S04.E19: Canary Cry

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oliver and the team struggle to come to terms with Laurel's death, especially Diggle who is overwhelmed with guilt for choosing to believe Andy had changed. Meanwhile, Lance refuses to believe his daughter is really gone and asks Nyssa to help bring her back. A recent Black Canary sighting in Star City only seems to prove his theory that Laurel isn't actually dead.

 

Promo:

[Delphi]

Did they ever explain how that girl got the Canary Cry to work despite her not having Laurel's vocal chords? 

Also that cry wouldn't have been ridiculous.   That would have been neat.  Why on earth didn't Laurel use it that way?

 

Awh Nyssa.   I miss you. 

I guess we can assume Barry gets his speed back next week. 

Edited April 28, 2016 by Delphi

[looptab]

We're back on!

The episode was quite boring, IMO. I liked Diggle, I liked Felicity, Quentin was heartbreaking. Expected something more from Thea. It was nice seeing Oliver be the level-headed one, though I hope that this What Would Laurel Do thing doesn't last past this season, because all they are saying simply wasn't in the show.

No comment on the FBs. Gross.

Wasn't Alex going to work for PalmerTech?

[apinknightmare]

5 minutes ago, Delphi said:

Did they ever explain how that girl got the Canary Cry to work despite her not having Laurel's vocal chords?  

Nope, they never did. 

4 minutes ago, looptab said:

No comment on the FBs. Gross.

Wasn't Alex going to work for PalmerTech?

I would've rather watched Poppy and the Magical Mystery of the Caves of Lian Yu than watch that retconned pile of garbage. 

Alex must've turned Felicity down, which makes me think he is actually HIVE? Or maybe he's just stupid. 

[hogwash]

I liked Baby Canary and her mini version of Laurel's S03 arc. Wow, Ruve Darhk is an opportunistic piece of work. I liked that outing Laurel as the Black Canary made sense. The first time the anti-vigilante task force has made sense since Lance in S01. The Darhks are great villains. I'm excited for more of them. I hope they get scenes together soon.

I liked this episode way more than 418 even with the retconning. I liked how the previous funeral scenes fit so seamlessly in the episode.

[EmeraldArcher]

I think implied that she was a brilliant teen who could have figured out how to modify it so that she could use it.  And, I agree that the higher decibel level would have been much cooler for the Black Canary, let alone much more effective.

Overall, I thought the episode was meh. Nothing happened to move things along.  Quentin was the heartbreaking--PB was awesome as a grieving father.

I hated how they stuck with Felicity's frostiness in the limo, given that it was a jarring shift in mood and attitude from how she has behaved toward Oliver or just in general.  Using the original footage from the flash forwards just didn't work for me because the tone was way off: they should have integrated those scenes more, dare I say organically, into the rest of the episode.

I could have done without the Oliver/Laurel flashbacks because they made both of them look so bad in an episode that was supposed to be her big send off. She eulogized Tommy by talking about their great love, and then a week later was hopeful about her future with Oliver.  And, what the hell was up with "He was so much more than a billionaire playboy"???!!!!!!!!!  Why would they have her say something so incredibly stupid and shallow?

I can't tell you how much I missed reacting to the show with all of you last night! I'm so happy I've found this little community!

 

And here's this! OTA!!

[looptab]

She was there smiling and planning a future with Oliver - again - a week after they buried Tommy. Am I to infer she must have felt guilty just after Oliver left(Again)? 

[Primetimer]

Everyone's very sad about Laurel, who's almost certainly dead. Probably.

View the full article

[SonofaBiscuit]

Bleh.  

Flashback Oliver activated the death curse, but I'd say it was fulfilled when he fell off that cliff last season, so we're good.

Oliver kissed Laurel and then hightailed it to Lian Yu?  Ha ha LOLz.

Edited April 28, 2016 by SonofaBiscuit

[blixie]

That yelling match between Oliver/Diggle by Ruve's limo was literally the most poorly acted dumbest thing I've seen in a long time. Christ I felt bad for both the actors for having do that scene. This episode was horrible and boring the only amusing thing is that teenage fake canary was STILL a better Black Canary than Laurel Lance. 

