S03.E18: Public Enemy

[Chaser]

What was the Doctor Who reference by Felicity? I keep seeing it mentioned on Tumblr.

[InsertWordHere]

What was the Doctor Who reference by Felicity? I keep seeing it mentioned on Tumblr.

She listed the fact that Ray's seen all 35 seasons of Doctor Who and "looks like a Disney prince"  as reasons why he should be the perfect man.

[Password]

...she did not! Have mercy.

[MostlyC]

Hey folks,   If you haven't seen the episode please don't ask for recaps from other posters here.  You can wait to read the PTV recap that goes up tomorrow morning, PM with your friends...or (gasp) you can watch the episode and risk Butterness!

 

 

I like Felicity's Mom.  She brings the Levity because god knows there's a fair amount of Angst running around on this show.

[Chaser]

They are going to steal a line from Gilmore Girls when Felicity breaks up with Ray "You're the man I want to want." 

Edited April 2, 2015 by 10Eleven12

[wonderwall]

Judging by Felicity's reasons for wanting to be with Ray... They're so superficial. Yikes!

[apinknightmare]

She listed the fact that Ray's seen all 35 seasons of Doctor Who and "looks like a Disney prince"  as reasons why he should be the perfect man.

 

Haha, I forgot about that. Goodness. 

[Lantern7]

Forgot about Ray being a Whovian. That's enough for me to not root for him to get brain damaged. If he suggests that Clara might be the worst companion ever, I'll have to be on his side.

[statsgirl]

I thought it was that Ray knows all the plots from all the Dr. Who episodes. I'd really like to challenge him on that one.

 

If Quentin Lance didn't have a heart attack tonight, he'll never have one. Did he never think to ask why Ra's would want him to know Oliver's identity?  And why's he so upset that he didn't know that Sara was on Lian Yu?  Her time killing with the LoA should have trumped her time on an island.

[bmoore4026]

I've never liked it when superheroes surrender to police in order to protect others and the ones they love.

 

This isn't honorable, noble, chivalrous, or even sensible.  It's stupid.  It's playing right into the hands of the bad guys.  I hated it when Captain America did it at the end of Civil War and I hate it here.

 

We got two dumdums pulling this off - Oliver and Roy.  Roy acts as the Sydney Carton to Oliver's Charles Darnay.  But, in this case, it is not a far, far better thing that Roy has done.  Roy just made shit more complicated and dangerous.

 

I've never like Ra's Al Ghul in anything.  In the comics, in the Batman cartoons, in the Batman movies, and on this show.  He's a dull villain and a Villain Stu at that.  Can't they just drop him in a volcano or something?

 

Lastly, I've just realized whom Ray reminds me of - Cyril Figgis from Archer!  Seriously, tint his temples white, give him a pair of glasses and a dorky sweater vest and you've got Cyril Figgis.

Edited April 2, 2015 by bmoore4026

[apinknightmare]

And why's he so upset that he didn't know that Sara was on Lian Yu?  Her time killing with the LoA should have trumped her time on an island.

 

Yeah, I don't get this. Did he really want Oliver to tell him, "Hey, so...Sara. She didn't really die on the Gambit like you think she did, she landed on Lian Yu and fell in with a guy who did terrible medical experiments on people and treated her like shit and she kind of suffered a little but managed to survive but then she got sucked out of the hull of a boat and drowned, so she's dead...she just lived out the rest of her life horrible way and then died anyway, LOL."

[La Dee Da]

But hey - at least Felicity finally owned up to her feelings (if only to her mother and not Ray). Mind you, I almost felt sorry for Ray at that point; tell the woman you love her and not only does she not reciprocate but she can't get out of the room fast enough. I think they're pretty close to being done.

The nanobytes are whispering in his head "dude, she's not that into you". Felicity sounded just like I did in my annual performance review! That, and the look on her face when visiting Oliver in lock-up, definitely suggest the end is near.

