S04.E17: Beacon Of Hope

[quarks]

Oh poor Quarks... This is what BFS tweeted:

 

Yes, I was aware. Painfully aware.

[EmeraldArcher]

Just came off a weekend watching clips of PB speak in his real accent.  I have residual drool to spare. 

Ha!  I remember that you recently mentioned how you don't get reliable Internet for streaming because you're in a very rural area and that you have to take your phone down the driveway where the reception is better.  So, every time you post very late or admit to streaming content, I picture you in your parked car in the middle of the night peering into the bright little screen that connects you to the world.  You can confirm this and embellish with more fantastic details, but please don't challenge my head canon because it delights me.

 

Back on topic . . . for all the talk about Curtis potentially replacing Felicity on the team, I think someone else has been overlooked.  Roy!  Didn't anybody else catch Curtis execute a flawless and extraneous flip/twist out of his seat to avoid the bee?  That was some terrific flippage!

[quarks]

My bad on the earplugs, then. But surely at least Quentin could have left the area?  I know they needed Curtis to handle the bee, and Diggle to dig the bee out, and Laurel to scream at the bee, and Oliver was kinda stuck lying there, but Quentin was mostly just snarking. That's the role of Arrow fans, Quentin!

[looptab]

Agreed. It was awkward to me because it rested on the fact that Laurel supposedly knows Oliver and can give him advice simply because they used to date and uh, no? All this show has done, over and over, is prove how little Laurel really knew Oliver, especially when she was dating him, so the whole thing fell flat, IMO. And it's awkward because I feel like KC tries to act like there's something there and SA doesn't so it doesn't gel with what they're trying to sell.

 

But, you know, if fans want to buy into that ship baiting when Oliver literally just said Felicity was his always and he'd been content for the first time in 8 years, then uh...go for it, I guess? LOL.

Exactly. She has to give him advice? Fine. But don't let it be founded on her supposed profound knowledge, because nahh. They did the same in s2 when she was advising Sara. I just don't buy it. It would have been effective if she just based it on the "You lied". At that "I know how passionately you love", I was about to throw up. 

Though I appreciate how the show had to remind both Oliver and Felicity they could be "Beacons of hope". Like they had a hard time remembering it when they are apart. Also, first time (maybe?) that something Laurel says has some effect on Oliver.

[ComicFan777]

This is a bit out there, but couldn't Bee Lady use her bee robots to do essentially the same thing as Felicity's implant? Obviously, it's impossible in the real world, but in this story, her bees could band together and form an impenetrable bee soldier. Seems like a genius like her could get the drones to perform a similar function.

 

I think the problem is that in Brie's case, she would be missing a chunk of her spine, so you would need something that can simulate the bio-signals in the vertebrae.  The bees could be probably be used to fuse vertebrae like in back surgery, but it doesn't have the nerve chemical and electrical conduction properties the implant would have - her robots piece together to make a super soldier with self-replication, but they still are missing the bio simulation aspect which is on a whole different level of hard than robots.  Given all the geniuses in this show, only Curtis has come up with it, so I think she would have to reverse engineer what Curtis did.

[Artsda]

Laurel telling Oliver that Felicity broke up with him because of lies he told was great. Probably first episode ever I've enjoyed Laurel. Except for the cry, I can do without hearing that ever.

 

Enjoyed  all the  Donna, Thea and Felicity scenes.

 

As well as seeing Emily Kinney again.

[BkWurm1]

Ha!  I remember that you recently mentioned how you don't get reliable Internet for streaming because you're in a very rural area and that you have to take your phone down the driveway where the reception is better.  So, every time you post very late or admit to streaming content, I picture you in your parked car in the middle of the night peering into the bright little screen that connects you to the world.  You can confirm this and embellish with more fantastic details, but please don't challenge my head canon because it delights me.

 

Ha!  While streaming sucks 80 percent of the time,  I can still access our wi fi even across the street at the park so at least imagine me with my tablet sized screen huddled in my car late at night, lol. 

[La Dee Da]

That was frothy and fun - I liked the unusual pairings and the call backs like Murmur and Oliver's finger twitching when stressed. I could've used about a third less of Curtis' antics, but what worked there (the "ewwww" post bee squashing, thinking the Green Arrow was Paul in data processing) worked really well.

