S03.E19: Broken Arrow

[statsgirl]

Since this episode show Felicity and Ray have already visited Central City, is there any reasonable point in the recent storyline where that could have taken place?

CW switched the episode order on them and I imagine they had to do some quick re-jigging.  The visit had to be after Oliver shorted out the suit, but before Ray was arrowed by Maseo.  Best guess is the took some footage from the top of 318 and added it to the end of 317 for Ray getting shot.

[Chaser]

My leverage style fake out! Yeah!

 

Oliver/Thea/Roy. That combination hurt. I wish Thea was there to say good bye to Roy.

 

This episode really highlighted how over the top Felicity and Ray are. The touchiness was really off putting because it felt really fake. And young? Like you think this is how two people in a relationship should act but only if you are 12 (minus the sex jokes).

 

Separate them tho and its like Felicity is back and Ray is still over the top but less annoying.

 

I'm ignoring the fakeness of Felicity and Ray to properly enjoy the genuine Oliver and Felicity interaction.

 

I love Team Arrow. I need them every episode, all the time. And they were smart! 

 

Torn on Lance. On one hand, totally justified and on the other hand, stop being a hypocrite. Laurel works as a lawyer, in a recurring role.

[Lady Calypso]

Ok, so poor Roy, first off. He's getting the short end of the stick here. But at least he's alive and away from all this (for now). I want him to come back, though. I hope it was Colton wanting to leave for whatever reason, because storywise, they could have just kept him in prison and it would have been much better. Also, bad time for Roy to leave just as Thea's getting stabbed. If anyone would want to be there for Thea, it's definitely Roy. Missed opportunity, writers. Also, you suck.

 

Poor Thea; she won't know that Roy's alive until hopefully next episode. 

 

Oliver was breaking my heart. Poor guy seriously needs therapy.

 

Ray...eh. Felicity? She had her good moments, at least, but now you gotta break it off with Ray! Goddamnit!

 

Diggle...MVP. MVP. Well, now that Roy's gone, we need a new MVP.

 

The Lances can officially get off my screen. 

[Chaser]

That did set it up like Ray is going to break up with Felicity. Him bringing up that she didn't return the ILY and then the sad look at the car. She seems okay playing pretend.

 

I was impressed by Thea going against Ra's. Of course she was going to get beat, but it was a big improvement over Thea v Arrow. I also had to laugh because she could totally kick Laurel's ass. 

[TVHappy9463]

Of course Roy wasn't going to die, only women can be killed on this show. 

Soooo Tommy and all of Oliver's father's enemies that Oliver killed in Season one and Chinese guy on the island where all women? 

[formerlyfreedom]

The metahuman Jake Simmons looks a lot like a young Peter Capaldi.

 

I thought the exact same thing!

[GirlvsTV]

Ok, wait . . but why couldn't Thea be there to say goodbye to Roy? She knows the truth about everything else, why would they keep this from her?

I guess she was too busy getting murdered by R'as?

[statsgirl]

Excluding red shirts who only appear in one episode and Yao Fei, the only man who was killed off was Tommy. Since his death at the end of s1, Shado, Moira, Sara and now Thea have all bit the dust.

 

I was impressed by Thea going against Ra's. Of course she was going to get beat, but it was a big improvement over Thea v Arrow. I also had to laugh because she could totally kick Laurel's ass. 

That was really impressive.  Not assuming he's better, not flailing around but out and out fighting, like if she tried hard enough she could win.

 

Ra's line "he's going to beg me" was very creepy and well-delivered.

 

I felt for Quentin (again); he seemed to really care about Roy.

[Morrigan2575]

Ok, wait . . but why couldn't Thea be there to say goodbye to Roy? She knows the truth about everything else, why would they keep this from her?

I guess she was too busy getting murdered by R'as?

I know Roy was going to tell her, he said it in the TA goodbye scene. As for why she wasn't there? She had to get killed by Ras.

[blixie]

I thought it was mixed bag, well put together/excuted, but still mostly a meh.  Roy/TA plan was nice surprise, but eh I still really didn't care about anything that was happening, and agree that the back and forth between Felicity hanging on Ray and then hanging on Oliver undercut whatever they were trying to go for. 

 

I did love Oliver/Ray,I feel like this is what I should have been seeing for most of the season, the clash of the dork and grumpy cat Arrow. And that was pretty  much the extent of what I liked, Thea dying at the hands of the Head of the Outback restaurants was nicely shot, but she's gonna get resurrected pretty much immediately. And Oliver will have to trade himself in the kit, and that plot just makes me tired, I'm so FUCKING tired of Ra's and Oliver's self loathing. 

 

Glad to see other people managed to enjoy it though.

[opus]

 

Poor Thea; she won't know that Roy's alive until hopefully next episode. 

 

Thea has her own alive problems.

[rainydawn]

Not a huge fan of this episode but it was better than this week's episode of The Flash.

 

I was not expecting Roy to actually leave. He grown on him this season and I'm going to miss him. Hopefully he'll pop up again at some point since they decided to not kill him. 

 

I also I have to say that I didn't enjoy Oliver/Felicity. I didn't like how close she was with Ray in front of Oliver, it turned me off completely. Felicity fawning over Ray and almost kissing him in front of Oliver then going around and telling him "You're the man I..." was not my cup of tea.

Edited April 16, 2015 by rainydawn

[bmoore4026]

Awww, Roy go bye-bye :(

 

I wonder how long he'll keep blaming himself for that cop's death?  I mean, he wasn't really himself when he did it.

 

The greatest penance for him is to live with that mistake and rectify it by protecting the police and the city.  At least, it should, shouldn't it?

 

And Ra's went and killed Thea.....meh *shrugs*

 

Next episode, they're gonna put her in the magic hot-tub (yes, I know it's called the Lazarus Pit) and make her all better.  So, pretty moot, ain't it.

 

Also, Cap. Lance is becoming quite unlikable.  I suggest a foot massage.

[bethy]

Ra's line "he's going to beg me" was very creepy and well-delivered.

 

Agreed. That line gave me the shivers.

[steelyis]

I don't know if Ray's excellent appearance on Flash is skewing my opinion, but him and Cisco were the highlights of this episode. Cisco made me kind of like Laurel.

 

My biggest problem with Arrow is I don't like Oliver much. I don't hate him, but I definitely don't care about his journey anymore. He's just tedious and irritating right now. And I am not looking forward to watching him brood over whatever Thea's fate might be-I just plain don't care.

 

I have to admit I did like Oliver's line about Ray and Felicity probably being related-that got a laugh out of me.

[benteen]

I laughed when Oliver said that Felicity that she really might be related to Ray.

[statsgirl]

What was Diggle's reaction when Oliver asked if Felicity behaved like that when he was out in the field, as she was freaking out when Ray was looking for the metahuman?

 

I have the feeling a lot of fanfic was undercut with that.