I guess not knowing about Sara's time on The island is just the cherry on top of Quentin's anger cake, but ultimately that was her story to tell, not Oliver's. He's mad at the wrong person on this one. The talk in the van had some good elements - The "you're a villain" line touches on a lot of Oliver's issues.

Loved Roy's I am Sparticus moment and the ongoing "sisterhood of the travelling pants" nature of the Arrow costume! I'd like to point out that Oliver asked about Roy when he got back to the lair, so I guess he's not totally indifferent towards him :)

Overall, I thought there was good momentum (maybe too much time on the hospital stuff) and I am curious what this means going forward - no one is going to buy that Oliver isn't the Arrow now. And he's pretty cornered byRa's.

[opus]

Yeah, I don't get this. Did he really want Oliver to tell him, "Hey, so...Sara. She didn't really die on the Gambit like you think she did, she landed on Lian Yu and fell in with a guy who did terrible medical experiments on people and treated her like shit and she kind of suffered a little but managed to survive but then she got sucked out of the hull of a boat and drowned, so she's dead...she just lived out the rest of her life horrible way and then died anyway, LOL."

She lived her life with Nyssa. Not that horrible.

[Writing Wrongs]

There was also a reference about Felicity's dad and electronics, but I didn't quite catch it.

[apinknightmare]

She lived her life with Nyssa. Not that horrible.

 

Yeah, but that was after Oliver saw her die the second time. Quentin's angry because Oliver let him believe she died on the Gambit when he returned to Starling City - at that point Oliver truly thought Sara was dead and didn't tell him what happened to her because what would be the point? She died anyway, just not when Quentin thought she did. 

[kismet]

I don't like Oliver being blamed for not telling QL all of Sara's secrets? It should have been Sara telling her father about what happened to her, not OQ.One of SL last wishes was that if she didn't make it home, that OQ tell her family she died on the boat. He was honoring QL's daughter's wish, why is it always his fault. And the whole argument about it being the sinkening of the Gambit that got us all the this point. Well thats a little over dramatic. I realize that it is technically the start of everything. But there's been a lot of decisions & events between then and now that has got us to this point. Sara should have told her father about Lian Yu. Its not OQ responsibility to tell everyone's secrets. He has enough of a martyr complex, there was little need for QL to throw more wood to the fire.

[paigow]

Flashback ARGUS / Waller is a confusing entity. Shooting up Hong Kong is not a way to be covert. Sending only 2 guys after an asset that you trained to be a super killer does not seem smart either.

[InsertWordHere]

I thought it was that Ray knows all the plots from all the Dr. Who episodes. I'd really like to challenge him on that one.

Sorry, my mistake. I suppose that's better though. If they had written it as Ray being so awesome he's discovered all of the lost Doctor Who episodes, in addition to healing his own blood clot and looking like a Disney prince, that would have been too much for me to take. Still, if Ray likes Donna (Noble that is, not Smoak), he would earn points in my book.

[Sakura12]

Why would they bring up Sara being on Lian Yu now? That is something that should've been brought up when Sara was around. I can hope it's being brought up because Sara is coming back to life. Although we should've also gotten more Sara and Nyssa scenes you know because the EP's support the LGBT community and all. But instead we get a bunch of Laurel and Nyssa. 

[tarotx]

So Ray decided to make his own nanogenes? Did the show have some kind of Are you my mummy joke to go along with them? Or some Jack Harkness Merlin wink wink?

[opus]

Did I see M Merlyn for about 5 seconds tonight?

[writersblock51]

I enjoyed many parts of the episode - and I think Paul Blackthorne was great throughout, even if I thought Q had lost his mind.

 

The action scenes were very well done.   Roy didn't get tranq'd or knocked out, either!  But the idea that Laurel can go up against someone from the LoA and not get her ass kicked?  JUST NO.

 

I liked the Nyssa scenes and was glad she didn't turn on her father, either. I'm not sure why I'm OK with that. Ra's is a horrible father. Maybe it's because I like that, no matter what's happened, she still has a code of honor.

