Target Practice: Poisoned Arrow (The Bitterness Thread)

[Starfish35]

I don't blame him for teasing the wedding - there was actually a wedding. I blame the fandom for getting carried away with the whole Olicity wedding thing - that wasn't his fault. However, he could have put a stop to it and he didn't - that I do kind of blame him for because there's no way he wasn't getting dozens of asks about it.

And I have yet to figure out what the point of the wedding was anyway, other than a Batman homage. So yes, I definitely blame him for there being a wedding at all. Would anything have happened differently if Oliver and Nyssa hadn't been forced to marry?

[wonderwall]

And I have yet to figure out what the point of the wedding was anyway, other than a Batman homage. So yes, I definitely blame him for there being a wedding at all. Would anything have happened differently if Oliver and Nyssa hadn't been forced to marry?

 

No. Apparently the only reason why the wedding happened was because the writers wanted something bad to happen to Nyssa and they didn't want to kill her because they love her character too much? I'm literally only repeating what MG said on his tumblr. First of all, that's a shit reason to get two characters married unless the writers are willing to write the consequences of said marriage. Second, there are so MANY different other ways to make Nyssa suffer, why would the writers drag TWO characters down for this? Third, did something bad REALLY need to happen to Nyssa? Really???

 

Of all the terrible choices in season 3 though, the existence of DJ Douchebag was the worst. 

Edited May 26, 2015 by wonderwall

[lemotomato]

I think there *was* no point to the wedding except as a Batman homage, with the side benefit of stirring up shit with 'shippers and pissing off fans concerned about LGBT issues. MG tried to excuse it as "well, we needed to show Ra's is eeeeevil" but the guy was already planning on killing a whole city. I don't see how forcing a gross marriage on his daughter made him that much worse.

[kismet]

Wait, I might have been confused. Too many night shifts & not enough sleep in the last few weeks. I might have thought that there was going to be a 2nd wedding in addition to OQ/Nyssa. Maybe because the OQ/Nyssa wedding was so predictable that I didn't count it in my head as the speculated 2nd wedding. I mean the posters on this site called that one a mile away, so by now I guess my mind has already processed it as a done deal. I think my brain is starting to fritz out a little on the details. Anyway, my bitterness towards MG stands, because I do feel like he lies rather than misleads (and there is a difference in my mind). But I might have to retract my bitterness towards the whole wedding speculation. Although still bitter about why we needed a forced marriage on Nyssa. Or maybe I should just try to get some sleep.

Sorry, my bad.

Edited May 26, 2015 by kismet

[Starfish35]

No sorry, Oliver/Nyssa was the second wedding. It started being teased round about the time that Diggle and Lyla got married that theirs wouldn't be the only wedding this season, and then snowballed from there.

[DrSpaceman10]

The fact that the wedding seemingly had no purpose is why I think it might come up again in S4. MG said that something bad had to happen to Nyssa, but why? At first I thought it was so Nyssa could end up killing her father, but then Oliver killed him instead. So maybe there's some plot point for Nyssa/LOA in S4 that needed Oliver/Nyssa to be married. Of course I might be trying to make sense out of something completely nonsensical. 

[tarotx]

It'

[AyChihuahua]

I think there *was* no point to the wedding except as a Batman homage, with the side benefit of stirring up shit with 'shippers and pissing off fans concerned about LGBT issues. MG tried to excuse it as "well, we needed to show Ra's is eeeeevil" but the guy was already planning on killing a whole city. I don't see how forcing a gross marriage on his daughter made him that much worse.

I do and always have sincerely believes that 100% of the reason was Batman.  Because Guggie is a moronic hack.  I would, however, call it a ripoff, not an homage.

 

At least, that's the only reason for S3.  A bunch of (pitiful, easily defeated) LOA people are very likely to show up and object if Felicity and Oliver try to marry.  See above, re hack.

Edited May 26, 2015 by AyChihuahua

[Carrie Ann]

I think there *was* no point to the wedding except as a Batman homage, with the side benefit of stirring up shit with 'shippers and pissing off fans concerned about LGBT issues. MG tried to excuse it as "well, we needed to show Ra's is eeeeevil" but the guy was already planning on killing a whole city. I don't see how forcing a gross marriage on his daughter made him that much worse.

