Target Practice: Poisoned Arrow (The Bitterness Thread)

[KenyaJ]

I'm bitter, because I see I'm now in for a full season of "OMG, FELICITY'S GOING TO DIE, FELICITY'S GOING TO DIE!"

 

I'm already fatigued by it. Make it stop.

 

ETA: I would watch Gotham, but I boycott Jada Pinkett-Smith.

 

Same. She was incredibly rude to some friends of mine when I was in college, back when she was on A Different World and not even that famous yet. I've hated her ever since.

[catrox14]

Nah. Oliver and Felicity get married, and as they're driving off on their honeymoon, Slade blows up the car. Oliver survives, but Felicity dies in his arms, and the show ends with Laurel turning up at the hospital where he's being treated to say, "don't worry, I'm here for you. I've always been here for you."

 

The ultimate troll ending.

 

NOOOOOOOOO Don't you DARE put that out into the universe. Cross yourself, jump around 3 times, throw salt over your shoulder, YOU TAKE IT BACK

[statsgirl]

Nah. Oliver and Felicity get married, and as they're driving off on their honeymoon, Slade blows up the car. Oliver survives, but Felicity dies in his arms, and the show ends with Laurel turning up at the hospital where he's being treated to say, "don't worry, I'm here for you. I've always been here for you."

 

The ultimate troll ending.

Nah, the ultimate troll ending would be to have Felicity die in the opening episode of the last season and Laurel to get her hands on Oliver and marry him in the end, taking over stepmother duties for any children they may have had.

[Morrigan2575]

I'm bitter, because I see I'm now in for a full season of "OMG, FELICITY'S GOING TO DIE, FELICITY'S GOING TO DIE!"

ETA: Saw your other post

Edited October 9, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[SleepDeprived]

I'm bitter, because I see I'm now in for a full season of "OMG, FELICITY'S GOING TO DIE, FELICITY'S GOING TO DIE!"

 

I can't really blame the people who'll feel this way. I see no reason for them to trust the writers of this show. I've long since felt that most of the elements and characters that I really love about the show were things that the writers/producers accidentally stumbled upon--Felicity/EBR, the Team Arrow dynamics, Caity Lotz as a badass Canary, Deadshot playing so well off Diggle. Their actual planned plots/characters have a tendency to fall flat and/or induce bewilderment--Laurel, Slade's revenge motivations, Queen's financial ruin, Isabel Rochev, Mirakuru, Amanda Waller/the Suicide Squad (apart from Deadshot). I knew Sara would, likely, die somewhere down the line but it gave me a bit of hope when her screentime increased in season 2, there was good reception of CL as Canary, and the EPs kept stating that they were mindful of what worked on the show and what didn't (deceive, inveigle, obfuscate much?). My mistake. A wise man once said to "Trust No One". Should've trusted that guy. (Why, yes, I've been doing an X-Files rewatch on Netflix. Heh.)

 

 Have that bond and stisterhood be present instead of haing Sara be dropped off a building next to a dumpster like trash?  Fuck the writers for that imagery and symbolism and making that be the moment Laurel becomes the Canary having not worked at it.  To have the mask land at her feet so easily?  What bullshit. 

 

This, though. It's not just that they fridged a complex superhero, who represented a much-ignored demographic, for a problematic character, they literally had her fall on a dumpster like she was trash. The writers of this show need to take a literary course, or just read a wikipedia article on what symbolism is, so that they can fully comprehend how much of a failure that scene was. Ugh.

[quarks]

You don't believe that, do you?

 

 

I don't, no. The press/publicity, and the way she's being used to promote Flash, indicate that the show is very well aware of Felicity/EBR's popularity. I think she's safe for awhile.

[Morrigan2575]

I don't, no. The press/publicity, and the way she's being used to promote Flash, indicate that the show is very well aware of Felicity/EBR's popularity. I think she's safe for awhile.

