S02.E21: City of Blood

[ElectricBoogaloo]

After Slade threatens to take everything Oliver loves away, Oliver decides the fastest way to stop further bloodshed is to surrender to his enemy. Knowing that surrender will surely lead to Oliver's death, Diggle and Felicity go to extreme measures to keep Oliver from confronting Slade. Meanwhile, Thea considers leaving town, and Laurel resumes her crusade against Sebastian Blood. Finally, Slade unleashes his assault on Starling City.

[Jediknight]

Laurel knows Oliver?  They've done a pretty damn good job of showing us that Laurel doesn't know Oliver.  She didn't know he was cheating on her with Sara, she didn't know he was cheating on her with who has to be Connor's mother, and she didn't know he was The Arrow till Slade told her.  Add that up, and that means she doesn't know Oliver.

 

Purposely tank the company's stock price, and shut down a popular business, just after the death of the former CEO, and you're a great leader that investors love?  That makes no sense.  The shutting down of Verdant would piss off investors, because it's a popular club and Moira had just been murdered.  Isabel's run as CEO has just been her failing upwards.

 

It looks like we may get The Suicide Squad joining with Team Arrow and possibly the League of Assassins to stop Bane's plan as carried out by Deathstroke and Brother Blood.  Let it happen, Arrow writers, let it happen.

[Actionmage]

Wow!

 

Diggle best be okay! "You killed me; let me return the favor." And thus Ravager is begun.

 

Poor Thea! She's gonna need some time with Walter in Australia or somewhere just far away from Star City.

 

I was hoping for Roy to be the one to help out Oliver, but no it's Dumb!Laurel. Club the superhumanly strong mook and then stand there all open-mouthed and ' Did I do that?!' until someone drags you away by the hand. Then you're all 'we can't fight them'! The hell?!! Writers, make up your minds on how actually brave Laurel is  and stick to it! It does her and Katie no favors being schizo in the same episode.

I floved Ollie's reply to Laurel about why Dig and Felicity "get" to go in the field.  It felt long overdue. (By the by, where IS Roy? The ArrowCave looked relatively bare and Roy-less. Did they ship him to STAR Labs?)

 

Due to my Mavericks fighting the Spurs tonight, I missed Moira's funeral as well? Is it worth a look, or is it just more folks disappointed that Oliver was a no show?

 

The previews have me excited even more! Hopefully it portends good things.

[Lisin]

Can someone clue me in on what happened in the last break, my DVR fritzed and jumped back from commercial to Laurel saying "we can't fight them!" Argh! What did I miss?

[quarks]

Lisin:

 

1. Star Labs called Felicity up, so I think there's a cure.

 

2. Isabel showed up as Ravager and said she was going to kill Diggle.  What she MEANT to say, but didn't, was "Assuming my footwear doesn't kill me first."

 

3. The criminal in the police station put on a mask and started attacking.

 

4. A random dude at the train station put on a mask and started attacking and Thea was all "This day. I mean, seriously, this day."

 

Speaking of footwear, one of the only two kindly things I have to say about Laurel in this episode: she wasn't wearing five inch heels during the last couple of scenes. Though she was still in heels. Sigh.

Edited May 1, 2014 by quarks

[quarks]

Other more general comments on the episode:

 

1. So, Isabel devalues the stock, the former CEO of the company is brutally killed, the other former CEO of the company vanishes and doesn't even show up at his own mother's funeral, the company apparently has so little going on that the CEO can personally deliver eviction notices to popular buildings, and on a related subject, the CEO is closing down a section of the business that's making money...oh, wait. That part is realistic. Moving on. Anyway, all of this results in the stock price going UP?

 

2. The previous episodes established that Oliver, Moira and Thea still own QC stock, right? Which is now going up in value. So what is this "we're broke" business? 

 

3. Walter is still a banker who seems fond of Thea. It shouldn't take him long to find her a cushy job someplace - she actually has work experience unlike other rich spoiled brats. Sigh.

 

4. I really can't believe that after finding out that Slade will happily suck out Roy's blood to make Evil Soldiers, and even though they know that Slade knows where the Arrow Cave is, everyone kept leaving Roy alone and defenseless in the Arrow Cave. Poor Roy.

 

5. Laurel. When the mayor of the city is helping to bring a superpowered villain army into the city, now is NOT the time to assure Oliver that you know him better than anyone else (especially since you JUST LEARNED that Felicity, Diggle and Tommy all knew Oliver's secret before you did and that Oliver has been lying to you about Tommy's death for about a year now). Now is the time to say, immediately, "Sebastian Blood is working with Slade Wilson." 

 

6. Speaking of not saying things in a timely manner, Oliver, I applaud you urging Thea to leave the city. Smartest thing you did all episode. Minus several thousand points for still not telling Thea your "secret" in the same episode where you told Sebastian Blood. HEAD THUNK.

 

7. And speaking of Laurel again, if you are going to do the vigilante thing, please get some sort of less flamboyant coat.  Yes, I am speaking as someone who wears a bright pink raincoat for reasons, but I'm not trying to go around unseen.  The white coat to go break in someplace was bad enough; this red coat wasn't an improvement.