 

Also, and this is a question I'd love to see MG really answer: okay, Ra's made Nyssa marry Oliver because he's eeeeeeeeevil. But they stayed married through the finale (and possibly into S4), after Ra's died, for no reason--who's to blame for that? Can we blame MG/the writers yet, or are they still hiding behind the characters they write for? Can we blame them for using it as a joke twice in that episode, but otherwise not addressing it at all? Just wondering when MG will accept that he's actually the person making these writing choices.

[FurryFury]

I think there *was* no point to the wedding except as a Batman homage, with the side benefit of stirring up shit with 'shippers and pissing off fans concerned about LGBT issues. MG tried to excuse it as "well, we needed to show Ra's is eeeeevil" but the guy was already planning on killing a whole city. I don't see how forcing a gross marriage on his daughter made him that much worse.

Well, Malcolm Merlyn had also been planning to kill a city (well, part of it), and apparently, this isn't the moral event horizon in Arrow-verse. Hmm, maybe Ra's should have just brainwashed Nyssa to marry Oliver instead of forcing her to. It would be OK then!

[Sakura12]

Arrow's version of Ra's was such a joke. I'm choosing to believe we still have never met the real Ra's al Ghul, that guy was just some pretender that stole that name and settled on Nanda Poorbutt (See, I don't hate everything KC says, she's right to use that name).  

 

The real Ra's al Ghul on Nanda Parbat is still a badass and leader of the real League of Assassins. Not those lameass punks that can be defeated by a woman that had a month of martial arts training. 

Edited May 26, 2015 by Sakura12

[lemotomato]

Well, Malcolm Merlyn had also been planning to kill a city (well, part of it), and apparently, this isn't the moral event horizon in Arrow-verse. Hmm, maybe Ra's should have just brainwashed Nyssa to marry Oliver instead of forcing her to. It would be OK then!

Hell, brainwashing his own daughter to kill someone wasn't even the moral event horizon. I'd say Malcom is more evil than Ra's, and yet he got everything he wanted and essentially faced no punishment for anything he did. I'm really bitter about that.

[AyChihuahua]

The real Ra's al Ghul on Nanda Parbat is still a badass and leader of the real League of Assassins. Not those lameass punks that can be defeated by a woman that had a month of marital arts training. 

Every time I see the typo "marital" in place of "martial," I snicker.  Because boobs aside, I am basically a 12-year-old boy.

[FurryFury]

I do think they'll kill him off next year, I'm just seriously afraid he'll get redeemed before. Like, he'll die saving Thea and Oliver from Damien Darhk or something (*gag*)

 

Every time I see the typo "marital" in place of "martial," I snicker.  Because boobs aside, I am basically a 12-year-old boy.

 

Haha, I was thinking about pointing that out but decided to avoid indulging my childishness. More than I do already, I mean.

Edited May 26, 2015 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

Well you never know, Laurel could've given Nyssa some tips on her upcoming nuptials to Oliver. Because on this show everyone loves sharing partners. 

[calliope1975]

Arrow's version of Ra's was such a joke. I'm choosing to believe we still have never met the real Ra's al Ghul, that guy was just some pretender that stole that name and settled on Nanda Poorbutt (See, I don't hate everything KC says, she's right to use that name).  

 

The real Ra's al Ghul on Nanda Parbat is still a badass and leader of the real League of Assassins. Not those lameass punks that can be defeated by a woman that had a month of martial arts training. 

 

I so agree. Real Ra's is not here for any of the crappy LOA story line this year. 

 

If the marriage isn't real or doesn't have to be dissolved, then why does anything the LOA does matter? Clearly, their top notch brainwashing program works - see Maseo and Oliver...oh, wait...no it doesn't. If Malcolm wants to marry Nyssa off to himself or whomever, is that okay? You can't just rip off Batman and interchange the story if you're not going to think about the consequences in show. Lord knows I want this "marriage" to be forgotten and never spoken of again, but I'm afraid I'm not that lucky.

 

Speaking of not being lucky, we're possibly in for more of this lameass LOA nonsense next year? Please don't make me have to develop yet another fantastical head canon just to get me through S4. 

[catahoulamama]

FWIW, I've found I don't get nearly as pissed off with the show if I completely ignore MG's trolling ways. Disappointed with this season, sure, but reading Guggs' deliberately opaque answers only serves to induce ragey, stabby feelings when the end product is revealed.  I get that some like to hang on his every word, but really, he just likes to toy with the fandom as much as possible and it only adds to the disappointment when you thought you knew what he meant, but when it actually shows up onscreen it's a massive disappointment.

