S04.E17: Beacon Of Hope

[Tara Ariano]

Brie Larvan breaks out of jail and turns up at Palmer Tech threatening to kill everyone unless she gets the bio-chip that is implanted in Felicity's spine. Meanwhile, Oliver looks to a surprising ally to help rescue Felicity, Thea and Donna who are trapped in Palmer Tech with everyone else.

[dtissagirl]

That was equal times filler and fun.

 

More Thea and Felicity sitting around, please.

 

I've never liked Laurel more than in this episode. I feel weird.

 

Emily Kinney is a terrible actress. Yikes some of those line deliveries.

 

Echo Kellum's superpower is making Curtis adorable even when he should be annoying.

Edited March 31, 2016 by dtissagirl

[Sunshine]

I think the writers tried too hard with Curtis.  I found him more annoying than funny.  Didn't expect that.

[kismet]

Caught the last 40 min of the show it was pretty fun... Just wanted to drop in and say I (along with others here) so called Andy being "BAD". And how many times can the bad guys say "mutual friend".

 

Also kudos for Arrow for actually doing something good and putting the Christopher Reeves website up. Finally at least they acknowledge the severity of spine injuries...

 

Alright, got peace out for now Empire is on!! :)

[Delphi]

They waited four years to write Laurel correctly. That's just really fucking annoying.

[AyChihuahua]

I didn't like it, at all really, but it didn't make me angry. I felt like it was trying too hard or something.

 

Pretty worried about Paul, though.

[Angel12d]

I liked the episode. Laughed a few times. Curtis was great but I'm not sure I'd want him in the lair every single episode. It was a bit OTT at times.

 

The bee puns were embarrassing. LOL.

[InsertWordHere]

"I want the microchip spec or your friend relives my favorite scene from My Girl." Too far, Evil Beeth Greene, too far.

[Jediknight]

Andy is still with Darhk?  I for one am shocked.  Who saw that coming, besides everybody?

[apinknightmare]

So, is Andy a double crosser, or a double double crosser? I can't tell. 

 

I liked this ep, even though I thought it dragged a little. I think they tried too hard with Curtis a lot of the times, but I did think he was enjoyable when he wasn't being too much.

"I want the microchip spec or your friend relives my favorite scene from My Girl." Too far, Evil Beeth Greene, too far.

 

Haha. Wanna go tree climbing, Thomas J?!

[statsgirl]

I liked this episode.  Echo Kellum did a great job of making Curtis geeky but fun, yay to Donna for realizing that flats have their benefits (I wonder about her conversation with Quentin when he drives her home) and Laurel was someone I wish they had put in in season 1.  I thought she was great with Oliver, her support of Felicity, and her smile after saving the day with the Canary Cry (fortunately modified by Curtis).

 

Some of it was silly, like the bees replicating inside of Oliver on zero material but generally a good episode.

 

Then only thing I didn't like was Thea being so so cool with Felicity.

 

I wonder what the Board said as they reached the destroyed "panic room".

 

ETA: I think the answer to whether Andy is bad or just pretending to be bad is whether they want to keep the character for next season.

 

Did Curtis recognize Spartan of just make the logical leap from when they went to grab Ray?  Did he not remember Diggle from the fateful Christmas party?

Edited March 31, 2016 by statsgirl

[Soulfire]

Briefly, about the ep --

 

• Oliver Queen + Harry Potter -- a story EVERYONE wants to find out more of.
• Nice to see Oliver and Laurel getting closure, I suppose. (Amell and KC are physically awkward with each other. Yikes.)
• "So, can anybody just walk in here?" The smart Lance asking what the audience has been asking for years.
• I have no clue what's going on in the flashbacks. They're so boring and I'd complain more about it, but I've already lost interest in the subject.
• Loved Felicity and Thea's scenes together.
• Felicity: “We’re in a Die Hard movie with bees.” LOL

 

GIFs coming soon...