 

I liked Roy a lot in this episode - I loved that he was still loyal to Oliver and tried to think like Oliver would, had their roles been reversed.

 

The Ray stuff. 100% bullshit. All of it.

 

I enjoyed Mama Smoak very much - CR is so happy to be on this show and I think she nailed her scenes perfectly. I love her and Felicity's relationship.

 

Oliver breaks my heart.  Noble idiot. I thought SA did a fantastic job.

 

Felicity. I love her no matter what but I'm tired of her being there to prop Ray up. I think those times are coming to an end, thank goodness.

 

Quentin's rage - most of it could have been avoided or at least lessened (and not aimed, misguidedly, at Oliver and his team) if Laurel had told him the truth about Sara from the beginning. 

 

Taking the rest of my comments to the Butterness thread.

[Chaser]

I had to laugh at Mama Smoak's 'You lit up like a Christmas tree' line to Felicity. Oliver was lit up in that scene, Felicity looked over the day already. Was there a scene after that we missed?

[statsgirl]

I liked seeing the doctor who patched up Oliver and Sara in the first two seasons again. Yay, continuity.

 

So Quentin is blaming Oliver for not telling him that Sara was dead, or that she was on Lian Yu?  Those are things Sara and Laurel should have told him. Plus,Nyssa didn't save Sara from starving on Lian Yu, Sara said she rescued her elsewhere.

 

I still don't understand why Maseo would want to kill Felicity. She's worth more alive as a bargaining chip for Ra's.

 

One thing I did like about this episode was that Roy told Thea that he felt he still needed to be pushed for killing the cop, and then he turned himself in as the Arrow.

 

I also liked that it was Diggle, Felicity and Roy going to see Oliver in jail, just the Real Team Arrow.

Did I see M Merlyn for about 5 seconds tonight?

I thought so, watching the TV news about the Arrow. I couldn't understand why he didn't rush out of the apartment though since the cops were coming for Oliver and he lives there.

Edited April 2, 2015 by statsgirl

[steelyis]

There were only three things remotely watchable about tonight's episode:

 

Lance slapping Oliver and reading him the riot act. I rewound that four times. Awesome.

 

Felicity's mom. Helloooo, Donna Smoak!

 

And Nyssa, because despite being in this cesspit of an episode KL still made Nyssa shine.

 

The rest was melodramatic garbage. The dialogue had the subtlety of a brick, the acting was limp and about as inspiring as a root canal, and once again the plotting turned what should have been a game changing episode into a dragging snooze fest.

 

I cannot stand what they're doing to Felicity. I hate how they're using Ray--Ray who could have been an interesting character if constructed correctly--to ruin Felicity with love triangle bullshit. Does the show really need this cliched, pointless, nonsense?

 

Right now my biggest worry is Arrow is going to infect The Flash with its stench of staggering mediocrity.

Edited April 2, 2015 by steelyis

[quarks]

As always, everyone in this thread is missing the important stuff:

 

WE GOT A BRAND NEW SET FOR AN ACTION SEQUENCE THIS EPISODE!!!! It even had laundry!

 

I knew you could do it at some point, show!  I'm so proud!

 

In other bits:

 

Good stuff:

 

1. Hey, everyone, the Starling City news is back in full force, with everyone except for Donna Smoak watching it. (Donna, I have never liked you more than at that moment.)  Even when their boyfriends have just been, uh, saved by nano whatevers. Even while having sex!  Ok, yes, we could say that these characters have a serious addiction to the Starling City news, but I like the consistency.

 

2. Katana!  I don't actually know how she and Maseo arrived there in the nick of time, but more Tatsu is always good, so yay.

 

3. The stunt sequences were for the most part back on fire tonight. We even got a car chase scene!  And major stunt sequences in both present day and flashbacks!

 

("The most part" because the bouncing rubber glass was back. Misstep, prop guys, misstep.)

 

4. Ok, so he's misguided, he's angry, he's taking out his anger on the wrong people (more of this in the Laurel part) but when Paul Blackthorne wants to chew scenery, he can really chew scenery. His scene in the van with Oliver was particularly intense.