[tv echo]

I think the EPs left O/N's marriage up in the air at the end of S3 because they haven't finished planning out S4 yet and wanted to leave open the option of keeping Oliver tied to Nyssa by marriage for some plot reason.  It could be that they'll decide there is no plot reason and just have a one line reference in 4x01 about the marriage being nullified over the summer.  Or they could come up with some convoluted plot reason that Oliver has to stay married to Nyssa, say, maybe to drag him into Malcolm's conflict with Darhk?  I dunno.

Edited May 28, 2015 by tv echo

[DrSpaceman10]

I think they'll end up staying married for some convoluted plot reason (at least for the beginning of the season). The Arrow writers love convoluted plots (see Malcolm).

 

It seems as though the show often purposely writes itself into (shocking!) situations that it has no idea how it's going to get out of, and then ends up with a convoluted mess trying to undo whatever choices they've made. I mean it's pretty stupid to marry your main character off and have no idea where that's going to go or how long it's going to last.

[Starfish35]

So....I watched The Calm for the first time tonight. I posted some episode specific thoughts in the episode thread, but some thoughts in the context of what we know now....

I now have a better understanding of why people hated Ray Palmer so much. While I kind of got it before....wow. He really did come across as a total ass in that episode. I wasn't personally introduced to him until TSOOFS, where I thought he was kind of funny in an absentminded professor way. I might not have been so open minded if I'd seen the earlier episode first.

The voice that said "Hello Sara" before she was killed. Are we supposed to believe that was Thea? For that matter, why would Thea be using a voice changer anyway? I guess add it to the long list of things that didn't make sense about this season.

Did we ever get a good answer on why Waller was so determined to have Oliver work for her? I can't remember. I do remember when I thought there was going to be more of a point to the flashbacks than there ultimately ended up being.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Starfish35

[wonderwall]

So....I watched The Calm for the first time tonight. I posted some episode specific thoughts in the episode thread, but some thoughts in the context of what we know now....

 

Felicity literally called Ray a stalker in the first episode, so I don't understand why people were so surprised when people kept calling him a stalker when he kept pinging her phone and following her around... Yikes

[Starfish35]

She called him a stalker and he admitted it. So yeah. I don't get it. Were we supposed to find that cute and adorable? Because if we hadn't known he was Ray Palmer and therefore a good guy.....well, that whole thing was a perfect Big Bad setup.

I mean, I like Ray. I like Ray NOW. But....it just became a whole lot clearer why people turned against him like they did.

[kismet]

I think they were going for you know the RomCom Stalker is so adorable & look how romantic he is? He bought out a whole company & pinged your phone, while secretly infiltrating your former company's servers to commit some corporate espionage. I've watched too many lifetime movies & dateline programs, that all my radars were going off for most of his early episodes. I know how this story ends and it is not with a happy ending. Seriously, really thought they were going evil with him for the longest while. I mean I knew he was not because of the hero tag & possible spin-off. But still he was not laid out the red carpet with his introduction. 

[statsgirl]

The EPs thought they were writing screwball comedy, they even referenced Brandon Routh as being like Cary Grant, and in screwball comedies like Bringing up Baby and My Man Godfrey, there's often an element of the cute but wacky woman stalking the much-beset man who keeps trying to get away from her.  It worked in a 90 minute movie when the stalker was a woman, on TV with Ray doing the stalking, not so much.

 

To be honest, at this point I can handwave Ray's behaviour in the early episodes as another "tried but failed" season 3 arc. What I can't accept is his behaviour in 3x17 when he has no respect for Felicity in spite of knowing her for six months and being in a relationship with her, disregards not only her opinion about Oliver but about everything and mansplains that her emotions are making her biased. There is no recovering from that for me.  Also he lied to her by omission when he didn't tell her that the suit had been working for a couple of weeks already.  She was owed the truth about that since it wouldn't have flown without her help, and hiding it from her makes him even more creepy than pinging her phone to force her to talk to him.

 

Did we ever get a good answer on why Waller was so determined to have Oliver work for her? I can't remember. I do remember when I thought there was going to be more of a point to the flashbacks than there ultimately ended up being.

