The Starling City Times: News and Media about Arrow

[Lethal Huntress]

Didn't she dump Tommy the second she thought Oliver was willing to get back together with her? And it doesn't seem like she's dated anyone since. Even though it has nothing to do with actual show reasons, I just think it's incredibly sad to hold up the Oliver she was in a relationship as the love of anyone's life. Especially her, since he treated her so terribly.

I thought Tommy dumped her. Maybe I'm wrong.

[apinknightmare]

You're both right. Tommy dumped her because he thought she'd get back together with Oliver if she had the chance, Oliver encouraged her to fight for Tommy so she decided she was going to, but then Tommy told her Oliver was still interested. When Oliver confirmed that, it was Tommy who?

Thanks. I loathe that triangle, and don't really care all that much about Tommy, so I had blocked part of it, haha.

[Ann Mack]

ARROW / 2 FEB 2016
COLTON HAYNES TEASES 'REALLY SAD' TURN DURING ARSENAL'S RETURN TO ARROW

Share. Team Arrow reunion!
BY JOSHUA YEHL

 

BTW I saw nothing spoilery in this article that has not already been revealed or discussed via Twitter.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/02/02/colton-haynes-teases-really-sad-turn-during-arsenals-return-to-arrow

Edited February 2, 2016 by Ann Mack

[Guest]

In all fairness, not that I didn't hate that whole love triangle and how gross it was in the end with Oliver being a complete dick to Tommy, this show never writes love triangles or romance that well. It's a shame because the few times I saw real warmth from LL was when she was with Tommy. KC did light up around him. Ah well.

[tv echo]

Hot Property | Stephen Amell

http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-hotprop-stephen-amell-house-20160202-photos-photogallery.html

The two-story house on a double lot in Studio City has three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms in about 2,250 square feet of space.

Stephen Amell of 'The Arrow' is ready to part with his high ground in Studio City
Neal J. Leitereg  FEBRUARY 2, 2016 7:00 PM
http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/hot-property/la-fi-hotprop-stephen-amell-house-20160202-story.html

Television superhero Stephen Amell, who moved his green hood to the Hollywood Hills late last year, has put his home in Studio City up for sale at $1.35 million.
*  *  *
He bought the house in 2008 for $625,000, records show.

*  *  *
The 34-year-old actor is known for his role as Oliver Queen on “The Arrow” and “The Flash” shows. He will appear as Casey Jones in the upcoming film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” due out this summer.

Edited February 3, 2016 by tv echo

[bijoux]

How did he manage to buy the house in 2008? Didn't he just have some episodic roles at that point?

[tarotx]

Maybe he got a loan that he later paid off? Or family help?

 

How did he manage to buy the house in 2008? Didn't he just have some episodic roles at that point?

[kismet]

Im guessing he had a mortage. He probably had savings from whatever he did before. Didnt he used to do insurance or something? Plus there was a first time home buyer tax incentive at the time. Not sure of the market out there, but that seems relatively cheap or at this on point for that area for that size/type property. Then again im in a ridiculously overpriced real estate market in New England. If you can buy it saves on rent, because they always increase your rent. And I've had friends use their savings just to rent a place.

Edited February 3, 2016 by kismet

[Primal Slayer]

Wasn't the real estate market around an all time low around then? 

[lemotomato]

2008 was also when banks could still give anyone a home loan and not really care about whether they were qualified or not. I'm impressed that SA could buy a place in '08, but I'm not surprised. Smart of him to hang on to it until the housing market got better again.

Edited February 4, 2016 by lemotomato

[foreverevolving]

I'm confused: didn't he mention on Kimmel that he used to live not far away from his lot?

Also, how did he buy it in 08 when, if my memory is correct didn't he move back to LA about a year before he started shooting Arrow? So he bought a house in a city located in a country he wasn't even living at? nor was considering living at in 2008 (I assume)

 

either way, he's asking twice as much as he paid for it. taking down any renovation he may have had to do while owning the house... he'll probably cash in an extra half million.