See PM

Edited October 9, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[writersblock51]

I think EBR is safe for now but certainly not guaranteed for a 4th season. I hope I'm wrong but I can see 2 things happening that could lead up to Felicity being killed off:

 

1) ratings start to slip.  The focus on 1 Woman Oliver, with Felicity being his focus, is blamed.  No mention of the increased presence of Laurel and whatever the frak her journey is.  If the EPs want to stick with Laurel, someone else will be thrown under the bus and it won't be Thea *yet*.  Felicity dies in a freak accident, off screen. EBR is promptly signed by Marvel to play ANYONE SHE WANTS TO BE.  The CW decides to not have the show return in Oct 2015 due to 'low ratings.' A geuninely heartbroken Stephen Amell grits his teeth through SDCC '15, with Geoff Johns whispering fervent apologies in his ear.  Andrew Kriesburg and Marc Guggenheim aren't allowed to touch anymore TV shows.

 

2) ratings hold or go up. Laurel's increased screen time, roundly criticized by critics & fans, is hailed as the reason by gleeful and relieved EPs. The network isn't entirely convinced but they're focused on SPN's 100th season so they don't care. Fanboys are wild with smugness. So is KC, who goes to cons every weekend but still isn't videorecorded.  Olicity is praised by fans & critics, who crash Tumblr when Oliver finally proposes in S3X22. The show decides, OK, now's the time to get Laurel back with Oliver. So Felicity dies in the Season 3 finale. A geuninely heartbroken Stephen Amell grits his teeth through SDCC '15. The show's 4th season is its final. 7 people watch the series finale.

 

I guess I'm still bitter.

Edited October 9, 2014 by writersblock51

[GirlWednesday]

Funniest response to Andrew k's tweet something along the lines of "AK and MG in a alley with a canon!". Whoever that was.. It was gold, good on ya! I cannot even bring myself to watch the episode. I'm already bitter. I feel like everything I love about this show is at risk- Diggle, Felicity. I am an olicity-er as much as the next person but now If I don't have confidence that the stories are going to be about the holy trinity (individually and together) but about St Laurel, I don't think this can be my show anymore.

Because guess what writers... I don't give a rats ass about Laurel. I didn't care about her when Oliver came back and she FELT so damn much (I hate him for cheating on me but I love him soo much because he's so rich!), I didn't care about her when tommy died, I didn't care how she felt when Sarah came back, and so I definitely won't care when one of my favourite characters just died for her DAMN destiny and it will be for nothing.

Sarah was a character like Buffy. Forced to take on and be more. Be strong and resolute. She was never a hero and just when she was starting to find the hero inside her, you kill her. Avenging a dead sister won't make Laurel a hero. Wearing a dead sister's clothes won't make her honorable nor will it honor the dead sister.

By killing Sarah, you have robbed all of a story of Hero's redemption.

I'm angry and I haven't even watched the damn episode! Dammit!

[Happy Harpy]

, your bitterness is the "Olicity" of the bitterness thread, meaning it puts a smile on my face in spite of a dire reality.

 

The 7 people thing, especially, cracked me up. Because unless I'm mistaking, there are around 200.000 people who read the comic, and 2 to 3 millions who watch the show. And I have the definite feeling that Sara's death was a very highly held middle finger to the latter, in order to cater to the former. Let's see how it works for TPTB on the long run .

Wow, if you told me last spring that I'd get that bitter with Sara's death...

[Password]

The show's 4th season is its final. 7 people watch the series finale.

 

OMG how I laughed at that last part.

[Freckles101]

I used to get so annoyed last season with all the constant worrying about whether Sara was gonna die or not, because I was honestly 100% convinced that the writers would not go there. Now, along with being heartbroken and infuriated, I also feel like a complete idiot for ever having faith in them.

 

Shado's fridging was the beginning of the end for me, and I've basically already stopped watching. (The last episode I saw was "Birds of Prey" and the Sara parts of the finale.) Still, I was planning on catching the episodes this season with Caity and I was really looking forward to seeing Sara's presumable character arc this season, especially the Sara/Nyssa flashbacks, which I've wanted since 2x13! And sure, we're still getting them apparently, but literally why? Since they've all but admitted that Sara is nothing more than a plot device, even with R'as al Ghul coming on, I can't see what relevance the development of her early relationship with Nyssa has anymore so what's the point of showing it .

 

I totally buy the theory that the writers decided to let go of Oliver/Laurel in favor of Olicity while still allowing Laurel to become Black Canary, and it fucking sucks because while both sides at least get something out of this compromise, as someone who can't stand Olicity (or Oliver/Laurel, don't get me wrong - I basically don't want Oliver with anyone tbh), not only do I get something I hate, my favorite character was fridged on Laurel's behalf. It's just SO LAZY.