Not as far as I know. And it's a loss because it makes no sense that Waller would force this unskilled kid to work for her while he's desperately trying to escape and get back to his family, just as it makes no sense why Ra's would force unskilled, no-kill Oliver to take over from him.  (blah, blah, prophecy, blah, blah, not buying it)

 

One of the tropes I hate the most is the special snowflake and they keep trying to make Oliver into one.

Edited May 29, 2015 by statsgirl

[kismet]

Aren't all snowflakes special though? I know every snowflake is unique & different :)

 

I mean I get your point. It does seem like they are giong out of their way to make OQ seem like this very special recruit to Argus, LoA & Shrieve. I wish they would just explain why he is so special because as it stands all I really remember is Argus needed his fingerprint to infiltrate QC. There was the everchanging prophecy for LoA & honestly I can't even remember why Shrieve wanted him.

[AyChihuahua]

I really would like to know why Waller wanted Oliver so much.  She had to have 100 guys who were far more skilled and willing.  

 

I mean seriously, everything about this season made no sense. 

Edited May 31, 2015 by AyChihuahua

[kes0704]

Someone I work with has just started watching S3 and she's currently up to episode 4. We were talking about the episodes the other day and the first thing she asked me was if Ray was the season big bad. She thinks there's something weird and untrustworthy about him and is worried that Felicity is going to end up with him, LOL.

This person isn't online, hasn't read any articles or spoilers about the show and doesn't follow any of the cast on social media. She's watching the story unfold as broadcast and it really does seem like the writers/EPs made some serious missteps in setting up Ray's character right from the start. They may have thought they were writing a funny, rom-com leading man but it doesn't seem to be coming across that way to this completely casual viewer.

[catahoulamama]

Brandon Routh is no Cary Grant.

 

Yet another entry in the long list of delusions by the EPs this year.  Somehow the show in their heads is vastly different than the one onscreen.

Edited May 29, 2015 by catahoulamama

[Password]

Was it actually the writers intention to make him seem shady at first? Only for the supersuit to be revealed?

He hit the villain character beats but probably because the writers thought they were being clever and mysterious.

It didn't work.

[KirkB]

Waller had to spend an awful lot of time training/brow beating Oliver to get him where she wanted him. Admittedly it worked, he's now a super bad ass murder machine (who doesn't murder anymore but that's a whole other point). But are we seriously supposed to believe she didn't have any already trained Argus agents or potential Suicide Squad members who could have done this stuff for her without the extra effort?

[tarotx]

For now I think she just liked the idea that the ex playboy billionaire was at her beck and call. Though I think the actress must not have been available so chunks of the story was cut. More could still come though.

Maybe it will come out that Amanda knew Oliver's legend from some kind of future teller.

Edited May 29, 2015 by tarotx

[Genki]

I really wanted some sort of bigger explanation to explain the mess that was S3, like Malcolm working for Darhk and had to kill Sara to destabilise the LOA and Ra's/Nyssa's relationship, or Oliver still working for ARGUS and under order NOT to eliminate Malcolm, something to explain decisions that made NO sense from a character or story. They only make sense because of the behind the scenes wants and end story/gotcha needs.

 

I'm also bitter that we never got to see Oliver getting more training from ARGUS. I'm still not sure how his cantonese got so good because, Akio was teaching him one random word at a time. I can sort of hand-wave the ARGUS recruitment because Oliver was a ghost, but a more specific mission, than get China White would have been nice. 

[AyChihuahua]

Oh, oh, also the retcon of Fyers' whole "two-year operation" and Oliver having exactly zero recognition of China White in S1.  Seriously, ARGUS knew China White would be on that particular flight for TWO FREAKING YEARS?  Who buys airplane tickets TWO YEARS AHEAD.  I don't even think they sell tickets that far ahead.  And what, she wasn't going to be on any other flights before then, or, you know, just in some dark alley somewhere where she could easily be killed (relatively easily anyway).

[wonderwall]

I hate how we'll never have scenes like this again:

 

 

It makes me tear up how much Moira loved Oliver. I really hope one day when the Arrow writers run out of ideas, they'll have a 'what if' episode... Like what if Oliver never ended up on that island? Only so we can see more moments like these. 

[kismet]

So bitter about missing those scenes. I mean really again why did they have to kill Moira? It's just such a waste.