I did wonder about Brie's plan once she got the chip - who would perform the surgery? The bees?

I didn't mind Felicity's explanation about why she wanted a different path - the purpose she has frequently set out for herself is to help people. But what she's missing - or in denial about, as some have said - is that it's also about the people with whom you seek this purpose. The writers have said the theme this year is family- I imagine part of Felicity's story towards the end of the season is the importance of being part of the team in finding fulfillment.

I actually liked the Andy Diggle reveal at the end because I wasn't sure what they were doing there. It could have gone either way. It's also possible he's on the good side and is double crossing DD and HIVE. Who knows?

But mainly I'm glad they're bringing Diggle back into focus with the HIVE storyline which is all I wanted.

After I finished gasping disapprovingly "Andrew Diggle!" I thought, between this reveal and Malcolm's genesis reference, about how much ground we have to cover on the HIVE stuff. What about those pills the ghosts were taking? The gas stuff? The corn fields? The mayoral campaign (conveniently coming to a head next week)? How HIVE's corporate by-laws ensure effective governance when the head honcho is in prison?

[Password]

I don't know how I feel about this episode.

There were some funny parts for sure. Donna killed me the entire episode and I was disappointed she wasn't used more. She seems to be Felicity's sounding board but she just mentioned that Felicity is closed up emotionally and left it there.

Surprisingly, Mr Terrific irritated me. I actually agreed with Oliver's assessment and wanted him to go away.

Thea and Felicity. Mfph. I'm still not happy with Thea frankly and wasn't placated with a Thelicity scene.

Oliver being grumpy and allowed to beat his team mates was a lot of fun. Although he was around when the HP movies were being made, how exactly did he miss them? I would've believes he watched them buy reading? Tbh I'm surprised he read at all.

But then I also kept throwing up in my stomach whenever Laurel gave "talks" to Oliver. I wish this show would just let Laurel be allowed to never want to approach Oliver concerning that relationship. She mentions how he loves passionately and I think "oh you got that from him loving your sister and cheating on you at every opportunity?" I just don't. Buy. It.

Stop it show.

So yes, mixed feelings for the episode.

ETA: best thing about Laurel this episode was her telling Oliver exactly why Felicity is gone. Yes.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Password

[Jediknight]

The light bulbs break, the computer screens don't...o-kay.

Great, so now they've got to find another way to have to completely gut it and go with Cisco's actual plans.

[foreverevolving]

That was frothy and fun - I liked the unusual pairings and the call backs like Murmur and Oliver's finger twitching when stressed. I could've used about a third less of Curtis' antics, but what worked there (the "ewwww" post bee squashing, thinking the Green Arrow was Paul in data processing) worked really well.

I did wonder about Brie's plan once she got the chip - who would perform the surgery? The bees?

I didn't mind Felicity's explanation about why she wanted a different path - the purpose she has frequently set out for herself is to help people. But what she's missing - or in denial about, as some have said - is that it's also about the people with whom you seek this purpose. The writers have said the theme this year is family- I imagine part of Felicity's story towards the end of the season is the importance of being part of the team in finding fulfillment.

After I finished gasping disapprovingly "Andrew Diggle!" I thought, between this reveal and Malcolm's genesis reference, about how much ground we have to cover on the HIVE stuff. What about those pills the ghosts were taking? The gas stuff? The corn fields? The mayoral campaign (conveniently coming to a head next week)? How HIVE's corporate by-laws ensure effective governance when the head honcho is in prison?

You know.. the more we learn about HIVE the less I think Darkhe was the head honcho, it seems like he was ranked fairly high but does not seem to be the man in charge of the entire operation.

[SleepDeprived]

Yes, I was aware. Painfully aware.

 

Well, at least, the Arrow writers are being honest about their blatant re-use of sets?

 

It was nice of the Arrow writers to kinda shine the spotlight on 2 important causes in this episodes -- The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and how bees are dying off at an alarming rate. Sure, Brie Larvan is totally batshit and it would've been nice if a nicer character mentioned the necessity that are bees but I dug her little PSA about the bees and their importance. Because they are important to our ecosystem no matter how annoying they've been portrayed as in movies, damnit!

