S04.E12: Unchained

[Primal Slayer]

Thea could still be in the running I believe. Oliver could do all of this to get her out in the clear only for it to come bite him in the ass. 

[wonderwall]

With the way they've massively underused Thea this season and haven't even begun to integrate her into the team by talking to Felicity/Oliver/Diggle, I think she's safe. Thea has been severely sidelined this season IMO and still has a lot of potential considering none of her storylines have been tied neatly... Plus now that she's in a coma and fighting for her life again, I think it would be pretty underwhelming to see her die. 

[Primal Slayer]

They knew they had 3 seasons with Roy and yet his last year they didn't bother utilizing him that much, that's what they do.

[BkWurm1]

I don't know. I couldn't make sense of it. There was talk about his darkness but first he has to have #Poppy's forgiveness and huh? I just don't get it. They lost me. This is not the kind of Oliver I was expecting in s4 flashbacks. I thought he'd be more ruthless and unfeeling by now but look! He's falling in love and feeling guilty. Whaaaat?

I seriously don't understand what Oliver's flashback vision was about beyond it made him want to tell Poppy and end with a magic stone in his hand. The vision wasn't real but the stone was.  Huh?  You know what?  I don't care enough to try and figure it out.  At least Poppy got to have a new expression on her face. She did look upset. Still, I cared more about how pretty Oliver's eyes were looking in that scene.  

 

 

I'm telling you he should have just gone for a coconut! :)

 

Love that we have to be told by a hallucination that OQ loves #Poppy, because when they sleep together in a few weeks it won't be just because plot. It will be an organic for plot moment. 

 

Also, I really enjoy Shado. She made the flashbacks a little more interesting, even if it was only to give OQ a magic rock & some meditation. Even as a hallucination Shado & CJ prove to be captivating. #Poppy better have a greater plot purpose, because at this point, I would have preferred they had Shado or Mae be the ones working in the drug fields. I could have believed OQ in love with her and feeling guilt for killing her brother. It would have made a better comparison to the present.

I enjoyed her until she was revealed not to be real and then I had a hard time making myself pay attention.  Or rather, I paid attention but nothing made sense and I didn't care enough to pay any more attention than I'd already done. 

 

I though I was resigned to Oliver and Poppy having flashback sex but honestly, really thinking about it makes me ill.  Oliver has no business having sex with this poor woman. Just stay away from her.  I agree with Oliver, no he doesn't love her.  It wasn't denial, it was a correction. I'm ready to fanwank that his vision of Shado was being sarcastic and snarky and making a veiled jab at how little meaning in the end their love had really meant as well. 

[GirlvsTV]

I'm still confused. I remember Malcolm and Oliver shaking hands (blech) outside of her and Laurel's place and then the next thing I saw was Thea in a coma? Was it a flash forward to next week? Was I actually watching the promo for the next ep and didn't realize it, lol?

Edited February 4, 2016 by GirlvsTV

[apinknightmare]

I'm still confused. I remember Malcolm and Oliver shaking hands (blech) outside of her and Laurel's place and then the next thing I saw was Thea in a coma? Was it a flash forward to next week according to the ep promo?

 

No, after they shook hands, Laurel came out of the apartment and said, "Oliver, it's Thea." and then we cut to the hospital. 

[wonderwall]

They knew they had 3 seasons with Roy and yet his last year they didn't bother utilizing him that much, that's what they do.

I think the difference between Roy/Thea is that Roy didn't really have any storylines going on, nor did he have any connections that would be useful in the future like Thea's connection with Malcolm/Oliver.

[Morrigan2575]

I'm still confused. I remember Malcolm and Oliver shaking hands (blech) outside of her and Laurel's place and then the next thing I saw was Thea in a coma? Was it a flash forward to next week? Was I actually watching the promo for the next ep and didn't realize it, lol?

You got to watch out for those falling anvils...they'll get you every time :)

[hogwash]

I actually think they've used Thea really well so far. Especially compared to last season where she was finally in the thick of things but it was really stupid and wasn't remotely about her. The bloodlust stuff has really worked for me.

 

But why did Oliver thank Malcolm? For the advice to not try to make a deal with Darhk aka the exact same thing Thea, Diggle, and Felicity have already said? I have no idea what Malcolm was even talking about after they left Thea's room. It sounded like the same utter nonsense that usually comes out of his mouth. 

[foreverevolving]

When the crap did Oliver have time to go to Central City??? Whatever. Roy and Thea were awesome. Malcolm is gonna die (unless Oliver punks out)!!! Thank you, Nyssa al Ghul. 

 

they are probably talking about the crossover

 

I'm liking the parallel/contrast between Felicity and her father though. Both highly intelligent and skilled on the computers and yet both on opposite paths. One chose to use their skills for good and the other for evil. I dig it. Hopefully it should create some nice conflict. Gimmie!

 

and if you consider last week "Smoak" and the flashback from last year, Felicity was in many ways on the same path as her father but she chose not to.

i'd say this is a strong case of Nature v. nurture and how it effects personal choices.

 

I'm telling you he should have just gone for a coconut! :)

 

Love that we have to be told by a hallucination that OQ loves #Poppy, because when they sleep together in a few weeks it won't be just because plot. It will be an organic for plot moment. 