Edited March 31, 2016 by Soulfire

[Primal Slayer]

I actually prefer this episode to last weeks. Brie could've been written way better, like A LOT better though. Her entire excuse for targeting Felicity was just so stupid and lame that I had to roll my eyes big time.

 

Laurel was on her A game tonight, girl was flawless! This is how Laurel should've been written all along.

 

I still can't wrap my head around Felicity leaving the team and her not being about that life when she was the one who yearned for it at the beginning of the season.

 

Felicity and Theas scene at the end was very good.

 

Curtis was a hoot though a bit much at times. 

[apinknightmare]

I *hate* to agree with MG about anything, but I did think this ep was pretty funny. Terrible puns and cheese aside, I thought there were some good one-liners, like Donna saying she had to squeeze Felicity's feelings out "like a pistachio," and Curtis had some good lines, too. 

[Shriekingeel]

Oh, the dialogue on this show. "If I can save the city, why can't I save our relationship?"

[InsertWordHere]

Haha. Wanna go tree climbing, Thomas J?!

He can't see without his glasses. Put his glasses on!

 

Speaking of glasses, I loved when Donna patted Felicity's after bee lady called her "Glasses."

[Angel12d]

I thought Donna was great in this episode. I really like Donna/Felicity's relationship. And I LOL'd when she grabbed the wet floor sign as protection. Haha.

 

The Thea/Felicity scenes were good too. Wish we'd seen more of them before now. The last one was the nicest because it didn't feel like the first time they'd sat and hung out together and just talked. Nice.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Angel12d

[Morrigan2575]

I swear this felt like a Flash episode with Curtis in the Cisco role.

I liked it, glad we got a ton of Felicity/ Thea scenes. Loved that Felicity killed the Bee Dude but, I'd have preferred if Felicity got to take down Brie instead.

I need a gif of Donna running or trying to.

I still have to shake my head at the stupidity of the stunts. I swear that group jump and all I could think about was the line in Deadpool...oh, oh Super jump...that's hard on the knees.

[wonderwall]

Oh, the dialogue on this show. "If I can save the city, why can't I save our relationship?"

 

It isn't an episode of Arrow if it doesn't have cheesy dialogue ;)

[GirlvsTV]

That was fine. A nice breather from the last episode.

Enjoyed Curtis in the lair, although he's the only character down there I'm having positive vibes towards at this point. Glad he chose not to join up for the time being. I know it was Felicity's decision to leave the team, but I'm not ready for her to get a replacement yet.

No idea why we had to be beat over the head with how much pain Oliver's in after the split. I honestly don't care, especially since we still haven't really gotten Felicity's POV on it. I thought we might after Donna's comment about how she wasn't opening up, but I guess not.

I am really glad someone explicitly stated the breakup was due to the choices Oliver made and I even think it makes perfect sense for LL to have been the one to serve up the Truth Tea. However, I did think that first scene between them was ten levels of awkward and I'll never understand the choice to have her crouch/squat when she uses the Cry. It's not a good look.

Did the writers have a bet going to see how many movie references they could add in? I did love the, "Die Hard with bees" line. And, "Bee Arthur!"

Edited March 31, 2016 by GirlvsTV

[Scribbles]

Fun episode, with much too like and a few things that seemed off:

Likes: 

1.   The puns played well.  It is a show about a superhero from a comic book, it should have these moments from time to time. 

2.  Curtis was spot on and the episode took him from one point to the next.

3.  Director deserves kudos for taking a lot of story and big moments and weaving them together

4.  The parallel of the two big fights (lair and Palmer tech office) was fun to watch.

5.  Nice Thea and Felicity moments.

6.  The Andy Diggle reveal

7.  Murmur as jail boss, just fits.

8.  Quentin's coffee pot smash when tech didn't kill the bee vs Felicity's making tech solution when using just a lamp post as weapon would not have fit her strengths....nice contrasts

9.  DD and MM snark fest ....age and performance issues just lol (only MM to DD could land that line so well)

Didn't Like:

1.  I really thought the Beacon of Hope speech to Oliver by Laurel would have been world's better from Diggle to Oliver

2.  It is sad Paul is on deathwatch so Curtis can be hero, the anvil fell hard and clunked there

3.  Donna is situationally smarter than they presented her here. 

[hogwash]

Is it just me or does Felicity's rationale for quitting Team Arrow not make any sense? 