 

I don't understand Oliver's fighting abilities in the flashbacks. One moment, he's a "gritty" hardened "there's darkness inside of me" guy fighting off Reiter's men/#Poppy's brother and putting them down and the next, he's flailing against Reiter. Okay, Reiter was possessed with the primordial beings or whatever (I wonder if any of the writers have been reading up on Scientology or something... Hail Xenu!). Anyway, Oliver's flailing looked hilarious. It made me laugh.

 

I, also, don't understand Oliver drawing his bow (the first time Team GA tried to save Felicity, Thea, and Donna) at the bees even before they formed into Bee-Man. Was he going to try to hit the tiny bees one by one with his arrows? If he was confident that he could actually hit bees with an arrow then mad respect Oliver. I mean, if James McAvoy can shoot the wings off a fly using a bullet, Oliver probably could do it, too, I guess.

 

Really liked how Felicity totally blew off Mr. Dennis' texts and was okay with being late because she wanted to accommodate whatever Thea needed, first. It wasn't exactly professional of her since she's the CEO but whatever, that dude's such a dick.

 

Second shout-out in a week to Mariah Carey by Berlanti's shows. I'm glad she exists in both Earths. It made me laugh during Supergirl and it made me smile here. I do loves me some (classic) MC.

[wonderwall]

Felicity used the T-Spheres. I know someone on here called it.

*raises hand* I think I suggested it when people were complaining about Felicity's poster and how she was holding the T-Sphere... I know I did mention it, but I don't know if I was the first though. 

Edited March 31, 2016 by wonderwall

[ComicFan777]

Oliver should probably design an EMP arrow after this.

[BkWurm1]

Oliver should probably design an EMP arrow after this.

Hasn't he already??

[ComicFan777]

Hasn't he already??

 

I don't remember...wouldn't that work on the robotic bees then? seems faster than the virus thing...

 

Edited March 31, 2016 by ComicFan777

[bijoux]

I'm basically left with the same feeling as I was during the last episode - average. There were good parts that have already been mentioned - the training sequence, most of Curtis' scenes, pretty much all of Donna, Felicity and Thea actually working together and talking and, this is really important, about their interests, goals and motivations, that part I really appreciated - but in the end, I don't feel like I will remember this episode. I am disappointed that we get two back to back female villains, only for them to fall flat.

 

My biggest complaint is that that asshole Dennis didn't at the very least get hurt. Damn it.

 

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?

 

I think he did recognize the Spartan suit, he just couldn't recall Dig's name.

 

I did like the opening sparring scene.

 

After Oliver and crazy Thea's fight at the beginning of the season, my favorite action sequence this year. Speaking of, why was Oliver swinging so wide at Reiter in the flashbacks? Was SA afraid of hurting the actor?

[thuganomics85]

So, Brie the Bee Lover from Flash makes her first appearance here.  I am honestly still debating if Emily Kinney's performance is just plain bad or so bad, that it has somehow become kind of awesome.  Either way, it certainly keeps my interest, which I guess is better then being boring.

 

Kind of a filler episode, but I had a lot of fun with.  I noticed there was a shit-ton of movie and pop culture references, which kind of led to the Flash feel, especially Curtis who probably would be two peas in a pod with Cisco, if they ever met.  But I also enjoyed Oliver admitting he's read the Harry Potter books, Brie's My Girl reference, and Quentin getting in on the action with his Independence Day line.

 

Great seeing Felicity and Thea getting to interact more then normal.  That's a pairing I wouldn't mind seeing more of.  Donna was a hoot as always.

 

This might be the best use of Laurel yet.  She totally had Oliver's number when she pointed out the only reason Felicity left him was because of his damn lying.  The only misstep was the writers' bizarre way of having Laurel act like the only reason she and Oliver didn't work out was because of the Island.  Instead of the nonstop cheating and general frat boy attitude of his.  Not to mention that Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy still seem to have anti-chemistry, which is worse then just bad, because it's like they somehow worse any time they get too friendly.

 

Curtis joining Team Arrow was fun, but while a bit harsh, I actually don't fully blame Oliver for snapping at him when he tried to celebrate their "win."  There is a time and place for high-fives.  That really wasn't it.  But I wonder if Curtis is being set-up to be a permanent member, or if he's already over the danger.  Or this could just all be to set him or Paul up to be in the grave.

 

Of course, Damien would find some way to gain power in prison.  And it now looks like Andy was in his pocket the entire time.  Poor Diggle.