 

Other than Isabel, are there any female characters that have died on this show who WEREN'T fridged? Even if there were, three in the past 9 or so months is just disgusting. Also now there's five male regulars (almost six tbh, considering how many episodes Brandon Routh is gonna be in) and three female regulars. The balance was bad enough before Moira died and now it's even worse.

[Trini]

 

fridged

Can someone explain this term and its history? It seems to be overused.

[statsgirl]

I just realized how sneaky MG and AK are.  Other than Stephen Amell, all of the regular cast have three year contracts, which means that KC's will be up at the end of this season.  With Sara around, there was the possibility that Laurel could go off to Central City and join her mother while Sara stayed in Starling City as the Canary. Now with Sara dead, it's Laurel or no one, and we know it won't be no one.

[Happy Harpy]

Now with Sara dead, it's Laurel or no one, and we know it won't be no one.

Now I'm bitter and depressed.

 

Edit

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StuffedIntoTheFridge

Edited October 9, 2014 by Happy Harpy

[Freckles101]

In an effort to avoid linking to TVTropes (though if you want to check that out, it's the Stuffed into the Fridge trope), here is a bit of an explanation from a great article I read today: 

 

Back in 1999, comic book writer, unapologetic feminist, and awesome LGBT ally Gail Simone took the comic book industry to task for perpetually killing, maiming, or de-powering female characters in male-centric titles for the sole purpose of advancing other character’s storylines. For buying a lot of story, as it were, for the price of a female life. She called it “Women in Refrigerators Syndrome,” a shout-out to Green Lantern #54, in which Kyle Renner returned home to find that a villain had murdered his girlfriend and stuffed her dismembered body into a refrigerator.

 

On Arrow, the most blatant example is Shado, who was killed to give Slade a motivation to go evil and give Oliver man-pain, but this can also apply to Moira and Sara. Since Sara was presumably killed on Laurel's behalf, this may not be the technical definition of fridging, but it definitely applies. I still can't believe how blatant the writers are being in this way with Sara, straight up admitting that she was killed for plot purposes to drive the first half of the season and further Laurel's presumable journey to become Black Canary.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Freckles101

[apinknightmare]

In an effort to avoid linking to TVTropes (though if you want to check that out, it's the Stuffed into the Fridge trope), here is a bit of an explanation from a great article I read today: 

 

 

On Arrow, the most blatant example is Shado, who was killed to give Slade a motivation to go evil and give Oliver man-pain, but this can also apply to Moira and Sara. Since Sara was presumably killed on Laurel's behalf, this may not be the technical definition of fridging, but it definitely applies. I still can't believe how blatant the writers are being in this way with Sara, straight up admitting that she was killed for plot purposes to drive the first half of the season and further Laurel's presumable journey to become Black Canary.

 

I can, because they thought the reason Laurel wasn't popular was because she hadn't become Black Canary yet. That the audience was "waiting for her to put on the fishnets." Tone-deaf hacks.

 

/still bitter

[Trini]

Okay, thanks. It's from comics; I wasn't sure if it was from another TV show.

[Chaser]

I'm really bitter that I'm not looking forward to the next episode. No live viewing for me. DVR all the way.

[dtissagirl]

Oh yes. I'm definitely not watching live episodes for now [though I might cave in for 3x05], and most certainly reading full recaps before watching next episode.

[Morrigan2575]

The very bitter part of me is all "game over man, game over", they're going to kill Felicity and Diggle and toss everyone else aside to make Laurel the most specialist Canary eva!

Another part of me thinks Felicity is probably the safest person not name Oliver or (tragically) Laurel.

I do think Lance will be sacrificed for Laurel eventually, maybe not this season but I wouldn't be surprised if they use that to free Laurel so she could be a true vigilante/hero.

My real bitterness is just reserved for the EPs, I don't think I've ever encountered EPs that talked so gleefully about killing a character and so blatantly obvious about making her a plot device.

If dropping Sara on a dumpster wasn't enough to convince me that they didn't give a crap about Sara, Caity or her fans the way MG talks about it certainly does.

[HighHopes]

I forgot about episode 5. That one I'm watching live. A full episode Felicity? GIVE ME.