 

Also, I really enjoy Shado. She made the flashbacks a little more interesting, even if it was only to give OQ a magic rock & some meditation. Even as a hallucination Shado & CJ prove to be captivating. #Poppy better have a greater plot purpose, because at this point, I would have preferred they had Shado or Mae be the ones working in the drug fields. I could have believed OQ in love with her and feeling guilt for killing her brother. It would have made a better comparison to the present.

At least it wasn't buckles!

rather Poppy than buckles. hack better Malcolm and Ra's than buckles!

 

Edit: Wasn't Buckles.. what the hell was my brain thinking.

Edited February 4, 2016 by foreverevolving

[GirlvsTV]

No, after they shook hands, Laurel came out of the apartment and said, "Oliver, it's Thea." and then we cut to the hospital.

Ohhhh, I think I was so blacked out with rage at Malcolm and Oliver being buds that I missed it. Also, I naturally tend to block out LL so double-whammy for my attention span there.

Thanks! That was bugging me.

Edited February 4, 2016 by GirlvsTV

[TwistedandBored]

I really enjoyed this episode. It was fun. 

 

We all figured out Calculator was Felicity's dad but I really enjoyed their banter and tech fights they had. I hope we get more of that in the future. 

I also loved Curtis in this episode. He was really good. Echo and Emily work well with each other. 

Thea storyline bored me because I feel like we went through this last season too. Like didn't Oliver join League of Lames, kidnapped baby Sara, and "marry" a lesbian in order to save his sister? Yeah. So, please find something new for Thea.

I am going to believe Katana is still out there in the Arrowverse. 

 

Also, I laughed soo hard when Shado had to tell us (the audience) that Oliver is "in-love" with poppy. I just saw this as two fold kind of a thing.

1. They are setting up "this love" for a move they will make in the season finale hoping to shock us.

2.This is another woman Oliver hooked up with while he was supposed to be in love and longing for Laurel. LMAO!

[Chaser]

Meh.

I wanted more from Roy. I don't care about the LOA and I'm losing interest in Theas bloodlust.

Oliver, you have to kill Ras to save your sister. Sounds way to fimilar.

Sold on TA as Felicitys father. They laid a lot of interesting groundwork with him. I liked Felicitys reaction to seeing him (I thought they would go angry) and I like that she doesn't know he is The Calculator. Does he know she was the person he was cyber fighting?

Central City? Shut up Oliver.

[Primal Slayer]

 

So cute. 

[Guest]

Why did Oliver shake hands with Malcolm again?

[foreverevolving]

 

So cute. 

huh?!

[thuganomics85]

So, they are now resorting to Ghost Shado in order to wring some kind of life into the flashbacks.  It was great seeing Celina Jade again, but I wish she got more to do then just be Oliver's conscious about "fighting the darkness", and then suddenly inform Oliver that he loves this boring Poppy character, which even he seemed shocked about.  Talk about no build-up, show.  Of course, what I really wanted was Ghost Slade to pop up and be all "No, kid!  Embrace the darkness!", but that would have been too fun, plus Manu Bennett is currently too busy slumming it on some lame fantasy show.  But I miss Slade.  And Shado.  Hell, even Yao Fei.  The days when the flashbacks were actually interesting.

 

Roy!  The King of Unnecessary Parkour is back!  That was fun, even though every time I see him, I still remember the absolute worst moment of season three, where he got electrocuted by Ray, and Oliver just left him lying in a puddle of water like a jackass.  Not so good times!  But it was nice seeing him again, and Colton Haynes seem to be having fun, even if he still isn't the strongest actor here.

 

But, as usual, my favorite return was Nyssa and the beauty that is Katrina Law.  Love that Nyssa has fans in LOA and they stage a coup.  I'm glad she got whatever that Lotus was from Tatsu (hope they just talked it out), and it finally making her play.  Not a fan of them finding a convoluted way to have her make Oliver kill Malcolm instead of just doing it herself, but I'm just glad she's finally doing something.  I hope they at least tell her about all the crazy shit that went down with Sara.  And then maybe Rip can pop over and recruit her!  I can only dream...

 

Totally knew that The Calculator was going to be Felicity's dad.  And it is Tom Amandes!  I can live with that.  I certainly can buy Felicity getting her snark and quips from Everwood's Harold Abbot.  Plus, he is the man who also birthed Everwood's Bright a.k.a. one of the first roles from Chris Pratt.

 

Oliver thanking Malcolm for everything he has done and even shaking his hand is just fucking weird.

 

Nice to see Curtis again.  Even did a decent job dodging Roy's kicks for a few seconds.

 

I'm guessing Thea knocking on death's door means she's unlikely to be in the mysterious grave.  Have a feeling it is going to be someone "shocking" and done in a random way.  I just hope it isn't Diggle still.  Oh, shit!  And they better not have brought Nyssa back just to make it her either!  I need my Katrina Law, show!

Edited February 4, 2016 by thuganomics85

[kismet]

I asked in the spoiler section during the episode. Besides for cute pics, was there any purpose or rationale given for why OQ & Calculator were at the PT board meeting? Are they both members of the board? I can't imagine the company would have an open door policy and allow anyone into a meeting to reveal top secret business saving tech.

