S06.E01: Fallout

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

The future of the team is left hanging in the balance after the emotional showdown between Oliver Queen and Adrian Chase. Now, the focus shifts to uncovering the fate of each and every member of Team Arrow. Could anyone have possibly survived an island-wide explosion, or has the book closed on them, as it has on Oliver's five-year flashback story?

[RandomWatcher]

I'm a bit disappointed that nearly everyone survived. Even Thea is only mostly dead. 

[Guest]

I'm kinda underwhelmed tbh. 

[apinknightmare]

I thought they'd take the time to show how everyone survived and how they all got off the island - LOL @ me.

[Chaser]

Was this episode boring?

It sounded boring.

[BkWurm1]

WAAAAAAY too much Dinah.  It was a big Quentin and Diggle episode and Dinah just had to be there for all of their stuff AND her new promotion at the precinct and for her fights with BS.  

I'm not at hating her stage but I'm already at sick of her stage.  

Felicity's biggest accomplishment in this episode was bringing Big Belly Burgers.  Otherwise, she was massively underused.  Still, they did have nice moments between her and Oliver that hinted to bigger stuff offscreen, like how he was about to call her late at night like it was something they commonly did.  

Edited October 13, 2017 by BkWurm1

[apinknightmare]

Just now, Chaser said:

Was this episode boring?

It sounded boring.

I had no expectations, so I was entertained. It wasn't great by any means, but I didn't have any niggling feelings of impending doom like I have in previous seasons, so it was fun...considering.

[Jediknight]

Damn, Black Siren is just harsh.  She told Quentin she would have shot him.

I like the possibility of Slade coming back, and becoming an uneasy ally for Team Arrow.  Nobody kills Oliver but him.  And he was actually worried about Thea.

Don't need Dig and Dinah to become a thing.  Don't try it, Arrow writers.

Wild Dog's new suit, was fantastic.

[Lady Calypso]

That was...not good. Bad writing, bad directing, just ok acting, but too much focus on characters I don't care about.

I'd give it a second watch to see if I like it better, but I don't think I can muster up sitting through the entire episode again.

[catrox14]

I'm really not pleased with the Quentin thing where he keeps saying BS is his daughter and NO ONE is telling him NO. That's not his daughter. Evil Laurel is insufficient to make that clear. Bah. Just kill her already.

Thea better not die.

NO SHOW. Do not play these games with Dinah and Diggle. I will have none of that in this show.

Myson was not intolerable.

I hate Bam Bams' directing style. I need Dramamine for all his spinny camera crap.

[bettername2come]

I liked my "how everyone got off the island" idea better. On the plus side, Felicity looked amazing, BS was better than usual, I liked Rene calling Oliver by name and hugging him, the actor for William has improved (although his dialogue is worse), and Rasa has quintupled her series screen time.

[Guest]

Too much Dinah, IMO. I felt like she was everywhere and way too bossy. And I feel like that scene with Diggle should have been with Felicity, who literally had nothing much to do. I swear if they keep pushing Dinah I'm gonna just resent her presence. 

Also I'm getting a weird Dinah/Diggle vibe again and IDK. I'm uncomfortable.

All this insistence that BS was Laurel and Quentin's daughter? Please STFU.

KC's acting was probably the worst it's been and I thought she was usually better at playing villain. IDK what happened there. Her sidekicks were also terrible actors which probably didn't help. The weird cheesy music whenever she entered was bad, too. Yikes.

[MostlyC]

Raisa, not seen since the Pilot?  Good call, Show.

[calliope1975]

All that ridiculous non-promotion for months. 

Anyhoo, overall I enjoyed the episode. I *gasp* didn't have an issue with Myson at the beginning. That is how kids act. And it didn't tax the kid actor who's still really, really green. But that "bad man" scene was not good at all. Liked having Raisa back. 

I see you Show, killing off and seriously injuring only the ladies. Not a good look. I am looking forward to Diggle dealing with his injury. 

