S05.E10: Who Are You?

[dtissagirl]

9 minutes ago, Chaser said:

They didn't but the fact that Felicity and the Team knew brings up another point. Oliver knew about her and didn't bother with her at all.

It's Oliver, if something isn't in front of his face his brain can't process it.

[Delphi]

All, Arrow,  I didn't even realize I missed you.   But I did so cool. 

Good things:

Felicity being head bitch in charge.   Fuck yeah I'm here for that. 

Lexa Doig!  She's my favorite.  My beautiful warrior lady is back!  I'm also here for that.   She should be in everything. 

Curtis mentioning Paul was nice.   But he didn't exactly try real hard to get him to stay, so I dunno what to tell you Curtis.   Be a better person?  Be a decent husband?  Stop complaining that you fucked up your own life...

I love Rory, he's adorable.  I want all the other newbies gone and for him to stay. 

I'm still not liking WD, but it's nice that some of you have softened. 

I really don't like this Dig in prison set up.   #freediggle2017

Where exactly was Thea?

[apinknightmare]

Did Oliver know about the E2 doppelgängers, or just Felicity? 

[benteen]

Apparently Prometheus knows all about Earth-2...

I really do hope we get an Earth-2 episode involving Arrow, just so we can have Oliver meet the Earth-2 version of his father that became Arrow.  It disappointed me how quickly Flashpoint was wrapped up because I would have loved to have seen Robert Queen standing in for Thomas Wayne with Barry.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Did Arrow Come Back From Its Break...Wrong?

After a couple months off, is Arrow even the same show it used to be?

[Guest]

When Felicity and Oliver practically flew through the air after BS used her canary cry on them, my first thought was "Oh no! What if she damages the chip in her spine?!" I mean, is that thing safe from damage? Sometimes I swear this show has forgotten she was paralyzed. 

My eyeballs enjoyed the Olicity stunt though.

[insomniadreams88]

1 minute ago, Angel12d said:

When Felicity and Oliver practically flew through the air after BS used her canary cry on them, my first thought was "Oh no! What if she damages the chip in her spine?!" I mean, is that thing safe from damage? Sometimes I swear this show has forgotten she was paralyzed. 

Honestly? I think the show forgot about the chip the moment that 4x17 ended. Wasn't that the last episode it was mentioned in? They needed her to get it so she wasn't in a wheelchair anymore and to make Curtis "terrific," then for bee lady to go after Felicity and then ... nothing. 

Also, I was thinking - do we think that Prometheus brought in BS to go after Felicity specifically or did it just end up that way, with BS targeting Felicity, because of the events of the episode? It would be one way to go after Oliver - have his ex-girlfriend's doppelganger target his ex-fiancee. 

[fromfeartohope]

I haven't watched a single episode this season, but I did this morning. Just a few confessions before I start.

-I keep up with what's going on by social media

-I read interviews, honestly this is what turned me off the most. Seriously, what was Wendy and Marc thinking sometimes

-While I'm all about Olicity, I do not need them together right now, IMHO they have a LONG way to go. But I HATE the way I read(was told) they treated them. It was like they didn't have history

-I'm not getting into the Felicity of it all

-I don't think/want magic on the show, so that was another reason for the boycott. 

-I'm writing this BEFORE I read anything from anywhere, I really want my own opinions and not be "influenced" by others. 

-I was one of the ones that said I like Arrow,and want it to succeeded, but they haven't given me anything to cheer for. I still feel that way, but maybe they realized it and are fixing it. 

THE PUNCH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD......LOOOOOLLOOOLLOOOLLOOLLOLOLLOOLOOLOLL-------------BEST PART

Recon Laurel much ARROW...whatever we know the REAL Laurel

 

Black Siren-

While I’m not fond of the actress that plays Laurel/BC/BS, I did not have a problem with the way she portrayed BS. I think the actress plays villains best, so now that the story calls for her to be a villain and be a bitch, the overtopness (yes, I know not a word but whatever) it works. I do not find BS back story compelling, I really don’t care. So when she was talking to Oliver, it did NOTHING for me. Love that Felicity was like, look whatever, I just need you to be locked away somewhere. I did however love the line that BS gave Felicity about sister, and the fact that the writers gave KC that line says A LOT.

Btw they really don’t like the actress over there do they? LOL

 

Wild Dog:

He gets a lot of hate, and I see why. It’s like he’s “trying to be hard, too hard”, it’s an act and I’m not buying it.

Curtis:

I understand where he was coming from, but I still have to ask, “What exactly did you think was going to happen”? This is not your first rodeo with this team? You saw their struggles last year, you had FRONT ROW seats, and did you think that you were immune to any of the crappy things that happened to them? Did you think that you could just waltz into this without any training and you would have not learning curve? Yes, I know it kind of happened with KC s3, but damn even she took blows. I’m so glad he’s rethinking/reevaluating this.

Lance/Thea:

Where the hell are they?

Chase:

He’s not my type, but DAMN, I think I might just be in love. It was just something about him, I can’t explain it. If someone can, please let me know.