Edited February 4, 2016 by foreverevolving

[tarotx]

Could this be his wife's place and they are saying it was Stephan's to add a more "celebrity" price bounce?

Edited February 4, 2016 by tarotx

[Sunshine]

Could this be his wife's place and they are saying it was Stephan's to add a more "celebrity" price bounce?

Yeah.  That is what I have been thinking.  I think he said he only moved to LA 2 years before he landed Arrow.  He landed Arrow in 2012.

[BkWurm1]

I guess as long as he lived there once they were married, it counts. 

Sunshine, on 03 Feb 2016 - 9:51 PM, said:

Yeah.  That is what I have been thinking.  I think he said he only moved to LA 2 years before he landed Arrow.  He landed Arrow in 2012.

 

Of course we also know math isn't his strongest suit. 

Edited February 4, 2016 by BkWurm1

[looptab]

The Arrow Recap show  has Cynthia Addai-Robinson as  special guest this week.

Edited February 4, 2016 by looptab

[tv echo]

Eonline was shocked that the Calculator turned out to be Felicity's father (don't they read their own spoilers?)...

 

Arrow Just Blew Our Minds with a Major and Unexpected Cliffhanger
by LAUREN PIESTER Wed, Feb 3, 2016 9:27 PM
http://www.eonline.com/news/736806/arrow-just-blew-our-minds-with-a-major-and-unexpected-cliffhanger

Our minds are blown, our theories were wrong, and now all we can think about is how, thanks to the fact that Tom Amandes played Emily Van Camp and Chris Pratt's dad on Everwood, Emily Thorne, Felicity Smoak, and Starlord are all siblings. That's now canon in our brains and you can't tell us otherwise.

[tv echo]

Vulture review of 412...

 

Arrow Recap: Blasts From the Past
By Jenny Raftery February 4, 2016 2:20 a.m.
http://www.vulture.com/2016/02/arrow-recap-season-4-episode-12.html?mid=twitter-share-vulture

We learn that Thea's fainting is the result of a failure to feed her bloodlust by killing others. (She found a magical bloodlust escape clause through Damien Darhk's touch, but her body apparently doesn't recognize that work-around.) Malcolm is at her bedside with Oliver and explains that, since Thea isn't killing others, her own body is trying to kill her. (Malcolm is like a walking mystical Siri. "Siri — why is my bloodlust not quenched?")...
*  *  *
... Felicity, watching remotely from the lair, notices something odd about Roy's eye and tells Oliver to shoot him. Against Diggle and Laurel's wishes, Oliver does just that. (Because, let's get real. It's Felicity asking.)...
*  *  *
... Using voice modulators, both Felicity and the Calculator trade barbs and hacking codes. There's a lot of fun and chemistry between the two actors — an impressive feat considering they're not even onscreen together. (Such is the power of Emily Bett Rickards.) The Calculator then reveals that he wants to use the "web nuke" to take out the city's power grids, hospitals, and essential services....
*  *  *
FLASHBACKS
A world of nope. The Shadow-vision felt unearned and lazy.
*  *  *
A plain-clothes Oliver chased Roy. Roy was wearing the special contact. Does that mean the Calculator knows Oliver hunts down thieves?

[tarotx]

I don't know how Thea is a disposable character when Lance is never on the show and Laurel has very little connection to the team outside of fighting with the team. She also doesn't have her own people. It's her and her dad. Thea has Alex and a world of potential of bringing hot young guest stars. Plus she's Oliver's sister. If Thea dies Oliver will have no original family back. He'll have the recently discovered boy but he's 10 or so-so not going to be a main character.

The Arrow Recap show  has Cynthia Addai-Robinson as  special guest this week.

[tv echo]

Robert Dougherty's review of 412 (scored it 7/10) - warning: includes spoilery mentions of future episodes (not quoted below)...