EBR/Felicity was smoaking tonight. No way there haven't been any more slip ups between her and Oliver. Come on! 

BS was not good and apparently another flunkie. Maybe? KC seems to have regressed as an actor. 

Oliver - the answer is obviously cosplay. You were practicing for the upcoming Starling City Comic Con. 

The stunts were good, but the directing was not. Bam thinks he's better than he is, and he's repeating techniques that aren't good like spinny cam. 

[statsgirl]

Yay for a Raisa sighting.  They seem to have repurposed the loft for Oliver's new apartment.

The first episode of each season used to start with Oliver running.  Now they have 1. Oliver can't be both Green Arrow and X and 2.

Felicity seemed to have a different outfit for every scene (I counted six or more).  If Curtis takes over her tech stuff, she can be the fashion model.

Diggle's and Wild Dog's new suits were both good.  And I even like Dinah's gloves.  But I wouldn't have mourned if WD were taken out of the team entirely.

Bam Bam's directing has not improved.

The only way to justify having MySon there is for Oliver so say that he was practising his Hallowe'en costume as the Green Arrow for his son.

Edited October 13, 2017 by statsgirl

[Soulfire]

(* "No, it hasn't.")

 

 

 

 

(GIFs not mine.)

Edited October 13, 2017 by Soulfire

[Primal Slayer]

Overall I enjoyed the premiere, 

I didn't really like how they dealt with the cliffhanger though since they basically ignored the interesting parts (seeing everyone try to survive) and they didn't bother answering any questions about the guest stars that werent Slade. I was expecting at least the first 10 mins to really focus on the island.

They really made you suspend belief in certain parts since they didn't really seem to think the logistics through. How the hell can all of TA get to the bunker when they are at a press conference? And they all take the time to suit up at that lol.

Black Siren was all

And I loved it! While I am totally here for BS/BC, she is far more interesting when dealing with Quentin, both of whom who have seemed to do role reversals since we last saw them. I enjoyed having Quentin feel guilt over killing his "daughter" since it's believable, he wants to tell himself that this isnt Laurel but he cant come to accept it since you dont run into your daughters doppelganger everyday! Maybe they should call up Cisco and take Q on a trip to E2 for some doppelganger rehab.

Everytime Dinah/Diggle were together I thought they were going to start kissing which I guess is a good thing for the two actors? Of course Dinah is no Lyla so I don't really ship them together but I enjoy their dynamic that they seem to have going on at the moment with them both being headstrong and Dinah not here for Diggle covering up his issues. Diggle is a man of pride so I can believe that he would try to muster through and get over this without help.

Wild Dog... He got a new costume for some reason that looks weird. That's all.

Poor Thea is in a coma while Samantha had JUST ENOUGH life in her to perfectly walk to Oliver before passing on the baton of being a full time parent. He should've just found her dead or on the verge of death. 

But I am pissed that they wasted 5 months on a cliffhanger that resulted in ZERO big deaths in the cast. Waste of time.

[apinknightmare]

I liked Oliver's apartment more than I thought I would but it kind of looks like a sauna? 

[insomniadreams88]

I was underwhelmed. I expected them to draw out the reveals and the stuff they did draw out was predictable.

Oliver and Felicity were adorable, but I kind of wished they'd given us something more, especially after what we had to sit through last season.

I'm already over this whole Black Siren/not Laurel/evil Laurel/yes Laurel/etc. thing they have going on and I want Quentin Lance to have a storyline that's not tied to his daughters/not-daughters/drinking.

Curtis is very annoying still, Dinah has gotten annoying (I liked her last season!) and maybe it's because he was in the hospital with a collapsed lung, but Rene was the best out of the B-team.

The photo reveal at the end was ... meh? It was quite a clear photo, so I have to give them that? But it didn't have the impact on me that I think they wanted it to.