[FurryFury]

Moira brought to this comic book show something that felt non-comic booky. Gravitas. Nuance. Of course it was possible to do the same stuff they've wanted to do (Thea becoming a hero, Merlyn's return) even with Moira alive - hell, it would probably make this storylines more interesting - but it was a tiny bit harder and it really wasn't a priority for these writers. They are clearly way more focused on masks and fights and explosions - which are all cool, of course, but this shouldn't be the sole focus of the show.

[tennisgurl]

I think those stories would have way more interesting with Moira. She has such a history with Malcolm and Thea, I think them coming together, and Thea being a badass, and Malcom`s shenanigans would have been way better with Moira around. Everything is better with Moira.

 

One of my big issues with the LoA is that we somehow got too much, and not enough. When we first heard of the League, they were this mysterious, badass threat. When we know a little more about them, it seemed like they had some noble calling of some kind. But then, we both got to know them too well (their plans made no sense, Ras is just a jerk loser, their assassins go down faster than Stormtroopers) and still not enough (how does command work? What do they actually DO? What is this honor they're always going on about?). They weren't mysterious or noble anymore, just confusing, overly dramatic, and pointlessly murderous.  After all that build up, and all that DCU mythology, and they were a big bust. The only good thing we got out of the LoA was Nyssa, who got treated like crap all season.  

 

I got really pumped, and let down. Kind of this season`s theme. 

[FurryFury]

After 2A, I thought that LoA would become the show's big bad. Kinda like Wolfram and Hart on Angel or Samaritan (eventually) on Person of Interest. This is such a well-known organization, thanks to Batman movies, and dealing with it in just one season would too feel cheap and simplistic. Sadly I was mistaken. Yet another thing that sounded so potentially awesome but turned out to have a clunky and disappointing execution.

[kismet]

After watching 302 again I was bitter that LOA turned out to be such a weak storyline. I remember them having so much potential as a shady group that still has a code of honor. When they thought it might be the LoA and OQ defended them saying they don't target their own. It felt like it had so much potential even the thought of OQ going dark for a little bit was intriguing. But then it was such a bust. I wish Ras had turned rogue and was off his rocker and that explains his behavior. Or as others have mentioned the real Ras is somewhere too busy to deal with the likes of MM & OQ.

[thuganomics85]

A bit out of left field, but seeing Bex Taylor-Klaus on the latest iZombie episode, reminded how bitter I am over how they ended up misusing Sin.  For my money, Sin was one of the best guest/recurring characters on this show, and I think there was so much they could have done with her.  Her history with Sara.  Her partnership with Roy.  I even think, if they played their cards right, there would have been a way to build on a Sin/Thea partnership.  But, nope... they just suddenly dropped her, until they needed her to show back up to tell Quentin everyone was lying to him, and then bounced again.  Lame.

 

But I guess I really should be use to this.  They really do squander their great supporting cast.  Last season didn't even give us some Walter and awesome Colin Salmon.  And I won't even get started on all the great actors they got for villains, who ended up being one-off or barely used.  And, yet, Ra's ends up being played by a former rugby player*

 

* OK, after thinking about that, that is harsh.  There some sport stars or professional wrestlers, that actually end up being surprisingly good and charismatic on screen.  But, for my money, Matt Nable wasn't one of them.

Edited June 4, 2015 by thuganomics85

[kismet]

Speaking of former sports stars.... I was all excited for vinnie Jones and really thought he would bring something to the table as Brick. He is usual decent if not good. But that entire trilogy/arc fell very very flat instead. Maybe it was more how they were written or directed.

S3 almost felt devoid of a major villian. Seriously think they threw in the wedding just so they could remind us the ras was supposed to be evil. Otherwise he was beginning to feel like a lonely man just trying to find a friend. Had they done their job and set up his evil all season, they wouldn't have needed a hail mary of WTF. Made me miss the villains of the week from previous seasons.

[ruby24]

Yeah, what did ever happened to Walter? I didn't mind the show having parental figures like Moira and Walter around- it gives Oliver someone to rely on.

[Sunshine]

Amanda Waller wanted Oliver because he was capable of killing per Maseo's conversation in HK in 3.22 when they went to see if Shrieve had a cure for the virus.  I guess he proved so difficult to control that she simply had bombs implanted in her future assasins' heads.

