S05.E02: The Recruits

[CabotCove]

A good hour of TV.  A strong focus on Oliver so far and the newbie additions makes the show even better. 

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Why the obsession with a TEAM? Why must Oliver have a team? This is what ruined Arrow for me.

One man cannot save an entire city alone, especially now that he is getting older. 

[BkWurm1]

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I like Curtis but I thought his verbal smackdown of Oliver a little eyebrow raising. Thea and Diggle left because of their own personal struggles not Oliver. I thought it was unfair of Curtis and they were bending too much to plot

Maybe?  But Oliver skated last season when I needed people to support Felicity's anger and she got zero back up.   Even Curtis last year started spinning it as her hang up.  It was just so nice to hear Oliver called on the same behavior that cost him his engagement that I didn't care that Curtis didn't get all his facts right in why Thea and DIg left.  He did get them right in regards to the new recruits and he wasn't wrong about Oliver's inability to fully trust (even when he has every reason in the world to do so). 

It's frustrating actually to get this storyline where he actually IS addressing his problem and yet it's not at all tied to what Oliver did to Felicity last year and usually they LOVE to make these connections really obvious.  It's like they had it all planned as a response to last year, but they refuse to acknowledge why he has to relearn these lessons.

[Trini]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

So, I guess everyone knows that Barry is The Flash. Curtis can probably be added to the list.

 

5 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Wait a second, did Felicity reveal to Curtis who The Flash is?  She mentioned that Oliver put 2 arrows into Barry's back, but I can't remember if Curtis knew beforehand.  If I'm remembering correctly that's not cool, Barry may have revealed who he is to a lot of people, but that was his decision.

Smeggit, Felicity! The List is so long already.
I need details, people. How far into the episode was the scene? Who said what?

/Keeper of The List

[bijoux]

Until the last two minutes I felt like I was Oliver and Oliver was me. Seriously, these Evelyn and Wild Dog are strangers, one of them still a kid. I was completely behind him keeping on his disguise and for Felicity to have one. In fact, until told otherwise on the show, I'm going to ascribe her recklessness to her dealing with Havenrock.

Surprisingly, Evelyn wasn't that bad. I found the actress horrid last year, but she was solid in this episode. And while I expected to like Wild Dog best from the promos, I actually connected most with Ragman in this episode. The actor didn't get much to do, but I found him really expressive and full of potential. Maybe it's also because he jump started Felicity's Havenrock storyline.

Thank goodness Thea managed to cobble together whole outfits by the end of the episode there. SC is not your giant night club, Thea.

[looptab]

Just watched the episode. What can I say? It was fine, with a few negatives.

Detective Mayo TinyHands doesn't bother me that much; Thea and Quentin scenes were good. I'm intrigued to see where Dig's story goes.

As far as the newbies, Wild Dog is the poor man's Roy, plus he is annoying. The girl was just there, and Curtis gave some burns. Weirdly enough I was moved by Oliver's convo with Ragman. Hope to enjoy the new dynamic going forward.

The flashbacks were effective - I was surprised when they shot the other aspiring Bratva dudes. 

First of these negatives was the freaking direction. I'm so tired of watching the actors from below, and there were so many scenes where it seemed like the focus was the empty space rather than the people in it. The convo between Felicity and Oliver as GA, the only thing you could see of him was his mouth moving - which, awkward and distracting - and so rarely you got close enough to the actors to be able to see their expression. Glad this nightmare is over for now.

Hope they move away from the Saint Laurel stuff beyond these first two episodes. "Look at Laurel Lance's statue"..enough, FFS. I did love the "Green" joke, and the moment in the mayor office with OLiver, Felicity and Thea, the bit about not being just a pretty face. :)

Anyway, If this is them writing away from the romance, please go ahead and keep doing it. Sure, it's weird seeing Oliver being so grumpy with Felicity - I couldn't help but think that had some of their interactions from this ep been in S4, he'd be smiling - but the banter is there. The affection is there. These two people know each other, and they work well no matter what the state of their relationship officially is.

