like a reward for letting her use the helicopter. 

[benteen]

This line from the IGN review of Midnight City made me laugh...

 

 

Thanks to Felicity’s handy voice modulator and the fact that Quentin apparently has the eyesight of Mister Magoo, Laurel was able to pull it off?

 

[steelyis]

Of course they are going to have Laurel be nice to Felicity, the EP's think that a character is nice to Felicity people will suddenly like that character or that scene. From some comments on here it seems they weren't wrong. Same goes for Laurel putting on the costume. 

 

Unless the ratings are really bad for this ep. The EP's got what they wanted. 

 

It half worked on me. The finagling was so obvious it was actually kind of adorable how blatant it was. Still, I figure since the show insists on making Laurel = Canary happen, no matter what, then I prefer they do it without hurting the characters around her that I do like and care about. Besides helping Laurel keep Captain Lance in the dark about Sara's death no member of Team Arrow was harmed in the making of the new Black Canary, so I'm gonna call Midnight City a win and count my blessings.

[Sakura12]

To be fair Quentin could've been seeing Laurel's stunt double who may look a bit more like Sara. 

[apinknightmare]

Honestly, she wasn't that nice.  She barely let Felicity talk and at the end of Felicity's very kind speech, she's like, wait, what's this WE protect the ones alive, you quit.  It was very Laurel.  The thing that made it work was I genuinely believed the emotions coming from both of them. EBR knocked that one out of the park with barely saying a word.  It probably was supposed to be Laurel's big speech but it was Felicity's empathy that moved me. 

 

She really wasn't very nice. And it's weird, because they managed to keep her very Laurel throughout, and while I wasn't actively rooting for her, I wasn't rooting against her either, and I did get a few laughs when she did dumb things. She didn't ruin the ep for me, which I expected, so I'm counting it as a win.

[opus]

Has anyone speculated that maybe Felicty just wants to see Laurel get killed?

[BkWurm1]

This episode was basically them taking my worst case scenarios and magnifying them by 10. Take it all back.

 

I get that. 

 

-Ray expressing further romantic interest in Felicity

-Laurel being Insta Canary (a stumble and one bad op do not make her a failure.  She fricking jumped thru a window and grabbed a ladder mid air.  Sigh.  So not at all believable. )

-Making Quentin think Sara is alive and Felicity having a hand in it 

 

All things I was SOOOOO not wanting to see.  I guess I was prepared though.  Ray, I'm still girding myself for even worse stuff to come, Laurel as Canary has been being shoved down our throats since Unthinkable, and Quentin being deliberately fooled into thinking Sara is a live - I've been expecting Laurel to pretend to be her sister since even before Sara died.  When she died I expected it to be the reason why she put the suit on in the first place (and though horrible. would still be more realistic than just throwing it  on and thinking she could do this now)

 

I don't really see what Laurel did now as worse than what she's been doing the whole time.  It's all terrible and it's all an active lie and it's proof that it's not Lance's heart that we have to worry about, it's his eyes.  How anyone could mistake Laurel for Sara is beyond me. 

 

Like I said, for that most part, I just consider this latest lie by Laurel as part of what she's already done wrong, but I guess even I was horrified by the Daddies coming from Sara/Laurel.  I guess I found some comfort that at least Laurel felt awful while she was doing it.  Of course the cynic in my wonders if she's just bummed that Sara and her daddy have a ...let's call it a sweeter relationship, than Laurel has with her dad. 

Edited January 29, 2015 by BkWurm1

[jay741982]

Has anyone speculated that maybe Felicty just wants to see Laurel get killed?

That would be hilarious!!

[Orion]

Picture recap for Midnight City - the person who does these used the tags "Sorry this is so short these episodes are so bad"

 

http://prattschris.tumblr.com/post/109457503600

 

[NoWayOut]

Has anyone speculated that maybe Felicty just wants to see Laurel get killed?