[manbearpig]

I actually thought Sin had way more chemistry with Thea than she ever had with Roy. Teen Arrow were surprisingly delightful though, and since they got Sin back for an episode this year it would be cool to see her come back and help Thea on a mission. Bonus if they can bring Haynes back for that episode too. I'm hopeful, because while Klaus is busy with Scream, I'm sure the fact that it's on MTV and might have a reduced episode order could mean she could pop up on Arrow again.

[AyChihuahua]

Amanda Waller wanted Oliver because he was capable of killing per Maseo's conversation in HK in 3.22 when they went to see if Shrieve had a cure for the virus.  I guess he proved so difficult to control that she simply had bombs implanted in her future assasins' heads.

Waller has an entire agency full of people capable of killing.  Not to mention, every combat soldier in the United States, past and present, is capable of killing, if she needs more agents.  Why would she need this untrained, unwilling, PITA guy instead?  Why HIM?  It would make 1000% more sense if she wanted billionaire playboy Oliver Queen as an agent, as he'd have access to places she'd like him to go, but she did not want that version of OQ.  She wanted anonymous tall sandy-haired broad-shouldered white guy in the middle of HK.  It makes no sense whatsoever.

 

Also, why make the Yamashiros Japanese?  It would have made much more sense for them to be Chinese, to at least quasi-explain how Oliver learned Mandarin well enough to pass as a native in present day S1.

[Sunshine]

Waller has an entire agency full of people capable of killing.  Not to mention, every combat soldier in the United States, past and present, is capable of killing, if she needs more agents.  Why would she need this untrained, unwilling, PITA guy instead?  Why HIM?  It would make 1000% more sense if she wanted billionaire playboy Oliver Queen as an agent, as he'd have access to places she'd like him to go, but she did not want that version of OQ.  She wanted anonymous tall sandy-haired broad-shouldered white guy in the middle of HK.  It makes no sense whatsoever.

 

Also, why make the Yamashiros Japanese?  It would have made much more sense for them to be Chinese, to at least quasi-explain how Oliver learned Mandarin well enough to pass as a native in present day S1.

I am sure after he was rescued he had to explain everything that happened on Lian Yu and how he was the only known survivor.  Remember it was her 2-years in the making plan that he helped destroy destroyed.  Payback for China White not being dead?

 

 All I could think of was that she needed people she considered expendable if they didn't succeed.  People already thought he was dead.  Hence my reference to the Suicide Squad or Task Force X.  When you "recruit" people like Deadshot and Bronze Tiger you probably don't officially add them to the government's payroll.

[EmeraldArcher]

Waller has an entire agency full of people capable of killing. Not to mention, every combat soldier in the United States, past and present, is capable of killing, if she needs more agents. Why would she need this untrained, unwilling, PITA guy instead? Why HIM? It would make 1000% more sense if she wanted billionaire playboy Oliver Queen as an agent, as he'd have access to places she'd like him to go, but she did not want that version of OQ. She wanted anonymous tall sandy-haired broad-shouldered white guy in the middle of HK. It makes no sense whatsoever.

I thought Waller needed OQ for the op at QC in The Return. He was needed to access a file or something, and his computer credentials had never been revoked after he'd "died." Seems like it was related to China White and the A/O bio weapon, which turned out to be a big deal for Hong Kong. It was an underdeveloped and pretty frail plot, but wasn't that the reason?

Maybe it was all a ruse so he'd lay eyes on his destiny in that dark office. Waller was nothing if not a sappy romantic at heart.

[AyChihuahua]

I have a very, very hard time believing that Oliver was the only way in on the QC thing, rather than just the easiest way.  And if that was the only reason, why wait so long to send him there?  Most importantly, if that was the only reason the writers should have made a much bigger deal of it, like have that operation last most of the season, instead of having the tall blond white guy spend most of the season standing out in Hong Kong.   

 

"When you "recruit" people like Deadshot and Bronze Tiger you probably don't officially add them to the government's payroll."

 

Deadshot and Bronze Tiger were already very, very well-trained badass assassins before Waller got them.  At the end of S2 Oliver is pretty decent with a bow, probably an excellent outdoorsman, decent in a fight, and has killed a couple guys.  He's also a famous easily-recognizable billionaire playboy whose disappearance probably made international news two years prior.  Waller is powerful enough to get basically whomever she pleases working for ARGUS, and a regular tough guy (say a Navy SEAL or other special forces vet, like Diggle) who's NOT a famous billionaire playboy would be much, much easier to turn into an agent.  We've seen ARGUS, again and again, with awesome tech and soldiers and plenty of agents.  There was just no reason to make Oliver work for her - unless it really was just the QC operation, which really should have been made clear and made into a bigger deal than one episode.