[bijoux]

5 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Tiny Hands is still so incredibly pointless in this show except to give Felicity a secret?  And Team Arrow, buy a replacement spectochromagraph or whatever it was. It's been five months.  You never needed to run tests in all that time?

I'm spinning it that she's dating him in the first place to get access to the tech they're missing at the bunker.

2 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Maybe?  But Oliver skated last season when I needed people to support Felicity's anger and she got zero back up.   Even Curtis last year started spinning it as her hang up.  It was just so nice to hear Oliver called on the same behavior that cost him his engagement that I didn't care that Curtis didn't get all his facts right in why Thea and DIg left.  He did get them right in regards to the new recruits and he wasn't wrong about Oliver's inability to fully trust (even when he has every reason in the world to do so). 

It's frustrating actually to get this storyline where he actually IS addressing his problem and yet it's not at all tied to what Oliver did to Felicity last year and usually they LOVE to make these connections really obvious.  It's like they had it all planned as a response to last year, but they refuse to acknowledge why he has to relearn these lessons.

For me, it just underminded the whole thing to have it be about Oliver not trusting people who he has no reason to trust. It's not even remotely the same for me. On the one hand, we had Oliver not confiding in Felicity, a person who has earned his trust in various roles that she's played in his life over the years. On the other, we have Oliver doing the smart thing IMO by not just jumping in and trusting people he doesn't know. The scene felt overwrought and felt like Curtis has been on a kick reading self help books. He trusts you plenty, Curtis. You know who he is and have a standing invitation to the bunker because you've proven to be trustworthy. Why is it wrong to expect the same from others? I wonder what Roy would have to say about this initial training, though. After all, all he had to do was slap water, he didn't get pummeled by Oliver at all times. Will he think Oliver liked him more or less than he does the newbies?

I really was relieved to find out Oliver was "losing" to Church in order to test Ragman. I was ready to fly off because how does it make sense for a guy like Church to corner him physically?

Edited October 13, 2016 by bijoux

[thuganomics85]

Felicity bringing up all the times Oliver shot someone with an arrow as part of a "learning experience" was great.  Although, frankly, maybe he should have shot a few more arrows into Barry, considering what an inconsiderate asshole he's been so far this season.

Only in Star City can they not only have their mayor being a former hard-partying rich boy, who likes to go off in the night for his "other job", but now the deputy mayor is a current alcoholic, with a short fuse.  This city is so much fun!

I'm not sure what to fully make of Oliver's style of training.  On one hand, yeah, he was being overtly harsh at times, and maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a nice orientation; maybe even throw in a safety video or two; before diving right into the Bravata style of training.  But on the other hand, I can understand why he would be hesitant to reveal his identity to Evelyn and Wild Dog this quickly, because he barely even knows them (and, frankly, Wild Dog really isn't endearing himself to anyone).  Even if some of this past reveals were out of necessity or circumstances, he already had an idea what type of people Felicity, Diggle, and Roy were, and that they could be trusted with the secret.  I'd like to think those two will mean well, but I can see why he would be worried.  Granted, that still doesn't excuse being the world's meanest coach, but that's just Classic Oliver!

A lot of good Oliver and Felicty moments in this one.  Some funny lines too.

Oh, poor Diggle.  I had a bad feeling about his commanding officer simply because he had one of those over-the-top folksy accents, that televisions always has their characters do, when they are going to end up being bad.  I'm sure he'll get out of it somehow, but he has the worst luck ever.  And he doesn't even know half of it (glares at Barry.)

I still can't remember or care about the name of Felicity's new squeeze.  I'm still thinking he's either going to die or end up being evil.

At they limited the Laurel fawning to only one scene.