 

It's official. Felicity confirmed to be the big bad of season three. I knew she was up to no good after her turning off the light stunt in the previous episode.

[BkWurm1]

Went to rewatch the dream sequence and noticed some of the new scenes used beneath Oliver's 5 years in hell, mission to save city, others have joined my fight speech.  One of them has Mama Smaok in her bright blue dress in the background.  That made me happy. 

 

Now on to why I was rewatching that dream sequence.  EBR replicated her performance but SA looked and sounded soooo odd.  He smiled a little while saying he wouldn't be going to fight Ra's if he didn't think he could win and it just took me totally out of the moment the first time around.  The pacing still seems rushed and again he's smiling so that freaks me out lol, (maybe used deliberately so we know this can't be real) but on second view, (and third and forth and fifth...) it is a really sweet moment, maybe Oliver regretting not being with her in the first place?

 

I wonder the significance of Oliver once AGAIN saying that he loves her.  This time it's not two things he knows, he's sure of one thing, that he loves Felicity.  Sorry sis, lol. 

Edited January 29, 2015 by BkWurm1

[kismet]

The more they keep Quentin in the dark, the more concerned I am for his longevity on the show. I have this sinking feeling in my gut that  he will never find out until his death moments. I believe that it will be Sara that comes to him in a vision as he is dying and asks him to join her. Think about it... this would be the perfect opportunity to further LL in the BC. Now she is honoring her father & her sister both tragically torn from her. If that doesn't motivate her to get some serious training, as well as develop some more serious emotional hiccups, I don't know what will. Its the perfect tragic punctuation mark on their arc, leading to LL heading out of town for more training likely from Nyssa. Maybe she'll even join LoA she'll be so emotional devoid.

 

Second rationale behind this theory is it will give the writer absolutely no culpability or need to defend the horrible manipulation and lies they tormented Quentin with. Because really can you ever see him forgiving them? Maybe for the lying & misdirection before. But after the phone call & the shadowy staircase. No Way, can't see it! So if he doesn't dies, I think we're gonna see a return of the broken man w/ addiction problems reeking havoc in SC.

 

I love Det. Quentin Lance! He deserves so much more than this b**s**t. I do not want to see him off the show, I just wish I didn't fear so much for his character this season. The actor is so great with his interactions. You could tell that he cared about Felicity and her reaction to the Arrow. I believe that had the city not been falling apart again, he would have tried to speak to her more and help her. He was so surrogate father, paternalistic uncle in that moment. It broke my heart, to see how much potential his character could bring as a trusted elder to the younger crew. Which even made my heart hurt more when Felicity of all people helped betray him in such a cruel manner.

 

Lastly, if he is a fragile as LL & TA think - how does sheltering him from the truth help him in any way? The truth hurts - but finding out that you were robbed of months of honesty and given an opportunity to properly grieve for his daughter the 2nd time - well thats gonna shatter the strongest of men. He should have been given the opportunity to be at the funeral of his daughter, esp considering the tragic way he lost her the first time. How does nobody on TA, LL or in the writer's room see how emotionally corrupt this story line of lying to him for 12+ episodes? Alright, maybe I could give them 1 or 2 to make the mistake. But not now, Im not sure I'll ever forgive them for this atrocity & I definitely never forget.

[apinknightmare]

Went to rewatch the dream sequence and noticed some of the new scenes used beneath Oliver's 5 years in hell, mission to save city, others have joined my fight speech.  One of them has Mama Smaok in her bright blue dress in the background.  That made me happy. 

 

Now on to why I was rewatching that dream sequence.  EBR replicated her performance but SA looked and sounded soooo odd.  He smiled a little while saying he wouldn't be going to fight Ra's if he didn't think he could win and it just took me totally out of the moment the first time around.  The pacing still seems rushed and again he's smiling so that freaks me out lol, (maybe used deliberately so we know this can't be real) but on second view, (and third and forth and fifth...) it is a really sweet moment, maybe Oliver regretting not being with her in the first place?