[Guest]

Aside from a couple of good character/acting moments from Diggle and Quentin, this episode was boring as hell. I kept clock watching waiting for it to be over. 

I was prepared for some retcon to fit in that O/L kiss but holy crap. They really bent over backwards trying to fan service a relationship that we never saw. That letter at the end especially felt like a load of fan service. Sorry but show me where we saw any of that onscreen?

But most of all I can't believe how bad O/L were to Tommy. Dude was buried one week and O/L thought it was appropriate to start kissing over his pictures and then Laurel said "I'm so excited about the future, Ollie." YOU ARE BOTH GARBAGE HUMANS FOR THAT. Tommy deserved so much better. Wow.

[AyChihuahua]

I am flabbergasted that they destroyed what was left of Laurel's character. She was so smiley and happy with Oliver ONE WEEK after Tommy died SAVING HER LIFE, even after she SCREWED HIS BEST FRIEND. (TBC, it didn't make me think much of Oliver, either.)

Y'all realize that her whole addiction/manhunt arc in S2 is now about Oliver not wanting her, right? She legit forgot Tommy's name ("Tommy...that sounds familiar...was that your gardener's name, Ollie?") ONE WEEK after he died. I just...I just don't understand.

[RoyRogersMcFreely]

Geez, nothing got Oliver and Laurel hotter than screwing over Tommy, huh? 

I do think its funny the writers are basically like "F*** all y'all, we don't even follow our own comic as canon", though.

The mind of the costume person on this show fascinates me. How can you get Felicity's jeans so very right and the shirt so very, very wrong. 

R.I.P. Black Serinus Canaria(who try as she might could never make Oliver) Domestica

[AyChihuahua]

For me the only good thing about the episode was EBR's ass in those jeans. I mean DAMN.

Also thought Paul B was not great. I didn't feel anyone's true heartbreak that she's dead. Dinah was particularly "Meh" about it.

[JJ928]

Other than stellar performances from Paul & David, I thought this episode was a snooze fest. I don't know what I expected, maybe something like 3x02 which felt more emotionally powerful as a whole. Other than Quentin and Diggle, everyone else was moderately sad. I'm glad it's over and I hope the next batch of episodes pick up. I am excited that it seems they'll be focusing on Diggle more.

[Guest]

At least they were consistent with one thing in the O/L relationship. Laurel mentions the future and Oliver runs away as fast as he can and somehow manages to end up on an island. 

[bethy]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found the episode boring. And I still fast-forwarded over the Laurel scenes. Glad not to have to do that from here on out.

On Felicity's continued frostiness in the limo.... I was willing to pass that off as grief/resolve in the wake (heh) of the funeral since the continuation of the scene made it clear that the attitude wasn't anger or hurt toward Oliver. 

[Tallis]

'He was so much more than just a millionaire playboy... ' has to come pretty high on the passive agressive, wincingly awful ways to eulogise your dead ex-boyfriend scale.

[apinknightmare]

6 minutes ago, RoyRogersMcFreely said:

Geez, nothing got Oliver and Laurel hotter than screwing over Tommy, huh? 

Literally. First a few stories above him in an open window, and I wouldn't rule out a grave top quickie with those two.

[Sakura12]

I didn't watch the episode, did they act like Laurel was some kind of heroic legend? What did she actually do that was so heroic? Or make her stand out from Team Arrow? From what I saw she was just another side kick to Green Arrow's team and nothing special. And hasn't she only been around a year, most of which she wasn't trained. (Then I guess she inspired other girls to out there without training, Great job Laurel). Was this another "because comics" not what we've actually seen on the show about Laurel. 

It's probably better for Tommy to be dead, with friends like Oliver and Laurel. 

[Delphi]

Also,  did I mishear or did Laurel mention Oliver's parents not having been invited to Tommy's funeral because of Susanna refusing to come back to the show?   

 

I had company last night so I couldn't hear certain parts. 

And maybe I'm not the best person in the world but I was hoping that Oliver was late getting Dig and instead found mayor brains on the street. 