[quarks]

The plot got ramped up to 13, it seems, in this episode. Also the cliffhangers.

 

Good stuff:

 

1. Nice fakeout on the Roy death. I figured it was a fakeout since deaths of major characters on Arrow always happen in the last few minutes, not the end, but having Team Arrow arrange it was a nice touch.  

 

2. Never accuse this show of being subtle with the fern there: destroying the exterior pot while leaving the plant alive.

 

3. Oliver's "There's a decent chance you and Palmer are related."  Plus the nice touch of Oliver starting to like Ray a bit more right after making that realization.

 

4. Ra's finally gets a real villain moment. I mean, ok, he's been sort of evil, but in a really relaxed, laidback, whatever sort of "I'll just kill a few random guys here and there" sort of way. 

 

5. Thea and Roy's last conversation in the jail. Sniffle.

 

6. The Oliver/Diggle confrontation, which I now want to rewatch knowing that Team Arrow set up the fakeout.

 

7. It kinda cracks me up that apparently everyone on Team Arrow agreed that Oliver is so terrible at lying that he couldn't possibly be let in on the stunt - even though Oliver was the one to arrange a somewhat similar stunt last season.

 

8. Cisco!  Also I am intrigued by this metahumans popping over everywhere stuff.  Nice little cliffhanger for both shows.

 

9. "I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow." Heh.

 

10. Ray hoping that Oliver played video games when he was kid. Heh.  

 

11. Oliver genuinely stepping up into a leadership/mentor role at last - and Ray admitting he needed that.

 

12. Oliver knowing what a hero does. Awww.

 

13. Somebody injured Amanda Waller. I realize it is completely wrong of me to feel gleeful about this, and yet.

 

14. Really liking Amell's acting in the flashbacks, as he's slowly shifting into assassin mode. Well done.

 

15. And awwww, Oliver is learning that he has to let people help him. Granted he's learned this several times before, but awwww, Oliver is learning.

 

16. The Felicity/Oliver scenes.

 

Questionable stuff:

 

1. So the cops go down to the Arrowcave, find THREE cases of supersuits - two prominently - and don't think to ask why there's only ONE vigilante? Not to mention that more than one vigilante has been seen in the city? Surely questions should be asked here. And why didn't Quentin bring that up when his boss was telling him to drop the case?

 

2. That said, Quentin, Oliver, Laurel, Thea and your boss all had a point: drop the case. You have no evidence. Besides, let's face it, even with evidence and a full confession, Starling City's DA office often just isn't very good, unless Oliver/the Arrow is helping.

 

3. Ok, yay for the Hong Kong plot back to mirroring stuff in the present day and finally going back to whatever the plot was back in December/January, but the decision to put several other mostly unrelated flashbacks in between those episodes and these ones makes it kinda hard to remember what viruses we are talking about and why we are concerned about them, which led to a lot of info dumping in a few very short scenes. I think this plot would have worked fine if, like as in the first season, it had followed a more linear storytelling line, but the decision to break for Malcolm and Deadshot's flashbacks, the Starling City flashbacks, and Shado Twin was not a good one. But anyway, we are apparently back to Evil and Deadly Things going on there. Bring it on.

 

4. "Sure, we'll keep dating even though you responded to my 'I love you,' with 'jello,' but touch Oliver's arm and watch your friend go off into the moonset?  Yeah, we're over."  More on this in a bit.

 

5. Really, Thea, your brother's a vigilante and you've been trained by someone who trained under Ra's Al Ghul, and you still keep glass tables around that can be used to kill you? For shame.  Also, does Thea keep a fire going in that loft all the time?

 

6. Oliver, you aren't really going to be trusting Amanda Waller after all this, no matter how convincingly she's injured, right? RIGHT? Come on, Oliver.

 

Bad stuff:

 

1. It's great that someone has finally called out some of the problems with Flash's questionable prison system, and kudos for Ray bringing it up, but they made this point on the wrong show. Yes, Arrow's always been more about ethics, justice and punishment than Flash has, but the actual question is not why morally grey/shadowy/incompetent organizations have questionable prisons, but why the heroes over on Flash have a questionable prison. That needs more than a quick side comment on the sister show - especially when it's immediately followed by one of the biggest revelations yet for either show. I realize that revelation was meant to help set up the spinoff, and quite possibly something coming up in the next five episodes, but still.

 

2. Nobody called Thea to tell her the truth?  She died thinking Roy was dead? Maybe if you had called her, Team Arrow or Roy, she wouldn't have been drinking as much and could have survived Ra's attack like THIS IS ALL ON YOU, GUYS. 

 

3.  Ah, Ray/Felicity. I think it was a mistake not to have them break up at the beginning of the episode. I understand why they didn't - it would have made matters even more awkward and tense if they'd had to ask Felicity's ex for help, and they had to give Ray at least one effective outing on this show as well as Flash.  And It started well, with a nice scene between Ray and Felicity. But just like back in episode 9, their interactions happened against the background of the Oliver/Felicity interactions.  Back in episode 9, that had the effect of making it seem as if Ray and Felicity were on an entirely different show. In this case, it was a different problem: an intense scene between Oliver/Felicity that almost included Felicity saying "I love you," to him - and Oliver waiting to hear it, and realizing it was true - plus her going to considerable effort, with Diggle and Roy, to keep Oliver out of jail, which in turn made all of Felicity's interactions with Ray seem fake, including her "Are you all right?" at the end of the Arrow/Atom/Red Eye guy there. And that interaction really shouldn't have felt fake - there's no reason why Felicity wouldn't be concerned/upset about Ray (or anyone else on either show).  And yet it did.

 

5. Amanda Waller isn't dead yet. 

 

And now, Laurel:

 

Barely in this episode, so there's not much to say.

 

Number of times Laurel fails as an attorney this episode: For once, it's arguable: on the one hand, for once she shows up with a writ and does something useful and sets Oliver free, so that was good.  On the other hand, she knowingly let the cops arrest the wrong guy. It worked for the plot, but it does make me question why she's even in the ADA's office, if she's going to be facilitating with fraud.

 

And then after that she just let the previous suspect have a private chat with the current suspect. A good thing none of this was actually going to trial, Laurel.

 

Also, glad to see that she's really working on maintaining the traditional DA/cop relationship here.

 

Number of times Laurel fails as a vigilante this episode: Just once, but it's another biggie: A metahuman is in town. Roy is in prison. The cops are just waiting to catch Oliver in the act.  So, does Team Arrow call on the city's other vigilante? Nope, they call on...Ray.  Who has so far only defeated some robot bees who really needed Felicity to take them down. Yay. And who needs Oliver to play a version of video games.

 

Says a lot about everyone's faith in Laurel's skills, I see.