Stunts/Action

No complaints, a step up from last year

Felicity:

Oh how she is changing. Usually when she and Oliver disagree, she gives her opinion and tries to talk him out of it but not here. Home girl is tired, and she’s gonna do things her way now. See she knows Oliver so well, she knows what he’s thinking and doing before he even says it. Which is why she is able to successfully pull off all that she did last night….that and the fact that she’s so much smarter than all the males around her combined. I’m not even mad that she went around Oliver multiple times. The last what, 10 years (?), of her life has been a roller coaster, with more down than ups. She is totally overdue for a breakdown, and thankfully we have a front row seat for it.

And now….the Olicity of it all

Felicity is out in the field…..did you hear me…out in the field….with OLIVER…..with everyone

I really don’t want to think this is a turnaround for them, only to be let down by TPTB……again, but MAN. There was SO much love there, so much touching. I think the writer purposefully wrote them in the first half the way they did because when they are able to actually talk to each other, you can’t deny they are IT for each other. It’s obvious that they LOVE each other, no doubt, no questions asked.

Even when they are upset/disagreeing with each other, you can tell they still care. For the first time Felicity talked about his “ex”, and he didn’t say a word. She told him he had on blinders, and he let it go. I do think that Oliver knows that Felicity is basically always right, but he’s Oliver, and well he has a LARGE learning curve. But believe it or not, his learning curve didn’t bother me here.

 

P.S I know we still have thee SketchyMcSketcherson "reporter' to get through but I think I might tune in next week.

PPS They really need to get rid of their "PR' person, what'sherface. This episode should have been built up with Felicity, Oliver, the team, and Olicity. They totally failed with the lack of coming back from break PR, because she is bias. 

Sorry if most of this has already been said, I'm just so happy I tuned in last night. 

Edited January 26, 2017 by fromfeartohope

[arjumand]

6 minutes ago, insomniadreams88 said:

Honestly? I think the show forgot about the chip the moment that 4x17 ended. Wasn't that the last episode it was mentioned in? They needed her to get it so she wasn't in a wheelchair anymore and to make Curtis "terrific," then for bee lady to go after Felicity and then ... nothing. 

 

Related to the terrible continuity on Arrow and its spin offs - when I was watching the episode, and saw the scene with Felicity testing DNA on BS, I immediately remembered the episode of The Flash where they need to test Earth 2 person's DNA, and there's a whole spiel about their blood being different, bla bla bla.

But no, Black Siren gets tested, and the DNA matches. Again, who writes this crap? First of all: things which exist in this world: what was Felicity testing against? Did they keep samples of Laurel's blood? Hair? Or were they testing for a familial match, using Quentin/Sara's whatever?

Second, I had the impression that in the Flash episode, the Earth 2 people were different in some way. But do not ask me to try and track it down, because I don't care about it that much.

I mean this episode was ok, had some good interaction, I enjoyed it, kind of, except when I got annoyed (see above). But then the last scene came up, and it had the same effect on me as Detective Tinyhands in the season opener - they're going for a OH SHIT SON! moment, and it isn't more than a shrug. Especially that last line, which was long and clunky, and dumb.

[EmilyBettFan]

14 minutes ago, fromfeartohope said:

I haven't watched a single episode this season, but I did this morning. Just a few confessions before I start.

-I keep up with what's going on by social media

-I read interviews, honestly this is what turned me off the most. Seriously, what was Wendy and Marc thinking sometimes

-While I'm all about Olicity, I do not need them together right now, IMOH, they have a LONG way to go. But I HATE the way I read(was told) they treated them. It was like they didn't have history

-I'm not getting into the Felicity of it all

-I don't think/want magic on the show, so that was another reason for the boycott. 

-I'm writing this BEFORE I read anything from anywhere, I really want my own opinions and not be "influenced" by others. 

-I was one of the ones that said I like Arrow, and want it to succeeded, but they haven't given me anything to cheer for. 

THE PUNCH HEARD AROUND THE WORLD......LOOOOOLLOOOLLOOOLLOOLLOLOLLOOLOOLOLL-------------BEST PART

Recon Laurel much ARROW...whatever we know the REAL Laurel

 

Black Siren-

While I’m not fond of the actress that plays Laurel/BC/BS, I did not have a problem with the way she portrayed BS. I think the actress plays villains best, so now that the story calls for her to be a villain and be a bitch, the overtopness (yes, I know not a word but whatever). I do not find BS back story compelling, I really don’t care. So when she was talking to Oliver, it did NOTHING for me. Love that Felicity was like, look whatever, I just need you to be locked away somewhere. I did however love the line that BS gave Felicity about sister, and the fact that the writers gave KC that line says A LOT.

Btw they really don’t like the actress over there do they? LOL

 

Wild Dog:

He gets a lot of hate, and I see why. It’s like he’s “trying to be hard, too hard”, it’s an act and I’m not buying it.

Curtis:

I understand where he was coming from, but I still have to ask, “What exactly did you think was going to happen”? This is not your first rodeo with this team? You saw their struggles last year, you had FRONT ROW seats, and did you think that you were immune to any of the crappy things that happened to them? Did you think that you could just waltz into this without any training and you would have not learning curve? Yes, I know it kind of happened with KC s3, but damn even she took blows. I’m so glad he’s rethinking/reevaluating this.

Lance/Thea:

Where the hell are they?

Chase:

He’s not my type, but DAMN, I think I might just be in love. It was just something about him, I can’t explain it. If someone can, please let me know.