So, this Prometheus guy really wants the Arrow dead, to the point that he gets upset when others try to take them out, themselves.  He sure took the wind out of Church's sails in one fell swoop.  I wonder how long we'll wait before he finally takes off his mask. 

The Ragman was pretty cool though.  The actor did a good job at showing what makes the character tick, with minimum screen time.

  
 

[SleepDeprived]

Did y'all know that Laurel Lance is totally dead? And that her statue is by the pier? And that it commemorates how she tried to help the city? But she got killed because of her inexperience? Everyone just needs to go to the pier and look at the statue, damn it!!! Such super vital information that keeps getting repeated in every episode, so far (okay, it's only been 2 episodes but still, it's kinda overkill that she keeps getting brought up). No never mind that Damien Darhk had actual magical powers so no one could've stopped him at the prison, and the reason why she died was for Quentin's manpain.

Gonna echo most of the posts that it was a pretty good episode. Such a shame that the promo for it was terrible and would probably result in not-that-great ratings. Someone really needs to get a good talking to at the CW PR department Chico and the Arrow writers room Wendy/Guggie for the super meh/unappealing promos and interviews for the show.

Gonna also agree that, among the newbies, Ragman stood out and I'm most interested in his story. The fact that his vigilante story is tied to what Felicity will be dealing with because of Havenrock is probably a big factor in why he peaked my interest more than the others. I just feel so bad for both of them (that Ragman lost everything and that Felicity has been carrying the burden of the guilt about Havenrock, even though she saved millions in Monument Point and everything was all really Darhk's fault). I still like Curtis (though I sort of am getting tired that he keeps getting to have all these monologues that lead to an epiphany of sorts for Oliver) and Evelyn is okay in small doses, I guess. Wild Dog's "rebel/you're not the boss of me/I do what I want" persona isn't exactly clicking with me since I feel like I've seen that arc so many times on this show and other shows already. We'll see how that goes.

I'm sorry to say but the actor playing Det. Mayo TinyHands has miniscule screen presence and is just super bland. He inspires no reaction from me, not even an eyeroll at the obvious stall LI role he's playing. At least, when Palmer was in the stall LI role, I felt things whenever he was on-screen--annoyed, creeped out, and sometimes rage-y feelings but BR got reactions out of me. TinyHands' part in this episode might as well have been played by some nameless tech extra who would've probably been cheaper to hire. Also, his leather jacket looked a size too big on him. I don't know why that bothers me but it does. Felicity deserves better than him.

I liked the flow of the scene with Thea, Oliver, and Felicity. It just had a natural, easy vibe among three people who seemed like they felt comfortable around each other. So many good interactions between Oliver and Felicity, though! EBR and SA's chemistry is just effortless and a joy to watch. Good luck with trying to write away from "Olicity," writers! Actually, I don't want to wish the writers any luck because I really don't care for lazy stall tactics and tropes.

I, also, liked the Diggle sub-plot and how they connected it to the rest of the show. I always love seeing Diggle be all mentor-like, even though that poor soldier was gunned down in cold blood right in front of him. Can't wait for Digg to come back to SC, though, since I miss my OTA moments (which, I hope we still get to have even with the noobs around). Also, DR should always have scruff. He looked so damn good. I really wish he can just keep his scruff and be in tight t-shirts all the time. /shallow

[bijoux]

15 minutes ago, SleepDeprived said:

Gonna also agree that, among the newbies, Ragman stood out and I'm most interested in his story. The fact that his vigilante story is tied to what Felicity will be dealing with because of Havenrock is probably a big factor in why he peaked my interest more than the others. I just feel so bad for both of them (that Ragman lost everything and that Felicity has been carrying the burden of the guilt about Havenrock, even though she saved millions in Monument Point and everything was all really Darhk's fault). 

I appreciate he's linked to both his Felicity through their Havenrock trauma and to Oliver via the father link. Evelyn is just sort of there, Wild Dog sort of took up Roy's mantle. And Curtis worked well with Oliver and Felicity for me in the Sir. ...Oliver. scene but I can't say that I'm vowed by his contribution. Ragman actually feels like the most thought out addition. And it bears repeating the actor really made an impression.