 

IDK, if it means anything, I just thought it was interesting that they both were at the meeting. I wonder if it will be important info for later.

[Morrigan2575]

Why did Oliver shake hands with Malcolm again?

Um, because? I got nothing....

But my guess is they did it so that the whole "you must kill Malcolm to save Thea" plot would have emotional weight.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Morrigan2575

[Primal Slayer]

huh?!

? It was a cute moment.

[Lady Calypso]

That cliffhanger though:

 

Nyssa: I can heal your sister on one condition.

Oliver: What?

Nyssa: Kill Malcolm Merlyn.

Show: *dramatic music*

Me: Ok.

 

Good episode, even if some things felt tacked on. 

 

ROY! Ok, if it doesn't come back as a main cast member in season five, I will be so disappointed. He works so well on the team. Plus, him and Thea are awesome together and they have so much chemistry. I was tearing up with their last scene together. 

 

Curtis was used really well in this episode. I loved him cheerleading for Felicity Smoak. Between him and Oliver and Diggle, Felicity's got a trio of cheerleaders by her side. 

 

Calculator was used efficiently, and I enjoyed his banters with his daughter. Now, let's hope this revelation doesn't blow up too much in their faces. 

 

We really didn't need the LOA stuff, or the flashback stuff. But honestly, not!Shado is just a small thing that made me actually not fast forward through the flashbacks. 

 

Yes, I think Malcolm must die. I assume he won't actually die next episode, so Nyssa better deliver the final blow. 

 

Since the writers probably had to write in something about Central City and chose not to acknowledge THE PROBLEM that has dampened this season, then I will ignore it too and pretend it's for business/Legends of Tomorrow/Barry reasons. I'll choose to imagine Oliver going to STAR Labs to find a cure for Felicity. I mean, Barry has some of that super speed in that nifty concoction that Harry whipped up, right? I'll pretend that the team is working on a way to help Felicity, even if it ends up to be just through her wheelchair. 

 

Also, when we first saw Roy parkouring and Laurel or Diggle said something about them learning that from Cirque du Soleil, I was screaming 'NO, WHO ELSE DO YOU KNOW LIKES TO DO UNNECESSARY PARKOUR FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER?!'

 

Roy, never change. Never, ever, ever change. Also you could tell how happy the cast was to have him back, Colton Haynes included. 

[Guest]

So...are we to assume that Nyssa went after that magical lotus flower to help cure Sara? Because I'm guessing she doesn't know that Sara is fine now, what with the fact she was left to rot in prison this whole time.

 

Still not sure why she doesn't just kill MM herself though. IMO they all deserve a stab at him. Nyssa, Sara, Thea, even Laurel. Felicity can whack him with a stick when he's down. LOL. Come on. Do it, show!

[benteen]

Can’t Oliver expose Ruva as Dhark’s wife to the public?

[Carrie Ann]

For an episode with WAY too much going on, this somehow still managed to feel like filler, and I think it's because it was just really lackluster. There wasn't much energy to anything. The dialogue was at turns rote and repetitive in a juvenile way, or it was super cheesy or unconvincing (those flashbacks, omg), and I felt no tension or suspense at any point. Maybe I was just not in the right mood for it? But it just didn't work for me tonight.

 

I sound more hostile toward Curtis than I really  am.  I like the guy a lot, but his sparkly perfection is so heavy handed.

 

I think I would feel this way more if someone else was playing him, but Echo Kellum has this really down-to-earth energy that takes all the wind out of that Gary-Stu-ness, for me. He's very present in his scenes and comes off as genuine, so I like him despite his rather shallow characterization so far. But I would like if Felicity could have a win at PT that involved something SHE made this season, versus using Ray's old stuff or things Curtis makes.

 

• And they narrowed the death down to 2 contenders (Diggle, Laurel) and we're grateful that Laurel's still in the running! :p

 

I'm confused by this--why do you feel like this episode ruled anyone else out?

[Primal Slayer]

Can’t Oliver expose Ruva as Dhark’s wife to the public?

He would need some proof, it would technically just be hearsay. Of course I thought it was weird that the media just believed Olivers word in the first place with no real proof. 

[foreverevolving]

I asked in the spoiler section during the episode. Besides for cute pics, was there any purpose or rationale given for why OQ & Calculator were at the PT board meeting? Are they both members of the board? I can't imagine the company would have an open door policy and allow anyone into a meeting to reveal top secret business saving tech.

 

IDK, if it means anything, I just thought it was interesting that they both were at the meeting. I wonder if it will be important info for later.

He's a tech mastermind, he probably hacked into the system, or created an employee card. Also I think I saw News cameras so he may have came in that way, by pretending to be a news person or something.

[apinknightmare]

He would need some proof, it would technically just be hearsay. Of course I thought it was weird that the media just believed Olivers word in the first place with no real proof. 

 

Have you not been watching this show for 4+ years? Everyone in that city is an idiot, I mean...they get in car accidents when the power goes out. 

[Chaser]

I can't get over how random this episode felt. The swing to Nyssa/LOA/Malcolm/Bloodlust just felt too abrupt. It was like DD who?

I honestly don't understand Oliver being in love with poppy. I know I tune out but not that much.