[calliope1975]

Holy crap, ya'll, stop the presses. I liked Laurel in this ep. Genuinely. I know she was only there for, like, 2 minutes, but I enjoyed her. After resenting and pretty much loathing (and/or skipping) all her scenes for over 2 years, I guess miracles can happen.

 

Still can't really stand Ray, though. I'm going to have to reevaluate him on the spin-off, should it happen, because he just bugs me too much on Arrow. (And I still occasionally rewatch that X-Mas Hallmark movie he did so it's not totally BR that I can't stand.) That flying CGI, though, ugh.

 

Yeah, Oliver controlling Ray was pretty hot, as I suspected. 

 

Ah Roy, I'm going to miss that kid. I like Roy and CH, and I think there's a ton more story left to tell. But I was glad to see the TA I know and love at the end there. 

 

Jeez Lance is a dick. Sad they've devolved his character so much. 

 

I'm tired of the killing off women

even if Thea, and Sara I suppose, will be resurrected.

 

 

Once again, Ra's grand plan to make Oliver take over still makes zero sense. Nice stunt doubles in that fight there. 

 

Overall, I didn't hate it, but I thought I would like it more than I did.

[lemotomato]

Was there any point to not have Raylicity break up in this episode other than to make Felicity look bad for toying with the emotions of both men? I get that it might have made it awkward to ask Ray for help after they broke up, but since we've been shown that he wants to protect the city/be a vigilante, he probably would have done it anyway, out of civic duty or just wanting to test out the suit.

[Slovenly Muse]

Regarding the prints in the Arrow Cave, my initial assumption was that rather than meticulously wiping every print but Roy's off the entire basement (or wiping everything and having him touch stuff), Felicity just hacked whatever database and fixed it so that ALL their prints would flag as Roy's.

 

And the fact that that was my IMMEDIATE assumption, and that I don't know which option the show would consider more plausible, has made me realize just how often the writers have Felicity magic up totally impossible stuff to handwave the story forward. Ahhh, comic-based shows!

 

To quote a commentor on the Flash thread: "Stop trying to make Ray happen!" Honestly, I have zero interest in watching this guy's awkward journey to heroism, and teaming him up with Oliver only emphasizes how utterly inferior he is.

 

And PS: All this "Oliver can't help because the Arrow's supposed to be in prison" was such BS, and obviously happened for no reason other than to prop up Ray. For one thing, haven't they been trying to build Laurel up as reasonably believable vigilante? For another thing, the city knows there are a whole whack of vigilantes out there. Have Oliver put on Roy's Arsenal getup, grab Laurel (and maybe Ray), and get it done. Don't force us to endure this backdoor pilot for a character who literally EVERYONE on the show would trade in an instant for Oliver.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Slovenly Muse

[steeledwithakiss]

I can't believe Roy is gone. That was the first time I cried watching Arrow. TA saving Oliver against his will was amazing but I'm really upset about Roy. I feel like he was barely starting his journey. I would have loved to see him and Thea going on missions together.

[Xenith22]

See it's not about killing a woman, it's about killing someone Oliver would do ANYTHING for and sacrifice anything for. And the only people he'd do that for are Thea and Felicity. The two closest people in his life. Heck, he probably would've done it for Diggle, but I think Ra's wanted an easy target. And Thea was alone.

Yeah I can see it now.  Ras breaks into the Diggle household and starts speechifying to John.  Bang!  Ras drops over dead from the bullet that Lyla put through his brain from behind a second before John can draw his own gun to put two in his chest.  Ras may have the reflexes to catch knives...but I highly doubt that applies to bullets.  So yeah Thea was a much wiser choice for him. 

 

. I might have missed something but was there a reason Digg and Felicity didn't tell Oliver and Thea about the plan? I can't think of any reason not to other than 'plot twist!' It seems really cruel not to let them in on the secret

Basically I think they may have needed Oliver and Thea to show the real emotional reactions to sell Roy's death to Lance and the cops?  Thea also might now have been totally onboard with a plan that involved Roy taking a knife to the gut.

 

Nobody called Thea to tell her the truth?  She died thinking Roy was dead? Maybe if you had called her, Team Arrow or Roy, she wouldn't have been drinking as much and could have survived Ra's attack like THIS IS ALL ON YOU, GUYS.

Yeah...someone probably should have told her the moment it was safe to do so.  I mean this a girl who recently tried to commit suicide by Nyssa.  That is not an emotionally stable person that you should be certain could handle their grief unattended.  Before Ras showed up in the apartment I was half expecting to find that Thea was in the process of doing something that would get herself killed.

 

Nice of Malcolm to finally get lost, you know, when for once it would've been good to have him around.

To be fair having wanted fugitive mass murderer Malcolm Merlyn hanging out at the apartment Oliver lives in which had a high probability of being surveilled by the police would have been rather dumb.  (Of course I am assuming the only reason that Lance would have been able to maintain authorized surveilance on Oliver post DA smackdown is in relation to him potentially breaking out Roy...once Roy was dead he would have lost power to do that which is why no one was watching Thea get stabbed and Roy was able to walk into Verdant and then the whole group was able to leave together unseen.)

 

Says a lot about everyone's faith in Laurel's skills, I see.

That is a little unfair of a judgement.  I mean this is a guy who fries people by just looking at them.  There is absolutely no way that someone like Laurel was ready to handle someone like that on her own, especially since she is entirely reliant on up-close hand to hand/bo-staff attacks.  Really their best option would have probably been Diggle with a long distance tranq rifle.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Xenith22

[catrox14]

I am irrationally sad about Roy. I mean I'm happy he's not dead but I want him with Team Arrow, so I still cried...a lot.  

 

And Thea being killed fucking sucks but I think many here called her being LP'd.  

 

Ugh...I just don't even have words right now. 

[Jediknight]

That was really impressive.  Not assuming he's better, not flailing around but out and out fighting, like if she tried hard enough she could win.

Nah, Ra's would thouroughly stomp Thea with no problem.  He wasn't even trying in this fight, and was toying with her, like in the fight against Oliver.  If he were to actually try, and unleash his skill, he'd wipe out Team Arrow in 5 minutes at most.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Jediknight

[KirkB]

Watching Thea's fight with Ra's made me realize just how monumentally stupid it was for Oliver to train with Malcolm. He wanted to learn how to fight from a guy who was taught by the guy he wanted to beat. Ra's seemed to anticipate Thea's every move. Part of it, I'm sure, was his many years of experience but I also wonder if he didn't recognize the form and style because it came from the LoA.

 

Ray hasn't bothered me nearly as much as a lot of you, mainly because until now it's like he's been on another show and I didn't have to pay much attention, even when he was getting horizontal with Felicity. I will admit his quirky, jokey personality seems out of place on Arrow, where the dress code is usually a scowl, and the suit is still ridiculous, but having him be part of the main story is in a weird way less jarring. 

 

Quentin may be severely overreacting but he was treated so shittily this season I still find myself on his side.