Stunts/Action

No complaints, a step up from last year

Felicity:

Oh how she is changing. Usually when she and Oliver disagree, she gives her opinion and tries to talk him out of it but not here. Home girl is tired, and she’s gonna do things her way now. See she knows Oliver so well, she knows what he’s thinking and doing before he even says it. Which is why she is able to successfully pull off all that she did last night….that and the fact that she’s so much smarter than all the males around her combined. I’m not even mad that she went around Oliver multiple times. The last what, 10 years (?), of her life has been a roller coaster, with more down than ups. She is totally overdue for a breakdown, and thankfully we have a front row seat for it.

And now….the Olicity of it all

Felicity is out in the field…..did you hear me…out in the field….with OLIVER…..with everyone

I really don’t want to think this is a turnaround for them, only to be let down by TPTB……again, but MAN. There was SO much love there, so much touching. I think the writer purposefully wrote them in the first half the way they did because when they are able to actually talk to each other, you can’t deny they are IT for each other. It’s obvious that they LOVE each other, no doubt, no questions asked.

Even when they are upset/disagreeing with each other, you can tell they still care. For the first time Felicity talked about his “ex”, and he didn’t say a word. She told him he had on blinders, and he let it go. I do think that Oliver knows that Felicity is basically always right, but he’s Oliver, and well he has a LARGE learning curve. But believe it or not, his learning curve didn’t bother me here.

 

P.S I know we still have thee SketchyMcSketcherson "reporter' to get through but I think I might tune in next week.

PPS They really need to get rid of their "PR' person, what'sherface. This episode should have been built up with Felicity, Oliver, the team, and Olicity. They totally failed with the lack of coming back from break PR, because she is bias. 

Sorry if most of this has already been said, I'm just so happy I tuned in last night. 

I agree with most of what you said.

Regarding Chase I find his voice so alluring and he is sexy in the way he carries himself and knows his shit. His mannerisms are just wow omg I'm so gone with him. I didn't see it before but this episode highlighted everyone's strong points - this is mostly towards Chase. Except KC because well everyone knows I don't like her. lol

Edited January 26, 2017 by EmilyBettFan

[SmallScreenDiva]

I just realized what bugged me the most about BS, and it's not even the drunken walk. It's the bloody nose ring. All throughout the episode I kept thinking how someone should just pull it. 

[tennisgurl]

I actually really liked Wild Dog this week. He was kind of an asshole, but a more likable asshole. And the advice he gave Curtis was really good. Because...yeah Curtis really does suck at fighting. Granted, none of the newbies (besides Rory) are really impressing me with their ass kicking, but Curtis in particular I not great at it. He is clearly more of a tech guy. I mean, he did basically cure paralysis awhile ago. Also, Rory is still my favorite. In costume, he kicks ass, and out, he's adorable.  

And we have Talia! I guess she is estranged from her family, or we would have probably heard of her by now. Also, is there anyone Oliver didn't run into while he was supposedly Ignore

Katie really does a better job playing a bad guy. She seems to be having a lot of fun.

Can I have a never ending giff of Felicity punching out Evil Laurel? I want it running forever. I didn't even dislike Laurel in particular!

So...this is our new girl. You know, show, saying that something is a cliché doesn't make it NOT a cliché. It just means you should know better. I'm open to her, but her opening isn't making me very excited. They might as well have had a subtitle under her saying "GIRL POWER!!! I`M AWESOME AND BADASS AUDIENCE!!!" Like I said, I will give her a shot, but I'm not too impressed with her intro.

Edited January 26, 2017 by tennisgurl

[mtlchick]

Quote

Katie really does a better job playing a bad guy. She seems to be having a lot of fun.

It reminds me of Erin Richards on Gotham: when she was "good" she was just there, not adding to anything.  Once she went off the rails and is now off her rocker, she's a riot. 

[johntfs]

When Katie Cassidy is good (and kind and loving) she's weak and unconvincing, but when she's bad (and mean and sarcastic) she's so, so much better.  I wouldn't mind if Black Siren were slightly reformed to the point that she became kind of a "frenemy" to the gang like Captain Cold became in The Flash. 

[BkWurm1]

12 hours ago, looptab said:

 

And, of course, the Picture of Doom. I was Which was the whole point of this episode's flashbacks, I guess. I was kinda missing it. Also when Talia shows up and Oliver sees Laurel? Just plain weird, lol.

Proof that his Laurel blinders are tied to brain damage from the beating he took?

 

6 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

So for Prometheus's plan to have worked, the following things would have to have happened:
1. Prometheus would have had to found out about Black Siren ("BS")and realized that she was a doppelganger of Laurel Lance.

2. Prometheus would have had to figure out that Laurel Lance was being held at STAR Labs.

3. Prometheus would have had to be able to break in to STAR Labs and rescue BS. (OK, so that's plausible)

4. Prometheus would have had to thought that it was a good idea to troll Ollie with BS.

5. Prometheus would have had to find out about Sara and the Legends to give a plausible cover story about real Laurel being alive.

6. Prometheus would have to count on Team Flash apparently either not discovering that BS was freed or not bothering to tell Team Arrow

7. Prometheus would have to count on Ollie thinking with his li'l arrow and not realizing that BS was not Laurel and that she shouldn't be treated as though she was Laurel.