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Good luck with trying to write away from "Olicity," writers! Actually, I don't want to wish the writers any luck because I really don't care for lazy stall tactics and tropes.

I'm starting to fear that they actually are writing away from them in the sense that Flashpoint negated their relationship. The interactions were great, especially talking about Oliver's leadership, but all of them could have easily taken place in season 2. Who knows what is involved with Sara not being there anymore? 

[Mellowyellow]

Just finished watching it.

I have come to the conclusion that Felicity makes anything watchable for me. We will see how long that theory holds for. Haha on that note I hope you guys will not mind me logging into the new episode thread each week with the question "How much Felicity was in this?"

I liked the Prometheus and Ragman story developments, found them mildly exciting.

Didn't care for the new recruits (Wild Dog seems like an A-hole) or Curtis who just annoys the crap out of me. I didn't mind him last season but I am going to plan my grocery list when they delve into his storyline. HIs preachy speeches grate! 

Surprisingly did not rage over the Felicity and Mayo scenes! She was adorable enough to distract me! I think I am just annoyed on principle that they couldn't find a more "BIG" love interest for her. Yes I know you guys all hated Ray with a thousand fires but I thought Ray was adorable and I really like BR. Ray was a billionaire with a super suit who was mad about her. Now she's dating a cop with bad clothes and bad hair! If they had given her a better boyfriend I probably wouldn't be so sore about it. 

Thea, Quentin - meh meh. Didn't care then, don't care now! 

16 minutes ago, bijoux said:

I'm starting to fear that they actually are writing away from them in the sense that Flashpoint negated their relationship. The interactions were great, especially talking about Oliver's leadership, but all of them could have easily taken place in season 2. Who knows what is involved with Sara not being there anymore? 

Do you mean as in their relationship never happened? Or they went through the same rim roll but less intense ie no more "You are my always."

[looptab]

15 minutes ago, bijoux said:

I appreciate he's linked to both his Felicity through their Havenrock trauma and to Oliver via the father link. Evelyn is just sort of there, Wild Dog sort of took up Roy's mantle. And Curtis worked well with Oliver and Felicity for me in the Sir. ...Oliver. scene but I can't say that I'm vowed by his contribution. Ragman actually feels like the most thought out addition. And it bears repeating the actor really made an impression.

I think that's the reason he made an impression: he was immediately emotionally linked to two main characters. Yeah, the stuff about Havenrock and his father was about him, but it resonated because of the connection he estabilished with Oliver and - I think - will estabilish with Felicity. And that was lacking with the other two. 

I suppose there's still time for that going forward, but right now the kids are just meh.

[bijoux]

5 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Do you mean as in their relationship never happened? Or they went through the same rim roll but less intense ie no more "You are my always."

I mean that it never happened. I hope that's not it, but there was a quote from Mericle that worries me.

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"We've landed on a few things, but the door is open. That's the fun part. You can play with it in whatever way, shape, or form you want to. I think it will be small in some ways, and big in others."

I knkow people have advocated for William to be erased and no relationship would mean no lying about the spawn, but I'm a big believer in dealing with things if you mess up and not just erasing or ignoring them. Even if Oliver hadn't lied to Felicity while planning to marry her, that doesn't change his mind set and the way he reacts to situations like that. I need it to be dealt with so he doesn't repeat that particular brand of dumbassery. I mean, there have been positive developments on his fronts. Felicity knew what Laurel had told him and he was opening up about the Bratva to her in this episode. So I want more things like that, not erasing anything between them, be it good or bad. 

[TwistedandBored]

I really enjoyed this episode. I didn't think I would but I did. I am glad Felicity's Havenrock start this episode. I can't wait to see more scenes between her and Ragman. 