 

I really liked this episode and even some of the bee puns. 

[Soulfire]

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus: the "new" Olicity vacation pic on Felicity's work desk --

 

[apinknightmare]

Is it just me or does Felicity's rationale for quitting Team Arrow not make any sense? 

 

I really liked this episode and even some of the bee puns. 

 

It doesn't. I get that they wanted to give her a reason outside of not being able to be around Oliver, but the one they gave her doesn't quite fly based on what we know of her. And I don't see how making PT a "beacon of hope" is something that would take the place of her work on Team Arrow. Her whole livelihood depends on her doing that, like...it's what she's supposed to spend the majority of her day doing at work, haha. 

[AyChihuahua]

I did like the opening sparring scene.

[Angel12d]

Yeah, I have to agree, I'm not feeling Felicity's reasoning for not going back to the team. She's the one who said helping the team gave her life purpose. I'm just...what?

 

I'd rather she just say she needs time and space away from Oliver and is gonna focus on her work at PT for a while.

[Morrigan2575]

It doesn't. I get that they wanted to give her a reason outside of not being able to be around Oliver, but the one they gave her doesn't quite fly based on what we know of her. And I don't see how making PT a "beacon of hope" is something that would take the place of her work on Team Arrow. Her whole livelihood depends on her doing that, like...it's what she's supposed to spend the majority of her day doing at work, haha.

It really doesn't seem to fit. However, at least they're giving her an actual PT storyline.

BTW i think they set Paul up for death in this episode.

[Coop33]

Well Thea and Felicity's relationship certainly went from 0 to 100, but I'm not complaining. Loved seeing them together. But, Felicity's reasoning for staying away from the team made zero sense to me.  I'm just going to fanwank that she's lying to herself about it to make it all hurt less. 

 

Laurel was decent this episode and I mostly enjoyed her scenes with Oliver, but I don't feel as though I need anymore insight to what he's feeling. Give me Felicity's POV, please.

 

Donna was great this episode as always, lamenting about her shoes, and comparing Felicity to a pistachio. I wish they would bring her in on the secret. 

 

Curtis was a bit much for me in the bunker at times, but Echo is so good at the comedic stuff that it didn't bother me too much. Hopefully if he hangs around the Arrow Cave more he can move past the giddy excitement.

 

I honestly was paying so little attention to the flashbacks that I thought #Poppy had died and had to go back and rewind to double check. Sure enough, she lives. Still #blessed.

 

"Lay down beeyach!"

[jay741982]

Man if there was a season where we could have a finale with members of TA each fighting a bad guy it's this season. Oliver vs DD, Diggle vs Andy, Felicity vs Brie and Thea vs Malcolm!

[SleepDeprived]

I've disliked bees ever since that hallway scene with Scully and Mulder they stung Macaulay Culkin in My Girl (thank for the reminder that bees are such cockblockers, Arrow!) but this episode was actually pretty fun, for the most part! There was an overload of questionable acting ('sup, Emily Kinney and PT Board dude, not to mention the regular dose of flashback blandness with the Poppy/Reiter combo) but sooo many bee puns! A+ on the cheese factor, show! Some things did make me go 'huh?!' but I still enjoyed this one.