 

See, now that's how you do Laurel. She pops in, sans buckles, acts bossy and determined, and then exits stage left.

 

I'll a little ashamed to admit I fell for the fake dead Roy.

 

Poor Thea. Her boyfriend's dead, as far as she knows, and NO ONE is there for her? Not even her psycho daddy? I get him being scarce when the police were hanging around but I thought he was supposed to be protecting her FROM Ra's?

[quarks]

Something else I ended up really liking in the episode: Oliver shouting at Felicity that he can't believe that she and Diggle are ok with just leaving Roy in jail...

 

...and of course later, we find out that they weren't.  

 

Oliver does know his team.

 

I figured they didn't let him in on the plan because Oliver usually sucks at lying. 

[La Dee Da]

Great emotional beats in this one to show the team's belief in Oliver.  I liked the "[the city] needs you more" and "this time we had to save you" lines in particular.  Some good imagery as well - Roy's fallen mannequin in the lair, the "unruly behavior will not be tolerated" sign on the prison wall when Roy was stabbed.

Don't count Fern out yet. It just needs a new pot and some love.

 

Episode 3.23 - Oliver shows up at Felicity's house/work/the new lair, bearing the fern in a new pot and says, "it's okay.  It thrives in low light, just like you said.  Just like we did."

 

The Ray/Felicity/Oliver stuff was kinda muddled, to me. Felicity seemed WAY over the top concerned and schmoopy about Ray for someone who has also apparently realized she's in love with this other dude. I don't know. The see-sawing back and forth between cooing and hanging all over Ray just kinda undercut the O/F stuff that was also happening. I think it was supposed to be the other way around, but to be honest, that's not how it came off for me. It's fine, I know it's over next episode, but I wish the buildup hadn't been so...off.

Her concern for Ray in the field was okay - he's a newbie and she doesn't have faith in him like she does in Oliver (the why she doesn't worry like that when he is in the field) - but I wish they had dialled back the PDA a bit, and kept the tone from the first Ray-Felicity scene in the office.  However, I think her interactions with Ray and Oliver served to show the superficiality of the former and the depth and emotion of the latter. 

 

That did set it up like Ray is going to break up with Felicity. Him bringing up that she didn't return the ILY and then the sad look at the car. She seems okay playing pretend.

Yeah, there was some set-up for the next episode - he has to come out of this looking good for the spin-off, I guess (no "you follow him to wherever he's going, and we're through!" kind of stuff).  I'm hoping it's a mutual break-up, a mature conversation.  I'd like her to come to terms that she can't stop loving Oliver, regardless of his situation or his choices, and that she has to be the one to fight for them.  Ray can acknowledge this truth and they decide it wasn't meant to be.  If it's him saying "you should be with him, you love him"...I'm having trouble describing it, but anything that happens next with Oliver won't feel "earned", because she didn't choose it.

 

Number of times Laurel fails as an attorney this episode: For once, it's arguable: on the one hand, for once she shows up with a writ and does something useful and sets Oliver free, so that was good.  On the other hand, she knowingly let the cops arrest the wrong guy. It worked for the plot, but it does make me question why she's even in the ADA's office, if she's going to be facilitating with fraud.

This made me wonder if she was in on Roy's plan.  I lean toward not knowing - releasing Oliver would be the tactic Laurel would naturally seize upon and, as with keeping it secret from Thea and Oliver, ensures a more "honest" performance.  I liked how the plan addressed some of the obvious questions, like why didn't they blow up the lair, and wasn't super complicated (at least, for this show). 

[wonderwall]

I think the arrow writers said that the fern will make another appearance this season and will be recurring in season 4 lmao

I can imagine some people saying: lol the fern is dead. That is the final nail on the olicity coffin :p

[tennisgurl]

Every time that bad guy came on screen, I swear it looked like an American Peter Capaldi had just wondered onto my screen.

 

Oliver was just winning all over the place this episode. I hope people have already giffed the hell out of his face when Ray gave him a high five. That was pure "I cannot believe I have to breath the same air as this weirdo". And his constant eye rolling at Ray! It gave me life! And he broke my heart being all messed up about Roy. The one bad part? Get Roy a hug damn it!

 

Speaking of Roy, I don't even remember a time when I didn't love the guy. He has been this seasons quiet MVP, and I was THRILLED his death was a fake out. I`, sad he`s leaving, but hopefully he can come back soon. Colton did a great job, and I still root for him and Thea to work out. 

 

Quentin...mixed bad. His vendetta against Oliver is just ridiculous. I don't even understand his motivations at all. This is all about Sara? I get him being upset, but dear lord! It makes me long for the days when he was just being ignored, and not written out of character. On the other hand, I did like most of his scenes with Roy. He and Thea seem to be the only members of Oliver`s gang he has any sympathy for. 

 

Poor Thea! She is just having a horrible time of it! Please, resurrect here ASAP, and let her and Roy get back together and have lots of fun, vacation days! Pretty please! 

 

Ray...is still on this show. He didn't bug as much as normal, but he and Felicity are so awkward as a couple. And I still think that, while he was less awful than usual tonight, he just...is there. 

 

All in all, not too bad an outing, as long as they bring Thea back, very very soon! Plus, extra points for the Cisco cameo! 

[Starfish35]

Wow. That was a really good episode. I wasn't sure I'd ever say that about Arrow again (and it was soooo much better than The Flash this week.)

I only got two of my four guesses right. Roy lived - wasn't expecting that (but yay!). And Akio lived, for now, although I have a feeling that Tatsu's choice is going to end up getting him killed by the end of the season, and that's why she and Maseo are separated in present day.

Also, the foundry didn't blow up! I confess to being oddly disappointed.

I only have two or three issues (seems like there was another one but I can't remember it right now).

1) Felicity not recognizing the guy right off didn't work for me. Someone as smart as she is should have been able to put two and two together pretty quickly upon seeing the weird guy wearing sunglasses at night,

2) I know Thea being alone in the loft was necessary for that final scene, but it just doesn't ring true for me that Oliver wouldn't have called her or picked her up to come say goodbye. And the fight scene didn't really work for me for some reason. It seemed a little too obviously choreographed.

3) Laurel is always going to be hit and miss with me apparently, even out of the suit. I actually liked her doing her lawyer thing back in 317. Here, even in her brief apparance, she was getting on my nerves for some reason. And sorry, MG, but I'm underwhelmed by that being the "goes pretty far for Oliver" part.

I'm having so many conflicted feelings about Lance. Part of me wants to hate him, but I can't because it's PB. And also, I keep remembering that if he knew about Malcolm, he would actually have a legitimate complaint. But he's still going too far.

The rest was great. It's amazing how much better Ray plays off the whole group than he does just Felicity. Especially Oliver. They should have put the two of them together long ago. Felicity and Ray are just.....not good together (in my opinion of course). But Ray and Oliver, and Ray and Cisco (great surprise crossover btw)....that really works well, and gives me hope for the spinoff. I rewound and watched the "there's a good chance you and Palmer are related" scene several times.