 

5. Speaking of that scene, kudos to Stephen Amell for selling all of the hurt and guilt and self-loathing there. Well done.

 

6. Donna Smoak, stuck in the most nonsensical plot line of the entire episode, which is really saying something, but having a blast the entire time. I loved the attorneys at Caesars bit.

 

7. Felicity not saying "I love you" back to Ray, and Ray getting a clue from this.

 

8. And also, Donna Smoak pointing out the obvious, that Felicity loves Oliver.  (Minus a couple of points for not telling Felicity to go break up with Ray, immediately, given this, but moving on.) The best part of this was the lovely feeling that the Ray/Felicity plotline is almost over.

 

9. Another tidbit about Felicity's father: he's the sort of person that will happily inject sick people with robots. Good to know.

 

10. I'm delighted that one of Starling City's two doctors has now added cardiology and neurology to his previous emergency medicine and gynecological specialties, because apparently not one of the characters, even the wealthy Ray, has the ability to get another doctor, so those specialties are going to be needed.

 

11. Nyssa, looking awesome, being awesome.  

 

12. Roy, sacrificing himself for Oliver. Altogether now, SNIFFLE. 

 

13. Diggle, once again attempting to talk sense into Oliver. It failed, but full credit for trying.

 

14. I do like that Team Arrow is taking a massive hit over the sheer stupidity of lying to Quentin about Sara's death. The guy might be overreacting, but I like that they are paying for something I was yelling at them for doing for several episodes.

 

15. Oliver trying to do the right thing, and save his team. Awww.  Even if he's back to ordering his team around without inviting opinions again, sigh.

 

Questionable stuff:

 

1. Well, it was nice of Shado's otherwise previously completely unmentioned twin sister to show up to show Oliver the importance of telling the truth, something he then conveniently forgot for the first two seasons of the show until it was necessary for this season's plot, but otherwise I fail to see the point of that entire scene.

 

Speaking of which, I get why Yao Fei never mentioned having two daughters, because he didn't talk much about everything and didn't hang out with Oliver that much, but seriously, Oliver and Slade spent all that time with Shado and the subject of her identical twin sister never came up? At all?

 

2. Maseo: "We got rid of the bodies. It's time to go."  Sure, Maseo, but did you take a look at the rest of the floor? I did. Broken crap everywhere. Terrible cleaning job, you three. Poor May.

 

3. And still speaking off the flashback, Oliver, if you are trying to hide, don't take off your shirt, revealing important information like identifying tattoos!

 

Er, not that I want to discourage you from taking off your shirt or anything. Ignore me, Oliver.

 

4. Was the other guy killed at the mayor's office the DA? If so, I take back all of the nice things I've been saying about how sensible this season's DA has been what with avoiding kidnapping and murder by staying out of Starling. (I may have misinterpreted that bit.)

 

5. How many spare Arrow costumes does this city have?

 

6. Why is anyone buying Roy as the Arrow?  Quentin knows Roy has been running around in a red costume, not a green one.

 

Bad stuff:

 

1. The entire hospital sequence, right down to injecting people with robots. For which even I barely have words. Full credit to all four actors doing their damnedest to save it, but I don't think a Ray subplot has ever felt this disconnected to the entire rest of the episode - even the Shado twin flashback was at least related to the theme of the episode, which Ray's subplot wasn't, and was related to previous events on the show, even if, again, Ray's subplot wasn't. But even apart from the disconnect and the glaring change in tone, with those scenes playing as comedy as every single other character on the show was once again going through massive trauma, it was ridiculous, and that's before I get to the nanobots.

 

2. Arrow, we are aware that you have budget problems.  Nonetheless, having only one medical person treat Ray during this supposedly life threatening event, without even an extra in the background was beyond ridiculous - you had more nurses meandering around in the background when Lyla gave birth and during the Oliver/Felicity kiss. Yes, that did let you play out a comedy scene with Donna Smoak, but speaking as someone who has been a visitor in an ICU unit, the nurses do leave the room from time to time so you could have had a private moment.