I thought the acting was good all around,  even Katie's.  Especially Paul's. 

[KenyaJ]

How much better would those flashbacks have been if KC still had her Season One face?  I know. Not better at all, but at least I might not have been so distracted.

In any event, this entire episode was just a big pile of Laurel being made to be much more heroic in death than she ever was in life. My eyes are strained from rolling them so hard, but whatever. I'm just glad that the show can move on finally and put that four-year blunder in the rearview mirror.

Also, Evelyn was a more effective Black Canary than Laurel was and managed not to make the canary cry look ridiculous. Will wonders never cease?

[arjumand]

Hm. I didn't really expect Quentin to spend almost the entire episode re-enacting the dead parrot sketch, and then be joined by his wife at the funeral ("She's just resting! She's pining for the fjords!").

The flashbacks were meh. At least, with Oliver, Poppy, and the weirdly extensive cave system of doom (is Lian Yu a Hellmouth?) we might have moved forward in finding out even a hint to help destroy the totem thingy. As it was, the whole episode was spent treading water.

And seriously, a teen girl who we've never seen before and will never see again? As a retcon, that's even more offensive than the flashbacks. Do they do any story planning in advance?

Also, Barry's speed is back? Or does the funeral take place before he loses it?

[benteen]

Blackthorne nailed it again with Quentin's grief and did a great job.  But for God's sake, can we please stop doing this to Quentin?  It's enough for him to have to go through it .

David Ramsay was excellent with Diggle's anger though I did have to laugh a little at his "Hulk Smash" moment with the limo.  I really wish Oliver had let him killed Ruve.

LOL on Oliver hightailing it back to the island after kissing Laurel.

[Genki]

Boy did I miss the boards today!! I couldn't find anywhere that I could enjoy Arrow, but it was nice to see some familiar avatars as I lurked in various places. :)

If anything this episode reinforces the need to get rid of KC, SA just doesn't not act well against her. The scene where Oliver was discussing Tommy with Laurel left me uncomfortable because SA, seemed uncomfortable. Compare this to the scenes with EBR, DR & PB which were really well acted. I didn't really connect emotionally to the episode, because I couldn't connect with the character's grief. Also it a little frustrating that everything was about Laurel, since it was once again tell and not show when it comes to Laurel.

Baby Canary was moderately interesting and much more effective with the Sonic Collar, and it was nice to see Nyssa again.

The flashbacks weren't Lian Yu, but maybe that would have been better. My head-cannon, Oliver was going to tell Laurel good-bye but chickened out and used a letter. The kiss was a good-bye kiss and Laurel just didn't know it.

But I really don't know why they doubled-down on the Lauriver because it just emphasised how bad they were together, (and I don't think that was what the show was aiming for). I can't bring myself to re-watch the scene but did Oliver buy a class presidency election for Laurel or just heavily influence it? Either way Laurel's "we make a good team" just emphasises that she probably was opportunistic when it came to her relationship wiht "Ollie". Yeah it was not a good look on either Laurel or Oliver.

The 2 heart to heart scenes with Felicity were nice, but it was weird to see the tonal shift of Felicity at the funeral. but I like the content and I like seeing them open up to each other. 

I still say outing her was stupid, and ruins all her work in the DA's office, and I really hope this isn't in preparation of Oliver being outed in the finale.

[AyChihuahua]

Moira couldn't come to Tommy's funeral bc she was in prison at that time. They probably meant the prison wouldn't give her a day pass (which is a real thing, btw).

[tarotx]

It wasn't my favorite by any means but I liked the episode and didn't find it boring. The Flashbacks were reconned but I feel this way fits better with the way Laurel acted and the way she treated Sara. 

They were treating the Black Canary Legacy as this magical thing but Laurel had just died and having your friend lose what she died being I guess I can get the anger. I don't think Baby BC(Starling) was doing anything that would take away BC's Legacy any way. She just went after the Mayor and Alex who was working for her. Laurel wasn't any saint. 

Edited April 28, 2016 by tarotx

[tangerine95]

It was a pretty boring episode, even worse than last one but it was to be expected tbh.