 

I love that Felicity and Thea saved the PT Board and Donna themselves. But Felicity's whole conversation about leaving the team kind of didn't make sense to me, at first. Not the part where she needed to leave because working with Oliver hurts her but the part where she's tired of helping people/being a "Beacon of Hope" (drink each time someone mentions the episode's title!) for the City. It just didn't feel true to her character? The little bit, at the end, where she tells Thea that she has another plan to help the city did kinda clear that up a little bit more, for me. I still don't understand why she can't do both, though. It's her prerogative if she doesn't want to do both but I want her back on the Team, please! [/Oliverwhine]

 

Curtis is just so terrific, guys. Like super amazing that he accidentally stumbled into the Arrow lair when the dozens of volunteers during Oliver's campaign for Mayor had no inkling about the ~secret elevator. And he did it while sick! I kinda wish he got there because Felicity told him where to go because, really, the lair security is a joke. I don't wike it. I still do like Curtis, though. He's goofy and his geekiness is endearing but I hope they rein in his super amazing-Gary-Stu-ness a bit.

 

Laurel was the bee's knees in this episode. Okay, not exactly that but she didn't really bug me in any of her scenes. Or maybe that's just 'cause I was watching kinda buzzed?

[apinknightmare]

I honestly was paying so little attention to the flashbacks that I thought #Poppy had died and had to go back and rewind to double check. Sure enough, she lives. Still #blessed.

 

LOL. When Oliver checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief I was like, "Damn." 

[nksarmi]

I liked the episode. I mean yes, it did feel like they borrowed the Flash writers, but it was still all kinds of enjoyable.  It's nice to know that Arrow could have more fun if they wanted to.

 

I love Curtis and I want to keep him at least some of the time.  "I'm starting to understand why you and Felicity didn't work out." and "You're a scary man."  I did find myself thinking that the person he really needs to hang with is Ray Palmer.  Ray likes to high five.  And ok, Curtis and Felicity can split time between the lair and Palmer Tech when she and Oliver get back together.  It could work.

 

Anyway....I do appreciate Felicity's desire to make spinal cord repair affordable to the thousands of people who would need it. Way to make lemonade out of this seriously rushed wheelchair plot Arrow writers.

 

I liked Laurel.  I mean, aside from her "in all fairness to you, you were missing and presumed dead for five years" comment that totally brushed aside that fact that Oliver was a cheating liar back in the day, but yea ok.  Couldn't they have just said, "Well in fairness to you, I should have realized you weren't into the relationship before you took my sister on an ocean cruise.  But now I've read "He's just not that into you" and I can recognize the signs so we're cool."

 

But yea, next week doesn't look so fun.

I did like the opening sparring scene.

 

Oh yea I forgot about that - could be the best sparring scene ever!  Too bad Oliver had to get a broken heart for us to get it.

Edited March 31, 2016 by nksarmi

[Scribbles]

I have thought for a while the whole point of Felicity's claims seeming off is presenting the character as hiding from her own truths.  They keep emphasizing that she closes up, like with Donna and the pistachio line tonight.  This would not be the first time Felicity doesn't know her own heart and mind fully for a while. 

[nksarmi]

It really doesn't seem to fit. However, at least they're giving her an actual PT storyline.

BTW i think they set Paul up for death in this episode.

 

It did feel like Paul might be doomed, didn't it?

[hogwash]

I also liked that they kept the tradition of Oliver being a total dick to every new member of Team Arrow. Echo has a very good kicked puppy look. 

[KenyaJ]

Wow. This episode made it so incredibly obvious who's in the grave.

 

I was unable to focus on what happened for the rest of the show, because Diggle arms!

 

No, actually I was able to focus on other stuff. I thought the episode was just okay, but I really liked a lot of the character beats, except I agree with everyone saying Felicity's reasoning for wanting to be off the team made no sense to me, and I say this as someone who 100% though she was justified in walking away last week. But walking away because it's too hard to be around Oliver makes sense; suddenly deciding that she's tired of all the craziness that comes with vigilant-ing (What? It's a word.) is some BS and I'm not even sure what the writers were aiming for with that.