 

8. Really loved Felicity in the interrogation scene. That cracked me up.

 

9. Also really loved the Felicity/Oliver/Diggle scene in Arrow Cave 2. 

 

10. The scene with the masked guys marching on the city? CREEPY. I liked it.

[KirkB]

Where did the guy in the police station get his mask? He was handcuffed. He broke the cuffs, stood up, and pulled the mask out of...where? Was it in his coat? A big, bulky mask left unnoticed when he was taken into custody? I mean, I realize every cop in the city not named Lance is probably an idiot, but did they miss it somehow or just assumed it wasn't important?

 

Yeah, I'm not financial expert, but I'm fairly sure the death of a former CEO would damage stock prices. Then again, finances seem to work differently in that world since like everyone else I'm still not sure how Oliver and Thea could be broke.

 

I'm not bothered by Laurel hitting the masked guy and then just standing there. When you whack somebody in the back of the head with a pipe and they don't really react it's going to be a little shocking. Did she even know the guy was super strong? And besides, in that particular moment she was trying to help Oliver and I don't think she had planned on what to do next.

 

When Felicity got the call from STAR Labs was I the only one whose first thought was "Barry is awake"? In hindsight I realized it was probably about the cure to Mirakuru because they're really going to need it now, but the Flash could also come in handy.

Edited May 1, 2014 by KirkB

[catrox14]

SHUT UP LAUREL. JUST SHUT UP.  I am so done with all this bullshit with Laurel.  You do not know Oliver. You do not have such super special snowflake status in Oliver's life that you know him in his bones (hell you don't even know him in his boner anymore either). 

 

When she said, "No Oliver, you always find another way." I though WTF was she even talking about. How would she know this? Right, she wouldn't! 

Oh and don't even start me on the fact that is pretty much exactly what Felicity said to him to him early in the episode only with much more believability and well, you know actual frame of reference because she has actually seen Oliver find other ways.  Gods this shoehorning of Laurel is absurd.  She goes exactly where Ollie tells her not to go and then he has to make sure to hold her hand and run together. / head desk. I'm sorry but KC trying to sell this "You can do it Oliver" spiel was bad.  All Stephen had to do was stand there and scowl and he blew her off the screen. 

 

That said, I like Blood vs Arrow discussion. I could watch those guys verbally spar all day long. 

 

Come back Thea! Don't go Walter! I love Walter so much.  I need him to stay around the rest of the season and beyond. 

 

Line that actually made me cheer "It's started with the three of us. It's time we got back to that". 

[Actionmage]

I just found out what Laurel is! She's The Pierce! (The character you can take out of their show  "and drop into a volcano", possibly improving, but not hurting said show.)

[catrox14]

You apologize to Pierce right now.  I actually miss Pierce LOL

[Ariah]

Well, it's official. Arrow went off my "watch" list with this episode.

 

Too much Laurel. I refuse to like her.

 

They probably won't kill her off in the remaining two episodes - I'm not that lucky. With my luck they'll off Diggle... Or Felicity. Or Walter.

 

On a lighter note: The Diggle/Felicity scenes were all great. Can't we just have that? I really hated that once Oliver said "let's get back to the three-people team" to Laurel, he had to be proved wrong in the next five minutes. Because Laurel has to be special...

[BkWurm1]

.I'm sick of talking about Laurel.  I'm sure the rage and sheer what the fuckery will force me back to ranting later but for now I will stick with other things.

 

Felicity crying at Moira's funeral and not knowing why.  A lot sweet, a little funny and then incredibly touching when Diggle explained her tears were for Oliver's pain.  That's the kind of thing that makes me believe two characters are connected. 

 

Speaking of connected, where Diggle went so did Felicity right up until they left her in the van.  Just saying, that was a lot of togetherness, I'm not complaining, just a little concerned it might be  a trend to make room for she who shall not be named in the Arrowcave  (And speaking of the van, we saw in the preview it flipping on it's side.  Was Felicity perhaps running from someone?)

 

I'm going to have to rewatch my favorite parts of the episode (everything minus...well, you know) so I'll save most of my comments on the Oliver/Felicity and Oliver / Team scenes for later but they really were the high light of the episode for me. 

 

Had some issues with the writing tonight.  Logic isn't very important apparently in Starling City.  Yes when stock prices go back up, the 50 percent of the company that Walter, Oliver and Thea own also rebounds in value and poof, no longer poor, plus they also would have the money from the sale of the Luthor Manor (So long! It's been an interesting 12 years. 10SV * 2ARW)  Not to mention that museum quality art collection.  Sigh.  At least the closing of the club was our of sheer vindictiveness, so that's ok. 

 

What's not ok?  Well while I liked the tension between Oliver and Blood, tell me why in the hell would Blood admit to working with Slade Wilson to the son of the woman he'd just murdered when Blood had no clue Oliver was anything but spoiled ass kid playing with his family's money?  After he knew about who Oliver was, sure, but he didn't for a second deny his connection with Slade and that would have been political suicide.  As for Blood's plan, do I understand this right?  It's basically trash the glades and the city will have the will to revitalize Starling City the way Blood sees fit.  Basically a slightly weaker and far less subtle plan than Malcolm Merlyn's.  Sigh.  At least Blood stepped it up and came off as suitably hard core.  Yeah, Oliver, what you going to do about it?

 

Something that got touched on just the tiniest bit but deserved more attention.  The plan is to drop a tunnel or a roof on the army of baddies.

  “They’re not men.” 