The Newbies are just meh for now. I am going to give them a chance and hopefully they would grown on me but for now Ragman was the standout.

I loved that Diggle got his own story but I really hate that it is a betrayal story. I don't want him dishonorable discharged and dealing with Court Marshals and stuff. They should have found another way to make him leave the army.

Thea and Lance story was okay too. 

[RussianRoulette]

Ok! Delayed viewing here because I had to wake up at 3am to catch my flight and I chose to have a wine tasting event last night. Anyway.

Thank god for lowered expectations but still.

Crap! 

I very much enjoyed this episode too. But the thing is I have always enjoyed pretty much every X Season A. 

Many posters up thread mentioned the reasons why I liked the episode. 

I'm not even annoyed with the Lego hair guy. Billy, right? LOLOL.

SA/EBR chemistry if off the charts. And I don't even care about the Olicity stuff anymore. 

I liked the .2 seconds of WildDog in the premiere? But in this episode? Not so much. Guy is too cocky and annoying. Dude, go away! 

I really enjoyed Ragman. I feel like I saw the actor somewhere else playing some kind of standup comedian in a terribad awful show? Or not? Too lazy to check that out. 

Now. Curtis. Um, truth be told, I never enjoyed him much. He's so perfect!  He can give a (to be fair) much needed smackdown. But for me he is a duplication of the Felicity character and speaks too fast. 

Shallow comments are shallow. 

[benteen]

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Felicity bringing up all the times Oliver shot someone with an arrow as part of a "learning experience" was great.  Although, frankly, maybe he should have shot a few more arrows into Barry, considering what an inconsiderate asshole he's been so far this season.

YES!  Seriously, after what happened with Sara Diggle, I think Oliver has grounds to put Barry down like a dog.

[Hiveminder]

9 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

found

 

Can anyone tell me if Dig has always been so trusting of the 'chain of command'?  What I got from his talks with that poor red shirt was that he doesn't trust himself to make moral decisions anymore. 

 

Curtis annoyed me last night. There were valid points to what he said, but I don't understand why he's the one who seems to get through to Oliver. 

[apinknightmare]

I'm watching the ep now, and why was Mayo Tiny Hands so sweaty? He was literally just walking.

[DeadZeus]

Took Oliver a whole season to reveal to Roy who he is and even then it was only out of necessity. Now he recruites and shows identity in the same episode lol

[SimoneS]

2 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

JSurprisingly did not rage over the Felicity and Mayo scenes! She was adorable enough to distract me! I think I am just annoyed on principle that they couldn't find a more "BIG" love interest for her.

I agree. Felicity should be dating a superhero or some bigwig. A man who is real competition for Oliver, not some cop with weird hair.

I really liked Ragman and the scene at the end with Oliver was surprisingly effective and moving. I worry the impact that Ragman joining the team will have on Felicity. Maybe this will be the beginning of Oliver and Felicity reuniting. 

[bethy]

I've been avoiding/not paying attention to spoilers, so I was really confused when Oliver recruited Ragman. I wasn't paying close enough attention to realize he was a different character from Prometheus. Having said that, though, I did find the interaction between him and Oliver moving, so that was good.

I do not understand the drama of why the writers seem to think it's so difficult to write Oliver and Felicity in a romantic relationship. Everything we saw in the episode is exactly the way to write such a relationship. They were kind and supportive and respectful of each other. If you added in a scene at the end of the two of them together at the loft, you'd have a wonderful Olicity episode. So dumb.

I'm not a fan of Detective Mayo, either, but I think I can get why Felicity might be dating him. He's "safe" and probably easy after the last year with Oliver. He's also a distraction from whatever might be going on with her in terms of Havenrock. Given Felicity's reaction to Ragman's conversation about his dad and Havenrock, I think she's in full-on distract, distract, distract mode. She can't up and change herself completely like she did after what's-his-name, but she can throw herself back into vigilante-ing and have a fling with a nice, good guy (or is he?!) to keep her mind off what she's feeling on Havenrock. 