[apinknightmare]

It did feel like Paul might be doomed, didn't it?

 

Yeah. He's totally gonna bite it so Curtis can become Mr. Terrific, and Felicity can come back to her spot. 

[Angel12d]

Oh, I also LOL'd when Curtis and Quentin were running around the lair trying to escape the bee. Haha. And then Curtis' "Ew!" when QL killed it. It was good to laugh again with this show. 

[statsgirl]

I really hope Paul is not marked for death.  I like him, I like Curtis being happy, and while Curtis was good this episode, I don't want him in the "bunker" all the time.  It's like when Oliver was sidelined so that Black Canary and Speedy can take centre stage.  It was nice to see in this episode that he has recovered enough to take on all three of the others over his broken heart.

 

I like that Brie was going to leave with the specs until she realized that Felicity was the one who helped put her in jail last time.

 

I couldn't understand Felicity's reasons for quitting at all, and it felt bizarre that Thea was telling her to go back to the Team to the Beacon of Hope that they are.  It was Felicity who didn't leave when Oliver did and was working behind his back last summer.

 

I'd rather she just say she needs time and space away from Oliver and is gonna focus on her work at PT for a while.

That makes more sense.

 

I'll have to watch it again but I didn't like the Thea/Felicity scenes.  Like last season when Laurel was suddenly Felicity's best friend and we were supposed to have filled in all the missing scenes in our imaginations.

[jay741982]

Ugh I hope not Paul is a better actor than Katie!

[apinknightmare]

Also, out of all the fights that Oliver has lost this season, I think getting his ass kicked by Bee Man was the worst. 

[Sunshine]

I enjoyed this episode.  I just thought the writers tried too hard with Curtis.  I was amused by Curtis and Lance destroying the lair though.   I especially loved the Thea/Felicity end scene. (I am ignoring the fact that it hasn't been "earned".  I thought EBR and WH were great together.)

Edited March 31, 2016 by Sunshine

[GirlvsTV]

I have thought for a while the whole point of Felicity's claims seeming off is presenting the character as hiding from her own truths.  They keep emphasizing that she closes up, like with Donna and the pistachio line tonight.  This would not be the first time Felicity doesn't know her own heart and mind fully for a while.

I could definitely see this being the case, I just hope they follow through with it before the end of the season and she has a moment where she gets to express her feelings to someone. I thought that was what the writers were doing with her character last year but we never actually got there.

[Angel12d]

I have thought for a while the whole point of Felicity's claims seeming off is presenting the character as hiding from her own truths.  They keep emphasizing that she closes up, like with Donna and the pistachio line tonight.  This would not be the first time Felicity doesn't know her own heart and mind fully for a while. 

 

I could see them doing this. Maybe like she's trying to convince herself of one thing but really feels another? I thought Donna's pistachio line was telling but also the scene where she places the picture of her and Oliver face down so she doesn't have to look at it. 

[InsertWordHere]

Ugh I hope not Paul is a better actor than Katie!

Paul is a character. Katie Cassidy is an actor. Did you mean Chenier Hundal, the actor who plays Paul, or Paul Blackthorne who plays Quentin? Because I haven't really seen enough of the former to judge his acting. 

[Angel12d]

Also am I the only one who thought Oliver must be seriously sexually frustrated with all the working out he was doing?

 

No....? Haha.

[EmilyBettFan]

That was awesome! Oliver, Felicity, Donna, Diggle, Curtis and Thea!!

[Delphi]

I really hope Paul doesn't bite the bullet, there has been enough gay people dying on the cw for my liking this season.

[Primal Slayer]

Also am I the only one who thought Oliver must be seriously sexually frustrated with all the working out he was doing?

 

No....? Haha.

I am sure the fern gets him through many lonely nights.

[apinknightmare]

I am sure the fern gets him through many lonely nights.

 

How dare you? The fern is dead. Lance murdered it last year.