 

But Roy still is?  I could better handle Oliver admitting he has no choice and they can’t stop them any other way than delude Oliver is lying to himself.  I'm willing to following the show wherever it takes the plotline but it's already a dark show, I wouldn't stop watching just because they have to take out some really rotten dudes but I don't like this pretending they don't still count as men.

[pootlus]

I...think I'm going to have to quit watching if only for the sake of my blood pressure.

 

Screaming "Just FUCK OFF, Laurel! FUCK OFF!" at the TV is not healthy.

[SleepDeprived]

That was not a good or menacing Ravager costume. I'm sure cosplayers at cons can come up with something infinitely better. The costume department did Summer Glau dirty. But the hair department continues to shower her with so much love.

 

Due to my Mavericks fighting the Spurs tonight, I missed Moira's funeral as well? Is it worth a look, or is it just more folks disappointed that Oliver was a no show?

 

Yeah, it's worth a look Actionmage. If only for the scene where Diggle comforts a crying Felicity. Because all the scenes those two had in this episode were, basically, the best and most awesome ones. If anyone knows where I can buy a t-shirt that says "Bitch with WiFi" on it, please do point me in the right direction? Line of the night, for sure!

 

2. The previous episodes established that Oliver, Moira and Thea still own QC stock, right? Which is now going up in value. So what is this "we're broke" business?

 

Shhh... It's better not to think about those financial aspects of the plot too much. I'm certain the writers didn't.

 

Where did the guy in the police station get his mask? He was handcuffed. He broke the cuffs, stood up, and pulled the mask out of...where? Was it in his coat?

 

It came from his butt. Or, at least, from the back area of his body. Maybe, he was sitting on it? Or, maybe, that cop who brought him in is part of Slade/Blood's group so no frisking was performed before the handcuffing.

 

When she said, "No Oliver, you always find another way." I though WTF was she even talking about. How would she know this? Right, she wouldn't!

 

Yeah, she would. Because Oliver always found a number of ways into other girl's skirts/pants when they were still together. So, you know, she's speaking from experience. (That was a little mean. Sorry.Not Sorry.)

 

As for Blood's plan, do I understand this right?  It's basically trash the glades and the city will have the will to revitalize Starling City the way Blood sees fit.

 

Well, nobody ever said Sebastian Blood was a smart dude. I mean, this is the same guy that put a timestamp on the PDF document of the press release for Moira's death. As far as I know, timestamping on PDF is something that one deliberately does. So... Not of the smart villain variety that Blood.

 

Something that got touched on just the tiniest bit but deserved more attention.  The plan is to drop a tunnel or a roof on the army of baddies.

 

I bet Felicity came up with that. It was her plan to blow up the QC labs the last time. So blowing up a tunnel seems like something she came up with. That girl certainly likes to start firestorms all over Starling City. Heh.

[quarks]

(And speaking of the van, we saw in the preview it flipping on it's side.  Was Felicity perhaps running from someone?)

 

 

Maybe she's rushing off to Star Labs to get the cure?

 

I was ok with the failure to search Clearly Evil Bad Guy Who Suspiciously Surrendered to the Police just because in the last few episodes, this show has done a great job of establishing that these cops aren't exactly thorough.

Edited May 1, 2014 by quarks

[Lisin]

Thanks quarks! 

 

Aside from screaming at my DVR I really liked this episode. Especially when the Arrow crew left Laurel in the lair, that made my night. Ugh. 

 

I also don't fully understand what this great plan is supposed to accomplish for Blood. 

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Here's what Monty had to say about the episode!

[quarks]

Hee. Great summary, but I'd have to disagree with one element: that eyesex scene between Felicity and Oliver suggested that she still has quite a crush on him. Even it was temporarily overshadowed by her lust for the A.R.G.U.S. computer equipment. 

 

I thought the Evil Plan is to Destroy the City so Blood can recreate it and be a hero, because he doesn't have original evil plans of his own so is forced to just follow Malcolm Merlyn's plans. That or he's just destroying the city out of pure eeeeevillllnness.

Edited May 1, 2014 by quarks

[KirkB]

To be fair, Merlyn's plan was a pretty good one. From a villainous standpoint there is no sense in coming up with something new when you can fall back on a perfectly valid scheme where your psycho super boss has an army of super powered soldiers and the only thing really standing in your way is that pesky guy with the bow and arrows.

[jester]

 

That said, I like Blood vs Arrow discussion. I could watch those guys verbally spar all day long.

I liked this scene a lot as well but I didn't know whether to laugh or cheer at the idea of Oliver going all butter knife on Blood right in the resturaunt.

 

Im on the fence with Laurel. A part of me hope they are working towards something with building her up to something more, but right now she just is being forced into the role of some how trying to come off as Ollie's conscience or moral compass. In the process they have made her weak, needy and so self absorbed that it really ruins any impact the character has and sadly is a huge disservice to an actress I actually think can do so much more.

[ohjoy]

Hee. Great summary, but I'd have to disagree with one element: that eyesex scene between Felicity and Oliver suggested that she still has quite a crush on him. Even it was temporarily overshadowed by her lust for the A.R.G.U.S. computer equipment.

And it didn't seem very one-sided then either. I don't really see Olicity as a potential pairing as much as other people do, but even I thought he looked like he was seriously considering kissing her goodbye right before he walked away.