[calliope1975]

Maybe it was all a ruse so he'd lay eyes on his destiny in that dark office. Waller was nothing if not a sappy romantic at heart.

 

I bet she and Ra's giggled on the phone together while they planned the Olicity Night of Love. They tried to conference in Slade, but that Lian Yu underground prison bunker gets terrible reception. 

 

Makes as much sense as anything else on this show.

[Ceylon5]

These writers really need to drop the whole concept of having a "theme" for a season, because they suck at it.  I was thinking about their "identity" theme and what they were presumably trying to achieve with it, and as far as I can tell, they mostly achieved the opposite of what I assume they were aiming for.

 

Oliver:  The "Am I Arrow or Oliver?" identity issue was, I assume, meant to resolve into him reaching the conclusion that he wasn't either one or the other, but both simultaneously.  They boiled it down to a nice easy show and tell of "If I'm Arrow, I can't be with Felicity; if I'm Oliver, I can be with Felicity", and so he chose Option A for most of the season and then switched to Option B at the very end.  How did that resolve anything?  He never resolved his duality, and colour me hard to please, but one line at the end saying that he's someone new and he'd like Felicity to help him discover who that person is, is NOT a resolution to an identity dilemma, especially when it followed right on the heels of him repeating his "I can't be the Arrow and be with you, but this time I'm choosing you" (which to my ears sounded like him having learned absolutely nothing since the first episode) and it was a back-handed compliment at that, since the Arrow wasn't really a viable option anymore.  It made it sound like he thought the "new" person wasn't either Arrow or Oliver, instead of him realising that he's both at the same time and that they're not mutually exclusive.  In other words, next season (or possibly during the hiatus) is when he'll actually solve the identity dilemma (that this whole season was supposed to be addressing) and discover that he can be both parts of himself (and, incidentally, be with Felicity, though the way they tied her into his identity drama was a giant misstep).  Maybe not talking about himself in the third person will help with that.  

 

But most of all this year, I think I just really got fed up with Oliver's belief that he can make decisions for others and that everything revolves around him.  For someone with an identity crisis, he sure was sure of himself.  His "When I started this..." speech at the end really pissed me off.  Ray and Laurel's journeys had nothing whatsoever to do with Oliver.  Felicity and Diggle, while they might have started out as Oliver's team, have long since moved on from that - they're now doing it because they want to save the city, with or without Oliver.  I don't know what Thea's goals are, but I'm pretty sure they have little to do with Oliver.  All their stories are not about him, but he's always making everything about himself.  I know that's the writers' fault, by writing a season that wasn't about their main character and then, once he was completely irrelevant, trying to force him back into relevance with yet another pompous speech, but all it did was make him sound like an even bigger douche than usual.

 

Felicity:  Her identity issue was supposed to be something about her having a life outside of Oliver and the lair.  The conclusion she was supposed to draw was presumably that yes, she has an identity and purpose outside of the Arrow stuff.  This could have worked if they had stuck the landing, because she was clearly good at her job and has multiple independent superheroes she can assist when the mood takes her, but in the final episode they landed flat on their faces by having her just drop everything at one sentence from Oliver.  Now I don't mind her reaching the conclusion that while she knows who she is outside of Oliver, she still wants and chooses Oliver, nor do I mind her going off with him for a walkabout (driveabout?), but surely she didn't have to resign her job entirely to do it?  Couldn't she have asked for an unpaid leave of absence, or some other less drastic alternative?  And no matter how much she loves Oliver, shouldn't there have been some small glimmering of self-preserving doubt about his sudden about-face?  Because the way their whole relationship played out, despite her theoretically walking away and "moving on", was that he really had all the power the whole time.  They clearly showed that the only thing standing between them was Oliver saying they couldn't be together, and the instant he changed his mind, she was all in.  And I mean ALL IN, to the point of giving up her entire life.  It was too much too soon, after all the crap he'd put her through.  They effectively boiled the whole season's relationship drama down into a resolution that was about 3 sentences long and didn't even give Felicity a chance to respond.  That's right, people!  Not one word, not even 'Yes'.  He does his "I'm making all our relationship decisions for us as usual" and she just smiles at him.  She doesn't even get to talk!!!  Much has been said about how this show crams too much into too little time, and this scene exemplifies how huge a disservice this does the characters and relationships.