I did really enjoy this episode. The decreased mentions of Saint Laurel helped. (And the fact that Oliver's reference was somewhat critical in terms of her lack of training.) When we get to an ep where she's not mentioned at all, I'll really be happy. 

[apinknightmare]

I would appreciate the lack of training mentions if that had anything whatsoever to do with her death. Didn't she just get frozen by magic and then stabbed in the gut? No amount of training would've stopped that. 

[tv echo]

I enjoyed this episode.

Felicity never said that Barry was The Flash...

Oliver: "Curtis, if you think this is hard, wait until I actually start training you."
Curtis: "What happens then?"
Oliver: "The last guy got an arrow in the leg before it even started."
Curtis: "That was Roy, right?"
Oliver: "Also Roy, but I'm talking about Wild Dog."
Felicity: "And you did put two arrows in Barry Allen's back."
Curtis: "I'm starting to sense a pattern."
Felicity: "Don't worry. His bark's way worse than his bite."

Edited October 13, 2016 by tv echo

[Delphi]

I enjoyed this very much but aside from Ragman I'm really not into the recruits.   I don't like Wild Dog,I'm indifferent to Evelyn and honestly while I love Echo that love doesn't extend to Curtis. 

And yes, Felicity, wear a mask when handling complete strangers.   I get that the writers hate the secret identity trope but it exists for a reason.  You don't know these people, jesus. 

[Soulfire]

Apologies in advance for being a day late with my standard gif spam :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2016 by Soulfire

[benteen]

I definitely agree Felicity should have worn a mask at first.  Her profile in Star City has risen substantially over the past few years and it probably shouldn't have taken Wild Dog and the other one that much time to figure out who the Green Arrow is.

[romantic idiot]

2 hours ago, Hiveminder said:

 

Can anyone tell me if Dig has always been so trusting of the 'chain of command'?  What I got from his talks with that poor red shirt was that he doesn't trust himself to make moral decisions anymore. 

 

Curtis annoyed me last night. There were valid points to what he said, but I don't understand why he's the one who seems to get through to Oliver. 

Who knew Diggle subscribed to the Loki school of thought - a world made free from freedom indeed. 

RE: Curtis, wild guess, but it might be his penis?

[Hiveminder]

18 minutes ago, romantic idiot said:

 

RE: Curtis, wild guess, but it might be his penis?

You are almost certainly right about that. 

[Primetimer]

Oliver's trying to rebuild his team, but he's running into problems with how big a jerk he can be.

View the full article

[Sunshine]

The more I see of Curtis the less I like him.  That said, in his defense, he was one of the recruits.  Oliver's actions/behavior affected him directly.  He has gotten through to Oliver before (4.23 IIRC) with the speech about inspiring him to stay in Star City.  He also has been working with him for 6 months maybe.  The other recruits days.  Several times in S4 Felicity had her voice taken from her.  Someone told her what she felt.  I resented that.  So I am fine in this instance with Curtis getting to voice his thoughts feelings.  

[Guest]

I'm five minutes into the episode and the shaky cam is so bad. I don't think I've ever been more aware of a camera before. It totally takes me out of things.

[Chaser]

The shot of Oliver and Felicity in the white top bugged me a lot. I found myself tilting my head because it felt crooked.

[looptab]

Yes. Jesus. So bad.

[Carrie Ann]

14 minutes ago, Chaser said:

The shot of Oliver and Felicity in the white top bugged me a lot. I found myself tilting my head because it felt crooked.

Yes. It was very film-school. Reminded me of McG. Bamford is directorially juvenile, unsurprisingly.

[catrox14]

19 minutes ago, Chaser said:

The shot of Oliver and Felicity in the white top bugged me a lot. I found myself tilting my head because it felt crooked.