[catrox14]

 

element: that eyesex scene between Felicity and Oliver suggested that she still has quite a crush on him

 

That was some serious mutual eye-sex between Ollie and Felicity, it wasn't just one way.  Contrast that with the most awkward hugs between Laurel and Oliver, which were really one sided.  Well played Emily and Stephen, you keep stoking those Olicity embers

[quarks]

but right now she just is being forced into the role of some how trying to come off as Ollie's conscience or moral compass.

 

 

Answering in the Laurel thread.

[Morrigan2575]

To be fair, Merlyn's plan was a pretty good one. From a villainous standpoint there is no sense in coming up with something new when you can fall back on a perfectly valid scheme where your psycho super boss has an army of super powered soldiers and the only thing really standing in your way is that pesky guy with the bow and arrows.

 

Yeah but from a storytelling perspective it's pretty lame to recycle your plot.  Hell even when Nolan did it in TDKR he as least had the decency to have it be Talia trying to honor her father/finish what Ra's started.  Here we just have a totally unrelated Baddie using the same plot that didn't work last time.  The only difference was the motivation.

[KirkB]

True, except I don't think that's actually what's happening. I think that's what Blood believes is happening. He may have even been told that they were going to tear down the old city and rebuild it in his image, with him at the helm. What he doesn't realize is Slade doesn't give a crap about his ambitions or about Starling City. I have no idea what Slade's motivations are, beyond hurting Oliver, but I don't think he or the writers intend to simply recycle the same plot as last time. 

Edited May 1, 2014 by KirkB

[Danny Franks]

The chemistry between Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards? Sizzling and chock full of tension and potential.

The chemistry between Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy? Limper than a wet lettuce, and just as tantalising.

 

That's the main thing I got from the character stuff in this episode. They're still trying to push Laurel, and now they're trying to push her into some sort of confidante role that simply does not fit what she has ever been on the show. She knows Oliver? Not well enough to realise he was sleeping with her sister, and fathered a child with another woman, and masqueraded as a vigilante in full view of her for almost two years without her ever having a clue that it was him. So, no. I do not believe what they're trying to sell me, there.

 

I also don't believe that Thea would let Oliver off so easily with the huge secrets he's clearly still keeping, but I guess it fits the storyline that is now sadly inevitable. That of her turning to Malcolm. Sigh. Again, the show picks the path of least interesting, for me. Plus, the writers having Oliver bail on his mother's funeral in another humongous bout of self pity and guilt was appalling. Just shitty behaviour, piled on top of the shitty behaviour that saw him abandon Thea after Tommy died and Moira was imprisoned. Am I supposed to feel his pain or think he's a colossal ass for it? I think the writers intend for the former.

 

I did very much enjoy Oliver saying that Team Arrow was a three man operation, and should be again. Except that Laurel still turned up to save him, because she's so speshul and awesome. I still enjoy Team Arrow stuff more than anything else, but that 'anything else' is still diminishing in quality, for me. Three Ghosts remains the high point of this second season, and all of this amping up of the threat and the angst and the grimness is really turning me off a show that I was incredibly invested in a few months ago. It's just too much. I don't want to see woobie-face Oliver openly talking about sacrificing himself and moist-eyed pleas from various people for him not to and loaded 'goodbye' conversations with his loved ones. Just... get it together and do something heroic instead of talking about how dying for others is heroic.

 

Oh, the idea that Blood had a little time and date stamp on the document incriminating him in the murder of Moira? Right. As evil mastermind villains go, he ain't that smart, is he?

[Chairman Meow]

 

If anyone knows where I can buy a t-shirt that says "Bitch with WiFi" on it, please do point me in the right direction?

 

I really want one that says, "Hi!  I'll be your interrogator." 

[statsgirl]

 

As evil mastermind villains go, he ain't that smart, is he?

They never are.  That's how they get defeated.

 

I don't have much to add to what everyone else has said. The best scenes were anything with Diggle and Felicity in them and Thea's scenes with Walter and Oliver.  The worst was the logic that Oliver and Thea are now broke with their shares of QC rising, the fact that the shares actually are rising with Isabel in charge, and any scene with Laurel starting when she showed up at the Arrow Cave.  I also thought she was condescending with Thea but that could just be because I've completely had it with the character.

 

Kreisburg and Guggenheim have bought me a ticket on the Laurel hate train, packed me a lunch and waved me off.

 

The "Hi!  I'll be your interrogator." scene was just so perfect because it was funny, true to the characters, and advanced the action.  Laurel being the only one who could save Oliver was awful for the opposite reasons.

 

 

Line that actually made me cheer "It's started with the three of us. It's time we got back to that".

It made me cheer too. And then it turned out that Laurel was taking over there and replacing Sara as Oliver's fighting partner.

 

When Anatoli (who will always be Zelinka for me) said that Oliver and Sara are perfect for each other because they both like blowing things up, my viewing partner said "Hey, it was Felicity's plan to blow up Star Labs!"  The ship pandering was all over the show this episode.

 

 

(That was a little mean. Sorry.Not Sorry.)

Don't be sorry at all. It's the only way to take Laurel, either that or drinking.

 

The question for me is whether they're serious with all the Laurel propping, or whether they're leading us down a garden path for a big twist.  I suspect the former, and if it's true, not even Diggle and Felicity will be able to save the show for me.