 

Once again, these flashbacks are the dumbest fucking thing ever.  It's getting to the point where it really feels like they're just throwing stuff at the wall, and hoping it sticks, because they need to find something to fill the time.  I would rather watch Slade sitting in his cell on the island then this dreck.

 

All the bee puns were so, so bad.  Again, it made it almost awesome.  Plus, it doesn't help that anytime I hear the word "bees", I think of Nicolas Cage in The Wicker Man.

[bijoux]

Malcolm is just becoming more and more pathetic by the day. It's sad, really. I used to be Ra's Al Ghul. He's coming off like a faded child "star". I was in a Mastercard commercial when I was 10, he said at 45. If you're going to brag about something, brag about levelling half the Glades or taking the Hood out of commision for a month or two. At least those are brag worthy. 

 

What kind of an idiot judge gives a computer expert prisoner, one who actually commited crime owing to her skill, computer access? And what the hell is wrong with Dig and Lyla letting Andy drive around unsupervised? And to grow that porn stache? Hopefully, I will be proven wrong and it will be revealed that Lyla had someone track him at all times.

[johntfs]

 

Of course, Damien would find some way to gain power in prison.  And it now looks like Andy was in his pocket the entire time.  Poor Diggle

 

It looks that way, but I doubt it truly is that way.  Andy will be aiding Darkh because Darkh threatened some variation of "Help me get out of prison and otherwise do my will or I'll have your brother and his wife killed right after I have your baby niece skinned alive in front of them." 

[BkWurm1]

It looks that way, but I doubt it truly is that way.  Andy will be aiding Darkh because Darkh threatened some variation of "Help me get out of prison and otherwise do my will or I'll have your brother and his wife killed right after I have your baby niece skinned alive in front of them." 

Frankly, I don't want Andy to be redeemed.  I want him to be a bad dude.  That chose to be a bad dude.  That let himself get taken so that he could be DD's back up plan.  I want earning their trust just a part of the plan all along.  Doesn't mean he didn't have some genuine emotions here and there or that he didn't enjoy meeting his niece but yeah, I want him to not care in the end and be the proof that blood shouldn't always be the most important factor.   

[Midnight Lullaby]

I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with MG because this episode was very funny. Although not so much because of Curtis but because of Donna, she was hilarious. I also laughed out loud when Felicity, Thea and Donna tried to shied themselves with cleaning supplies, LOL

I like Paul, don't kill him off please. Also stop with the "Terrific" puns, we got it.

Andy and MM!! I'm thinking Andy could be the killer, but the "him" could still be MM because Andy would act under his influence and orders so MM would be the one responsible for everything.

I liked Laurel but I can't take her scenes with Oliver seriously because it always looks like Stephen is looking for the nearest exit when she gets too close. Power of the anti chemistry.

I understood Felicity's reasons to leave the team last episode because working with a guy who just broke your heart and is actively trying to change your mind with the support of your friends isn't easy, also with DD in jail the city didn't seem in great danger anymore, but this episode I didn't. It's good that she still wants to help people and she feels she can do that with PT but that doesn't mean she can't do both. It would have made more sense to me if she told Thea it was still too soon for her, not what she said. But if she didn't leave the team than poor Curtis wouldn't have had his chance to shine! Oh, writers..sigh.

I loved the the sparring scene at the beginning but it would have been even better if Oliver and Dig had their shirts off. SIGH.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Midnight Lullaby

[Midnight Lullaby]

LOL SA almost hit EBR with the quiver... BE CAREFUL SA, SHE'S PRECIOUS CARGO.

Those are some pretty good reflexes! He would have hit me on the nose 100%, LOL Edited March 31, 2016 by Midnight Lullaby

[AudienceofOne]

I don't know who is writing Laurel these days but they should keep it up. She was awesome in this episode. Really welcome change.

 

As for the rest - great episode, really dumb villian. Not as dumb as Cupid but on the par with it. I don't know if this is because they've run out of cool villians or if they're propping up character growth with filler plot but either way I hope we get something a little less silly next time.

[bijoux]

There's one thing I liked about Brie - she was in it for herself. I predicted it would be for a family member with spinal problems and was very glad to have been proven wrong. I also really enjoyed Thea's quip about a sob story not being an excuse for killing people.

[looptab]

"Curtis?!"

"How do you know that bee's name?"