I didn't feel for anyone, literally everything ran false other than maybe Lance being sad.Especially Diggle being so upset but they made it more about his guilt and his brother than Laurel so that made it more believable to me.I liked how they dealt with Felicity grieving. It wasn't as over the top like I thought some of the stuff when Sara died was.I loved her scenes with Oliver and Digg.Can't believe we finally got a delicity scene and not suprised that it took Laurel dying to finally allow them to interact. I thought Thea would get more of a focus, guess that's coming later when Malcolm shows up.I thought was weird how chill Dinah was about Laurel dying lol.

Baby BC wasn't that bad though they better not put that kid on the team, she's even less believable than KC as an action hero.I don't think she'll be a big deal in the future or be called BC.They did bury the name with Laurel, so I think BC is done with on Arrow.

The flashbacks were a mess and they literally ruined Laurel's character and I didn't think there was a way to make her look worse than she already did.They made it look like she didn't care about Tommy at all.In season 2 we are told she started drinking and popping pills over Tommy dying and how sad and guilty that made her.These flashbacks show that's not true and that Oliver once again leaving her and rejecting her plans for the future is what causes her to spiral. I don't think there's another way to look at it, she was fine a week after Tommy died with no sign of the person she would be in season 2.And it's the most pathetic thing ever.I thought she couldn't get more pathetic than  calling him the love of her life but she was here.

It made Oliver look bad too but not as much as Laurel imo. He was actually trying to talk about Tommy while Laurel kept bringing it back to them.I  can kinda see how her making plans for them again caused him to snap out of his delusions about their relationship and allow him to move on. Laurel died still as delusional as she was pre island. 

[catrox14]

Rant Warning 

Canary Cry, my ass. More like ALL the Retcon Gonna Make ME Cry.

I'm glad John's rage was because of the betrayal from Andy more than Laurel.  Just fucking kill the Mayor please.

Paul Blackthorne was awesome and he broke my heart. I do believe that Quentin thought Laurel was his rock. That made me sad

Seriously does this show even LIKE it's main character, Oliver Queen?? Why? Why do you destroy Oliver to prop Laurel? WHY??

Thanks for ruining Oliver and Tommy's final moment with fucking Lauriver kissing and planning to save the world together, again.   JFC, Laurel  hated Oliver for most of s1 and Tommy wouldn't be dead if Laurel had just left CNRI when everyone fucking told her to leave. She says how much she loved him at the funeral but then a week later, she's making out with Oliver. I give them credit for keeping her as wishy washy about Tommy and Oliver as she ever was. But did you really have to take down Oliver AGAIN to do it?

OMG /head desk

"Before she died I was lucky enough to hear her say she loved me too". HAHAHAH what? Look I get he needed to say something nice at the funeral but why that? I JUST, WAT? OLIVER literally did not care if Laurel loved him. He barely tolerated her presence most of the time and rightfully so IMO. But because Laurel tells him out of the blue that she loved him now it matters to him? Was this something he had just always needed hear but he just didn't know it. WUT? Don't even start me on the goddamn love letter.  LOLOL, no.

Oliver outs Laurel as the BC to make sure her memory as a hero is not stained. Too bad Sara didn't get the same fucking consideration you assholes. And I guess Quentin's out of a job now? I mean father of a vigilante and all?

Argh, the fuckery to Oliver's character and the retcons to prop Laurel again. WTF show. just WTF.

[hogwash]

Sliding a Dear John letter and the sweetheart picture from the maiden voyage of the douche cruise under her door? The lengths Oliver goes to avoid dumping Laurel in person are kinda funny.

[bijoux]

Damn board ate my post. Whyyy?

I found Oliver's WWLD funny, because brandishing a weapon and beating up people sounds right up her alley, so Baby Canary was on point there if you ask me. The biggest kindness to Laurel and KC in this episode was casting a girl who is an even more awkward runner than her and then handed her an even worse domino mask. I didn't think it was possible.

While it's not an episode I will rewatch, there was a lot of stuff I enjoyed. Lance, Diggle, present day Oliver with everyone, Dig and Felicity, Nyssa with both Lance and Oliver. A major dumbass in the flashbacks, Oliver really stepped up in the present, not blaming anyone including himself and taking on custody of Lance.