 

I wonder the significance of Oliver once AGAIN saying that he loves her.  This time it's not two things he knows, he's sure of one thing, that he loves Felicity.  Sorry sis, lol. 

 

Even though we saw Oliver when he woke up and everything he said then made it seem like he'd come back to Starling City ready to live, I really do think there's some significance there in him thinking that loving Felicity and having a life will keep him from doing what he needs to do to get the job done (dreaming that he didn't go to save Thea because he stayed with her). This is why I'm so conflicted on what I think is going to happen when he comes back. He sounded like he'd be ready to fight for a life for himself, but that dream made me think he was still afraid to do that.

Edited January 29, 2015 by apinknightmare

[wonderwall]

Picture recap for Midnight City - the person who does these used the tags "Sorry this is so short these episodes are so bad"

 

http://prattschris.tumblr.com/post/109457503600

Lmao, she asked me if she was being that obvious about her disdain, and yeah, it's pretty obvious :p Then again, she doesn't like Laurel, hates Ray, and has no interest in Roy or whatever. So she's pretty much on the same boat as most of us.

[olicityfan25]

I guess the people who said that they were going to do a remake with Laurel on how Oliver/Sara/Roy/Nyssa LoA in 2x23 made that heroes formation to take on the bad guys. They are doing it again in 3x12. barf

[BkWurm1]

Thea - FINALLY Thea has a little control of her life.  I'm telling myself that the real reason why she's not running with Dear Old Dad is she is waiting to hear from Oliver but I suppose she is also feeling way over confident about DoD's abilities.  It was a nice moment when Thea is telling Malcolm she is not scared, they should be scared of us and Malcolm just gets this look on his face of just pure hell yeah.  Part pride but also a big part watch out Ra's. 

 

--Back to the dream sequence - we see how horrified Felicity is by the blood pouring out of his mouth (a well timed end to that kiss, may I say).  Maybe the point of the dream is him not wanting to put Felicity through all this again? 

[SmallScreenDiva]

I wish they made better use of that dream sequence instead of just showing ... well, I'm not exactly sure what it was supposed to show us. Regret on Oliver's part for leaving Felicity, I guess? I think the dream would have worked better if it were shown as part of Oliver's fight to return to the land of the living (not that he entirely left it). Then Tatsu's line about his will to live would have had a bit more support. But they decided to tell us things again, instead of showing.

[BkWurm1]

The more they keep Quentin in the dark, the more concerned I am for his longevity on the show. I have this sinking feeling in my gut that  he will never find out until his death moments. I believe that it will be Sara that comes to him in a vision as he is dying and asks him to join her.

 

I had started to hope they were dropping the "heart condition" storyline since we've had example after example of him constantly being in extreme high stress situations but the moment Felicity asked how his heart was, mine plummeted.  Unless they drop him in a Lazarus Pit...oh they could do that!!!  After all Laurel can't take losing anyone else (Oliver, lol doesn't bother her I guess)   Now I'm rooting for that because otherwise a heart condition on any tv show is just a death sentence waiting to be carried out.  :(

[quarks]

but at that point Laurel is the only one that knew where Brick was …and how did she know?  By blackmailing a henchmen (tell me or I lie and get you sent somewhere that gets you killed)  Nice to know her ethics haven’t changed. As was pointed out upthread, she didn't even need to lie

 

 

My bolding, since this is still getting me.

 

They already had the guy booked on assault charges.  There were at least six, maybe seven extremely credible witnesses there. One was the mayor. One was a billionaire. One was the police chief.  Getting a judge to agree to deny bail and toss the guy into jail for a few months while awaiting trial - and then delaying the trial for whatever reason - would not have been difficult. I mean, in real life, they're just getting around to jury selection for that Boston Marathon guy, and that happened in April 2013.  All she had to do was point out that she could choose which jail he'd be in while awaiting trial.

 

(edited to get the correct month for the Boston Marathon.)

Edited January 29, 2015 by quarks