[thuganomics85]

24 hours after the episode aired and I'm just.... sad.  I just feel like that show is going in a direction I don't care for.  The creators clearly are all aboard the Laurel train and the Ollie/Laurel ship, Ollie is acting stupid and selfish and not thinking about how his actions will hurt people like Thea, Diggle, and Felicity, Sebastian is suddenly being stupid and careless (if he finds out, Slade should just stab him in the eye for that oversight), and Ollie finally mans up, only after Laurel is the one to talk him up.  Sure, whatever, show.

 

But, hey: Felicity/Diggle and Thea/Walter were great.  So... yay?

[pootlus]

Felicity and Diggle were definitely the highlights of the episode for me, followed closely by Thea and Walter (I just adore Colin Salmon).

 

Unfortunately I cannot get past the screaming roadblock of suck that is Laurel.  She kills any enjoyment of the show I have.

 

Suspect the next two episodes will be my last, unfortunately.  This episode just pointed me in the direction the show is going to go, and I have zero interest in it.

[RapBert]

Felicity and Diggle were definitely the highlights of the episode for me, followed closely by Thea and Walter (I just adore Colin Salmon).

 

Unfortunately I cannot get past the screaming roadblock of suck that is Laurel.  She kills any enjoyment of the show I have.

 

Suspect the next two episodes will be my last, unfortunately.  This episode just pointed me in the direction the show is going to go, and I have zero interest in it.

 

I totally agree. I have lost all interest in Arrow if they keep going in this direction. I might turn into the next season premiere just to see if anythign changed for the better, but I highly doubt that will be the case.

[catrox14]

OKay I am super confused about something.

 

Oliver got to the conclusion that Wilson killed Moira to get Blood the mayor's office or rather that is what Laurel was suggesting.  So what about all that angst about Oliver making a choice.  Why was Slade threatening to kill Thea and Moira? Was that just theatrics on Slade's part? What would have happened if Moira didn't volunteer her own life?  How did Oliver make that connection?

 

Help!

[KirkB]

You're confused, I think, because the show itself doesn't seem to have its story straight. Slade captured Oliver, Thea and Moira and said he had to choose between his mother and sister like he did Sara and Shado. Then Moira volunteered her life for her kids and Slade accepted. That's all well and good. But then they show us a memo from Blood indicating he seemed to know in advance that Slade was going to kill her. So either he was planning to kill Moira all along, whether for Blood's sake or not, and was offering Oliver a false choice or else Blood himself was planning to kill her and Slade got to her first. 

[catrox14]

Thanks for helping me think this throught.

 

I really hope they address that because all this time it's been about "Oliver's Choice" which if it was planned that Slade was going to kill Moira that pretty much negates her heroic sacrifice (and will piss me off way too much because fuck that).  If it's that Blood was planning kill Moira, I could buy that but I still don't get how Oliver got there...

/head desk

Edited May 3, 2014 by catrox14

[bluebonnet]

I actually thought it was one of those things where it was expected by all parties that Moira would be the death.  When it's a choice between a parent and a child, I think one always assumes the child will be the chosen.  I can't recall if Slade really knows how Olly's 'choice' went down, that it was one of those more instinctual things where he just jumped in front of the gun that happened to be in front of Sarah at the time.  Slade might have wanted to recreate that in some way.  No matter what, I think Slade had to know that Moira wasn't going to let him kill her child and/or he intended to set it up so that Moira was always the one to die just to keep Blood on his payroll.  I think the heroism of the act came in how dignified and calm Moira was when she stood and faced Slade and told him that it would be her.  It was a very matter of fact self-sacrifice, and I'm not entirely sure if this isn't what Slade wants from Oliver.  

[statsgirl]

But it's always possible that something went wrong... that the gun misfired and killed Thea, or that she was hurt in the car crash and so making Oliver choose was moot because Thea was already a goner.  They want us to believe both things, that Blood knew that Slade was going to kill Moira, and that Slade was really giving Oliver a choice.

 

I think what happened is that they wanted to give Laurel some information that Blood was working with Slade so that she could be the one to save Oliver, and this was the best they could come up with.

 

Once again, it doesn't pay to look too closely to the mechanics of the construction.  The writing for this show seems to go from endpoint backwards to construct it, rather than "Here's the situation and the characters, given that, what would happen next?"

[catrox14]

Looking at the construction is the only way I can make sense of something that on first reaction, for this viewer, comes across as nothing but propping up Laurel at the expense of other characters and good storytelling.

[pootlus]

I didn't mind the scene of Laurel at Blood's office, but I had to LOL at the very obvious flashing red bug. Pretty much anyone glancing in that direction would have had to have been blind not to notice. They could have had something non-flashing and still homed in on it with the camera for 'ooh' factor, it's not like they didn't make it obvious that Laurel stuck something under his desk (I'm okay with that bit because, well, TV).

Edited May 3, 2014 by pootlus

[icandigit]

Just watched Oliver grab Laurel's hand and run through the sewers with her and a little piece of my soul died. That visual and the one with Laurel in the arrow cave were really jarring. This is not the show I signed up for and I really hope it's not the show i deserve. What type of comic book hell have I wondered into?

[statsgirl]

They don't trust us to notice Laurel's bug if it's not flashing.

 

They don't trust us to notice Laurel's wonderfulness unless everyone keeps telling us about it.

[ohjoy]

Looking at the construction is the only way I can make sense of something that on first reaction, for this viewer, comes across as nothing but propping up Laurel at the expense of other characters and good storytelling.