8. Prometheus would have to give BS some reason to go along with this scheme. Physical threats shouldn't be enough as BS seemed to be able to single-handedly mop the floor with Team Arrow when the plot depended on it. Also, there would be nothing to stop her from disappearing after he made whatever threats and she fake-complied.

On top of that, I have no idea what Prometheus's end game was supposed to be. Suppose somehow Ollie never found out who BS really was, or found out later. So what? What was BS actually supposed to be doing in this campaign to mess with Ollie's head?

At first I thought that Laurel was supposed to be his new inside man only she was completely inept, but if Prometheus didn't even delete the video of him breaking her out of Central City ( didn't the Flash team transfer all their prisoners out of the pipeline this year?) he had to have meant for them to find out about BS escaping. So all I'm left with is maybe NotLaurel was told she was supposed to swear up and down she was Laurel only for Prometheus to arrange for the team to take her out causing some kind of rift since they technically might not be able to prove that Laurel hadn't been telling the truth and that there might have been BS sightings later to make them think they'd killed the real her.    Yeah, stretching a bit, but so was Billy's death and him setting in motion Curtis and Paul's break up.  

 

6 hours ago, Chaser said:

See I agree that KC was terrible, but she embraced it and was so over the top I was actually entertained. The scene with Felicity was IMO her best scene. The change of expression when Felicity told her she should get used to cages was great. It was bitchy pouty.

 

Agreed.  

2 hours ago, Tara Ariano said:

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Did Arrow Come Back From Its Break...Wrong?

After a couple months off, is Arrow even the same show it used to be?

Whoa.  Not loving the tone in this article AT ALL.  So Oliver gets to make all the calls even when he's clearly being a dumbass?  

57 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

I just realized what bugged me the most about BS, and it's not even the drunken walk. It's the bloody nose ring. All throughout the episode I kept thinking how someone should just pull it. 

I was amused by the nose ring because she didn't have it when she was locked up before so it seems that going and getting the nose ring was what she did in her free time after the party, lol.  

5 minutes ago, johntfs said:

When Katie Cassidy is good (and kind and loving) she's weak and unconvincing, but when she's bad (and mean and sarcastic) she's so, so much better.  I wouldn't mind if Black Siren were slightly reformed to the point that she became kind of a "frenemy" to the gang like Captain Cold became in The Flash. 

I could actually enjoy that version of her over on LoT. 

[Mellowyellow]

I rewatched bits of it and I think KC and EBR have good chemistry together. Confirms my opinion that I didn't mind Laurel when she was alive. I like my Laurel/Felicity scenes. hehe and I loved the hug in season 3!

Laurel/BS and Oliver are just awful together for some reason. I feel like she looks smug around him and he has stank face. 

[BunsenBurner]

Olicity scenes were good and needed. 

Diggle:

Loved Diggle scene with Chase when he said he would be shot and killed.  I hoped the general would walk through the door. It was the only way Chase would understand that he really was in danger of dying and that there was more to his story.

Also like the "hit me", it solidified their trust/belief in each other.

Did not like looking at the watch on Chase's wrist or was it his arm? It took me out of the scene

Felicity:

Liked that  F started the narration at the beginning of the show since it really was her episode. I realize it wasn't really narration but it made me more aware that she was the centerpiece of this show.

Liked how Felicity offered water and champagne to BS to test her. Thought the side eye BS gave her was the best acting she did in this episode.

Loved that they showed F practicing punching the bag before she hit BS. Good set up.  Can't believe they took the time to do that. Happy that I was right about how she relieves her frustrations. She did a great job and made it look believable.

F kicked ass in the bunker and in the field.  Loved the "I kept it straight."

Liked the scenes between F and Rory but DO NOT want them as a love interest.

Oliver:

Kind of liked what the Russian guy way saying to Oliver while he was making his face bloody but now that I'm writing this I can't remember a single word why. I guess it wasn't really that great. 

He was okay in this story but that's about it.

Laurel:

I would venture a guess that the reason the punch was not shown well was because KC couldn't pull it off and the director ran out of time after too many takes.

About time that stupid candy bar statue got blown up by LL's doppelgänger.

The walk/strut that BS took was absurd.

The lighting was weird in the behind the bars scene. I even stopped the show because BS's teeth were so gray/almost black, they looked awful.  I'm sure the lipstick is to blame. The nose ring was also distracting because sometimes it was there and others it wasn't.

My only explanation for the LL photo is that it has a magic voodoo spell on it. How else after almost 5 years (as well as when O gave it to LL) did it not rip, fade or be destroyed by blood, sweat, tears and ocean water? 

 

I still don't like Rene.  He just doesn't fit in but will admit he helped in making Curtis good again.  

 

Best episode of the season.

 

Did not know that Black Siren and Trump were related. Hey Pumpkin!!!

Edited January 26, 2017 by BunsenBurner

[teenj12]

Ugh, what the fuck was this? Like, I knew we weren't getting the actual Laurel back, but this episode further proves the lack of respect the writers of Arrow have for Laurel Lance and Katie Cassidy. They didn't even get Black Siren's powers right. On The Flash, her cry destroyed an entire building in one swoop, was able to kill a non-meta with one blast, AND Black Siren had fighting skills. Where was that on Arrow last night?  Also, the ending with a new Black Canary? NO. No, no, no, no. Black Canary is Laurel Lance. Not an OC.