Those flashbacks were the funniest thing ever. I especially appreciated how they ended with Oliver heading back to PURGATORY! He knew what he had done. Unlike Laurel who was obviously planning to get back on the track she had them on before the Gambit.

[Guest]

Baby BC ran like Phoebe on FRIENDS. So that was a laugh for me.

I thought the baby BC plot was a little ridiculous but it was so clearly done so they could put THE BC to rest, otherwise we'd always have the threat of 'bring in Laurel/BC from Earth 2 and replace her' thing going on. This episode really went to great lengths to ensure Laurel was seen as dead and never coming back, IMO.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Guest

[Sakura12]

I don't think they made Laurel any worse when it comes to her and Oliver. She was always delusional about their relationship. Once Oliver had sex with her again that was all she needed to go back onto the Mrs. Laurel Queen train. The saddest part being she never got off of it, even after Oliver started dating Sara again the second she came back home, then started dating Felicity and asked her to marry him. What more did she need to tell he's just not that into her? 

Oliver was a dumbass, which is not a new trait for him. I guess he really didn't know the depths of Laurel's delusions. 

[Genki]

It might have meant to been "growth" that Oliver was able to turn up to and eulogise Laurel's funeral, but just showed me he's not that upset, compared to Moira's or Tommy's funerals.

[Guest]

"You've always seen the best in me."

ERROR: FOOTAGE NOT FOUND.

[Actionmage]

What made me go 'Hmmm...' was why couldn't it be Sin who was running around being Black Canary? Granted, I probably have forgotten Oliver or Thea telling Sin that Sara was dead, but if they haven't then Sin being the new baby Canary makes more sense.  o.O Sorry. I just realized my mistake.

Paul was great with Quentin pointing out to everyone who'd listen that there had to be some way his other baby, his rock, could be brought back. Personally, I can't blame Alex Kingston for not seeming too emotive. The show barely used her- which is understandable, as she's been in various projects- so, I can't get too angry. I chose to read it as Dinah going through shock and disbelief. Though, I was hoping that Oliver and Quentin had grown enough over the seasons where a manly comforting hug would happen. Regardless of how Oliver actually felt, the walking wound that was Quentin sort of begged for human contact, imo.

In that one flashback, I heard the rhythm of Ollie's talk and almost chanted along the Horrid Line. Almost. I shouted 'damn it!' after it was completed. I guess it was either a death phrase or TPTB/ writers are just trolls.

I was glad to see Nyssa! I was glad that Quentin felt he could ask Nyssa for a favor that big. I liked that Nyssa went to Oliver with her concern over Lance.  I do want Quentin to eventually circle back to Oliver with a " That time, after Laurel died? Did I hear you right? You have a son?" and then to bust out laughing .  I did like that Felicity told John that he was "only an illegitimate child" away from doing an Oliver Queen imitation. 

While I love David Ramsey's John Diggle and thought he was given a nice amount of screentime, I could have done without a flashback so I could have  a John/Lyla scene. One where Lyla reassures her husband that the actual fault lies with the lying liars who are also murderers. Because Lyla moves in that circle and no doubt has faced these questions more often, hence her leaving ARGUS. But, we had to make sure everyone knew the how and why of how Laurel got her picture back. Also, Oliver flying back to Lian Yu, because we won't remember it happened before S2 started? Wev.

I am thinking more that Adam/whatever Thea's date's name is, is actually on the Darhk payroll. Or at least feeling that's true while hesitating, thinking there is bound to be some swerve.

Despite Evelyn not being Sin, I wouldn't mind if she popped up here or there to help the team. Maybe Felicity reaching out to Evelyn with a job? Felicity said she had the power to help more folks now, so her going a little laterally could be neat if it gets us a new, competent team member.

 

I missed y'all last night!! 

[Midnight Lullaby]

"I'm so excited for the future.".........Laurel, Tommy has been dead for ONE WEEK, why are you such an awful human being? Oliver is just as awful, giving her a pity kiss and leading her on while he was mentally planning his trip to the island. Yikes. Those two together are the worst.