It felt like a shot from the original 1960s Batman series or Gotham. Out of place in Arrow IMO unless it's part of a dream or hallucination scene.

[popgoesculture]

15 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I hope Detective Malone's not around too much.  I think they found the only person Emily has no chemistry with.  Their one scene was fairly meh.

I didn't think it was possible for EBR to not have chemistry with someone. This dude is literally the first one I've seen where there's... nothing. And you could see her being outgoing, exuding a lot of energy... and Ritter/Malone was just non-receptive? He was so blank and generic. I'm disappointed because if they're going to go the route of Felicity with someone else, make it someone worthwhile (and right now, my patience with Oliver is at an all time low, only surpassed by Barry Allen). ALSO WHAT IS HER JOB? She's in the Arrow Cave ALL day every day. 

14 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

I thought it was Prometheus in a ripped mask until the tentacles showed up.

It looks like Prometheus, Ragman, and Alchemy from Flash are all using the same variation on a mask. Did the costumers run out of ideas, or are they protesting the fact that they had to put sleeves back on the Arrow suit?

Overall, this episode was.... meh? Each ep feels like an anvil to the head regarding the theme/connection to the flashbacks. And it seems like Oliver has no learning comprehension ever because he retains nothing from episode to episode, season to season. 

[Guest]

Okay so I finished the episode. It was actually pretty good. My only real complaints were the shaky cam (someone needs to send Bamford to directing school or something because he SUCKS) and the fact that the fight scenes are still far too dark. I can hardly see anything.

I agree with what @dtissagirl said up thread that Felicity continues to be the glue that holds everything together. If she had been absent, it just would not have been the same. She just elevates the mood of it all.

I like the start of her Havenrock storyline too. Nice and subtle so far and just by the look on her face when she was listening to Ragman, she's clearly still very affected. I also liked how Oliver noticed something wasn't quite right and asked her if she was okay. Bonus points, Oliver!

The O/F chemistry is still alive and well and I agree with others here - that scene where he shares about the Bratva is well up there as one of their best scenes period. And the timing of their banter is spot on. "No mask." "No chance." Loved it.

Mayo Bread is such a non-entity I want to LOL. Zero chemistry, pointless. You could tell they were trying to parallel the cuteness of Oliver lying to Felicity in early s1 with Felicity making up dumb lies to Billy Bread (they even had a similar score) but it just didn't work. Awkward!

I didn't mind the Laurel mentions in this episode because one of them was basically reminding people how untrained she was. Although it wasn't her lack of training which got her killed so IDK what that was about. But no, it didn't bother me at all.

Thea was much better in this episode and I liked her scene with Quentin at the end. Though I still side-eye the fact that she has that job with no experience but this is Arrow so I can let it go.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

"It's like he just disappeared. I wouldn't believe if it I hadn't just seen him do all that other stuff that I don't believe."

For some reason how Felicity said this made me LOL. IDK why. Haha.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

I forgot to add - I thought Diggle's storyline was okay. It's good to see something slightly different for him but I do want him integrated back with everyone else ASAP.

I also didn't mind the newbies? I think Evelyn is pretty hammy but she barely spoke enough to annoy me. I guess there's always time for that though. Haha. Wild Dog seems okay. I also like how they're not making Curtis so great at everything yet. 

I thought Ragman was probably the best one tbh. I'm interested to see what he does when he finds out Felicity's link to Havenrock. Will he try to strangle her with his rags too? LOL.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Guest

[SmallScreenDiva]

I'm not sure that Det. TH and Felicity have anti-chemistry, because I associate anti-chem with the look on SA's face whenever KC gets near him. With TR and EBR, it was just ... nothing. I mean, EBR was working it but I agree with @popgoesculture about Malone being non-receptive. Dude just doesn't have any presence. Blank and generic are very good words to describe him. 