 

Arrow S4: E12 -- 'Unchained'
By Robert Dougherty February 04, 2016 09:00AM EST
http://www.themovienetwork.com/review/arrow-s4-e12-unchained

Yet thankfully, Felicity is in full bad*** mode in the lair, once they bring Roy to his senses and find out he is under the thumb of a tech genius nicknamed the Calculator -- not a name Felicity is a fan of. But she takes out her frustrations in a few mano-a-mano web battles with the villain, in a way she hasn't done since beating the Bug-Eyed Bandit on The Flash and hasn't done on Arrow since her battle with the Clock King. And when she is still in the zone at a brief visit to Palmer Tech, Curtis reminds her she can still be the same outside of Team Arrow as well.
*  *  *
What helps to blow through those reservations easier is the verbal duels between Felicity and the Calculator, and between Rickards and guest Tom Amandes. Fittingly, these two are each tech Gods, have snide one-liners and manage to get under each other's skin. And most everyone guessed why something like this could happen the second the Calculator was announced as episode 412's villain.
*  *  *
This sets up the return of a few trends so hard-wired into Arrow and Oliver, they are pretty much characters onto themselves -- with Diggle actually naming one of them 'Guilt Arrow.' Once more, Oliver's over the top guilt and burden is driven home over and over, even in the flashbacks in the latest futile attempt to make them relevant. Once more, Oliver comes up with a plan to save or avenge a loved one that is slammed as pure idiocy, for not entirely unfair reasons. In fact, since it makes Malcolm the reasonable and responsible one by comparison, just as he was before they put Thea in the pit in the first place, that says something.
*  *  *
Felicity famously said "Its my life. My choice," when she went undercover for a mission in early Season 2, and it has been cited as one of her defining lines ever since -- and has been reused in more than enough fanfics. In this case, when Thea doesn't want Oliver to save her, she flips it to say its "my choice. It's my life," halfway like her possible sister-in-law. But if that wasn't enough, Malcolm actually says it in Felicity's original order just moments later, before Roy says it in Thea's order one act later.
 

One could easily criticize the writers for so much repetition and for ripping themselves off, whether or not they actually remembered this was Felicity's mantra first. Of course, driving home that Oliver won't let go and won't forgive himself for anything, fairly or not, has been a theme they've ripped off from themselves over and over and let Stephen Amell bail them out of over and over as well. Still, with Oliver learning his lesson easier than usual this time, this may have been useful as a key step towards not blaming himself at the cemetary in three months -- and maybe a key step towards surviving the other loss to come.
*  *  *.
...  And it also turns out past Oliver is quicker to admit a massive lie to a woman this season than present Oliver, which is even more evident when he mentions back and forth trips to Central City right in front of a still unsuspecting Felicity.

Edited February 4, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

A.V. Club's positive review of 412 - this was a pretty interesting read and I couldn't decide what to quote (reviewer has some good comments about Roy and Nyssa), so I went with my default of quoting Felicity stuff (but I recommend reading the entire article)...

 

Arrow’s parkour king returns
By Alasdair Wilkins  Feb 4, 2016  12:40 AM
http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/arrows-parkour-king-returns-231718

And, in the midst of all this, there’s the Calculator, otherwise known as Felicity’s dad. This is one big reveal the show has been sitting on for a long, long time, and the reveal is done about as well as one could hope for. I even knew the next episode is called “Sins Of The Father,” yet it never once occurred to me that this older computer genius might be Felicity’s erstwhile father, and the episode is clever in gradually revealing more about him. It’s a shock when he shows up at Felicity’s product launch, and it’s a shock again when Felicity greets him as her father. There are plenty of potentially compelling places the show could go from here, and what’s most promising is the fact that Arrow appears to have as solid a handle on Felicity as it has had in a while. Her injury has refocused her character, getting her to embrace her individual strength in a way that she didn’t always do quite as cleanly when she was just another member of Team Arrow. The show’s added attention to Felicity since her accident bodes well for how Arrow plans to proceed from here, because it’s a safe bet her life is never going to be the same now that her father has reentered the picture. And yes, I realize you could say that about every character on every given week. That’s just part of the Arrow charm, I guess.