Really the only thing I enjoyed was the Roy/Felicity/Calculator stuff. Which would have been better if they didn't pull away to deal with the other stuff. It needed to be filled out. I mean did they just brush off Calculator?

[SmallScreenDiva]

I almost turned off the TV after Oliver mentioned running back and forth to Central City. Never mind when, that line was purely to set up the consequences for the Baby Mama Lie. What was that line last week from Goth Felicity about throwing up in the mouth? Ugh!

 

Fortunately, I do have affection for the tiny parkour-obsessed vigilante so I stuck around. Hi, Roy! Bye, Roy! I did want to smack him when he didn't even try to help Thea when she was falling off the ledge. Dude, WTF?!? I know you could have blown your cover that that's your ex-girlfriend dangling right there. Still, he and Thea did make me tear up at the end with their goodbyes. Much better farewell than the last time. 

 

Felicity and Oliver are just so amazing together that I get really ragey when I remember the BML. The little winks. The arm/hand holds. Oliver telling the team to indulge wifey because she's still very excited over their code names. The pride in his his eyes during her presentation. The optics of her wheeling down the ramp with him walking behind (also, my friends and I were really impressed with Emily's wheeling skills. It makes sense that Felicity would be adept now). Felicity expressing pride that he understood when she was babbling about tech stuff. Grrr, Arrow *shakes fist at writers*

 

I almost fell out of my chair when I got Original Team Arrow in the lair alone together. Laughed at the look Oliver and Diggle exchanged when Felicity started using her loud voice. Yep, girl is stressed. Who wouldn't be? 

 

I now have to clean butter off my TV because my friends threw popcorn at it when hallucination Shado told Oliver about his "love's" brother. WTF? Oliver hasn't even shown any attraction to the damn woman. And yeeesh about the acting. Go away, Poppy. I was feeling really bloodthirsty this ep, shouting "Die, die, die" every time she was onscreen. (I did that with Malcolm and LL, too).

 

This ep felt like a setup more than anything with too many subplots going. Glad to see Tatsu but irked that it was basically just a cameo. I want her to come to Star City and hang out with her fellow badass, Felicity. Good to see Nyssa but I'm starting to get annoyed when she pops up because that means the LOA are back again. Why does Oliver have to kill Malcolm? Why can't SHE do it? She seems to have supporters. (BTW, anyone else laugh during the Nanda Parbat fight scenes? Like, how could the minions tell who apart? Did the Nyssa supporters wear a pin or something?)

 

I wish I could care about Thea's subplot, but I honestly don't. Can't muster enough interest in it. At least, it might mean she's not the one in the grave, right?

 

LL is still useless. We all groaned when she started telling Felicity about backtracing components. Girl, just shut up. Don't give tech suggestions to Felicity. That's like a broccoli talking to ... well, Felicity. Doesn't compute.

[quarks]

Arrow's reunion episode! Mostly fun, but not without some issues.

 

Good things:

 

1. Felicity pwning Calculator. In the script. Heh.

 

2. Really liked that Felicity's adjustment to the wheelchair wasn't quite as fast/assured as it seemed last week. Also liked the show's acknowledgement that people can say incredibly tactless things to people in wheelchairs, and how gracefully Felicity handled that. 

 

3. And finally we know who Felicity's father is! YAY! And he's her opponent! DOUBLE YAY! And he's willing to have evil banter with her! TRIPLE YAY!!!!!!  And he thinks she's awesome. QUADRUPLE YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And he's against DRM and likes the Beatles. This guy is great.

 

4. And on that yay note, Yay! People were running around and jumping pointlessly over roofs again and parkouring everywhere! I missed that.  Plus things blew up.

 

5. Awww, Thea and Roy having to say goodbye again because Oliver likes to run around jumping on rooftops when not shooting arrows at people. Though I'm not quite convinced that Roy's going to manage to get a normal life.

 

6. Nyssa's breakout from the League of Assassins. And no, not just because it was nice to see most of the "Egyptian" stuff removed from that set!

 

7. Finally, there's actually a reason to have an election! Bring it on, Ms. Evil.

 

8. Loved that Malcolm is still trying to use Thea's bloodlust for the practical purpose of getting rid of pedophiles. That relationship is completely twisted and marvelously fun to watch.

 

Questionable things:

 

1. I remain impressed by how lucid and helpful everyone's hallucinations are! You go, Shado-hallucination!

 

2. Shado's fake return did manage to make the flashbacks more interesting, but at a price: I never exactly bought Oliver/Shado as an epic romantic pairing, but they made a much more convincing couple than, alas, Oliver and Poppy tonight, even as the show tried to tell me that flashback Oliver has now fallen in love with Poppy. And given that that's about to be a huge plot point in both the flashbacks, and, I assume, the current day, that's a problem - it's difficult for any of this to have a huge emotional impact if I can't buy that the two of them really care about each other. And that's after the most convincing scene that Poppy has had all season.

 

I don't think it helps that although we never saw Oliver falling for Laurel or Sara, the script did state that he'd known both of them for a long time before sleeping with either. He also had a history with McKenna, and it took him three seasons to sleep with Felicity, establishing that although Oliver certainly slept around a lot, he only really fell hard for people he knew well or were as batshit crazy and lonely as he was, hi Helena. Apart from the loneliness none of this applies in the Poppy situation, so what I'm getting here is that Oliver hasn't gotten laid in awhile and hey, here's a woman whose brother he killed! YAY ROMANCE.