 

3. Hmm. So, you're a billionaire, which presumably should allow you to buy access to any of the finest medical facilities in the world.  When presented with a death sentence, do you a) trust the apparently only doctor who hasn't fled Starling City for a better place, b) request an immediate transfer to the Mayo Clinic or whatever, or c) allow your girlfriend, an IT person, to inject you with robots?  

 

That's what I thought.

 

(We'll just leap over the not so small fact that Felicity does, in fact, know another doctor over in Central City, who, under these circumstances, could be brought to Starling in a flash.)

 

4. Speaking of the little robots, I want to make absolutely sure that I have this straight: Ray Palmer has had access to life saving nano things that can save people from blood clots and strokes, and instead of allowing the general public to have access to this so that eventually it WON'T be experimental technology, he keeps it at Palmer Tech until he needs it?

 

Your hero, everyone.

 

At least he's seen every season of Doctor Who, so that's that.  Also he looks like a Disney prince. 

 

5. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this medical breakthrough, would you?"  Doctor, I think it's safe to say that no one did, and I include the writers here.

 

6. Way to keep your ties to Oliver secret, Felicity. Fortunately the one doctor who might have noticed you staring up at the television is also the one doctor who has to cover every single medical specialty in the city, so he's probably too busy to notice.

 

7. This wasn't the intent of the scene, but I did like Oliver's "Is Ray ok?" to Felicity, her response of "Yes," and then every other character forgetting this plot for the rest of the episode.

 

8. On the bright side, YAY, Ray finally saved someone! That only took 18 episodes. And then, right after that, proceeded to spend the rest of the episode in bed, either demanding or forcing the other characters to put themselves at risk for him - asking the doctor to go against hospital policy for him, forcing Donna to fake illness, and forcing Felicity to sneak around with little robots and then inject him with little robots. (Sidenote: for someone who supposedly hates needles, Felicity does end up stabbing male characters with them a lot. Also, how did she know WHERE to inject the little robots? The last time I was in the hospital they had an IV in my hand and took blood samples from my other arm. Nobody came near my neck.)  

 

That still would have been fine, except that over on the rest of the episode, every other character except Thea, right down to May and Nyssa, was running around putting themselves at risk for whatever they believed in, ending with Oliver trying to sacrifice himself for his team and Roy sacrificing himself for Oliver. May's entire apartment got smashed up and she almost died just from offering Oliver and the kid a place to stay.  

 

This all makes it very difficult to see Ray as a hero in comparison.

 

And now, Laurel:

 

Sigh. I knew last week's Laurel was too good to last. Damn it. Though I really liked her outfits this episode: she looked fabulous. So that was something.

 

Number of times Laurel fails as a human being this episode: 1. Not recognizing that at this point, Quentin has a number of very good reasons to be annoyed at Oliver Queen, 2, telling her father that he just has to trust her. Laurel, trust has to be earned, and I think everyone but you can agree that you have completely failed to earn anyone's trust here.  You lied to him about something huge for months. 3, not telling Quentin that the decision not to hell him about Sara was hers, not Oliver's, and that Oliver was just following her instructions in that case, 4, despite knowing full well that the League of Assassins is running around the city, pretending to be Oliver Queen, failing to inform her father, let alone the rest of the police force, this valuable tidbit of information, 5, thinking that telling her father "you don't know the story" without, you know, actually telling him the story, is enough to cheer him up and earn his trust at this stage, 6, and don't think I didn't notice, Laurel, that Quentin, not you, called the ambulance for Ray (though it was nice of you to check on Felicity, so I suppose I should give you a pass on that one.)