So #grateful for Donna :)

[bijoux]

When and how did Curtis crack his glasses? All I know is that it wasn't when he first fainted. They were fine when he came too. But sometime later on in the episode I noticed that the right glass was cracked.

[apinknightmare]

When and how did Curtis crack his glasses? All I know is that it wasn't when he first fainted. They were fine when he came too. But sometime later on in the episode I noticed that the right glass was cracked.

I think it was when Laurel did her full Mariah Carey.

[mrspidey]

Briefly, about the ep --

 

• Oliver Queen + Harry Potter -- a story EVERYONE wants to find out more of.

Now there's an idea for next season's flash backs. They can show Ollie reading one chapter per episode and how he reacts to them.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love that Donna, of all people, finally realizes how stupid it is to keep wearing high heels while running from the bad guys. Flats aren't as cute but they will let you actually run like hell!

 

ITA that Curtis felt like Cisco, especially when Lance slammed down the coffee cup and Curtis shrieked. But I did appreciate his freakout over the lair and realizing that he was looking at the Green Arrow because realistically, no one should be blase about that.

 

I liked the Laurel/Thea scene, not so much for the content of their conversation but more for the feel. They were very comfortable together so it's obvious that they have become friends and that their friendship is capable of existing outside of their relationships with Oliver. It's a little worrisome that Thea loves the rush, but not unexpected.

 

Now that Felicity is gone, Laurel has taken up the mantel of telling Oliver when he's being an ass. Good luck with that, Laurel. It may take up more of your time than you think. I'm glad someone spoke up though because Oliver didn't need to yell at Curtis like that.

 

I'll never understand the choice to have her crouch/squat when she uses the Cry. It's not a good look.

ITA - it doesn't look good from any angle, but from the side it looks like when you go camping and you have to do one of those hover squats to poop in the woods.

[tv echo]

Honestly, I"m not sure how I feel about this episode.  I should love it - but I think I'm still feeling residual bitterness over the BMD/breakup contrivance and the writers' throwing Felicity under the bus.

 

On the one hand, it bothers me that Curtis is apparently also a computer hacker (in addition to his many other skills) and can so easily slot into Felicity's place on the team.  On the other hand, having Curtis available to help makes it less likely that Felicity will be blamed for endangering the team members by quitting it.  In any event, even with Curtis, the team just isn't the same without Felicity.  There's a certain cohesion that's missing.

 

I don't necessarily think that Paul is marked for death, but maybe their marriage is marked for death.  Curtis has started lying to him about what he's doing. Maybe Felicity will have a talk with Curtis about the costs and risks of lying to your spouse, but Curtis gets so excited about helping out the team that he doesn't listen and his marriage suffers as a result.

 

The use of the episode name was really heavy-handed.  Do Laurel and Thea have the same phrase-of-the-day desk calendar?  How likely is it that they would both use the same phrase "beacon of hope" on the same day (to inspire Oliver and Felicity)?

 

If I shipped Oliver and Laurel, then this episode would be a beacon of hope for me that the show is headed toward their reunion in the future.  (See, I can do it too.)  Man oh man, it was made so clear that Laurel still has feelings for Oliver, with her little touches and her "I'm here for you" speech.  So who's taking advantage now?*

 

(* I know that the O/L scenes could also be interpreted as Laurel just being a supportive friend.  But Laurel is not a real touchy-feely person, so those caressing face and arm touches seemed extra special - and also inappropriate for someone who is supposed to be Felicity's friend as well.  Also, we didn't see an "I'm here for you speech" from Laurel to Felicity, so again it seemed like she was just cozying up to Oliver.)

 

Incidentally, when Laurel urged Oliver to save some hope for himself, I don't think she was referring to his relationship with Felicity.  I think she was referring to his expressed fear that he would have to go dark again in order to defeat the darkness.

 

So Oliver is now blaming Felicity for dragging him away from his happy life in Ivy Town and bringing him back to fighting in Star City.  Step up, Oliver, and take responsibility for your own actions!  He blames himself when he shouldn't, but he doesn't blame himself when he should.

 

When Felicity was threatened by the Beeman and Brie said something like, "I guess the Green Arrow didn't forget you," I wonder if Oliver's "Never" was a SA ad lib?

 

I did like that Felicity broke the lamp and used the open electrical end like a bug zapper to take down the Beeman.