I'm getting a very ominous sense that this applies to the entire last three episodes of the season. I'm not even an [outright] Laurel hater, it's just that the story being told even in the back half of this season just doesn't match up to the story they started telling us with the most recent episode.

In episodes prior to this, we got:

-- Slade killing Moira as the result of confronting Oliver with a "choice" between her and Thea

-- Ollie not telling Thea the truth, resulting in a damaged relationship and serious danger to Thea's life (and Roy's)

-- Laurel doesn't know anything about who Ollie was (cheating, love-child fathering commitment-phobe) or is (the Arrow) unless the villain shows up to tell her, because Ollie is not interested at all in having Laurel in his inner circle

-- Diggle and Felicity are part of (a growing) Team Arrow, and they do have a say and impact on the team

-- Sara is an excellent crime-fighting partner for Oliver, and also the one he chooses to be with at the end of the day

In this episode, we got:

-- Slade killing Moira was inevitable to further his agenda with Blood as mayor

-- Ollie still not telling Thea that he's the Arrow, even after it becomes painfully obvious that his lies are more dangerous to her than the truth

-- Laurel knows Ollie "like she knows her own name" and is the ONLY one who can give him purpose in life

-- Diggle and Felicity, after searching desperately for their fearless leader and unsuccesfully talking him out of committing suicide-by-Slade, are completely content to fade into the background so Laurel can be proven as a crucial and necessary element on Team Arrow

-- Sara who?

It's like I'm suddenly watching an AU version of the show, and unlike Agents of SHIELD where it went from "boring" to "everything is awesome!" this went from "could get better" to "this is not what I tuned in for." I wonder if there's any hope of dialing it back.

[shapeshifter]

Finally got to watch.

About the silly rise of Queen stock: Don'cha all know? The rich always get richer. It was a little eye rolly that Thea says she's a penniless, homeless orphan, and then is able to stylishly dress the part. No heels for her, but no doubt leaving town in several hundred dollar booties, leggings, and tunic-y top by Famous Designer. Sorry. That's what it looked like to me.

Other shows, alphabet agencies, and evil doers everywhere, take note of the only torture that really works: Siphon the bank accounts of the greedy into charity organizations. Seriously. I believe it. I am so tired of the torture porn as depicted on shows like The 100, Revolution, and the like, because it's not just a fictional technique like flying with a cape, and featuring it on shows as a means of extracting information is a toxic waste washing over humanity's conscience. Writers everywhere, take note of the Felicity way of interrogation: Bitch with WiFi. Yes.

Question: If John Barrowman wasn't busy with the ABC Sing Your Face Off (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/189674-ABCs-Sing-Your-Face-Off-Hosted-by-John-Barrowman-Sets-May-Premiere-Date-Celebrity-Contestants-Announced), which, I get it, is totally in his wheelhouse, wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to have every one of Laurel's actions performed by Malcom Merlyn, showing up to save his biological daughter?

Here's what Monty had to say about the episode!

:

It's not very effective, but he shoots one of the Strokes, which is my clever name for the anonymous goons wearing the Deathstroke masks.

Hah. Okay, wasn't this the name of a band back in the day?

[BkWurm1]

Stro-ke it, stroke it! (And just so you know I am quoting a song, not just being a perv ;)

[SleepDeprived]

 

-- Laurel knows Ollie "like she knows her own name" and is the ONLY one who can give him purpose in life

 

Eh. To me, Oliver really didn't seem all that impressed or moved by anything that Laurel was telling him re: her knowing him down to his very osseous tissues, cartilages, marrows, etc. Funny how her, apparently, deep knowledge of his anatomy was so useless in figuring out Oliver's identity as the hood and she had to be told by his arch-enemy. But I digress. Oliver really only responded once she mentioned that Blood and Slade were working together. The new information about Slade's plans was what brought him out of his funk. Not Laurel, per se. However, that whole scene was still sloppily written, oddly directed and badly acted.

 

 

-- Diggle and Felicity, after searching desperately for their fearless leader and unsuccesfully talking him out of committing suicide-by-Slade, are completely content to fade into the background so Laurel can be proven as a crucial and necessary element on Team Arrow

 

Diggle certainly did not seem content, though. He seemed quite annoyed to me. Then again, Diggle's always been allergic to any kind of bullshit.

 

 

It's not very effective, but he shoots one of the Strokes, which is my clever name for the anonymous goons wearing the Deathstroke masks.

Hah. Okay, wasn't this the name of a band back in the day?

 

Hipsters would have you know that The Strokes is totes still trendy, 'kay? Hee. They do make some pretty good music.

Edited May 4, 2014 by SleepDeprived

[Zalyn]

Stro-ke it, stroke it! (And just so you know I am quoting a song, not just being a perv ;)

So you admit that there is some pervishness still.  :)

 

:Hah. Okay, wasn't this the name of a band back in the day?

 

 

Hipsters would have you know that The Strokes is totes still trendy, 'kay? Hee. They do make some pretty good music.

 

"Wilson and the Strokes: when they come to your city, they kill it."

[Actionmage]

Still giggling over the "interrogation" and Diggle's ...procurement of the interrogate. He is almost liking this part of the job. I looked like John had a little bit of a grin going on.