 

Number of times Laurel fails as an attorney this episode: 1, clearly failing to provide Oliver with a defense attorney, 2, Bringing three people already associated with Oliver Queen in various ways right through the police station, while knowing damn well that the police have been told to arrest Oliver Queen's associates like, um, what? 3, Laurel, honey, last time we checked, you were the ADA, which means that yes, it is in your purview to tell the cops that they do not have enough evidence on Oliver Queen to go to trial or that you will not be able to convict him, which is the argument you should be making, not "oooh, Daddy, you're just angry!" No, Quentin is not just angry. Oliver Queen has killed people. 

 

Number of times Laurel fails as a vigilante this episode: 1, needing to be caught by Oliver after she jumped off the wall (good stunt sequence, though), 2, wasting valuable time arguing about not leaving Oliver instead of following his orders and getting away, 3, getting caught by a cop, 4, needing to be rescued yet again, this time by Nyssa. Sigh.  I am dreaming of an episode, writers, where Laurel rescues herself ALL ON HER OWN. Even Iris got that, and Iris isn't on the superhero path. Sigh again.

[catrox14]

Why didn't Oliver just tell Quentin that Sara asked him to NOT tell her family anything about what happened on the island?  That's some really poor continuity

[tennisgurl]

So, I have not gotten to see the episode yet (looong day at work), but I had to take a peak here. And let me get something straight...

 

Did they seriously put TinCan Iron Man (apparently known as Ray) in the opening? 

[steelyis]

Why didn't Oliver just tell Quentin that Sara asked him to NOT tell her family anything about what happened on the island?  That's some really poor continuity

 

 

Because needless angst is how Arrow rolls this season.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Did they seriously put TinCan Iron Man (apparently known as Ray) in the opening?

 

Sure did.

[nksarmi]

Because needless angst is how Arrow rolls this season.

And Oliver never gives the simple answer when he can just stand at attention, with his square jaw locked, staring straight ahead and let someone needlessly yell at him.  I've yelled at my TV so many times the lines I think he should say that I've given up on him lol.  He loves taking blame he doesn't deserve - I think he thrives on it.

[benteen]

Damn. The writers like going big. No way the genie is going to be shoved back into the bottle, even if Roy does fancy flips to make it happen.

 

Anybody else amazed that Quentin's heart hasn't given out? He's been raging like a Red Lantern ever since he found out Sara died. Also: punk move by Ra's telling Quentin about Ollie outright. And that was to push him into becoming the new Ra's? Silly long-lived tyrant .. . Ollie would rather have manpain than to reign in hell.

 

I'm not bugged by Ray. I'm guessing Felicity jabbed him with the nanotech because she was probably going to go to jail for helping Oliver out anyway, so why not help the big lug. And yes, I'm hoping the deus ex macchina kicks in, and we have a canon Atom on our hands.

 

ETA: I kinda miss Gothlicity. That's where my mind went seeing her mother. Well . . . one of the places my mind went.

 

Yeah, Quentin's heart has been holding out pretty good considering all the emotional and physical stress he's under.  So much for lying to him, Laurel...oh, that's right, it was OLIVER who was lying to him.  The truth according to Laurel Lance...

[catrox14]

I honestly cannot understand what the writers are thinking with Laurel never accepting an ounce of responsibility here. 

 

I'm sorry but Laurel's mask is awful. She looks like a creepy clown.

Edited April 2, 2015 by catrox14

[La Dee Da]

I had to laugh at Mama Smoak's 'You lit up like a Christmas tree' line to Felicity. Oliver was lit up in that scene, Felicity looked over the day already. Was there a scene after that we missed?

I just went back to watch that scene - maybe like a sad Charlie Brown Christmas tree? Donna sees "noooooooo, worlds colliding" moments differently than we do!

[statsgirl]

More entertaining than the episode is your review, quarks.

 

It was the same doctor who fixed up Sara and Oliver after Roy's mirakuru attack on them last season and he agreed to keep their identities secret, saying that he had been looking for a way to thank the Arrow for stopping the theft of drugs earlier.  I guess he's still grateful, so not going to say anything about Arrow business.