 

I don't think that Felicity knows that Thea encouraged Oliver to continue lying to her.  My head canon says that Thea's feeling a little guilty about it and that's why she tried to convince Felicity to rejoin the team.

 

I wonder if Donna's line about wearing flats from now on because of all the running was some snark at Jurassic World (where Bryce Dallas Howard ran around in heels)?

 

So Andy Diggle really is evil and has been playing John Diggle?  Looks like he'll be the cause of another fight between Oliver and Diggle.  Oh, how I miss the days of Original Team Arrow working together to fight crime!

 

With the way the Palmer Tech board members always diss Felicity, while she keeps saving their lives, I hope the season ends with the board voting to rename the company Smoak Technologies.

 

P.S. The flashback clothes are really unflattering to both SA and ER.

Edited March 31, 2016 by tv echo

[Sakura12]

I think the Lance family likes touching faces. Sara does that a lot as well.

 

Edited March 31, 2016 by Sakura12

[benteen]

I really enjoyed this one.  I thought the premise was fun and a little bit different.

 

Curtis was fun helping out Team Arrow but I don't blame Oliver for snapping at him like that.

 

Lance was a lot of fun too, with some entertaining and helpful lines.  "Like in Independence Day?"

 

Laurel has actually gotten better over the last couple of weeks. 

 

Damian Dhark was entertaining although I think he easily could have taken those guys in that prison fight.

[Guest]

I think the Lance family likes touching faces. Sara does that a lot as well.

 

 

LOL the difference being SA/Oliver looks like he actually likes Sara. I love the fondness on his face in the second one especially.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Guest

[looptab]

Haha, well, to be fair Oliver was supposed to be down during the one with Laurel. To me the difference is that Caity manages to make it feel natural, and KC seems to be going "One, two, three, now touch his face".

Edited March 31, 2016 by looptab

[Midnight Lullaby]

I think the scene between Oliver and Laurel was meant to show they are good friends now but there's KC playing that scene with all her weird soulmates headcanons and SA who never looks comfortable when she touches him so as a result it looks like Laurel still has feelings for him and you wonder how they ever were a couple since Oliver doesn't like when she touches him.

[Password]

Brie Larvan reminds me of Luna Lovegood.

I think the scene between Oliver and Laurel was meant to show they are good friends now but there's KC playing that scene with all her weird soulmates headcanons and SA who never looks comfortable when she touches him so as a result it looks like Laurel still has feelings for him and you wonder how they ever were a couple since Oliver doesn't like when she touches him.

 

I had too much second hand embarrassment for Laurel in that scene. TOO MUCH.

[Chaser]

Did anyone else notice that the vacation photo is a different one then the one they released? In this one, Felicity's smile is different.

 

"…I know how passionately you love…" "..what was between us…"…"I'm here for you.." Bicep touching and face caressing. They laid it on thick with KC/LL. 

 

Tumblr pointed something out to me. Oliver was preaching about bee-ing aware of your surrounds to the Team and Laurel and then dropped his guard at the end when he checked on Felicity.

[tarotx]

I think I should like this episode but it had the vibe of The Flash (except the women were better represented) so I was a bit bored. Maybe because it was described like Dodger and I rewatched that episode yesterday evening in anticipation. Beacon of Hope just felt forced to me. We had these things the fans have been asking for-training scenes, Thea and Felicity scenes and even the Laurel&Oliver scenes a large chunk of fans wanted. We got a one liner tech support and even felicity was doing one lines. We had humor. It just felt like that was the purpose of the episode. So it felt like poor fan service imo. It's my 3rd least favorite episode of the season after the crossover and episode 7. 

 

I love training scenes but it was shot weird and I kept thinking I was seeing Stephen's body double. I love the face to face training fight with Diggle and Oliver. And I liked the Harry Potter jokes. 

 

Laurel was nice in this episode but she felt like she did in Legends-She was support. It's how we have wanted her for a way but she once again wasn't there to service her own character. It was nice to get the Canary cry explained. Though that also felt like a bit of fan service to make Laurel more like her comic character. She still felt so different except for her Badass reply,

Edited March 31, 2016 by tarotx

[Sakura12]

That's my biggest issue with KC, she plays Laurel like she's a robot. Everything she does seems rehearsed, like she's doing something humans are supposed to do. Also SA seems to be playing Oliver like he doesn't like Laurel all that much and just accepts her being there. Obviously he plays the heart eyes for Felicity and he shows that Oliver cares about Sara in their scenes. It's just Laurel that he looks uncomfortable. I have to wonder if that's an SA headcanon. Where he thinks Oliver thinks of Laurel as a co-worker not a friend.