Amell has said that he had 4 of the 8 days off of filming I believe. So it's going to be great. I'm really looking forward to this episode and then

the Tommy appearance in the flashbacks and Felicity tracking down Thea in the third episode. 

After that I'm not sure what the show is going to do to keep me watching. The mid-season finale will probably be their last chance. I wasn't even that big of a Sara fan, and had my issues with what they did with her character in 2B but I'm angry over her death, and the more I think about it the angrier I get. 

 

I follow people on tumblr who relate greatly to Sara for personal reasons, and I'm heartbroken for them because of that. Sara Lance did not deserve to die, and the fandom did not deserve it either. 

[discoduck227]

Oh sweet baby Jesus....please no Laurel in fishnets. Just...no. Although I'm not convinced she'd look any better in Sara's Canary outfits but please not the fishnets from the comics. I have no desire to go from Badass Canary to Hooker Canary.

[dtissagirl]

It really is disheartening that the only thing they had going by killing Sara is shock value. Recently both Person of Interest and The Good Wife killed important characters, and sure there was shock value involved, but reading the post-game interviews with their showrunners, there was no patting themselves on the back for being so ~edgy like the Arrow EPs sound.

They clearly set it up as a plot device -- Sara couldn't even have a character driven death because her death was plot-driven by Laurel's future destiny. So Marc G. saying they can milk a lot of story out of this rings super callous, and truth is I'm legit not convinced the same outcome couldn't have been achieved by whoever kidnapping Sara in front of Laurel.

Edited October 10, 2014 by dancingnancy

[wonderwall]

It really is disheartening that the only thing they had going by killing Sara is shock value. Recently both Person of Interest and The Good Wife killed important characters, and sure there was shock value involved, but reading the post-game interviews with their showrunners, there was no patting themselves on the back for being so ~edgy like the Arrow EPs sound.

I don't blame The Good Wife for killing off

Will

because the actor wanted to be off the show. Honestly though. They treated Sara like trash on the show and now they're treating her like trash off the show. Not surprised. 

[dtissagirl]

Oh, I don't blame them either. That death shocked me a billion times more than Sara's, and I was numb for the entire week between episodes, but I immediately wanted to see what came next. Haven just killed my favorite character because the actress wanted out as well, and I'm still watching it, and how the death affected other characters was something I wanted to see. With Arrow, I'm just dreading it because it's all about Laurel, and there's never anything about Laurel and her personal destiny dramarama I ever actively want to watch.

[MostlyC]

This our bitter place to be bitter about Arrow.

 

All other bitter discussions about other tv shows need to go into their respective topics/threads. 

[Tangerine]

Ok, Laurel had TWO WHOLE BLOODY SEASONS to develop as a character and to get people on side, and the only way the writers can figure out how to set her on the 'right' path is to kill off an established, beloved awesome character? Maybe I just don't understand how TV works, but I think somebody is doing something wrong here.

Sara deserved better. She was on our screens for half the time Laurel was and was a wonderfully realized, complicated, imperfect character that you just wanted to find some form of peace and happiness at the end of the day. I was always resigned to the fact that she wouldn't stick around. I had hoped that given how popular she was that even if she had to hang up the Canary mantle, she'd at least be able to survive. Worst case scenario, if she had to die then she'd at least go down fighting and die a hero's death. She deserved that.

 

This? This was just disgusting. And frankly Laurel's acting at the end was awful as well.

 

The only way I might even consider accepting Laurel now is for her to completely lose the plot and go psycho and evil.

[TanyaKay]

I just realized how sneaky MG and AK are.  Other than Stephen Amell, all of the regular cast have three year contracts, which means that KC's will be up at the end of this season.  With Sara around, there was the possibility that Laurel could go off to Central City and join her mother while Sara stayed in Starling City as the Canary. Now with Sara dead, it's Laurel or no one, and we know it won't be no one.

The show does not need a black canary, what it needs is Team Arrow and may be Roy & Thea to a lesser extent. Arrow can do really well without another canary and most certainly Laurel Lance.

[Chairman Meow]

 I still can't believe how blatant the writers are being in this way with Sara, straight up admitting that she was killed for plot purposes to drive the first half of the season and further Laurel's presumable journey to become Black Canary.

I'm honestly surprised by this too.  If only because Caity/Sara was clearly very popular with fans.  By flat out admitting that she was killed off to further Laurel - they are putting a huge target on KC/Laurel, basically all but pointing at her and saying 'blame her.'  