As for Diggle, why couldn't he have those conversations with Oliver or Felicity instead of Dinah? There has been too much Diggle/Dinah going back to last season and I hate that it looks like that trend is continuing. 

As for William, hated the "bad man" scene and I'm not really feeling the father/son scenes when they're happening. After, sure. I feel bad for Oliver that his son is calling him a bad man and that agreeing to watch a game is SUCH A BIG THING when it's been five months, but that's about it.

[Chaser]

Oliver just needs to release a statement saying  he and his girlfriend like to play Green Arrow and CEO.

They have a built in witness from that gala in S4.

[calliope1975]

This is what Samantha's death reminded me of: 

[Mrs. de Winter]

One episode in and I am over DD.   I don't want to have to fast forward Dig and Lance so I hope the writers contain her - quickly.  Stick her with the other screamer because she too is always fast forward material.  KC defiantly did not spend her free time working on her acting. 

For future reference show - the quickest, surest way to get me to hate a character is to force them into scenes that would have made more sense between Dig and Felicity.  

All that focus on blowing up the island and they spend as little time as humanly possible showing how everyone survived.  So glad they stuck to the pretend everyone is dead thing - because the suspense was totally worth it.  Except not.

[LeighAn]

1 minute ago, calliope1975 said:

This is what Samantha's death reminded me of: 

Lol didn't she win an oscar? My God! Hahaha 

[Guest]

Arrow has this problem with not letting emotional moments breathe? So Samantha's death and finding Thea just fell flat for me because we moved on too quickly. IDK. I shouldn't be disappointed because promo had forgotten the cliffhanger existed but I guess I didn't expect the show to act like it, too.

[Primal Slayer]

I was thisclose to thinking that Felicity was in shock of Black Siren revealing herself to the public. 

[Mrs. de Winter]

2 minutes ago, insomniadreams88 said:

As for Diggle, why couldn't he have those conversations with Oliver or Felicity instead of Dinah? There has been too much Diggle/Dinah going back to last season and I hate that it looks like that trend is continuing. 

I am seriously hoping someone asks DR at the next con if he and EBR are fighting or not allowed to work together any more.  It is just beyond stupid how hard they work at pretending they are not friends.  

[mtlchick]

I think the move to Thursdays is going to kill me watching it in real time since I have 6 other shows I normally watch that night as it is.  This premiere isn't helping.  Like others said you had a lot of "OMG WHO IS NOT DEAD!" and there not much explanation or showing of what they did.

 

And is Willa planning to go MIA again this year?  She was barely on last year, now she's in a coma? 

[tennisgurl]

Wow, after that big "cliffhanger" ending, they really just settled who all was alive right away, didn't they? I mean, I knew pretty much everyone but Samantha would be fine, but still. They couldn't off any main character? Not even Rene or Curtis? Even Thea is just in a coma. 

That being said, I thought the episode was alright. Enough that I feel pretty optimistic about the season in general. Oliver and Felicity didn't have any huge moments, but the heart eyes could not be contained, and the fight scenes were pretty good. There was some good stuff here. But it seemed rather rushed, and, like I said, at least TRY to make the cliffhanger have a point. 

Laughed way too hard at Samantha's death. Of course she can find the strength to dramatically stagger to Oliver and tell him to be a dad. At William seems a little better now, not that we need a kid around or anything. Have they never heard of Cousin Oliver?!?! And, yes, the Bad Man scene was as stupid as I suspected it would. It did lead to some good Quentin and Oliver bonding, and I am just such a sucker for that. 

Well...snap. Oliver was just cosplaying you guys!

[Last Time Lord]

Got home late so I'm now watching it via DVR.

Right out the gate, I'm upset they didn't do a five year time jump. This show and Flash really could have benefitted from it, I think.

[GirlvsTV]

I thought that was really bad. 

Felt like the acting was off for just about everyone, and lots of scenes where they all seemed like they were waiting for their turn to say a line - it didn't feel natural.