 

I think much of the audience was just so relieved that the angst was 'resolved' that they didn't care by that point how they got there, but it really bugged me.  It's fine to forgive him, but how is she so willing to trust him after the crap he put her through this season?  He doesn't actually deserve it; he certainly hasn't earned it.  He was a gigantic ass to her and he didn't even apologise, just changed his mind with an "I didn't choose you before [because you're not as important to me as lots of other stuff], but now I do [because that other stuff is no longer an option and, anyway, I need a holiday and the no sex thing isn't working for me]" and didn't even so much as say "Bygones?".  He didn't even acknowledge that he'd screwed up and screwed her over all year.  It was All About Oliver, and not about her at all.  So in the end, her "identity journey" was just a footnote of Oliver's non-journey and nothing to do with her at all.  Not that this is any different to previous seasons, but if they're going to be together, then she needs to have more power in their relationship than she's had to date, otherwise it's going to be as horrible to watch going forward as it's been this year.

 

Diggle:  I count Diggle and Lyla as a unit here, because balancing dangerous jobs and having a baby was their mutual "identity" theme this year.  Since the conclusion here was supposed to be (as an object lesson for Oliver) "Yes, you can have it all!", this was a gigantic fail!  They actually reached the complete opposite conclusion, with Lyla leaving her job to take care of their daughter, and Diggle largely being side-lined from anything dangerous except when there was no other option.  What David Ramsey says about Diggle (that he's settled all these issues) and what I was seeing on screen (where Diggle was sometimes arguing with Oliver, sometimes agreeing with him and generally struggling with this all season) were quite different.  And since the season ends with Lyla and Sara being sent away to hide somewhere safe and Diggle as mad as a snake about it, I fail to see how this was in any way resolved as an identity dilemma.

 

Laurel:  I'm not sure what they were aiming for Laurel to conclude from her "Am I my sister or myself" identity issue (given that they clearly wanted her to end up as Canary 2.0), but since she essentially concluded that she was her sister (with extra buckles and, supposedly, inner light or whatever the god-awful line was), I basically don't need to say anything more on the stupidity of that plot line.

 

Thea: I can't remember how they defined her identity theme, but I assume it was something to do with Malcolm and whose daughter she was.  All I got out of her "journey" was that even insta-Ninja Thea is just a pawn in everyone else's story, to be drugged, poisoned, stabbed, lied to, etc. as needed to further the plot for others.  So she learned to fight.  Big whoop.  She also decided she hated Malcolm, but since she always kind of hated him, I'm not really seeing how that's progress.  But others seem pleased with her story this season so YMMV.  I thought her plot-line was horrible from beginning to end, and if her season long motivation was to learn not to be victimised, then it was a giant fail, because that's all that happened to her all season.  Or does wearing a weird red costume in the final episode somehow magically make everything better?  Really, I don't get the whole costume thing.  Or the insta-Ninja thing.  At all.  How is that a story-line?  And how is it that we were subjected to it for 3 separate characters this year?

 

Roy: I don't know what his identity issue was meant to be, but overall they (luckily for him) didn't focus on him too heavily and as a result, his storyline was actually not too badly done.  He dealt with some hard stuff (finding out he'd killed a cop) and did something heroic to redeem himself, so he had a nice arc.  I don't like that he didn't tell Thea about his fake death plan or that he left her when she did find out, but in the grander scheme of things, I'm going to count his story as a win.

 

Lance: Was his identity theme something about whether he's a cop or not?  I forget.  Whatever the theme was it got swallowed up by his "Am I season 1 Lance or Season 2 Lance?", with an undecided conclusion at the end there.  As to the original theme, I'm guessing they wanted him to conclude that he is still a cop, but since he started drinking again, spent his time on a wild personal vendetta instead of doing actual police-work, and couldn't even get his own underlings to listen to him, I'm going with Giant Fail once again on this front.

 

Great job, writing team.  You succeeded in either not reaching any conclusion at all or in reaching the wrong conclusion with practically every single character's identity journey.  I'd suggest doing away with themes entirely.  Also long term arcs.  And maybe we should dump the season Big Bad thing too.  Also, don't "write" the relationships; just let them be in the background where they can work just fine without any interference or planning.  Because your planning skills are bad.  Very, very bad.