[Primetimer]

Strap in for Ralph Wiggums's favorite episode. It'll BEE great!

Read the story

[bijoux]

Did anyone else notice that the vacation photo is a different one then the one they released? In this one, Felicity's smile is different.

 

Tumblr pointed something out to me. Oliver was preaching about bee-ing aware of your surrounds to the Team and Laurel and then dropped his guard at the end when he checked on Felicity.

Yep, it's a different one. Oliver also seems to have his eyes closed in this one.

"It's Felicity!" Where's that gif from when she was in danger last year?

Here we are.

[looptab]

Tumblr pointed something out to me. Oliver was preaching about bee-ing aware of your surrounds to the Team and Laurel and then dropped his guard at the end when he checked on Felicity.

I noticed that, too. I don't know whether that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing, though?

When was the episode described like the Dodger?

Edited March 31, 2016 by looptab

[Midnight Lullaby]

Yup. He doesn't think clearly when Felicity is involved (and he is crying on the inside because she left him, LOL). I guess it's a weakness now and a strength when they are together.

[Password]

Someone needs to remind Laurel that she and Oliver had a horrible relationship. Seriously, it's like she remembers it fondly.

[Chaser]

I noticed that, too. I don't know whether that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing, though?

When was the episode described like the Dodger?

I can't figure that out either. I'm sick of people getting the drop on him and even heart eyes at Felicity doesn't change that. I'm going to chalk it up as alright this time because I'm going with its been a awhile since they have seen each other and they were both put in danger.

 

It is kind of funny though. It gave Oliver saving Laurel a new spin. 

[ComicFan777]

Although I thought Brie was really cheesy, I liked how her methods of villainy forced the team to fight in a more creative way together.  We've had villains that are defeated by just using muscle and ones that are just defeated by hacking, but Brie really pushed the team to work together in an entirely different way than they generally rely on - using all of their resources available to them, smarts, hacking, parkouring, Canary Cry, arrows, muscle, and don't forget the coffee pot...  

 

I liked it that when hacking fails, Felicity's go-to move is blowing things up. 

 

I would love to see more of this type of villainy that forces the team to really think outside of the box and that it requires the entire team to utilize all of their strengths together to defeat the bad guy.

Edited March 31, 2016 by ComicFan777

[Delphi]

This might be the best use of Laurel yet. She totally had Oliver's number when she pointed out the only reason Felicity left him was because of his damn lying. The only misstep was the writers' bizarre way of having Laurel act like the only reason she and Oliver didn't work out was because of the Island. Instead of the nonstop cheating and general frat boy attitude of his.

I don't think that's what she was saying. They both know very well what a cheating, asshat Oliver was. But in a conversation where he's talking about how he ruined his current relationship just like he's fucked up his past relationship and Laurel was trying to instill some hope into him, not kick the stupid, lying, cheating puppy while he's already down I feel like she was just giving him a pass on their former drama.

[benteen]

I forgot to mention, I really liked the Thea and Felicity interaction last night.  It's not a combination we've seen very often but they worked very well.

 

I will say, KC had a great line/delivery in response to Curtis geeking out over her Canary cry.  "“Yeah, we get it, it’s badass.”

 

Though nothing can make her screaming look good or dignified.

[looptab]

I can't figure that out either. I'm sick of people getting the drop on him and even heart eyes at Felicity doesn't change that. I'm going to chalk it up as alright this time because I'm going with its been a awhile since they have seen each other and they were both put in danger.

 

It is kind of funny though. It gave Oliver saving Laurel a new spin. 

This. And minutes after Laurel told him he had eyes on the back of his head. Come on! Constant vigilance!

I will say, KC had a great line/delivery in response to Curtis geeking out over her Canary cry.  "“Yeah, we get it, it’s badass.”

 

I've seen also a critic praise that line, but I didn't find it so great. To me it felt like another instance of Laurel saying a line that I can't see Laurel saying.

Edited March 31, 2016 by looptab