 

1) ratings start to slip.  The focus on 1 Woman Oliver, with Felicity being his focus, is blamed.  No mention of the increased presence of Laurel and whatever the frak her journey is.

 

This was the first thing I thought about last night, once the shock of Sara's death settled a little bit - is that they (EPs) did it this way so that if the ratings drop now, they can blame it on Olicity - pointing at it and saying "see - it's the moonlighting curse."

[wonderwall]

This was the first thing I thought about last night, once the shock of Sara's death settled a little bit - is that they (EPs) did it this way so that if the ratings drop now, they can blame it on Olicity - pointing at it and saying "see - it's the moonlighting curse."

Eh, I don't see this happening because they promoted Olicity rather heavily all throughout the summer to the point of over exposure, this is what made the ratings better than it was in season 2. So logically, Olicity won't be the one to be blamed in the drop in ratings when it was the cause of what brought in a few eyeballs for the premier. 

 

It's obvious a drop in ratings will be because of the massive F up they did with killing Sara. If you look online, you'll see most comments about quitting the show has to do with Sara dying in order to give Laurel purpose and not Olicity. 

[ohjoy]

I'm honestly surprised by this too. If only because Caity/Sara was clearly very popular with fans. By flat out admitting that she was killed off to further Laurel - they are putting a huge target on KC/Laurel, basically all but pointing at her and saying 'blame her.'

This was the first thing I thought about last night, once the shock of Sara's death settled a little bit - is that they (EPs) did it this way so that if the ratings drop now, they can blame it on Olicity - pointing at it and saying "see - it's the moonlighting curse."

Do they actually want the show to crash and burn?

I keep trying to formulate a more explanatory thought than that, but I can't come up with anything. I pray the don't really think they can intentionally derail the character development of those who have shown the most growth, blame the portion of the audience that doesn't conform to their original vision, and somehow continue to have anything resembling a successful show. I'm just not into that brand of insanity.

Edited October 10, 2014 by RandomMe

[GirlWednesday]

Ok I'm back with some bitterness. Sarah was surprised by someone on the roof. He shot her with three arrows and she just stood there. She was dodged far worse before and escaped.. Sarah was trained by Ra's al Ghul. Only person that could have surprised her and Sarah wouldn't have felt threatened would have been Nyssa. ... Such a contrived death. Grr argh!

Even at close range, she has fast reflexes ... So annoying at such a bad death for her... She should have gone out in a blaze. Choosing to die to save many etc.

[JJ928]

I just realized how sneaky MG and AK are.  Other than Stephen Amell, all of the regular cast have three year contracts, which means that KC's will be up at the end of this season.  With Sara around, there was the possibility that Laurel could go off to Central City and join her mother while Sara stayed in Starling City as the Canary. Now with Sara dead, it's Laurel or no one, and we know it won't be no one.

I'm curious was this confirmed? I was under the impression that they were all signed on for six years. I know one of the entertainment journalist on tumblr recently said that CW contracts locked in actors for 6 years. The three year contract sounds too good to be true, especially considering she's at least getting paid equal to, or a little less than Stephen. If contracts are up this year she'll negotiate for more money, and I assume she doesn't come cheap.

[statsgirl]

I thought KC was getting paid more than SA since she was the bigger CW star when the show started.

 

SA confirmed that he had a six year contract but I thought everyone else had 3 years. I'll wait for someone else to answer.

Do they actually want the show to crash and burn?

I don't think they do. But I also believe that no one on that show-running team, not even Greg Berlanti, knows what makes the show work and what doesn't. AK even said last season that the uproar over Laurel was because she wasn't wearing the fishnet stockings yet.  (They're not unique. Hugh Laurie used to say that he didn't want to analyze what made House good because if they did, the show would fail and so it spiraled down for the last five seasons till it crashed and burned.)

 

If they will kill Sara to prop Laurel because they believe it is so important to make Laurel BC and maybe Oliver's wife, no one is safe.

[AnyoneButYou]

Nah, the ultimate troll ending would be to have Felicity die in the opening episode of the last season and Laurel to get her hands on Oliver and marry him in the end, taking over stepmother duties for any children they may have had.