 

From Oliver's "I should have died on The Queen's Gambit" to "We can't fight back!"? I still mostly hated. (How can anyone hate THE Power Trio moment in the cave? Not I.)

 

We are 28 days from the new season! Whee!

[tv echo]

221 (City of Blood) – No Oliver Queen voiceover intro.

221 (City of Blood) – Oliver is noticeably absent from Moira's funeral, and Felicity cries for him:
Diggle: "Hey." (Hands her a handkerchief)
Felicity: "Thanks. I don't even know why I'm crying. I didn't even like Moira. Terrible thing to say about someone after they've just died. In my defense, she was not nice. She was diabolical. Not a word you often hear at someone's funeral."
Diggle: "You're not crying for her, Felicity. You're crying for Oliver."
Felicity: "Where is he? How could he not be here?"
Diggle: "I don't know."
Isabel (coming up): "If Oliver's smart, he ran back to his island to hide. But maybe he'll attend your funerals."

221 (City of Blood) – Diggle and Felicity go to Amanda Waller at A.R.G.U.S. for help in tracking down Oliver:
Diggle: "We're almost out of snake venom."
Felicity: "Seeing Roy like this reminds me of Barry. And Barry reminds me of S.T.A.R. Labs. S.T.A.R. Labs reminds me of the Mirakuru cure that they're working on, which we could really use right now."
Diggle: "Yeah, especially since Isabel Rochev was clearly injected with the stuff."
Felicity: "How do you know?"
Diggle: "'Cause there's no other way she could be walking around after being shot dead-on with a nine-millimeter hollow point. (Both sigh) I've left about a dozen messages for Oliver about Isabel being back. No response. You have any luck finding him?" 
Felicity: "Tons. All of it bad. There's been no activity on his passport, cell phone, or bank accounts - what's left of them, anyhow. And facial recognition hasn't spotted him in any airport, bus, or train station." 
Diggle: "Right. What about Sara?"
Felicity: "Nothing either. (Diggle sighs) Dig, people don't just go missing like this, unless -"
Diggle: "Don't go there, Felicity."
Felicity: "What if she is? What if Oliver is? Maybe the reason we can't find him is because -"
Diggle: "He's alive, Felicity. If he wasn't, Isabel Rochev wouldn't be so shy about rubbing it in our faces. Believe me, he's alive."
Felicity: "Well, I hope you have some way on how to find him, because I am running out of places to look and people to ask."
Diggle: "I know who to ask."
(Cut to ARGUS control room.)
Diggle: "Thanks for agreeing to see us." 
Waller: "Mr. Diggle. Thought I made it clear after our last meeting. As far as A.R.G.U.S. is concerned, you're out of favors."
Diggle: "I'm not asking for myself, Amanda. I'm asking for everyone in Starling City. I need you to find Oliver Queen."
Felicity: "Dig. That computer's running an XK-15 processor."
Diggle: "Felicity."
Felicity: "But that's not even supposed to exist yet. I want one."
Waller: "Let me know what you find. I don't have time to keep track of your friends, Mr. Diggle. We deal with more pressing issues here."
Diggle: "You don't understand. Oliver's disappeared." 
Waller: "Maybe he needs some time. Or is it possible that the two of you simply haven't been looking in the right place? Did you try facial recognition?"
Felicity: "Yes, I ran it three times."
Diggle: "Amanda, please. Slade Wilson has an army of men just like him."
Waller: "How many men have been exposed to the Mirakuru?" 
Diggle: "Enough to lay waste to this city. We need to find Oliver right now." 
Waller: "I'll see what I can do."
*  *  *
Felicity: "Is that the satellite frequency communicator TX50? Can I touch it? I know that sounds a little weird and creepy, but I've never seen one in real life."
Waller: "It's classified equipment, Ms. Smoak."
Felicity: "You must feel very powerful. Knowing everything about everyone. Not powerful in an evil dictator Stalin way. More of a 'Knowledge is Power,' way."
Unidentified Male (to Waller): "Ma'am. We have something."
Waller: "I should have known."
Diggle: "What?"
Waller: "Oliver's at the lair from which he conducts his operations."
Felicity: "But we were just there." 
Waller: "Not that lair. His other one."

221 (City of Blood) – Diggle and Felicity find a grief-stricken Oliver brooding at his secret, secondary lair after Moira’s funeral:
Oliver: "How did you find me?"
Diggle: "Waller."
Felicity: "We were worried about you." 
Diggle: "After you missed your mother's funeral." 
Oliver: "I'm sorry that I didn't go. I left for the cemetery. But I ended up here." 
Felicity: "Here is -?"
Oliver: "Here was a secondary facility in case the Foundry was compromised. But it became somewhere that I could just go and be alone. She's dead because of me. Five years ago, I could have cured Slade. And that would have prevented all of this. And now, all the people left that I care about, we are all in his crosshairs. It ends tonight."
Felicity: "How?"
Oliver: "I turn myself over to Slade. I end this vendetta."
Diggle:  Oliver, you think this ends with you turning yourself over to Slade?" 
Oliver: "Yes, I do. After she was gone, he told that one more person had to die. And then it would end. This ends for Slade when he kills me."
Felicity: "I don't accept that. You shouldn't, either. You can't just accept things, Oliver. If I had accepted my life, I would be a cocktail waitress in Vegas like my mother, and I never would have gone to college, and I never would have moved a thousand miles away to work at Queen Consolidated, and I never would have believed some crazy guy in a hood when he told me I could be more than just some I.T. girl. Please don't do this."
Oliver: "Felicity. Someone once told me that the essence of heroism is to die so others can live."
Diggle: "It's not that simple, Oliver."
Oliver: "Yes, it is. Slade's whole plan was to take everything from me. He did. He wins. All that's left is for me to die."
Felicity: "No, there has to be another way."
Oliver (looking at her and holding her hand): “There isn’t.”  
(Lingering shot as he pulls his hand out of hers and walks out as she looks at him.)