[Midnight Lullaby]

The picture of doom might be a horcrux. I'd destroy it just to stay on the safe side, LOL

[LeighAn]

The Oliver and Felicity fight scene reminded me of this:

[catrox14]

I really hated Oliver saying "There must be a woman out there worthy of Laurel"  There is. Her name is Sara Lance.

[Primal Slayer]

This part made me laugh 

"Oliver, its me Laurel"

"Don't you ever use that name"

They should've had Siren bite back with "well....it is kind of my name"

Though I dont know why they dont have her go by Dinah to differentiate her from E1 Laurel.

[MaisyDaisy]

I guess the punch served it's purpose- it's sent the antis off of a 'Felicity is the worst' rampage, mostly distracted from the fact that Katie just lifted out and her replacement slotted in. 

[LeighAn]

I haven't ventured over to that fandom  too deeply but from what I have seen and heard most the comic frat boys seem more upset by the replacement Black Canary and the perceived lack of respect of Katie then the Felicity punch. 

[EmilyBettFan]

5 hours ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

I just realized what bugged me the most about BS, and it's not even the drunken walk. It's the bloody nose ring. All throughout the episode I kept thinking how someone should just pull it. 

They really should have found someone better. That opened mouth crap makes me think of a bad mini golf course you have to get the ball through. 

1 hour ago, LeighAn said:

The Oliver and Felicity fight scene reminded me of this:

 

I just watched this movie this afternoon!

1 minute ago, LeighAn said:

I haven't ventured over to that fandom  too deeply but from what I have seen and heard most the comic frat boys seem more upset by the replacement Black Canary and the perceived lack of respect of Katie then the Felicity punch. 

Well we can say the same since the whole screaming at Felicity can be viewed as giving a bone to that side of the fandom.

They act like they are the ones who have liked her all along. They were the first ones to moan about how she's not like comic BC.

[ComicFan777]

I think it's funny that the special effects make it look like Laurel is spewing clear jello everywhere.

[AyChihuahua]

3 minutes ago, ComicFan777 said:

I think it's funny that the special effects make it look like Laurel is spewing clear jello everywhere.

I believe I may have done that once, in college.

I have been annoyed by the total variability in the various Canary powers as well. If she can take down a BUILDING, Oliver and Felicity should have been reduced to their constituent parts. 

[Primal Slayer]

18 minutes ago, EmilyBettFan said:

They really should have found someone better. That opened mouth crap makes me think of a bad mini golf course you have to get the ball through. 

I just watched this movie this afternoon!

Well we can say the same since the whole screaming at Felicity can be viewed as giving a bone to that side of the fandom.

They act like they are the ones who have liked her all along. They were the first ones to moan about how she's not like comic BC.

Except Siren screamed at everyone. If this show were any other show (besides a RM show) I wouldn't think anything of Felicity punching Siren, these are some shady MoFos.

[BkWurm1]

2 hours ago, teenj12 said:

Ugh, what the fuck was this? Like, I knew we weren't getting the actual Laurel back, but this episode further proves the lack of respect the writers of Arrow have for Laurel Lance and Katie Cassidy. They didn't even get Black Siren's powers right. On The Flash, her cry destroyed an entire building in one swoop, was able to kill a non-meta with one blast, AND Black Siren had fighting skills. Where was that on Arrow last night?  Also, the ending with a new Black Canary? NO. No, no, no, no. Black Canary is Laurel Lance. Not an OC.

I loved the episode for all the great Olicity but I don't really disagree with this.  It wasn't really kind to her fans though I've learned that on any show once a character is off the show, they ALWAYS write to make the old character look bad (unless it's just a cameo).  

And the power inconsistancy has always been really annoying, even with Sara's grenades and especially with Laruel's collar.  And on The Flash, they couldn't even within the BS episode keep her power level straight. All I can think is she wasn't trying tha hard.  Prometheus didn't want them dead.  

5 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

Except Siren screamed at everyone. If this show were any other show (besides a RM show) I wouldn't think anything of Felicity punching Siren, these are some shady MoFos.

NotLaurel had her powers dampened before Felicity clocked her.  She was pretty distracted by not being able to screech.  

[dtissagirl]

Oh, I have no doubt whatsoever the punching was ~a statement~. That was a 100% ding-dong-ding-dong whatsherface is gone moment. And I profusely thank them for it because it validated and fanserviced and entertained me all at once. It also made me spontaneously clap and belly laugh, which was super nice as well.

[AyChihuahua]

28 minutes ago, dtissagirl said:

Oh, I have no doubt whatsoever the punching was ~a statement~. That was a 100% ding-dong-ding-dong whatsherface is gone moment. And I profusely thank them for it because it validated and fanserviced and entertained me all at once. It also made me spontaneously clap and belly laugh, which was super nice as well.

She's dunzo, magunzo, on Arrow. If this episode had gotten a 1.0, it'd be a different story, maybe. 