[looptab]

I don't know how Thea is a disposable character when Lance is never on the show and Laurel has very little connection to the team outside of fighting with the team. She also doesn't have her own people. It's her and her dad. Thea has Alex and a world of potential of bringing hot young guest stars. Plus she's Oliver's sister. If Thea dies Oliver will have no original family back. He'll have the recently discovered boy but he's 10 or so-so not going to be a main character.

Oh, don't ask me. Like, they see and admit that Laurel is basically just standing there, yet she has never been mentioned in their predictions for the grave. Because comics. I don't get their arguments most of the time.

[tv echo]

Laura Hurley‏@lah9891

Me, taking notes after 4x11: "I love how little I'm criticizing!"

Me, taking notes after 4x12: "Hello darkness, my old friend..."

#Arrow

6:33 PM - 3 Feb 2016

https://twitter.com/lah9891/status/695072716014161920

 

And here's Laura Hurley's short Cinemablend review of 412...

Arrow: How Oliver's Big Opportunity Could Change Everything

BY LAURA HURLEY  11 HOURS AGO

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Arrow-How-Oliver-Big-Opportunity-Could-Change-Everything-115897.html

Then, things got a little weird as Nyssa went off to Japan to retrieve something called “the Lotus” from the person who was guarding it: Tatsu. Last seen in Season 3 after joining Team Arrow as Katana to help take down Ra’s al Ghul, Tatsu’s reappearance in “Unchained” was a pleasant surprise. Did it make total sense that she had happened to join an order that happened to leave her protecting an artifact that another Arrow side character happened to need? It did not. But it was nice to see Tatsu again, and giving up the Lotus to Nyssa enabled Nyssa to make her appearance in Star City to make her offer to Oliver.

*  *  *

Taking the life of a murdering supervillain to save the life of Star City’s cutest vigilante normally wouldn’t take too much deliberation, but Oliver loses about half of his IQ points whenever he tries to make decisions involving Malcolm and Thea. Add in the fact Arrow has been trying to sell Oliver and Malcolm more as frenemies than nemeses lately, and we can almost certainly expect Oliver to agonize over his decision next week.

*  *  *

In case it’s not super obvious, I was not a big fan of “Unchained.” If Nyssa’s offer to use the mysterious Lotus to rid Thea of the darkness of the Lazarus Pit somehow results in the end of Malcolm Merlyn, however, I would call her plot the biggest success of this episode....

Edited February 4, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

IGN review of 412 (reviewer thought it "ranks among the best of Season 4 to date") - I can't believe we were watching the same episode...

 

ARROW: "UNCHAINED" REVIEW
BY JESSE SCHEDEEN 3 FEB 2016
http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/02/04/arrow-unchained-review

It’s hard to pinpoint any one reason why “Unchained” worked as well as it did. No one storyline or character conflict stood out from the rest. Everything just worked together smoothly in a way that doesn’t always happen on this show. Director Kevin Fair (a veteran of Smallville in its later years) surely deserves some credit for that. Fair delivered an episode that was slick, stylish and tightly paced throughout.
*  *  *
But at the end of the day, Felicity’s story this week was more about her rediscovering herself and her ability to lead. If Felicity’s PalmerTech storyline and her relationship with Curtis sometimes feel divorced from the rest of the show, at least these elements help define her as something other than a sidekick and a love interest to Ollie. This episode celebrated that fact and gave Felicity some of her best moments of the season. Even if that “Pwned!” line was a little lame.

Edited February 4, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Kevin Fitzpatrick's mixed review of 412...