After last night, I wouldn't be surprised if they did wait and kill Felicity in the last episode. That way they can say, "because comics" and enjoy their Olicity ratings during their run. KC's been insistent that Laurel is BC and Oliver's one twu wuv, so maybe she's right after what happened last night. I won't be watching (except for the Felicity-centric episodes), though. I'll keep up with what's going on by reading it here.

Edited October 10, 2014 by AnyoneButYou

[calliope1975]

I can't even possibly enjoy Ted Grant anymore. If Sara had been kidnapped and then Laurel started to train to find her sister, I could have resigned myself to Blah Canary happening. Not anymore. And the moment Laurel puts on Sara's mask (and you know she snatched that right up off the ground) is going to enrage me. Wow, I went from giddy excitement Wednesday morning to deep resentment by Wednesday night with one boneheaded move. Good job, Show.

[pootlus]

Laurel puts on Sara's mask (and you know she snatched that right up off the ground)

 

Laurel probably has a fucking shrine in her apartment with all the bits of Sara's life/costume she's accumulated.

 

"I just need the wig and I get the five-piece set bonus lol" *maniacal grin*

[Ceylon5]

You know, if they had intended to kill Sara all along, they should have spared Moira and exchanged the Moira/Thea scene with a Sara/Laurel scene that had Sara dying heroically to save her sister.  Then at least we'd be up by one cool, complex female character and Sara's death would have been in character and heroic.  I'm fed up with TV shows killing people purely for the shock value.  If an actor is leaving and the show is forced to write them out and the best way to do that organically for the story as a whole is to kill them (e.g. The Good Wife), then I give them a pass, but Arrow just kills people for the sake of killing people and it's unpleasant and unnecessary.   If Oliver can learn not to kill people, why can't the show-runners?

 

Besides, how much more death is Oliver supposed to be able to bear and still regain his humanity and his sense of hope?  One can hardly blame the guy for being a bit gun-shy.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Ceylon5

[loki567]

 

they should have spared Moira and exchanged the Moira/Thea scene with a Sara/Laurel scene that had Sara dying heroically to save her sister.

 

Yeah, why didn't they do that? I remember thinking when the original Shado/Sara choice popped up, they were going there with a Sara/Laurel choice at some point. It would have fit way more thematically.

Edited October 10, 2014 by loki567

[FurryFury]

The problem isn't the killing of characters per se, it's the killing of the best characters. Joss Whedon has killed his fair share of characters, but I was never as upset with any of the deaths as I was with Moira's or Sara's (OK, maybe Doyle, but it was at least partly the actor's issue). It just makes zero sense when interesting and complex characters played by good actors (Tommy, Shado, Moira, Sara) are all dead while Laurel and (to a lesser extent) Roy are still there in the main cast. This is simply wrong.

[Sakura12]

Joss Whedon characters were also never killed to prop up another character and give them a purpose on the show.

3 characters were killed to give Laurel a storyline. Tommy so she could have her 35 minute drug addiction, Kate Spencer so she could have a job and Sara so she could be a super hero.

[tv echo]

I honestly don't think Felicity will be killed off.  If the EPs want to reunite Laurel and Oliver (gag), I think they'll give Felicity an alternative love interest and ship her off to another city.  This was speculated on before - but perhaps they're hoping that she and Ray Palmer will prove popular with enough fans that the Atom will get its own spin-off superhero show; then EBR and BR will go off on that show.  That would pave the way for Laurel to become the main love interest again.  This is all speculation fueled by bitterness and pessimism.

 

(Regarding POI, I read an interview once with Taraji Henson where she said that she knew when she was hired that Carter's death was planned from the beginning.)

[Morrigan2575]

The problem isn't the killing of characters per se, it's the killing of the best characters. Joss Whedon has killed his fair share of characters, but I was never as upset with any of the deaths as I was with Moira's or Sara's (OK, maybe Doyle, but it was at least partly the actor's issue). It just makes zero sense when interesting and complex characters played by good actors (Tommy, Shado, Moira, Sara) are all dead while Laurel and (to a lesser extent) Roy are still there in the main cast. This is simply wrong.

With the exception of Joyce and (Sadly) Tara most deaths on Buffy/Angel were prompted by BTS stuff, even Anya's death in the finale was a request by the actress.  The only two characters that were killed for "plot" were Joyce (so Buffy could grow beyond teenager status) and Tara was totally fridged for Willow's woman-pain.