I loved the Delicity, Olicity scenes and PB's performance, other than that it was a pretty flat episode for me. Oliver, Thea and Dinah seemed cool with Laurel's death and it was weird, but I share the feeling, lol.

one question though: how did Baby Canary know Laurel was the BC? And if she didn't, why did she go to her funeral?

[bijoux]

11 minutes ago, tangerine95 said:

It made Oliver look bad too but not as much as Laurel imo. He was actually trying to talk about Tommy while Laurel kept bringing it back to them.I  can kinda see how her making plans for them again caused him to snap out of his delusions about their relationship and allow him to move on. Laurel died still as delusional as she was pre island. 

Oliver regretted it straight away judging from his facial expression. Laurel on the other hand was there in a happy daze. But hey, credit where credit is due, at least she said the right name at the funeral. Gee, that Timmy was a swell guy. He liked club... soda?

Just now, Angel12d said:

"You've always seen the best in me."

ERROR: FOOTAGE NOT FOUND.

That letter was a steaming pile of hilarious bullcrap.

[Guest]

I was right about the dialogue tease being Felicity but thankfully it didn't come across bad or bitter as I thought it would. So that was a plus. I liked the Diggle/Felicity scene and that Felicity acknowledged/apologized for letting him think, even briefly, that it was his fault. It was short but I appreciated the scenes a lot. I've missed them and they just have such an easy chemistry together.

[cambridgeguy]

Did Diggle kill the limo driver when he confronted the mayor?  A guy who may not have been one of Darhk's evil minions?  Along with smacking around an unarmed person that really, really makes him look bad.  It's a good thing the Star City police are incompetent.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, bijoux said:

Oliver regretted it straight away judging from his facial expression. Laurel on the other hand was there in a happy daze. But hey, credit where credit is due, at least she said the right name at the funeral. Gee, that Timmy was a swell guy. He liked club... soda?

Oliver's face after they kissed was hilarious. It was the perfect image of 'OMG what have I done?' No wonder he hightailed it out of there. 

I just wish that whole scene never happened. I've never known two people be so horrible together. Just no respect for Tommy at all.

[apinknightmare]

3 minutes ago, Midnight Lullaby said:

one question though: how did Baby Canary know Laurel was the BC? And if she didn't, why did she go to her funeral?

She knew Laurel was the BC because she was at the hospital when Oliver brought Laurel in (probably saw them) and then stole the collar from her room when she was out of her costume. 

Edited April 28, 2016 by apinknightmare

[tarotx]

23 minutes ago, Genki said:

It might have meant to been "growth" that Oliver was able to turn up to and eulogize Laurel's funeral, but just showed me he's not that upset, compared to Moira's or Tommy's funerals.

Yeah I think it was supposed to show Oliver's growth in being fully present, aware of his role and not running away but it just felt like Oliver wasn't as emotionally invested in Laurel to internalize her death. For him it was more about how her death was affecting the people he loves. Which is the way it really should be since Oliver didn't show any real connection to Laurel when she was alive.

Edited April 28, 2016 by tarotx

[AyChihuahua]

Digg was using those same darts he's been using all season. Her bodyguards aren't dead. Not totally sure he was even planning to kill Ruve, bc that was the same gun with the same darts, BUT at that close a range, to the neck, she'd have maybe died anyway.

[Genki]

1 minute ago, cambridgeguy said:

Did Diggle kill the limo driver when he confronted the mayor?  A guy who may not have been one of Darhk's evil minions?  Along with smacking around an unarmed person that really, really makes him look bad.  It's a good thing the Star City police are incompetent.

They were tranq darts.

There was a beef scene of Felicity and Thea hugging each other in the lair...made me go "awww..."

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Genki said:

There was a beef scene of Felicity and Thea hugging each other in the lair...made me go "awww..."

Yes! It was so cute. Felicity almost did her shoulder nuzzle move. So sweet. We need to see more of those two.