The less said about the kid the better, but the idea of having a petulant tween sorting through his issues for 9 episodes is not at all appealing. Especially since he's such a terrible actor.

I haven't watched regularly in a really long while and skipped nearly all of season 5. Thought I'd check back in to see if my Oliver dislike had dissipated at all and, no, it hasn't. So, I'm out again. 

[Primal Slayer]

MG and WM really should stop trying to emulate other shows or even bringing up any other shows in comparison to Arrow. Walking Dead left us with a killer cliffhanger and a major character died after waiting all summer to find out who bit the dust. Samantha does not equal Glenn.

[thuganomics85]

Arrow is back and... nothing much has change, huh?

Seriously, Chase apparently was horrible with out he placed those bombs, because after all those fancy explosions and fire, only Samantha died?  That's just embarrassing, Chase.  I mean, sure, Thea is now in a coma and Diggle apparently is injured to the point he can't fire his gun (or is it some form of PTSD?  I'm a bit confused), but that is still pretty sucky.  Talk about going out with a whimper, buddy.

Anyway, so it looks like this season will be all about Oliver learning to be a father with William, which isn't exactly on the top of my list of things I care about.  At least the actor playing him as improved, but still not exactly gripping stuff going on here.  I guess they might end up paralleling it with whatever goes down with Slade and his son, but I'm already getting bored.

Sure enough, Black Siren survives as well and seems to be set-up to be one of the main antagonists this season.  Katie Cassidy still seems more comfortable playing this type of character, but I'm not all that wild about this either.  Hopefully whoever she is working for/saved her will end up being more interesting.

They are totally going to do something with Diggle and Dinah, right?  And it will make me dislike Diggle of all people, since Lyla is awesome and Diggle will probably end up cheating on her.

Not enough Felicity, so I hope that is rectified soon.

Paul Blackthorne continues to show why he's the best at making even the most trite material actually emotional and compelling.

I guess they couldn't get Katrina Law for this episode, which is why they just threw in a random line about how Nyssa hide in a cave, which amused me for some reason.  I still wish Sara would just recruit her over to the Legends since this show won't use her.

Not the worst I've seen, but I'm filling it along with Supergirl in the DC CW premieres that underwhelmed me (while Legends of Tomorrow and even The Flash impressed.)  But maybe it will get better.  Either way, I'm pretty much in it for the long haul because after season three, I can survive anything when it comes to this show!

[Guest]

Seriously, I really hate Curtis guys. That moment when he disarmed the bomb or whatever it was, once again I thought "Felicity would have done that before."

I feel like they're just taking away from stuff she used to do. *Humph*

[tennisgurl]

I know I said it on the live thread, but it bears repeating. The "secret" bunker is so well known, it probably has its own Trip Adviser page. 

[Guest]

Dinah had scenes with Diggle, Quentin, Laurel, and on her own in the Police station. Plus flashback scenes. Seriously, this was Dinah overkill. Ugh. Don't do this to me, show. 

Edited October 13, 2017 by Guest

[Sunshine]

29 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

I thought they'd take the time to show how everyone survived and how they all got off the island - LOL @ me.

It’s probably in the book coming out Jan 30

[tennisgurl]

There was way to much Dinah in this episode. I like Dinah alright, but she seemed too bossy this week, and they just spent too much time with her having big moments, at the cost of the rest of the cast. Poor Felicity hardly had anything to do at all. Dig and Oliver hardly talked, and neither did Felicity and Dig. It was just super weird. 

I did enjoy Rene hugging Oliver, and Oliver's awkward reaction. Oliver was so adorably awkward. The man is not great with hugs. 

[insomniadreams88]

7 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

Seriously, I really hate Curtis guys. That moment when he disarmed the bomb or whatever it was, once again I thought "Felicity would have done that before."

I feel like they're just taking away from stuff she used to do. *Humph*

Yep. I wanted to get S4 Curtis back but he’s S5 Curtis but worse. Ugh. 

9 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

They are totally going to do something with Diggle and Dinah, right?