 

3. Which leads me to a feeling of vast unhappiness that this plot is about to mirror the present day plotline because, oh, look, Oliver confessed that he lied to Poppy about killing her brother and that went badly, and now he's lying to Felicity about his son, doubtless haunted by whatever is about to happen with Poppy next week (something boring), which, first of all, Arrow, and not to say that it's a great idea to lie about your secret kid to the woman you're engaged to and living with, but there is a vast gulf between that, and lying to a woman that you barely knew about killing her brother while the two of you were trying to escape whacked out drug dealers on an evil island. And yes, I'm aware that this is deeply hypocritical of me, given my previous complaints that the flashbacks this year haven't been mirroring the present timeline, but still.

 

4. Yay, Tatsu! And....ok, bye, Tatsu!  That seemed to be a bit of a waste.

 

5. On a related note, I know the answer is "to have a girl on girl fight," but given that Nyssa and Tatsu knew each other, why, exactly, didn't Nyssa play the "This could help Oliver Queen" card before taking out a sword and fighting?

 

6.  Felicity's father turns out to be....a Batman villain. I know you're all shocked. Shocked.

 

7. And speaking of feeling shocked, I'm sure everyone was just as shocked as I was to hear Thea give Oliver the SAME EXACT SPEECH that Laurel and Felicity gave him about making her own choices. Quentin, Alex, Curtis, Diggle, you guys are up next.  Try to shock us with this speech. Try!

 

8. At least Oliver is lying to Alex now, too!

 

9. Remember way back in the first season when we were all complaining that an earthquake device was unrealistic and wouldn't work? Hello, new Palmer Tech battery capable of powering up a single building!

 

10. And has anyone on this show really thought about the long term economic effects of introducing a battery like that?

 

Never mind. I should know better than to ask.

 

11. Arrow, I know Americans are notoriously dependent on electricity and electrical devices, but you do know that power goes out all the time in the U.S., largely thanks to weather events, with very few people dying from this?  And exactly how does turning off an electrical system make a gas main blow up?

[catrox14]

So I can't help but think Felicity could sue for discrimination when the board member implied she couldn't do her job because wheelchair.

Also, I love Roy. I love Thea. I love Roy and Thea.  Can we just kill off Laurel and bring back Roy?

[calliope1975]

Okay, after hearing the Central City line, oh yeah, that was all in set up of the BMD. I doubt TIIC have thought out that BM would/should in a bizillion years, especially after the last few weeks, let OQ anywhere near her child, or that none of this makes sense in the context of what's been happening in show, but "good" is not a word I would associate with the writers, so I'm not surprised. I don't think it was in reference to the flashback because Thea was right there with him. 

 

Oh Show, this BMD crap is terrible and a pall over the whole season.

 

On a happier note, I just watched the parkour chase, and at point, laughed 'what the fuck was that' out loud to some stupid, unnecessary parkour move that Roy did. Damn, I missed this kid. Never change, Roy!! 

[apinknightmare]

Okay, after hearing the Central City line, oh yeah, that was all in set up of the BMD. I doubt TIIC have thought out that BM would/should in a bizillion years, especially after the last few weeks, let OQ anywhere near her child, or that none of this makes sense in the context of what's been happening in show, but "good" is not a word I would associate with the writers, so I'm not surprised. I don't think it was in reference to the flashback because Thea was right there with him. 

 

No, I refuse to believe! I need the one good point that terrible, google-alert-having woman made about Oliver being in the kid's life to remain intact. The only way it works for me is if Oliver's been driving out to check up on him without actually having contact because BM denied him, and even that is ruined by its creepiness.

Edited February 4, 2016 by apinknightmare

[quarks]

Bad things:

 

1.  Just last night, I was saying how nice it was for Felicity to get out of that hospital room just before Iris needed it. Tonight, I must thank Iris for getting out of that hospital room just before Thea needed it. But now, I'm worried, guys! Thea's STILL IN THE ROOM!  What if someone gets hurt on Flash next week and bleeds out and DIES just because poor comatose Thea is hogging Central and Star City's ONE HOSPITAL ROOM!

 

2. On a related note, I'm beginning to wonder if Star City's economy is ever going to recover, given that it only seems to have two warehouses, constantly under attack by bad guys. This CANNOT be good for the economy, people! BUILD MORE WAREHOUSES. Or try to make them look a bit different.  And has anyone told the Fast and Furious guys over on Flash that some of their cars got stolen and taken to Star City?

 

3. Oliver, dude. You do remember that the only reason Thea is under this bloodlust thing to begin with is that Malcolm thought it would be an awesome idea to brainwash the girl and have her kill your ex-girlfriend, sending Ra's Al Ghul off on his "Let's kill Starling City people in between introducing Ray Palmer to the show" spree, right?  Why are you thanking the guy? He's evil!