Roy....ah Roy. Oliver's face, when he saw him. *sob* I'm going to miss CH, but I'm glad he wasn't killed off. Goodbye Roy! Hope we see you again soon.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Starfish35

[Xenith22]

I keep remembering that if he knew about Malcolm, he would actually have a legitimate complaint.

100x this!  If they had just had Quentin learn that the Arrow was harboring and working with Malcolm then they would have had to destroy Quentin's character at all.  He would be fully justified in not trusting Oliver to operate as a vigilante anymore and wanting to shut him down or even arrest him.  If that was the case I would not have had the slightest issue with anything he has said or done with the exception of gloating about how Roy was going to get shivved eventually (and not doing anything about it).  Instead the poor writing about it being 99% about Laurel's lies about Sara has been making me despise what the character has become to the point where I am just about ready to start fastforwarding through his scenes...and I don't even fastforward through Laurel or Ray scenes yet.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Xenith22

[catrox14]

I literally laughed when Quentin told Thea is the most naive thing...I thought....Um 'pot meet kettle' there Quentin...

 

It was much more fun when Quentin was willfully obtuse about Oliver.  Maybe he's just projecting all over the place...

 

That scene between Diggle and Oliver...Holy crap. That was intense.  And I know I'm weird, but there is something I just love when Oliver calls him 'John'.  It's like you know Oliver is serious, and there is so much love when he says his name and he even sounds different when he says "John"....Maybe Oliver is really in love with John Diggle. I'd ship me some Quediggle...or Diggiver...

 

And Stephen was amazing this entire episode.

Edited April 16, 2015 by catrox14

[looptab]

Loved this episode. Maybe my favorite of the season.

 

Oliver controlling Ray's suit was cool. But apparently inspirational speeches can do much more for our heroes. LOL

 

Oliver and Ray were fun; Oliver's jabs at Felicity were awesome, and her almost!ILY, too. Great O/D, O/R, T/R.

Every time they give us Original Team Arrow all feels well, even when they're in the deepest ish. They got me with the fake out, when they stabbed Roy I got so angry that they had actually killed him. But glad it was all a plan, because I, like Oliver, couldn't reconcile with Dig and Felicity being so cool about it all. 

 

I knew the Foundry wouldn't actually blow up, but was it super sad when the cops got inside. More so than when every other villain wrecked it.

 

Still no Thea and Felicity, well, at least they were in the same room, so Yay? And they might have shown Thea drinking almost as much as Laurel last season, if not more. :/

 

Very sad that we won't be seeing Roy, just when I had started to really like him. Glad they didn't kill him, but there was so much potential, and his exit felt a little too..lazy? Say something about him bringing the mission somewhere else, and never stopping to try and do good. And not having Thea there for the goodbye..not good.

Also, if Malcolm Merlyn can just stroll about Starling City, why would Roy leave? Why wouldn't he just stay hidden? 

 

Loved the goodbye scene and I do think Roy is gone, probably because of that movie rumor.
 

What movie rumor?

 

ETA: I wonder what this tweet by Stephen Amell was about :)

 

So... when Stephen looks at you, go limp.

Edited April 16, 2015 by looptab

[BkWurm1]

Ok, wait . . but why couldn't Thea be there to say goodbye to Roy? She knows the truth about everything else, why would they keep this from her?

I guess she was too busy getting murdered by R'as?

I think it's because Roy couldn't say goodbye to Thea.  He wanted her to know he was alive, but the plan required him to disappear and while she should have had a chance to decide what she wanted to do, I think Roy assumed he'd be leaving alone (or that he could only vanish if he was alone ) and as hard as the goodbyes were to his team, saying goodbye to Thea would have been impossible.   Still how much more emotionally charged would it have been for us to have that goodbye and then Thea going home and getting killed! 

 

Not that I can complain too much about what we got. 

 

LOVED Roy and Diggle and Felicity teaming up. They suckered me, I gotta admit. I was so happy that Roy was alive AND that Diggle and Felicity weren't as coolly practical as they'd seemed.

 

I was scrunching up my forehead trying to figure out what was going on with Roy's "death" after it happened, cause yeah, they didn't shoot it like he was really dead, dead but we see Thea and Oliver believing it so I was still trying to figure out what was going to happen thinking "how could OTA ever trust and work with each other again?" and then there he was, not dead (and acting about as just stabbed as Ray was - yeah the blood clot was gone but dude, shot in the chest with an arrow!) 

 

I wasn't totally shocked Roy was alive (and I was too numb with confusion to be sad )but I was surprised that Felicity and DIggle had been in on the plan -  I was very happy Roy was not dead but most of my relief centered on Diggle and Felicity not being culpable in Roy's death.   

 

I might have missed something but was there a reason Digg and Felicity didn't tell Oliver and Thea about the plan? I can't think of any reason not to other than 'plot twist!' It seems really cruel not to let them in on the secret. I mean, Oliver was devastated (SA was so good in that moment).

 

 

There was a line in the explanation that implied Oliver wouldn't have let them go through with the plan since Roy was in real danger of being attacked while he was in Prison as we saw, but they had to have faith he was skilled enough to survive until their man could put the plan into action.   As for Thea not being told, maybe again Roy didn't want her told since he'd still be leaving and maybe she'd try to stop him or convince him not to go through with it. 

 

Oliver had to control the suit because Ray couldn't fight but as soon Ray 'believes in himself' he can suddenly punch it out just fine?

 

My fanwank?  While Oliver was no longer in control of the suit, just the short time he had been controlling it during the fight would have provided the suit's database with enough information to subtly correct the punches that Ray threw so that all Ray needed was the will to believe he could do it (and him actually trying) and the suit would make up for his lack of training.  I'm going to keep this bit of head cannon FOREVER. 

[BkWurm1]

I didn't like how close she was with Ray in front of Oliver, it turned me off completely. Felicity fawning over Ray and almost kissing him in front of Oliver then going around and telling him "You're the man I..." was not my cup of tea.

 

Ray kind of reset their relationship back to the point where they were being a little too cutesy in a trying too hard to fool themselves way (at least that's how I saw Felicity acting on The Flash in 1.18 and even in her hospital scenes with Ray in the earlier part of 3.18)  Felicity probably was overcompensating for NOT saying "I love you" to Ray with some extra attention, plus I think they had a dynamic in his lab while working on the suit where they were rather touchy feely or so I tried to tell myself. 

 

When push came to shove, we still saw where her heart remained.  Since Ray gave her an easy out after his ILY, she was able to put off having to end things, which a part of her doesn't want to do since they are compatible in many ways...but too much alike isn't always the best thing either.   Oliver get's best line of the night. 