[apinknightmare]

I thought it was pretty great when Felicity was trying to convince Oliver to let the newbies go to the free clinic to help him keep an eye out for Ragman by being like, "There are twenty entrance points. You can't watch them all yourself." And then at the actual clinic all three of them are standing within 6 feet of each other, haha.

Edited October 14, 2016 by apinknightmare

[SmallScreenDiva]

I wonder who the recruits thought Felicity was when they first saw her. I mean, if they read the newspapers then they would know she was the former CEO of PT, ex-fiancee of the new mayor. Why was she hanging around offering moral support and yelling at the Green Arrow? Nobody was curious? Put 2 and 2 together and noticed the mayor has the same freakin' scruff as GA?! Or did the maiming cook their brains?

[Delphi]

Clearly Oliver gave them all concussions so they were a bit loopy. 

[Hiveminder]

10 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

I wonder who the recruits thought Felicity was when they first saw her. I mean, if they read the newspapers then they would know she was the former CEO of PT, ex-fiancee of the new mayor. Why was she hanging around offering moral support and yelling at the Green Arrow? Nobody was curious? Put 2 and 2 together and noticed the mayor has the same freakin' scruff as GA?! Or did the maiming cook their brains?

I could buy that Wild Dog doesn't care about who the CEO of Palmer Tech is or who the mayor used to be engaged to, and so didn't recognize her. 

Evelyn might be more likely to, but I feel like I'm stereotyping her as a 'typical girl' who's interested in celebrity gossip when I say that. Also, her family died last season right? Maybe she was too busy with that to pay attention to celebrity gossip.  It's no less likely than everyone everywhere not realizing that the lower half of Oliver Queen's face is exactly the same as the Green Arrow's, and the Arrow's, and the Hood's. 

[SmallScreenDiva]

OK, but no curiosity at all as to who the lady hanging out with GA is? What her function is? Aside from moral support? They don't have enquiring minds?

It's probably beyond what they want to deal with in this episode but it's just so weird especially with the whole revelation of Oliver's identity. I get they wouldn't have recognized them right away. But between the very first training and when Oliver apologized, no one went on Google? It's such a small thing, but it annoyed me a bit that these kids didn't show any curiosity.

[apinknightmare]

For some reason I thought Evelyn already knew Oliver was the Green Arrow. She saw him when she went to Laurel's funeral, and would've seen Felicity there too. Someone should rethink that genius status.

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, Angel12d said:

"It's like he just disappeared. I wouldn't believe if it I hadn't just seen him do all that other stuff that I don't believe."

For some reason how Felicity said this made me LOL. IDK why. Haha.

That made me laugh quite a bit.

I thought this episode was pretty darn good overall. I like the fights mostly. I enjoyed the banter.  I liked that Felicity was shaken by Ragman's story and we know now that she'll be dealing with it as she should be.

The #Olicity was overflowing in this episode. Two idiots in love are still in two idiots in love with each other. Heart eyes everywhere.

Edited October 13, 2016 by catrox14

[Chaser]

Other than a couple issues (RetLaurel, MayoTinyHands), I have been pleasantly surprised with the episodes thus far.

I'm sad the PR is so misleading.

[Hiveminder]

8 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

OK, but no curiosity at all as to who the lady hanging out with GA is? What her function is? Aside from moral support? They don't have enquiring minds?

It's probably beyond what they want to deal with in this episode but it's just so weird especially with the whole revelation of Oliver's identity. I get they wouldn't have recognized them right away. But between the very first training and when Oliver apologized, no one went on Google? It's such a small thing, but it annoyed me a bit that these kids didn't show any curiosity.

Everything you said here is logical. I'm forced to conclude that the entirety of Star City is either suffering under the effects of a tainted water supply that makes them incapable of realizing the obvious or just humoring Oliver by pretending not to know he's the Green Arrow. 

[Chaser]

The people of Star City are deeply stupid.

[janeta]

Love Felicity. :)   Starting to love Curtis, too.

Enough with the Laurel already.  Oi.