[dtissagirl]

I still need them to burn the Picture of Doom because that's the last plot-driven macguffin KC can screw them over re: image rights, if that stupid pic isn't dealt with this season. Logically, getting rid of the pic in the finale makes total sense as it ties to the end of the flashbacks, but it's Arrow and they're a dumbass collective.

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 hours ago, catrox14 said:

I really hated Oliver saying "There must be a woman out there worthy of Laurel"  There is. Her name is Sara Lance.

I literally gagged when he said that and especially when he was talking about "Laurel's Legacy." STFU, writers. If there is any legacy for this show's Black Canary, it's SaraFucking!Lance. Laurel took over for her, and it was the worst thing ever. The character of Black Canary isn't just known for her Canary Cry, but because she's very good in hand to hand combat.  Cassidy's Canary did nothing but pose, hold some staff, crouch and then opened her maw so what passed for the canary cry on this show would burst the ears of others.  And Black Siren (I totes knew that wasn't Laurel in the mid-season finale! That it was E-2 Laurel/Black Siren, so point for me!) did nothing but open her mouth. I saw no fighting, nuttin'.

And Oliver was being...Oliver with his Laurel blinders (TM Felicity) and being dumb as a box of rocks.

I loved seeing Felicity kick ass though! And  to see both her and Oliver actually talking to each other instead of at each other.

And these writers continue to prove how worthless they are. There is no reason why Diggle can't have a civilian attorney to defend him. NONE.

And if I weren't such a techno turd, I'd be able to find a gif that would show me going LALALALALALALALALALALALAAAAAAAATHAT'SNOTTALIALALALALALALALALALALAAAA!!!! 

Yes, I'm 10.

Edited January 27, 2017 by GHScorpiosRule
Proper sentence structure is IMPORTANT!

[EmilyBettFan]

1 hour ago, Primal Slayer said:

Except Siren screamed at everyone. If this show were any other show (besides a RM show) I wouldn't think anything of Felicity punching Siren, these are some shady MoFos.

Yeah except they had Felicity be the one who was weary of her. No one else. So that shows they were going for a BS vs Felicity type aspect.

[Mellowyellow]

I think someone already said this but I loved loved loved how Felicity just did her own thing and didn't give a crap what Oliver thought. I cheered her in s3 when she gave him the "I don't want  to be the woman that you love" speech but this is even better. She's not yelling at him or anything but there is a distinct "I don't give a f what you think anymore Oliver" tone about her. I've been pissed at Oliver’s rampant stupidity and the BMD crap so I'm feeling vindicated with this shift in Felicity. Please please please don't screw this up writers.

And I love that she's a tougher, darker Felicity without being an aggressive shrew! She's going to be adorable even when dark!!!! 

Edited January 27, 2017 by Mellowyellow

[SmallScreenDiva]

The power inconsistency was also apparent when BS screamed at Rory and Felicity and they got flung to walls, she did the same thing to Oliver and he didn't even budge, just knelt and had one hand (I think the other was holding his bow) to an ear. I mean, Oliver is apparently made of sterner stuff than the bloody awful statue, which got blasted by the scream. 

Then again, this show is so inconsistent with everybody's skills. Like LOA-trained Oliver and Anarky going at it for minutes just so Bam Bam can have his cool shot in silhouette. Or Oliver having difficulty putting down a thug like Tobias Church. I mean, c'mon! Or Roy and LL going up against LOA minions. They should have been skewered after 30 seconds. 

As for Laurel getting punched by Felicity -- possibly the most beautiful piece of action sequence ever, even badly shot, framed edited; felt rather cathartic, too -- she lost her scream with Curtis' dampener. That seemed to be her only power. Was she ever shown to be particularly skilled in physically blocking a punch? 

Edited January 27, 2017 by SmallScreenDiva

[EmilyBettFan]

13 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

I think someone already said this but I loved loved loved how Felicity just did her own thing and didn't give a crap what Oliver thought. I cheered her in s3 when she gave him the "I don't want  to be the woman that you love" speech but this is even better. She's not yelling at him or anything but there is a distinct "I don't give a f what you think anymore Oliver" tone about her. I've been pissed at Oliver’s rampant stupidity and the BMD crap so I'm feeling vindicated with this shift in Felicity. Please please please don't screw this up writers.

And I love that she's a tougher, darker Felicity without being an aggressive shrew! She's going to be adorable even when dark!!!! 

This so much. This is why Felicity in any form works because she can back her shit up. She's now using different tactics that Oliver has used against villains and doesn't make any apologies for it because she's a part of the team. She's telling and showing Oliver that he's not the only one who can do those things to catch the bad guys. She is doing it as well.

[BkWurm1]

1 hour ago, dtissagirl said:

I still need them to burn the Picture of Doom because that's the last plot-driven macguffin KC can screw them over re: image rights, if that stupid pic isn't dealt with this season. Logically, getting rid of the pic in the finale makes total sense as it ties to the end of the flashbacks, but it's Arrow and they're a dumbass collective.

Let's see. Oliver gave it to her before she died so chances are it would be with her possessions from the hospital.  So her dad could have it.  They could use it to show him letting her rest in peace or something.  

We'll see it in the Flashbacks probably again so maybe in the last episode Quentin can give it back to Oliver and he can leave it on Laurel's grave?  Or burn it.  I really don't care as long as it's gone.  Oliver gave it back.  We shouldn't have to still deal with it.  