 

4. On a related note, WHY IS ANYONE LETTING MALCOLM STAY IN LAUREL'S APARTMENT? For all of my many criticisms of Laurel, nothing she has done on this show deserves that. Ok, well, she did dig up her dead sister and drag her dead sister's body to Nanda Parbat, so, ok, she might deserve this a little, but still.  And "family member" is not an excuse. Team Arrow just kept Andy in a cage without a bathroom for weeks!  You have a perfectly good basement to chain people up in, Laurel! We saw it!  

 

5. Oliver, by now we are all aware that you can come up with seriously bad plans, but "I know, I'll arrange a meeting with Damien Darhk to have him help with this bloodlust thing" has got to rank near the top of them. I'm all for saving Thea, but let's focus on ways that are a little less unbelievably stupid, shall we? Did you WANT to get Thea killed? I mean, when Malcolm is telling you that you are being an idiot, listen.

 

6. Convenient for Nyssa to remember this Lotus thing NOW, and not, say, back in episode five when Sara was running around killing people. I know Arrow really wanted John Constantine on the show, but really?

 

7. Two episodes in a row involving eyeballs is two episodes in a row too many, Arrow.

 

8. Not enough Diggle. This show always needs more Diggle.

 

9. And no Damien Darhk snarking on everyone!  Was I the only one hoping that he would show up at the Palmer Tech board meeting? I guess having one supervillain there was enough, but awwww for missed opportunities, especially since this battery thing seems to be the exact sort of thing that any good villain running an underground corn farm needs to keep his evil schemes going!

 

And now, Laurel:

 

I have to be kinda easy on her tonight, partly because she had the unenviable hell of having Malcolm IN HER APARTMENT, which I feel was quite punishment enough, and also, because she really had very little to do beyond one of her better stunt scenes.

 

And yet, once again, she managed to fail:

 

Number of times Laurel fails as an attorney, two: 1, failing to inform other city officials and the police that she had a mass murderer sitting in her apartment, like, hi, remember when, as an Assistant District Attorney, you mentioned that you're an officer of the law? 2, massive thanks for not warning other city officials that the power grid might go out and blow everything up, Ms. Assistant District Attorney. In theory, you aren't just a vigilante, you know.

 

Number of times Laurel fails as a vigilante (in fairness, some of these were shared with other characters in this episode), seven: 1, not recognizing Roy, 2, not recognizing that Roy was wearing contact lenses, something noticed by another person not even in the room, 3, letting herself get surprised by the Calculator's goons more than once, 4, having absolutely no idea what to do with the box thing, 5, failing to come up with an alternative plan that did not involve Roy flying down a rope to escape an explosion, 6, letting a mass murderer wander freely around her apartment like WHAT IS THIS, LAUREL? 7, not locking Malcolm Merlyn up in the basement even though she previously did that to her own sister.

 

Number of times Laurel fails as a human being, three: 1, not offering to let Roy spend the night while keeping her apartment open to Malcolm, 2, this may sound a bit hypocritical, but if you are going to have an evil mass murderer stay in your apartment, you really should give him a blanket and a pillow, Laurel! Thea and Oliver did last year! given that she did let Malcolm stay in her apartment, not offering him a blanket or a pillow on the couch, 3, in an odd script choice, barely seeming to welcome Roy back.

 

(Odd because Laurel was one of the first characters to meet and interact with Roy, and he was one of the first characters to support her choice to become Black Canary. They have an established friendship in the show; not sure why Arrow didn't give more of a nod to that, except that this was a crowded episode as it was.)

 

Number of times Laurel didn't exactly fail as a vigilante or a human but just proved to be generally useless, three: 1, standing back and watching as Team Arrow removed the contact lens from Roy's eye, like, that was helpful, Laurel, 2. standing back and watching as a wound opened on Thea's chest, like, that was helpful, Laurel, 3, opening the hallway door and shouting, "It's Thea!" when Thea collapsed again, like, again, helpful, Laurel, although to be fair maybe those few seconds were just the time that Iris needed to pack up her bags and leave that hospital room.

 

Sigh.

[tarotx]

I really enjoyed the episode (I even watched the flashbacks without wanting to fast forward. For the most point).  But it did feel like 3 mini episodes interspersed with each other so it felt disjointed at times. I think they are going with a more comic book pacing this season and some of last season. I wish they would go back to season 1 and 2 feel. 

[wonderwall]

I'm confused by this--why do you feel like this episode ruled anyone else out?

 

Okay so when I first wrote that post I was going by what twitter was telling me. But I just finished the episode and Idk I still feel the same...

 

I just think it's just way too overkill. S3, Thea almost dies, S4 Thea lands in the hospital after Sara attacked her, then Thea falls into a coma at the end of this episode. Is it likely that the show will just make her wake up next episode then kill her again? IDK But I know for sure she isn't going to die from this coma. IDK It's just too much. Just like I think it's too much for Felicity to die after everything the writers put her through this season. 

 

Also I think that this episode made it click that Thea has been vastly underused this season. We haven't seen her interact with the team members, even Oliver, that much other than a line or two, we haven't seen the writers sort of tie her issues open ended plot lines into a neat bow like they have with other characters, they haven't cut her off from her key relationships like Malcolm (who I'm becoming more and more sure will be the S5 big baddie)... 