 

Oliver also IMO gets Best Look Award for his reaction in the flashback to being told that there was no way they could get off the island (Hong Kong) alive.  His look was pure "I can't believe I'm right back to being stuck on another fucking island."  The incredulous grin, the slight laugh of disbelief, the rueful shake of his head, the tears he's blinking back, the look of determination while he sets his jaw.   I was very impressed with SA.

 

A little moment that hasn't been commented on between Ray and Felicity, she's trying to track down energy use on her computers and Ray is leaning over trying to help and she smacks his hand away.  Pleased me on a several levels.  :D

Edited April 16, 2015 by BkWurm1

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'm glad someone finally asked about the basic needs of the metahumans at Star Labs. It's really been bugging me. 

I agree but too bad we didn't actually get an answer from Cisco or anyone at Star Labs.

 

I love that they managed to get every print out of the foundry BUT ROY'S

Even though I agree that they probably just wiped everything down and then had Roy walk around touching stuff, I like to imagine Felicity walking around with some electronic device that identifies fingerprints and then wiping off all but Roy's and muttering, "Boy, you guys really like to touch every square inch of this place, don't you?"

 

Scene I laughed at the most?

 

 

I fucking LOVE John Diggle. 

This moment and Oliver rolling his eyes at Ray earlier made the entire episode worthwhile.

 

If someone had told me at the beginning of the season how happy, excited, and relieved I'd be to see Roy show up at the end of this episode, I wouldn't have believed them. I'm gonna miss him, but I'm glad he's still alive and Colton is up for coming back to visit. But really, Oliver? Dude goes to prison and fakes his death to save you, and all he gets is a handshake? Really?

 

 Ray's "epiphany" at the end cracked me up. Felicity was practically draped over him all episode long but when she half-embraces Oliver, he suddenly feels threatened? Really? Congrats to him on catching a clue, but that moment would've worked so much better for me if not for all the Raylicity PDA that preceded it.

Yes to all of this. Honestly, when Diggle gave Roy the manly shoulder pat, I was already thinking COME ON, but when Oliver just shook his hand, I was like geez, you guys. This kid sacrificed so much and is leaving town forever(ish) and you can't even give him a hug? And Ray's sad panda face as he saw Felicity link her arm through Oliver's was ridiculous. She was hanging all over Ray the entire episode but looping her arm through Oliver's after he thought Ray was dead, learned that he faked his own death to save Oliver, and then had to say goodbye to him was TOO MUCH?

 

 

 

So the cops go down to the Arrowcave, find THREE cases of supersuits - two prominently - and don't think to ask why there's only ONE vigilante? Not to mention that more than one vigilante has been seen in the city? Surely questions should be asked here. And why didn't Quentin bring that up when his boss was telling him to drop the case?

Especially since they're obviously not all the same size either! What was Roy's excuse going to be? "Uhh, my tailor got the measurements wrong but luckily those suits are really stretchy"?

 

ITA that SA's acting has improved since the show began. When he walked into the apartment and learned that Roy was dead, he did a great job of looking shocked, upset, and guilty while trying to hold it all in. But to be fair, I think the other factor is that in the first season, he was really holding in all his emotions so his character was not displaying as wide a range. Kind of reminds me of the criticism of Emily VanCamp in the first season of Revenge before the audience knew that she was keeping this emotionless mask to hide behind.

Edited April 16, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[BkWurm1]

I'm having so many conflicted feelings about Lance. Part of me wants to hate him, but I can't because it's PB. And also, I keep remembering that if he knew about Malcolm, he would actually have a legitimate complaint. But he's still going too far.

 

I have a hard time hating on Lance because I feel like I understand where he is coming from.  Yes, he's hurting and angry over Sara's death and that they kept it from him, but that isn't his driving force IMO of his actions anymore.  He's acting like a born again true believer, a zealot to his cause that can't process the world in anything but black and white.  He used to believe vigilantism was wrong.  He saw it as a clear cut issue and then he moved to the grey where he first condoned the Arrow's actions by not interfering and then went down the slippery slope to out and out working with the Arrow.  Lance was now the very thing he passionately believed was wrong. 

 

Sara's death pulled the rug out from under him.  Suddenly he didn't know who to trust or what to believe and his belief system reset to the black and white.  First he stops actively helping the Arrow and then when the copycats showed up, he once again starts hunting the Arrow because whether or not the Arrow was actually killing again, he was still the reason why someone was out there killing in his name.  The effects of vigilantism is the sickness Lance sees infecting his city and in his mind the only way to end the suffering was to eradicate the source of the disease

 

He very well knows Roy isn't the Arrow and while others were satisfied with the neat bow offered to them, Lance knows he hasn't done his job yet and yes, his anger at Oliver is absolutely personal and fueling him, but his motivation, at least in his mind, remains righteous and pure. 

 

I've heard it said that the newly converted (about anything really - be it political,religious or  philosophical ) should be locked up until they can calm down.  The cooling off period isn't about someone changing their viewpoint on their beliefs but being able to apply them without using them like Thor's Hammer and risk alienating those that would otherwise agree with the basis for his actions.  

 

The way Quentin feels, it's very reasonably for him to pull back from his partnership with the Arrow.  It's very reasonable that they look for the killer responsible f that rash of deaths and it's even reasonable to not rule out the Arrow until they have proof.  Then the Mayor is killed and now while they don't have any leads in the very likely copycat that is killing in the name of the Arrow, they do have the means to track down and bring to custody the actual Arrow.

 

I don't think Quentin would be getting "dude back off and chill" advice if he could contain his anger and frustration.  The Mayor was killed by someone that looked like the Arrow.  His cop buddies and the news media are fine and happy to have the Arrow locked up. Better yet, instead of one of the city's golden sons, it's just some punk from the Glades.  Quentin might be the only one that doesn't think the Arrow killed the Mayor but by his renewed by the book beliefs, Oliver remains morally responsible for her death and anyone else's suffering that happens because Oliver remains free. 

 

I can't hate Lance because he's trying to do the right thing and technically everything he's done is fully within the law and is also morally right.  Oliver Queen is a murderer.  It's just that we've seen that the ends do justify the means even if Lance is no longer able to accept that as truth.  He did once and it led to a world where Sara's closest confidants seemingly reacted to her death like she never existed.   

 

And now Quentin is still asking himself, would Sara be alive if the Arrow, if Oliver Queen, had been stopped when he first put on the hood? 

Edited April 16, 2015 by BkWurm1

[SleepDeprived]

I enjoyed that episode well enough. I was actually thinking that I would since I'm finding that the episodes co-written by Brian Ford Sullivan? End up being really good to me with lots of Team Arrow-y feels. Of course, the sample size is still too small since I think he's a newbie on the writer's team, and he hasn't really written a lot, but I feel pretty good about trusting an episode with his name attached to it (similar to when I see Berlanti's name), which bodes well for the next few episodes. I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass by season's end.