 

And a minor point:

Also, how did she know WHERE to inject the little robots? The last time I was in the hospital they had an IV in my hand and took blood samples from my other arm. Nobody came near my neck.

It looked like the carotid artery to me, which is the big artery to the brain. (The one you see pulsing when someone gets really mad.)  If we're going to get technical, which on this show we really shouldn't, there is something called the blood-brain barrier, which lets certain particles into the brain and stops others.  Curiously, nanotechnology is being looked at as a way of delivering drugs to the brain (e.g. tumor fighters) that might otherwise  not be able to cross the barrier.

Edited April 2, 2015 by statsgirl

[redsox7819]

Swear to God, Colton just can't get a break on the shows he's on, first Teen Wolf now this.

 

Not sure about this show but Colton wanted out of Teen Wolf. Caused a ton of drama on the way out, since the show had no intention of him leaving. That is why he is still alive vs other who have left the show.

Edited April 2, 2015 by redsox7819

[tennisgurl]

 

Sure did.

...Please excuse me. I need to pour myself an EXTRA big glass of wine before I watch this.

Edited April 2, 2015 by tennisgurl

[catrox14]

Paul Blackthorne is so great in this episode.

[quarks]

More entertaining than the episode is your review, quarks.

 

It was the same doctor who fixed up Sara and Oliver after Roy's mirakuru attack on them last season and he agreed to keep their identities secret, saying that he had been looking for a way to thank the Arrow for stopping the theft of drugs earlier.  I guess he's still grateful, so not going to say anything about Arrow business.

 

And a minor point:

It looked like the carotid artery to me, which is the big artery to the brain. (The one you see pulsing when someone gets really mad.)  If we're going to get technical, which on this show we really shouldn't, there is something the blood-brain barrier, which lets certain particles into the brain and stops others.  Curiously, nanotechnology is being looked at as a way of delivering drugs to the brain (e.g. tumor fighters) that might otherwise  not be able to cross the barrier.

 

Ok, let me rephrase this:

 

How does someone with a masters degree in computer science, not medicine, know where the carotid artery is, or that the carotid artery, not some other artery, is where the little nanobot things need to go? Did she call Caitlin along the way? If so, reference that in the script so I can handwave it better.

 

I know Felicity has been patching Oliver up, and it's possible that she's learned more about medicine from Diggle and possibly Caitlin since joining Team Arrow, and they've had a tendency to let her be the Science person, but still, help me handwave how someone with limited medical training just happened to know the right place to inject someone with experimental nano tech.

[catrox14]

I will say this for the show they keep the wardrobe consistent for Oliver. I love that he wears the same peacoat and brown jacket.

[statsgirl]

I guess I just assumed that Felicity would know where the artery is.  It's where I take my pulse after exercising because I can never find it at my wrist.

 

What I found more strange is that no one thought about programming the nanotech, they just shot it into his brain. How did the little bots know what to do?  At least on Star Gate, they were programmed first.

[catrox14]

Okay, I hate to admit it, but I did feel a little bit sorry for Ray when Felicity jetted out of his room after he told her he loved her. That does not supercede every other shitty thing he's done however.

[BunsenBurner]

I have to say the show was good without the Ray or Laurel scenes (can she not take ownership of anything that is her fault?). I would not say the the show was great or excellent, only good.  The twin sister thing was so dumb and even Nyssa was ridiculous to have to save Laurel.  I do not in any way believe that Laurel would have been able to do that jump thing over the side of the building, there is no way she has the upper arm strength to do that. Roy was good, Diggle was good, Mama Smoak was the shoulder that Felicity had to cry on and set her straight, other than that nothing. Lance was a bit over the top but it's about time he got to act in scenes for more than a couple of seconds. It was better than 3/4 of the shows this season which isn't saying much.

 

I have to admit that the only reason I watched it tonight was because we lost electricity and I wanted to check to see if it all recorded, it didn't.

 

Sadly I was unable to suspend my belief on much of the plot driven show to nowhere.