[SmallScreenDiva]

Huh, part of my original post disappeared. Just when I got to the Calculator. Have I mentioned here how much I love Tom Amandes? I love Tom Amandes. I'm so thrilled he's playing Felicity's dad. Their banter was so much fun. With lines like the one about the Internet and cat videos, I can totally see where Felicity's snark comes from. It was weird seeing him sit next to Oliver and Felicity not noticing him (did he try to hide behind the person in front of him?). Donna returns next week so that should be fun. I definitely want more of the Smoaks (although he goes by a different last name, right? Cuttler?)

[Carrie Ann]

Ah, okay, @wonderwall, I guess I've never felt like it was Thea, and tonight did nothing to change that. I think it's Quentin, and again, tonight did nothing to change that. ;)

Edited February 4, 2016 by Carrie Ann

[calliope1975]

The only way it works for me is if Oliver's been driving out to check up on him without actually having contact because BM denied him, and even that is ruined by its creepiness.

 

That is actually something I hadn't thought of, but that may be what is happening. Then BM doesn't also look like a garbage mother in addition to being a garbage human, and Oliver gets to have his manpain of angst and lies. 

 

I completely understand the desire to not accept what the show is doing. I'm of the didn't see it, didn't happen school of thought. I hear that Felicity dated some guy last year, but...I have no recollection of that. (Seriously, my S3 consisted of, like, 8 or 9 episodes. It was great!)

 

Forgot to add - I'm so happy for Star(ling) City's Door and Window guy. I'm pretty sure he just bought a 2nd vacation home and a new yacht.

Edited February 4, 2016 by calliope1975

[EmeraldArcher]

I still think it's Laurel "Backbone" Lance in the grave.  She's so irrelevant. Exhibit 793: When talking to Roy about how everything is his (Oliver's) fault all the time, Oliver told Roy that Felicity and Diggle also got onto him about feeling responsible for every bad thing that happens. It seems like Oliver completely FORGOT that #TeamBackbone* said those exact words to him last week when they were training, um practicing boxing moves she's NEVER used in the field.

 

Furthermore, LL just co-opts other TA members' roles. Sure, Felicity is a freaking genius, so it totally makes sense for Laurel to make suggestions related to Felicity's domain.  Everyone will get a chance to tell Laurel how to lawyer, right? She adds nothing to the team or the show.

 

*Incorrect use of hashtags a la Poppy is my preferred way to convey #UtterContempt.

[apinknightmare]

That is actually something I hadn't thought of, but that may be what is happening. Then BM doesn't also look like a garbage mother in addition to being a garbage human, and Oliver gets to have his manpain of angst and lies. 

 

I completely understand the desire to not accept what the show is doing. I'm of the didn't see it, didn't happen school of thought. I hear that Felicity dated some guy last year, but...I have no recollection of that. (Seriously, my S3 consisted of, like, 8 or 9 episodes. It was great!)

 

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I really don't care about what Oliver does - I've accepted that he's going to lie about it for max drama because plot, and it's whatever to me at this point. This plot is stupid in every way, but it has one shred of legitimacy to it, and that's the BM thinking that Oliver's life is too dangerous for William to get involved in - I am really, really hoping that they stick to that and don't have Oliver visiting CC and actually making contact with the kid and having visits with him. If they do that, they'll lose the only good point they had in that clusterfuck. 

[Ann Mack]

The thing that is confusing me most about the flashbacks is how Oliver is feeling guilty and wanting forgiveness. This doesn't really connect to the Oliver we saw in the Pilot. Aren't we supposed to be building to that? I feel like they've gotten lost somehow.

 

Also they're dull. SO DULL. So much bad acting. 

Exactly why are we having Shado come to Oliver to help him achieve a damn zen state of mind and being. I thought he was suppose to be moving toward being savage and losing his humanity. Not starting a lonely guilt trip confession club so he can release his inner darkness and embrace his light which is Poppy.....really show Poppy. I am so damn confused by what story they are trying to tell with these flashbacks this season.

[tarotx]

Yeah I was smh at Malcolm in Laurel's apartment but it wasn't ADA related. The evil man drugged his own daughter to kill Laurel's sister. And Laurel knows Malcolm has Nyssa in prison.

 

Once again no Quinton. And Laurel really didn't add anything but be another body in the field. No personal touches. Even with Malcolm at her apartment. So who should be the grave? Yes I know nothing really personal about Diggle but he had the cute moment with Oliver dealing with Felicity's loud voice.

[wonderwall]

Ah, okay, @wonderwall, I guess I've never felt like it was Thea, and tonight did nothing to change that. I think it's Quentin, and again, tonight did nothing to change that. ;)

 

Shhh can we all just forget Quentin exists for once and believe it's Laurel the writers are pointing to?! :P

[Guest]

Let's face it, Malcolm being allowed to live has overstayed its welcome for ages now. I still can't believe Thea allows him to be in her life considering he not only mind raped her and turned her into a murderer but oh yeah. Killed over 500 people! HAS EVERYONE FORGOTTEN THIS?! 

 

So Oliver shaking hands and thanking him and Laurel letting him in her apartment is just like whatever at this point. Frustrating and dumb but plot.