 

I think almost everyone, at one point or another, predicted Thea's death. I was proud that she didn't go down easy and tried to fight back, even against Ra's. Willa's stuntwoman hit that table really hard, though. I cringed. Alas, just like her dear Mother and brother, she still got skewered with a sword. Man, better keep those Queens far away from long, sharp blades in the future.

 

I have never been so happy to be wrong about a character before. I went from being apathetic about Roy to sort of liking him to really loving him. He really grew up these past 3 seasons. I will seriously miss his handsome mug. So very glad he didn't die and might return for guest spots every now and then.

 

I think most things that I loved have already been covered by everyone. Team Arrow being incredibly crafty and trusting each other with their plan that they didn't tell Oliver about, Roy/Thea being heartbreaking, Diggle/Felicity (even though they hardly spoke to each other, they kept sharing these looks that made me smile fondly), Oliver/Diggle, Felicity/Oliver, Thea/Oliver, Roy/Diggle/Felicity... Great stuff. Special commendation to SA for the impressive acting throughout, flashbacks and all.

 

I'ma just ignore the cringey, OTT PDA between Palmer and Felicity and focus on how, for once, Palmer didn't really bother me too much. The Oliver/Palmer dynamic was quite funny. I still rolled my eyes at Palmer here and there, and I cackled when he landed in a heap by the trash, but it's nice to have an episode where I didn't get too annoyed or creeped out by him. Thanks for continuing to dial down the crazy eyes, Brandon Routh.

 

9. "I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow." Heh.

 

This made me 'aww' and sniffle a little. But I would like to one day find out the backstory to how Felicity came to calling Roy "Scarecrow" affectionately. I'm assuming it's related to Wizard of Oz?

 

My fanwank?  While Oliver was no longer in control of the suit, just the short time he had been controlling it during the fight would have provided the suit's database with enough information to subtly correct the punches that Ray threw so that all Ray needed was the will to believe he could do it (and him actually trying) and the suit would make up for his lack of training.  I'm going to keep this bit of head cannon FOREVER. 

 

I would like to co-opt this headcanon. Because I find it really hokey to believe that Palmer all of a sudden found that inner!strength! that led him to have a really good form and great boxing skills to knock out Deathbolt after Oliver's hero pep talk.

 

The Alpha/Omega virus... Since we haven't really been shown what it does, maybe it has something to do with Cisco's discovery that metahumans seem to exist outside of the particle accelerator blast from CC?

[BkWurm1]

.

"I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow." Heh.

 

This made me 'aww' and sniffle a little. But I would like to one day find out the backstory to how Felicity came to calling Roy "Scarecrow" affectionately. I'm assuming it's related to Wizard of Oz?

 

 

All I know is that it's Dorothy's line to the Scarecrow before she leaves Oz.  That and what the Scarecrow wanted most from the Wizard was a brain.   Not sure If that last bit applies at all.   ;)

Edited April 16, 2015 by BkWurm1

[Oscirus]

There were so many things wrong with that police station confrontation I just can't comment. That scene pretty much just broke me. The rest of the show was fine. The ending was great. The acting in the other scenes was fine. But wow.  If you write yourself in a corner then just change the scenario, you don't just load your scene up with bullshit and hope nobody notices.

[Password]

Well that was an interesting episode. Oliver not being able to do a thing. Ray being inoffensive. Roy breaking my heart, Quentin making me want to break something. And the end. When Ra's turned up I was literally like "oh my word I'm so sick of this man".

Laurel in small, lawyer doses is pretty cool. I cheered her on when she stood up to daddy. I'm finding it very difficult to sympathise with Quentin tbh. He is quite literally just mad at Oliver for Sara. I say just, even though it may seem like a reasonable reason but I'm sick of him. I'll leave it at that.

Oliver was great this episode. His stubborn self. But when he teared up because of Roy...I couldn't handle it. I could not deal. How hilarious that Tatsu and Felicity said the same thing. I just bet, someone will die because Oliver decided to be more dependant. I can just see it now.

Ray and Felicity. I was baffled by their interaction during the first 20 minutes. Then the second half happened and it became clearer to me. When Ray told her it was a little "l" it seemed like Felicity jumped on that immediately and it put her at ease. Don't tell anyone but, I actually liked Ray this episode. Even felt sorry for him. Because even though Felicity was all worried and hanging all over him and wanting to kiss him, he must be extremely insecure about her feelings. At the end of the day, she ran from the hospital room when he said ily. Literally (or figuratively...no literally) RAN from the room. And he already knows she has/had feelings for Oliver. So even though seeing what Felicity did, linking her arm with Oliver, seemed benign, he still has that in the back of his mind. And now it's playing on him. Poor thing. Denial was so strong.

TA pulling a doozy on Oliver was so mean...but necessary. Poor guy was already in the middle of the grieving process, pretty much stuck at blaming himself and then BOOM! Roy is alive. I am so glad Roy is alive but...I miss him. EBR and CH were totally having a "we're best friends in real life so this is real" moment. Tears.

And now Thea is dead. Malcolm Merlyn! I am so mad at that man for this entire nonsense! Argh I'm sick of him. And Ra's too. I won't be sad to see his arc done this season. Argh.

Oliver fighting through Ray? YES! That was fantastic. Wait hang on do we know that Ray took some sort of boxing or self defense lessons? I've missed so many Ray episodes I wouldn't know.

Good episode. Next week should be interesting.

[paigow]

I think the arrow writers said that the fern will make another appearance this season and will be recurring in season 4 lmao

I can imagine some people saying: lol the fern is dead. That is the final nail on the olicity coffin :p

 

 

I am Fern... We are Fern

[tv echo]

I actually liked this episode overall, with one glaring exception: I still don't like the way Felicity is all cutsey and clingy around Ray.  It just seems too desperate - overcompensating for not returning Ray's ILY, as someone else said above - and so un-Felicity like.  (I also don't like her corporate hairstyle.  I prefer her longer, more relaxed hair style, esp. when it's pulled back in a ponytail.)

 

Biggest surprise:  Roy's faked death.  I was completely fooled.  No wonder Diggle and Felicity seemed almost nonchalant about Roy taking the fall for Oliver, why they left Roy's prints on the weapons, why they stopped Oliver from breaking Roy out of prison, and why Felicity kept telling Oliver that it wasn't that simple.  I think they didn't tell Oliver because Oliver would've tried to stop them from helping him or sabotaged their plan in some way.  He wouldn't have wanted Roy to leave Starling City and give up Thea because of him.  Roy probably didn't want to tell Thea because Thea would've wanted to leave with him and he didn't want her to give up everything for him.

 

Roy learned the art of subterfuge from Oliver - remember Oliver's ILY fakeout of Slade at the end of last season?

 

Biggest non-surprise:  Thea being 'killed' by Ra's al Ghul.  We kinda knew that was coming.  But kudos to Thea for trying to fight Ra's.