1 hour ago, EmilyBettFan said:

Yeah except they had Felicity be the one who was weary of her. No one else. So that shows they were going for a BS vs Felicity type aspect.

I know it was a typo and you meant wary not weary but weary is the perfect word to describe having to still be talking about her after she died 9 months ago.  We'd be talking less about her if she was still on the show.  

42 minutes ago, EmilyBettFan said:

This so much. This is why Felicity in any form works because she can back her shit up. She's now using different tactics that Oliver has used against villains and doesn't make any apologies for it because she's a part of the team. She's telling and showing Oliver that he's not the only one who can do those things to catch the bad guys. She is doing it as well.

Oliver's incredulous face when he kept realizing that Felicity was just running circles around him was precious.  It's only your team Oliver because Felicity let's you think so. ;)  Oliver is the leader but Felicity is in charge.      

[AyChihuahua]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And these writers continue to prove how worthless they are. There is no reason why Diggle can't have a civilian attorney to defend him. NONE.

Btw, I'm not a military attorney, but the military DOES allow civilian defense attorneys. HOWEVER, there is no way his actual employer, the city government, would allow him to provide a defense in a federal/military criminal case. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, AyChihuahua said:

Btw, I'm not a military attorney, but the military DOES allow civilian defense attorneys. HOWEVER, there is no way his actual employer, the city government, would allow him to provide a defense in a federal/military criminal case. 

Right. I forgot to add how STOOPID that was. Chase saying he was "expanding his practice" which allowed him to represent Dig. I was doing a LOT of face palming at that. 

[BkWurm1]

1 minute ago, AyChihuahua said:

Btw, I'm not a military attorney, but the military DOES allow civilian defense attorneys. HOWEVER, there is no way his actual employer, the city government, would allow him to provide a defense in a federal/military criminal case. 

Thanks!  After watching The Good Wife I knew a regular attorney could be used so I was trying to come up with spin for why Chase would say it would be near impossible.  Now I have my excuse.  i do like it when this show makes sense.  

[AyChihuahua]

Just now, GHScorpiosRule said:

Right. I forgot to add how STOOPID that was. Chase saying he was "expanding his practice" which allowed him to represent Dig. I was doing a LOT of face palming at that. 

Yeah, if he were in private practice, that'd be fine. But he's being employed by Star City in an official capacity as a DA (or ADA, doesn't matter) and therefore, he has to work for them, not some rando military defendant. (He COULD get a leave of absence, maybe, but they'd need to say so.)

However, I have heard that his lawyering in this episode was not abysmal, so, improvement over LL, the WORST ATTORNEY IN THE WORLD?

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just now, AyChihuahua said:

Yeah, if he were in private practice, that'd be fine. But he's being employed by Star City in an official capacity as a DA (or ADA, doesn't matter) and therefore, he has to work for them, not some rando military defendant. (He COULD get a leave of absence, maybe, but they'd need to say so.)

However, I have heard that his lawyering in this episode was not abysmal, so, improvement over LL, the WORST ATTORNEY IN THE WORLD?

This show, and other shows that have the actual DA prosecuting a case? So ridiculous, because District Attorney, State Attorney, etc. is a political position-you know, people vote for them. It's the ADAs who actually prosecute. But I guess it just sounds better when it's DA*.

*Law & Order the exception, where the actual ADAs, Executive ADAs prosecute. Never saw Schiff, Nora, Branch Foghorn Leghorn, or McCoy (after he became DA) prosecute.

[AyChihuahua]

1 minute ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

This show, and other shows that have the actual DA prosecuting a case? So ridiculous, because District Attorney, State Attorney, etc. is a political position-you know, people vote for them. It's the ADAs who actually prosecute. But I guess it just sounds better when it's DA*.

*Law & Order the exception, where the actual ADAs, Executive ADAs prosecute. Never saw Schiff, Nora, Branch Foghorn Leghorn, or McCoy (after he became DA) prosecute.

It happens OCCASIONALLY, on very high-profile matters, but it is  rare. Usually the actual elected individual is a manager and sets policy.

Btw Original Recipe L & O is the only legal show, IMO, that is even a tiny bit realistic.

Edited January 27, 2017 by AyChihuahua

[AyChihuahua]

Total aside, LL is quite literally the worst attorney I have ever seen on tv. A prosecutor does NOT go into major criminal cases without very clearly defined tactics/strategy or even, holy shit, a list of witnesses. Like you actually have to list your witnesses and their general purpose in pre-trial motions. Prosecutors are particularly bound to that bc they have to disclose all exculpatory evidence. She was, I am not exaggerating, the actual worst attorney I have ever seen on tv.

[CooperTV]

Are we to assume that Felicity being all assertive and bossy this episode is a sign of her "darker" arc this season? Because despite the fact I liked how they portrayed Felicity and that we should have more of that, it's clear Oliver does not approve of such a behavior, and Oliver is the show's POV character. Am I reading too much into it?

Otherwise, I'd say that were several good emotional Olicity moments and couple of good Curtis and Rene moments, with Curtis doing his specific thing at last without undermining Felicity's expertise. Even though I had to laugh every time Curtis and WD interacted because Curtis is practically towering over this small fragile person we're supposed to see as intimidating and tough.