221 (City of Blood) – Felicity and Diggle, with Laurel's help, save Oliver from sacrificing himself:
Oliver (standing at dock): "This is where it all started. Got on the Queen's Gambit right over there. I should have died on that boat. If I had, none of this would have happened. I never would have met you. Shado and my mother would still be alive. No one else is going to die because of me." (Dart is shot into his neck.)
(Cut to Arrowcave.)
Oliver: "Diggle, what the hell?"
Laurel: "Slade Wilson. He told me who you were." 
Oliver: "Did he hurt you?"
Laurel: "No. He was trying to hurt you. And when you went missing, I reached out to your partners. They told me what you were planning on doing."
Oliver: "It's what I have to do." 
Laurel (to Felicity and Diggle): "Will you give us a moment? (To Oliver) You thought about telling me - the night of the Undertaking."
Oliver: "I thought about telling you almost every night."
Laurel: "Why didn't you? Tommy knew. Didn't he? You were with him. You were with him at the end."
Oliver: "His last words were about you. He wanted to know if you were safe. Sorry I couldn't save him. And my mother. But I can save you. And Thea. I can save the city, if this ends tonight."
Laurel: "No. No! (Hugs him) You can't commit suicide, Ollie. You won't do that to me. Or to Sara. Or to your friends. Or to Thea. Oliver, she just lost her mother. Losing you would destroy her."
Oliver: "But she'll be alive."
Laurel: "I don't know anything about hoods and masks or human weapons or any of this. But I know you. I know you like I know my own name. And I realize it may sound crazy in light of your secret, but I know who you are in your bones, Oliver. And that person - that person doesn't give up. That person, he always finds a way."
Oliver: "Not this time."
Laurel: "You're wrong. You want to protect the people who you love? Then the only way to do that is to stop Slade Wilson."
Oliver: "Laurel, I can't!"
Laurel: "Yes, you can! By stopping Sebastian Blood, because Sebastian is working with Slade Wilson. I have proof. Slade Wilson killed your mother so that Sebastian could become mayor."
Oliver: "You were right about him. The man in the skull mask works for Slade Wilson. And this entire time, it was Sebastian."
Laurel: "What's happening is bigger than you and Slade. This city needs the Arrow."

221 (City of Blood) – Diggle and Felicity (“Bitch with Wi-Fi”) interrogate Clinton Hogue:
Diggle: “Clinton Hogue. I have some questions for you.”
Hogue: “Go to hell.”
Diggle: “You sure that's how you want to play it?” 
Hogue: “You think I've never taken a beating before?” 
Diggle: “Pal, you're going to wish I beat you.” 
Felicity: “Hi. I'll be your interrogator.” 
Hogue: “Is this a joke?” 
Felicity: “Clinton Hogue. Social security number 306003894.” 
Hogue: “What the hell's this supposed to be?”
Felicity: “Oh, look at this. You have a bank account in the Cayman Islands. Wow. $2 million. Quite the little nest egg. But – looks like you just approved a wire transfer of $1 million to a charity here in Starling City. Very generous. What should I do with the rest?” 
Diggle: “Greenpeace.”
Felicity: “Great cause! And they really appreciate support.” 
Hogue: “You bitch!” 
Felicity: “Bitch… with Wi-Fi.”

221 (City of Blood) – Oliver rejects Laurel’s offer to help Original Team Arrow:
Oliver: "Good. Let's go. Diggle, you ready?"
Diggle: "Never not."
Laurel: "I'm coming, too."
Oliver (sighing): "No, you're not."
Laurel: "Felicity can give me a radio. I'll just be your eyes and your ears. I'll stay out of your way, I promise. Nothing will happen to me."
Oliver: "What if it did? Slade's men, one on one, they are nearly impossible to stop. I need you to trust me. And I need you to be safe." 
Laurel: "But not them?"
Oliver: "This started with the three of us. It's time we got back to that."

221 (City of Blood) – Team Arrow goes into action:
Oliver (over comms): "I have eyes on Blood's army." 
Felicity (over comms): "Got it. I'm forwarding Dig your ping along with the foundation schematics of the Topside Avenue. Follow the route I laid out on the blueprints. You'll see structural joints in the concrete. Blow them all and Blood gets buried."
Diggle (over comms): "Got it."
*  *  *
Felicity (over comms): "I'm just asking here. Oliver, you've worked really hard not to kill anymore. Dropping an entire block on these guys is murder. Manslaughter, at least."
Oliver (over comms): "They're not men. Not anymore. Have Diggle blow the charges the moment he's ready."
Felicity (over comms): "Oliver?"
(Oliver fights one of the Mirakuru-ed members of Blood's army.)
*  *  *
Felicity: "Oliver, please.  (Her phone rings) Cisco, now is really not a good time."

Edited February 15, 2020 by tv echo