 

Review: ‘Arrow’ Finally ‘Unchained’ Felicity’s Father, Roy Apparently There Also
Kevin Fitzpatrick | 12 hours ago
http://screencrush.com/arrow-unchained-review/

“Unchained” even seemed to go out of its way to imbue its godly tech antagonist with more personality than usual, leaving just enough ambiguity of his deeds to keep a redemption arc on the table, and I only wish that the end result had perhaps been given time to work its way into the story more organically. Felicity’s mother wasn’t revealed to have any particular connection to Oliver’s world, and I understand the temptation to then play that card with her father, but Arrow’s use of “Sins of the Father” (not un-coincidentally next week’s title) may need retirement at this point.
*  *  *
The good news is that “Unchained” left us with plenty more time to flesh out that particular dynamic, as tonight overall raised more questions than it settled. Too much, in fact, that all the storylines competing for time tonight never quite drew enough connections between one another, especially adding up return arcs for Roy, Nyssa, Katana*, and improbably, Shado...
*  *  *
... The running idea in past and present seems to have been Oliver’s ability to let go of things he can’t control, but Arrow seems more and more to lose sight of any ability to draw thematic parallel. Remember, the Oliver of the past has to move closer to a determined (if slightly altruistic) killer, not someone looking to let go of his internal darkness, or perhaps find love with another island companion (a suggestion with especially shaky groundwork this year)
*  *  *
I hesitate to dismiss “Unchained” as one of Arrow’s weaker hours, as the latter half of Season 4 still feels much more focused without any Legends of Tomorrow world-building. Still, the hour made a point of reminding Oliver how much guilt and sacrifice he endures for all those around him (without finding anything of substance to say about it), that it’s only natural “Unchained” end up so overburdened as well.

[tv echo]

Film School Rejects review of 412 (I'm really starting to enjoy this guy's Arrow reviews)...

 

EVERYONE GOT TO HAVE A BIG COMEBACK LAST NIGHT ON ARROW
By Neil Miller  February 4, 2016
http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/last-night-on-tv-february-4.php

Last night on TV, everyone on Arrow got to have a big moment. Even characters from several season ago! Even Oliver’s guilt!
*  *  *
... Opening with a sequence that reminds us that Felicity is the beating heart of this show (her dedication to using code names is adorable), it’s as if Arrow wanted to lay on a thick layer of charm before revealing what this episode is really about. In short, they should have called the episode “Guilt Arrow.” Part exploration of Oliver’s martyr complex and part reunion episode, “Unchained” was a chaotic 43-minutes that was really good until it did that Arrow thing where it needs to have a bunch of big gasp moments in the final few minutes... They could have also called this episode “Parkour Arrow,” at least for a time.
*  *  *
... When you stand back from it for a moment, the episode title “Unchained” is about more than the literal vision of Oliver being chained and tortured. More than the emotional unchaining that Oliver must do throughout the episode. It’s really about leaving the Arrow writers room uninhibited to bring back a bunch of characters... The only thing that didn’t get a comeback was Stephen Amell’s horrible season one island wig. Given the sheer volume of things that happened in this episode, it’s probably for the best.
*  *  *
Before we part, we need to talk about those last 90 seconds. For a time — a frustratingly short time — it was clear that in this week’s edition of “Who’s In That Grave?”, all signs pointed to Thea. In what is now classic Arrow fashion, a perfectly timed, conveniently specific and all-encompassing solution presents itself immediately. Considering the fact that the fingerprints of Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kriesberg are all over both this show and The Flash (which does this constantly), I’m beginning to suspect that this is just their rhythm. And lord is it groan-worthy at times. Arrow continues to be an immensely entertaining show that often makes me laugh out loud. In an episode that involved Arrow being summoned via a pager and the bad guy turning out to be Felicity’s dad, its final twist was by far its most absurd.

Edited February 4, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

This article includes some fan tweets reacting to last night's reveal of Felicity's father (sometimes I forget that not everyone reads spoilers)...

 

‘Arrow’ meets Felicity’s dad and the Internet can’t handle it
BY CHRIS E. HAYNER AT 09:02 PM ON FEB 3, 2016
http://zap2it.com/2016/02/arrow-felicity-dad-calculator-fan-reaction/

[tv echo]

Yahoo review of 412 (this guy writes fairly entertaining reviews)...