[Moya the Leviathan]

was there some kind of drinking game or trope bingo the Arrow Crew were all in on? This was so epically ridiculous it became awesome. There was DC universe's only hospital room, two daddy villains, felicity technobabble, magic babble, redshirts, Diggle truth tea, dramatic standing and furrowed brows, explosions in warehouses and myth-arc anvils galore. Sadly we missed a training montage and not enough tasteful nudity for plot purposes to win the grand prize, but I can't help but feel these were the outakes for some kind of Marc Guggenheim Roast ceremony. I shouldn't be laughing so hard, but the sheer amount of pretty (and Unnecessary Parkouring)on the screen kinda distracted me.

"Oh don't look at me like that's the craziest thing we've come across". ZING!!!

[statsgirl]

Well, Palmer Tech should be sitting pretty.  That GaryStu of a battery (completely recyclable, fast charge, stores massive amounts of energy, compact and already compatible with multiple devices like cars and buildings) would change the world.  It would be able to bank all the unused energy created for a rainy day.  Curtis should be both proud and really bummed that all he gets is an annual salary for a product that could revolutionize the world. It's ok though, he's just that terrific of a guy, he doesn't mind. 

In my head canon, Felicity is the kind of CEO who gives him a percentage of the profits as a bonus for his work.

 

Oh Roy, I didn't appreciate you enough when I had you.  Also, you make Alex look like a huge mistake.

 

I though I was resigned to Oliver and Poppy having flashback sex but honestly, really thinking about it makes me ill.  Oliver has no business having sex with this poor woman.

Now that you point it out -- true.  There was all kinds of power dynamics going on there and a decent Oliver would not have slept with her.

 

On the other hand, this is the only example of Killing Machine Oliver we've seen in the flashbacks this season, and he was supposed to be getting worse and worse.

 

I asked in the spoiler section during the episode. Besides for cute pics, was there any purpose or rationale given for why OQ & Calculator were at the PT board meeting? Are they both members of the board? I can't imagine the company would have an open door policy and allow anyone into a meeting to reveal top secret business saving tech.

I expect Oliver to be there when Felicity is giving her big speech because she goes to all his big speeches.

 

I figured her father just snuck in after reading that PT was going to have a big board meeting in the business section of his e-paper.  I don't think they check ID at the door for those things.

[Slovenly Muse]

Last season, Nyssa was furious at Oliver for killing her father before she could do it herself. Now she's forcing him to do her dirty work? Lame. This is such an obvious case of plotting that serves the story instead of the characters. And what exactly did she say to Tatsu to convince her to hand over the super-secret magic flower? "I will use it to hold the life of Oliver Queen's sister hostage in order to force him to kill my enemy for me?" This is the kind of plot development that only serves to make things unnecessarily harder for everyone, but does not actually make any earthly sense.

 

I love that they got the accessibility issue in the lair figured out, but watching Felicity manoeuver down that ramp made me wonder about the design of the place in general. Why have the computer station raised like that? Why the railing around it? Why the one ramp? History shows that sometimes, when the bad guys find the Arrowlair, you have to be able to GTFO in a hurry. And since Felicity spends the most time there while the others are in the field, I have to wonder how effective that whole design would be if she ever needed to travel between her workstation and the exit in an emergency. I mean, she can't exactly just hop the guardrail and sprint for the door like everyone else. Aiming for that one narrow ramp and steering down it is a cumbersome process. Even taking down the railing (which does zero for safety anyway) so that she could roll off and drop to ground level in a life-or-death situation would be an improvement. I know it's THEIR lair, but that whole area of it is really Felicity's workstation, designed for her ease of use, so maybe it's time for a more practical re-design than just adding one little ramp.

[pivot]

This episode was fun except for the unnecessary flashbacks. I've given up and just fastforward through all of them.

This episode reminded me of the fun character we lot with Roy and that we are still saddled with the "acting" talents of Katie Cassidy.

I love Curtis and Felicity scenes almost as much as I love the Felicity and Oliver scenes.

The Calculator was a cool addition to the show. Nice to see Felicity in a battle of wits for once.

Wish we could have some Thea & Felicity bonding scenes instead of Laurel & Thea. What a waste.

I can't pretend to care about Malcolm & the League nonsense.

[Racj82]

Solid episode but there was lots going on. Maybe too much?

Loved the banter between Felicity and Calculator, actually wish there had been more of it. And nice reveal at the end that he's her dad. Does that mean he knows he was battling his daughter online or did he just check in to see her because he was in town?

Oliver going back and forth to CC to see his son (not confirmed but pretty obvious why that line was dropped in there) is so disappointing. I thought he was supposed to be there for Felicity? Not exactly what I call being there tbh. Sigh. Samantha is even more of a garbage human and makes her need for the lie even more ridiculous and contrived. Just GTFO trash.

The Thea stuff feels like a retread of s3. Kind of bored by this. And I predicted that Nyssa would have something to offer Oliver but not relating to Thea. Kinda thought it might help Felicity. Guess everyone gets a second chance but Felicity gets stuck in a wheelchair. Cool. That's cool. Thanks.

The stunts and parkour were really great tonight. And Oliver finally took out some guys on his own. IT'S A MIRACLE! THEY REMEMBERED!

Felicity is in a wheelchair. She was never dead. There is no second chance to give.