I hope they don’t, but it’s definitely something I’m thinking during their scenes. 

They just really need to cut down on the Diggle/Dinah scenes. 

[Primal Slayer]

It was a major disappointment that we didnt get to see how they got off the island (I assume the boat) and that Oliver just walks on the torched island, I was expecting some major damage and not just burned to death.

[Lantern7]

To review: everybody on The Island lived. Except for Samantha. And Oliver has little indicating that William is still holding a grudge, except for actually talking to him for more than two minutes. Thea's in a coma, so she should be okay. Rene got a collapsed lung, but not only is he moving around, he's got another shot for his daughter. Diggle is alive, but he's got serious shell shock. And Quentin still can't kill Laurel-2. Uggggggh. Seriously, though, I'm shocked he hasn't fallen off the wagon a dozen times since he stopped drinking. Oliver alone can drive a teetotaler to booze, and then he has to deal with his daughters coming back from death.

Vigilantes on the run? Nice concept. I'm thinking at least one of Team Arrow had the hindsight to come up with contingency places. So, basically, they're fucked, and Oliver should just knock out Willaim and dump him off at a church.

[GenieinTX]

Really not happy with the addition of the kid.  Damn show, don't you know that is always the death knell?  This show was skating toward more annoying than enjoyable anyway, and then they added an obnoxious kid and more Oliver man pain?  UGH!

[JamieLynn832002]

I now officially hate all the newbies. I never minded Dinah before but she was everywhere and way too bossy considering she's the newest newbie.

 

The cliffhanger conclusion was lame. We don't know how they got off the island. And Samantha walking over, talking to Oliver and then dropping dead was hilarious which I think was probably not what they were going for.

[tennisgurl]

Samantha: "Oh my, I am dead but not too dead to wander over and say some dramatic last words and bitch more at my ex" *flops over dead* 

[Guest]

Seriously, what did Felicity do in this episode apart from bring everyone food and look stunning in her five different outfits?! Like, I need more than cute Olicity scenes, thanks. 

Speaking of, I did like the O/F scenes. I can see what they're trying to do by making them hesitant and unsure how to approach/handle the William situation, although it's a little odd that it's still like this after 5 plus months. But whatever. They still have great chemistry and it's better than drama so I'll take it. Haha.

But seriously. Felicity deserves more. Stop stealing scenes/skills from her just to prop others.

Edited October 13, 2017 by Guest

[Primal Slayer]

I feel like it was such a cop out to have Olicity synced up with their comm links. It would've been much more suspenseful for Oliver to truly be cut off from the team and vice versa. Have them run for their lives and not just have Oliver "go here, youll be safe" but sadly I dont think they were that invested in the cliffhanger. 

[catrox14]

9 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Samantha: "Oh my, I am dead but not too dead to wander over and say some dramatic last words and bitch more at my ex" *flops over dead* 

This made me laugh harder than it should have. LOLOL

[statsgirl]

The title of the episode "Fallout" seems misleading. The only real fallout was to Thea and William.  Maybe we'll see some more for Diggle but it seems like there's nothing from the island for Felicity, Rene or Curtis.  Oliver gets stuck with MySon I guess.  Quentin already knew about BS so that's not real island fallout.

Samantha's death was terrible.  That's on the writing and directing.  It's like a scene from an Old Movie Death.

They need to dial back on Felicity's fashion plate outfits. It seemed like all she did this episode is change clothes and bring food.