Black Siren: bored and unimpressed. I liked Felicity's conversation with her but Oliver being dumb about her was unbearable to watch anyway.

The flashbacks: fast-forward button is my friend!

New Canary: I hate when characters smirking. Meh.

[thegirlsleuth]

Just when I thought I was done with this big, dumb show, it pulls me back in again.  Which might make me the big, dumb one, but for once this season the Bratva flashbacks were not the highlight of the episode!  I was home nursing an ear infection, so the sonic scream was even more painful than it would have been otherwise, but the rest was pretty great provided I could hand wave how, exactly, Prometheus knew everything. It does make me wonder if Prometheus is some sort of alt-Universe Oliver since their fighting styles were so perfectly matched, but I suppose we'll find out next week who else Talia trained.

I remember when I binge watched the first two seasons I was surprised at how rapid the scenes cut into each other--it was visually and emotionally jarring as the rappelled from emotion to emotion and twist to plot twist, and I remember thinking that it was almost like the panels of a comic book, burning through plot and skipping the "boring parts". This episode kept the boring parts, which were far from boring to me.  I was impressed at how all the conversations had a beginning/middle/end, which made the episode really emotionally satisfying.  I have sometime wondered why I watch this show when it does really stupid things, but this episode reminded me of how good it is at making me feel things.  Plus the fight scenes were good.  

Katie had a solid swagger, and I really like her face off with Felicity, where Siren was a vicious viper and Felicity was a stone cold bitch. It probably goes without saying that I liked Oliver and Felicity's scenes, and Oliver was a real boy again, at least for this episode. I hope we see more of DA Chase--his scenes with Diggle were off kilter in the best way, and I know this show is probably scripted down to the last second, but I could have believed that they spontaneous since they had this great loose feel.  Even the boobs were likeable.  I mean Rory is always likeable--I love that he referenced Dybbuks and pointed out that they were having a party before Felicity's boyfriend was even buried--but even Curtis and Wild Dog got my sympathy.  

Couple of little things:

• Katie's fainting skills have not improved, and I laughed out loud at how she looked after getting hit with the flechette
• That edit where it cut from Felicity pulling her swollen hand out of the ice water to Bratva guy holding the knife seemed like an odd transition, considering the tone of the two scenes
• Emily in jeans make me think that I should not have given up TRX after three classes.
• I usually like the music, but it was a little weird this episode, especially where Prometheus was interrogating Black Siren
• It was nice to see Oliver and Felicity be in each other's physical orbit and even touch, which I think is a first for the season. More of that please!
• If Felicity and Oliver don't get back together, can the dark path that's being hinted at for Felicity involve teaming up with DA Chase and being stone cold vigilantes?  I'd be happy with a Karen/Punisher dynamic.

Also, my Oliver and Felicity will reunite odds popped up to 80 percent because she didn't give him a "I don't blame you for Billy's death, but I can't forget it either" speech, which I was really worried about. Still not at 100 percent because they are bringing in a Black Canary, but certainly much higher.

[Midnight Lullaby]

More than the punch the thing that made me go "woah, are they trying to get something off their chest?" was Curtis' line about her needing to shut her damn mouth.

I guess that's the risk when you have an actress that was recently fired playing a villain. Things that wouldn't look weird if it was a random villain of the week might assume a different meaning for some viewers.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Midnight Lullaby

[looptab]

7 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Let's see. Oliver gave it to her before she died so chances are it would be with her possessions from the hospital.  So her dad could have it.  They could use it to show him letting her rest in peace or something.  

We'll see it in the Flashbacks probably again so maybe in the last episode Quentin can give it back to Oliver and he can leave it on Laurel's grave?  Or burn it.  I really don't care as long as it's gone.  Oliver gave it back.  We shouldn't have to still deal with it.  

 

Maybe I am imagining this, but I think we actually saw the Pic of Doom again in present times in one of the first episodes of the season? I think it was in a scene with Oliver and Lance, but I'm not sure.

[dtissagirl]

5 hours ago, CooperTV said:

Are we to assume that Felicity being all assertive and bossy this episode is a sign of her "darker" arc this season? Because despite the fact I liked how they portrayed Felicity and that we should have more of that, it's clear Oliver does not approve of such a behavior, and Oliver is the show's POV character. Am I reading too much into it?

I have no idea if they're gonna go this route of Oliver disapproving of Felicity going rogue on him, but I have to admit that if they DO go there, it'll just add an extra layer of my enjoyment of Felicity running circles around him. Yes.
 

7 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Instead the fact that he killed her boyfriend got treated like he borrowed her car and got a parking ticket ddin't tell her.

Bringing this over from the spoiler thread because it got me on a tangent. I thought it was HILARIOUS that they had that convo between Rory and Felicity about the timing of the party, lampshading that they hadn't even had Mayo's funeral yet. So I thought, "okay, this episode is gonna end with Felicity at Mayo's funeral."

... And then the next day after the fake!Laurel shenanigans, instead of Felicity being at a funeral for her dead Mayo, there she was standing with Oliver in the rain watching a clean-up crew pick up pieces of the dumb statue.

They upgraded Mayo to Chopped Liver in death, guys.