[AyChihuahua]

I am at least consistent in that I don't give a flying fart about what the good guys do to the really bad guys. I'd have been entirely fine with Digg murdering Ruve. I don't think they should have to wait until the evil overlords are armed or actively at that very moment doing evil, bc they're pretty much always doing evil. Kill away, Digg. I don't care that she's a woman, either. I am a strident feminist, meaning I am into equality for the sexes, and if a woman wants to be evil and work on perpetrating mass murder, I'm just as fine with her being killed real good as I am with the evil dudes being killed real good.

[SmallScreenDiva]

Can't say it was a bad episode because it had some really good scenes between Diggle/Oliver, Oliver/Felicity, Felicity/Diggle (nearly fell off the couch that they spokes more than 2 sentences to each other!) and Oliver/Quentin. Even got a peek at a very quick hug between Felicity and Thea; that alone gave this ep a boost for me. But at the same time, I kept looking around for this person everybody was talking about because she did not exist. Not in the show I've watched for 4 seasons. That's the problem with an episode built around the legacy of a character that actually doesn't have one. Laurel's never made much of an impact on storylines or characters, so it was extremely strange and off-putting to hear everybody repeating "This is what Laurel would have done" or "This is what Laurel would have wanted us to do."

I do want to ask Beth or Wendy what the point of the flashbacks were other than to show that Laurel and Oliver together will always be horrible. They turn into horrible people. I mean, C'MOOOOOON! I did find it hilarious that whenever Laurel signaled a future for them, Oliver's reaction is to go far, far away. At least the boy's consistent.

I was really hoping the dialogue tease wasn't going to be Felicity. But it actually ended up working for me because of Emily's delivery and that it was between her and Diggle. If there are two people who can joke about Oliver's kid, it's them. 

[Coop33]

It just goes to show how terribly Laurel was written that even when they write her a big send off, she just ends up looking worse. 

I also found this episode to be boring, but I think I just had a hard time connecting with it because I'm not really sad about Laurel, but everyone else was. I did think SA, EBR, and PB gave some good grief stricken performances.

My favorite part was Oliver's face after kissing Laurel. Instant WTF.

[KirkB]

I have no problem with reinforcing the idea Oliver loved Laurel. She was an important part of his life for a long time. Sure, the relationship was toxic, and it was never going to work out because pre-island Oliver was incapable of settling down, or even keeping it in his pants most of the time, and Laurel was always far more focused on herself than anyone else. I think the bigger issue for me is that Stephen and Katie didn't usually seem to like being in scenes together, even when Oliver and Laurel were supposed to be their most 'together'. And that carried over into the scenes, even if subconsciously, they don't seem comfortable together so I don't really like seeing them together.

As for the flashbacks, while I don't like so much focus on Oliver and Laurel (see above) I still found them more tolerable than what we have been getting. It may be some retconning on Oliver and Laurel's relationship/interaction but at least it was sort of moving the characters and the story forward, as opposed to the round and round, dull as dirt island cave flashbacks.

I think Baby Canary (which is a great name BTW) was running like that because her leather outfit didn't quite fit right. I'm not sure if that was intentional, as in the character had done it rather hastily, or unintentional, as in the prop department had done it quite hastily. I still don't quite get how she was able to use the sonic device, since they made a point of saying it would only work for Laurel. It might have been better if Felicity had mentioned something about her being an electronics whiz or something, but it seems like it just worked because the plot needed it to. 

I really liked Quentin going to Nyssa. Putting aside the question of how the hell he was able to contact her, not only was it good to see Nyssa again I am glad the writers didn't just gloss over the fact "we introduced a resurrection machine last season". Quentin had no way of knowing it had been destroyed. And I'm guessing the show runners are going to stick with the "it was the only one" defense rather than the Lazarus pits being scattered all over the damn world from the comics because that would pretty much make death a joke.

The grave side scene would have worked so much better, IMO, if they cut away from Barry showing up and leaving (that is, have Oliver hear his voice and the camera pan up to see his face, then focus back on Oliver when he says he wants to be alone and pan around to show Barry gone) without the whoosh effect so it's not clear if he walked up or sped away. So no one who watches both shows will be stuck trying to figure out the timeline.

Edited April 28, 2016 by KirkB