[tessaray]

I'm sorry, but not even Doctor Who references will make Ray interesting to me.  Although if the nanobots make him crazy enough to go all evil and dark and then have to be Oliver level of angsty about the things he's done, it might help.  It didn't hurt Roy.  (Although I've always had a soft spot for Roy.)  

 

Maybe I'm missing something but why didn't Lance just arrest Laurel?  Did she get a free pass on the vigilante thing?  

[Chaser]

Charlotte Ross and Paul Blackthorne flirting on twitter is more entertaining than 90% of this episode.

Edited April 2, 2015 by 10Eleven12

[Xantar]

"Hey Lieutenant, there are some other people on this rooftop with the Arrow. Looks like a bunch of them are armed with bows and arrows, too. Think we should take them in and find out how they're mixed up in all this?"

 

"Nah, let's just chase those three over there off a roof. Hey, if the Canary doesn't have a rope to go over the edge, does that make her the Splat Canary?"

 

Also, I'm convinced that this secret-keeping thing has just become a verbal tic for Oliver at this point. Why on earth wouldn't he at least tell Shado's twin sister that Shado is dead? I'm imagining what life must be like in the Arrow Cave in off hours.

 

"Hey Oliver, why don't you like Mexican food anyway?"

 

"I CAN'T TELL YOU! IT'S FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION!!!"

[paigow]

How does someone with a masters degree in computer science, not medicine, know where the carotid artery is, or that the carotid artery, not some other artery

Piercing the carotid artery is generally frowned upon by medical professionals.

[Actionmage]

Maybe I'm missing something but why didn't Lance just arrest Laurel?  Did she get a free pass on the vigilante thing?

 

For a Principled-Law-Enforcement-Officer, Quentin sure was lax when dealing with his remaining child.

 

*Knows Laurel is "running around" as a vigilante, yet doesn't have her arrested for any number of charges.

*After having his police force issue warrants for Oliver's associates, Laurel still breezes in and it's bidness as usual. Her father, who knows she is a vigilante with Arrow's other associates, doesn't arrest her or have other officers in the station arrest her.

*Laurel, facing her father in costume eggs him to shoot her and all he has to say is something about spending a night in jail snapping her into some reason or something close to that sentiment.

*Laurel, after that encounter (iirc), brings in actual Oliver Queen associates, out of costume, into the police station with Oliver and her still irate father; Quentin doesn't arrest the kit and caboodle.

 

Is Quentin afraid that Dinah'll get peeved and come sweeping in like a tornado and make things more difficult? I'm not getting a 'why' for the lack of action. Yes, Quentin loves Laurel; that's why it hurts so damn much. Yet, while misdirected, I understand why Quentin is so all over the place, emotionally, with Oliver.  I don't know why KC isn't getting good moments with PB, as I think Laurel and Quentin should be very tentative and very easily upset and back to Square One. Quentin has never been painted as shying away from Tough Love, so why now? When he's desperate to save her from herself and her "bad decisions"?

[statsgirl]

Piercing the carotid artery is generally frowned upon by medical professionals.

She didn't pierce it though.  Looked like a hypo-spray, swoosh, like on Star Trek.

[GirlvsTV]

I don't know that episode was just . . . whatever. I really hate this R'as storyline.

I'm also done with all the Lances. Over it. I don't understand the level of vitriol directed at Oliver from Quentin. Basically in the span of, what, like 2-3 episodes we've seen a relationship between Oliver and Lance, that took 2 1/2 seasons to cultivate, completely disintegrate due to LL's decision to keep Sara's death a secret. I get Lance is grieving, but the anger at Oliver/Arrow seems really excessive. Sort of the same way Ray's did last week.

It would have worked better if R'as had told Lance that Malcolm killed Sara and Oliver was protecting him. I could have bought the anger over that. And at least that is actually Oliver's fault.

And why would Lance just believe R'as? At least when Slade spilled the beans to Laurel last year she actually, you know, investigated and found proof Slade was telling the truth.

Bleh. Arrow's real villain this season is logic.