From the spoiler discussion thread:

7 hours ago, tv echo said:

-- On changing a 601 scene, Manu Bennett: "It's interesting because, you know, like, there's like a whole bunch of new characters on that show. To be honest, in the first episode - which I can't really talk about, can I? But there was this moment where I'm meant to be with the rest of them. You know, and the scene was written that, you know, the group and Slade/Deathstroke run off together. And I said to - I said to Marc Guggenheim - I said, 'Is this going to be a musical?' (laughs) ... No, but I asked him, I said, 'It sort of doesn't feel right, does it?' Marc agreed with me and so there's a very specific scene where I say - it's in the trailer, there's a trailer that's out now for Season 6. (Cut to video clip from trailer where Felicity runs up to Slade and says, "Hey, Oliver says there's a boat on the eastern shore," and Slade replies, "You lot won't make it in time. I'll take my own chances.") ... And I say, 'I'm gonna - I'm gonna' - what's the word? I say, uh, 'you guys will never get off this island in time' or something like that. 'I'll take my own chances.' Yeah, and I walk off. And I'm kind of just wanting to preserve the strength of the relationship between Slade and Oliver, just on that level, because it's such a sort of stand-alone little relationship, that I just don’t want to get caught up in the group and be like ‘Hey, high five! Yeah!’ Anyway, you'll see it in the first episode.” (MCM Manchester Comic Con, July 29-30, 2017: Video of MYM Buzz interview with Manu Bennett in Aug. 11, 2017 ComicBook article, page 5 of New Spoilers thread)

At least Manu hasn't changed, he's all about his own role on whatever show he's on.

That scene would have been more effective if we could have seen how everyone else got off the island.  This way it fell flat because we had to guess how everyone else survived.

We didn't even get to see how Thea got hurt.

Edited October 13, 2017 by statsgirl

[BunsenBurner]

I thought the scream off between BS and BC was funny since BS kept her mouth open and the scream was already over.

I'm done with both BS and BC they are both boring.

Don't want a BC and Diggle relationship.

I thought SA did a good job acting as did PB and EBR however the rest did not. DR was acting like he wasn't sure he wanted to act!

Several of the fight scenes were bad. The foot did not connect to the body, The hand missed yet the other actor reacted to it.

Something needs to be done. Makes me worried that their ratings are going to fall fast.

[BkWurm1]

That really was a poorly written episode.  I keep thinking of what they wanted to happen and how they could have rejiggered the episode for better shock and surprise and suspense.  Instead it seemed like everything was done in the dullest manner possible.  The fights were back to having no stakes beyond, BAD GUYS!  Only Oliver and William were having a conflict but when one half of the conflict only plays video games or goes to sleep, it's pretty dull.  Dinah was everywhere to the point where it was much more her episode than it was Oliver's and that's a huge misstep in a season opener.  

I just don't get what they think they were accomplishing in this episode.  It's doubling down on seasons five's worst problems, stuff happens but there's this continued feeling of disconnect between most of the characters - except Dinah who is suddenly at the center of everything but Oliver and William, and Oliver and Felicity's relationship.    

So much of the episode was just set up for things to come which makes sense in other season openers but a cliffhanger demands a resolution.  They misused the flashbacks and took all the tension from the cliffhanger away.  It sounds like even Evelyn survived.  All the bombs are going off but no big, we can all hide in the plane.  Except for Samantha who thinks getting blown up is a better way to help her son than facing the fact that dead she is NO help to him.  

Once again, the moments of big emotion were ignored or deflated.  We need reaction shots of the people we care during the bombs going off, horrified that Thea didn't make it back and then determined to go look for survivors.  Even the scene with Quentin shooting BS would have been far more compelling in a linear fashion rather than "Oh, Quentin has a secret!"  It was a dumb secret to keep to start with that I'm sure only traumatized him more. 

And WHY did they just leave BS to die?  I thought they were the heroes?  Shoot her and then try to save her so you can stick her jail.  I just don't get a lot of the writing choices in this episode. 

Sorry for the rambly rant.  I'm sure the season will get better but that episode was a mess compared to what it easily could have been.      

Edited October 13, 2017 by BkWurm1
typos

[lemotomato]

15 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

Seriously, what did Felicity do in this episode apart from bring everyone food and look stunning in her five different outfits?! Like, I need more than cute Olicity scenes, thanks. 

Felicity figured out that BS was going to attack the Police Academy.