 

Best line of the night:  when Oliver said to Felicity, "There's a decent chance that you and Palmer are related." (After Ray babbled, "And when I say Atom, I mean the suit, not myself in the third person.")  Genuinely funny line.*

 

* Incidentally, this made me think about how season 3 would've been different if Ray Palmer had been introduced as Felicity's brother or cousin, rather than her love interest.

 

Second best line of the night:  also by Oliver when he said, "When I'm out in the field, my bow, my arrows - those are just tools. I'm the weapon."

 

I liked Oliver playing the experienced mentor role and instructing Ray on how to fight, much like he instructed Barry.  It takes more than superpowers and a high tech suit.

 

After Roy was attacked in prison, I thought it was telling that both Diggle and Felicity tried to stop Oliver from rushing to break Roy out of prison, but while Diggle failed to stop Oliver, Felicity succeeded with another 'I believe in you' speech (in this case, "you're the man I believe in").

 

Quentin's back on my list of annoying characters.  When Quentin told Oliver about Roy being killed in prison and said, "We both know whose fault this is" (meaning Oliver's fault), I immediately thought -- If Laurel had told Quentin about Sara's death right when it happened, Quentin wouldn't have been lied to and he wouldn't have gone on this bitterly angry rampage against Oliver/Arrow when he found out the truth, and Roy wouldn't have taken the fall for Oliver, gone to prison, and been killed.  So, no, it's not Oliver's fault - at least not entirely.

 

The flashbacks must be setting up season 4's story line because they seem to have nothing to do with the current season's story line - other than repeating lines about truth being better and letting people help you.

 

When the police raided the foundry basement, I noticed the director did a quick shot to Felicity's stricken face when the fern was knocked over.  Nice touch.

 

The final good-bye scene with Roy was heartbreaking.  You could tell the actors - esp. EBR - were emotionally involved as well.

 

While I was fine with Laurel's minimal presence in this episode, I initially wondered why she wasn't brought in on the plan to have Roy take the fall for Oliver and fake Roy's death.  If she had been in on the plan, then she would've been there at the final good-bye scene with Roy.  I mean, she's been fighting side-by-side with Roy for the past couple months.  Then I realized that Roy, Felicity and Diggle were probably protecting Laurel, who's still an ADA.  Even though Laurel has done questionable legal things in the past, maybe the EPs thought that having her participate in actively deceiving both the SCPD and the DA's office in such a way would be a step too far.  I wonder if Team Arrow will ever tell Laurel that Roy is alive.  Incidentally, it sounds like the actual DA has finally returned to Starling City from his/her extended fishing trip or whatever out of town.

 

Nice set-up at the end for another mystery -- how a metahuman (Deathbolt) who wasn't in Central City during the Star Labs explosion became a metahuman.

Edited April 16, 2015 by tv echo

[nksarmi]

Of course Roy wasn't going to die, only women can be killed on this show. 

Don't forget Tommy. Sniff.  But still very glad Roy isn't dead by whatever rules the EPs use.

[tv echo]

Some vid clips (courtesy of Olicity Queen) from this episode...

 

Olicity 3.19 Part 3 "There's a decent chance you and Palmer are related"

 

Olicity 3.19 Part 5 "I know who you are. You are the man that I -... believe in"

 

Olicity 3.19 Part 7 "...You forget to see that there are people who love you"

[Advance35]

I thought that was a VERY good episode, which is a refreshing change from what's become  the Norm.

 

I've never been overly attached to Roy but I did enjoy him with Team Arrow so I will miss that aspect of the character and I'd forgotten just how much Roy always felt the Arrow changed his life.   Oliver under the hood truly inspired him, enough that he would sacrifice his life (figuratively and literally) to protect Arrow.

 

Ray Palmer needs to go.  I don't like him or the actor.  I didn't in Superman and I don't here.  He tends to bring down otherwise good scenes IMO.  His romantic chemistry with Felicity is non-existant and I think his costume looks a little ridiculous.  Felicity comes off SO entertaining and engaging (to me) in scenes with just about everyone else (even the few she's had with Laurel) but put her in a scene with Palmer and THUD!!

 

I think Felicity is drawn to Oliver even when she doesn't intend to be.  And her almost saying the L-Word and Oliver's double-take at her were very well played by both.

 

It was also cool that Felicity was pro-active when going up against the opposition.  She's no fighter but she's always clever.

[Chaser]

They may make a comment later about how Laurel was in on Roy's fake out. I doubt it. As much as they say Laurel is apart of Team Arrow, I don't see much evidence of it on screen. Which does surprise me because I thought after her big arc she would be more of a member. I'm not complaining because I don't think she works in the group and ironically they just get rid of the one member who she could work with (IMO).

[blixie]

I'm glad Laurel wasn't in on it, and it has less to do with disliking Laurel, I just think no matter how piss poor  her transformation into BC has been SO FAR, maintaining some autonomy and distance for BC to be her own kind of hero is really important. It seems like her training with Nyssa, offscreen blessedly, leaves the room for her to develop into that without us having to suffer through it, AND also maintains the earned and  hopefully permanent tension between her and Oliver, that he's only really allowed her to stick around to make sure she's not getting herself killed.

[netlyon2]

I really enjoyed this episode, but I agree with many of you that this QL vendetta is going waaay too far.  It's making me dislike a character that I've loved, and doing so for rather silly reasons.

 

I have to admit, I cackled (not giggled, not snorted, but cackled) with glee when the camera cut to Ray's face after the moment between Oliver and Felicity.  Not proud of myself, but there it is.  I've tried to be just neutral on the character, but, man, is he annoying.  For me, Felicity walks the line between fun and irritating; Ray just pulls her over to the "Dude, shut UP!" side with him, IMO.

 

I found it really moving that they tied in Roy's determination not to lie to Thea again.  Of course, the way the scene was constructed made his very honesty deceptive--I thought he was saying that he would have to lie to tell her that he would be okay.  Turns out that his being okay (which neither Thea nor I believed) was the truthful statement.  I really root for those two; they have a relationship that feels totally honest and earned.  I would not have predicted that as I was too busy rolling my eyes when Roy was introduced way back when.

 

I also enjoy that the show continues to deal with the emotional impact of collateral damage.  It really worried me when Roy confessed to killing the police officer, even though I'm sure that it would have been difficult to use against him in court.  I guess he figured it didn't matter since he was going to "die" anyway.  Interesting how Avenging Angel Lance has become this magnet for confessions when granting absolution (or even penance) is the farthest thing from his mind. 

 

The final good-bye scene with Roy was heartbreaking.  You could tell the actors - esp. EBR - were emotionally involved as well.

I almost got teary again when I saw this tweet from SA:  https://twitter.com/amellywood/status/588515154955927553

Edited April 16, 2015 by netlyon2