 

It's makes me very bitter/angry/sad that this show's go to for plot/character development is "let's kill someone".  It's just beyond ridiculous at this point, Tommy died to advance Oliver and Laurel (apparently), Shado died to advance Oliver and Slade's characters (because there's no other reason Slade could have become a villain); Moira died to advance Oliver, Thea and Malcom's plot and finally Sara was killed off (in the least heroic manor...even Shado's death wasn't as callus) to further Laurel and to a lesser extent Oliver's journey.  

 

If the only way you can think of to get a character to grow or further their journey is to kill other characters...there's a real problem in the writers room.

 

At this point I'm pretty convinced that Lance won't make it to next season, he'll get killed off to solidify Laurel as a legit vigilante/masked hero because obviously she can't have any family tying her down.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[Pyramid]

Killing off characters in this manner has diminishing returns anyway. How many "shock deaths" before I shrug and put the kettle on?

 

Also, I'm feeling less invested in the characters that are left now, because pretty much any one of them could be for the chop to "advance the story".

[Carrie Ann]

Yeah, that's exactly my thing, too. If you want grave danger and high stakes, you can do several things besides killing characters. You can have them disappear, so that locating and saving them is a long-term mystery and a constant source of tension, emotion, and conflict about how far someone will go to save a loved one. You can have them injured, seriously, in a way that affects them and all of their relationships (see Fitz on AoS, the comic book show that used to be my punching bag, before this nonsense on Arrow, FFS).

 

Having Thea go off with her father is actually a good example of a non-death way that another character's journey can dramatically, emotionally devastate our hero. Having Sara disappear, and having Nyssa and Laurel (and everyone else of course) spend the season trying to get her back would have been a more interesting and effective way to put Laurel on this path. And in the end, if they found Sara and still wanted to go with Laurel as BC, they could have had Sara and Nyssa retire for their own safety and happiness and let Laurel continue on her new path.

 

Killing Sara is, as with Moira before her, a short-sighted plan with limited story/character payoff, and it will not end up being worth it for the story possibilities they end up losing. And who's left? Who will be next when they need a cheap and dirty way to create angst? Lyla? The baby?

[dtissagirl]

It bugs me that Arrow's particular brand of this "nobody is safe" kind of storytelling is both biased and optional. Strong women are the biggest target so far -- Shado, Moira, Isabel, Kate Spade, Sara. Obviously dudes also die, but they get the hero/redeeming moments like Tommy and Blood did. And then at least two villains so far WERE super safe after all, because *not* killing Slade was a point of pride to the narrative, and resuscitating Malcolm told me that he was safe because frankly, his death didn't affect anyone at all, and the show realized super quickly that his being alive provided them with more story than his being dead.

 

So I worry about Lyla and what more story her potential death could give Diggle. I worry about Sin and what story her potential death could give Roy. I worry about Thea and what story her death could give Oliver, Roy and Malcolm. The only dude I worry about is Quentin.

Edited October 10, 2014 by dancingnancy

[tv echo]

At this point I'm pretty convinced that Lance won't make it to next season, he'll get killed off to solidify Laurel as a legit vigilante/masked hero because obviously she can't have any family tying her down.

 

ALSO... we find out that her mother was killed in the Star Labs explosion.

 

OR... With Kate Spencer's death, Laurel becomes head DA because she's just that good.  Laurel decides to change careers, enters the police academy and becomes a cop.  Laurel advances quickly to detective because she's just that good.  Captain Lance is killed and Laurel takes her father's place as Captain because she's just that good.  (Heavy sarcasm)

[KirkB]

I pretty much figured Malcolm's 'death' was exaggerated anyway. He took a couple of arrows but he was also wearing armor. This being a comic book universe he may have stopped his heart thanks to League training and allowed everyone to think he's dead while coming away with little more than flesh wounds.

[dtissagirl]

I pretty much figured Malcolm's 'death' was exaggerated anyway. He took a couple of arrows but he was also wearing armor. This being a comic book universe he may have stopped his heart thanks to League training and allowed everyone to think he's dead while coming away with little more than flesh wounds.

 

You absolutely have a point here  -- I guess it just highlights how SAFE Malcolm was from the get go. He's unkillable by design.