 

'Arrow' Recap: Felicity's Bad Dad
Robert Chan  February 4, 2016
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/39-arrow-39-recap-felicity-39-s-bad-1357707378106422.html

Roy, Katana, and Shado (though, only as a hallucination inside of a flashback inside of an Inception burrito with secret sauce) all return this episode. Shado appears on Lian Yu to try to get Oliver to let go of his guilt. Since there probably wouldn’t be a show without Ollie feeling guilty, we know how that will turn out. Katana has a very Kill Bill-like sword fight with Nyssa. And Roy has a very heartfelt and, frankly, very permanent-feeling final talk with Thea, where she tells him to go live a normal life and he tells her he wishes he could do it with her.
 

The wealth of characters that Arrowverse has created is such a strength that it spawned an entire spinoff. That means fun episodes like this, where old friends return. But it also gives us a chance to see that the optimal size for Team Arrow is, in fact, four. That means no Mr. Terrific permanently joining in Season 5… unless the person in that grave is Diggle, Laurel, or Thea.
*  *  *
After years of speculation, we finally get to see Felicity’s dad… and he’s a super-villain! Not only that, he’s got the most “dad” code name imaginable. It’s a fun turn, and it’ll be ten times more fun when he runs across Donna. And ten times more fun than that when Captain Lance realizes who Donna’s ex is. And then ten times more fun than that when Malcolm and The Calculator do some male bonding about their superhero kids over a nice Scotch.

Edited February 4, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

TV.com's generally positive review of 412...

 

Arrow "Unchained" Review: Of Web-Nukes and Civil Wars
By Noel Kirkpatrick 12 hours ago
http://www.tv.com/shows/arrow/community/post/arrow-season-4-episode-12-unchained-review-145426174411/

.. So while the war within the League did not interest me (too little too late, really), a possible cure for Thea did (I do not want her to die), and Calculator/Mr. Smoak's (Tom Amandes) arrival in Star City was a good story for Felicity given the current state she's in readjusting to her life. All of these elements worked on an episodic level, and that's really what I cared about this week.
*  *  *
I'm sure Calculator will wage a "Join me, and we can rule the Internet as father and daughter!" sort of campaign, and while I don't think it's one that Felicity will be interested in—again, maybe if it had happened last week—she'll be forced to reconcile how to deal with the man and his sudden interest in her. What strain will that cause between her and Donna? What happens once his identity of the Calculator is discovered? There's some solid Felicity material here, and it's Felicity material that's largely free from her relationship with Oliver, and that'll be a nice change of pace.
*  *  *
I liked that the effects of the bloodlust (but not the bloodlust itself) came roaring back in a chest-wound-opening-and-closing sort of way, but I didn't need the promise of some magical elixir to make it really interesting, nor did I need Nyssa offering it in exchange for Oliver killing Malcolm for two reasons. The first reason I didn't need it was because, well, Thea's dying and someone from Nanda Parbat was offering Oliver a way to save her, provided he does what they ask. Again. We've done this already, and it wasn't interesting the first time. The second reason, and hopefully this gets explained next week, was that I'm not super-clear on why Nyssa couldn't just kill Malcolm herself. I'm guessing that Nyssa's faction within the League still recognized Oliver as Ra's al Ghul and saw Malcolm's ascension as plotting and dealmaking... which wouldn't be all that different from what Nyssa's basically doing right now... I have to imagine that if you're not invested in Thea, then this plotline has to be just dullsville... unless Nanda Parbat is your favorite aspect of the show
*  *  *
– Arrow spent a lot of money on those camo outfits this season and, by god, they're going to use them every chance they get.
*  *  *
– Not a single math or calculator joke. I should just rewrite the whole thing.

Edited February 4, 2016 by tv echo

[Starfish35]

I am invested in Thea, but he's not wrong about this feeling like a repeat of last year. I was hoping this bloodlust storyline would take us some new and interesting places with Thea, especially regarding Damien Darhk and his reaction to her. But this is very "been there done that."

[tangerine95]

Yeah i like Thea but its like they're refusing to use her potential.She can be good on team but isn't allowed interactions with anyone but Laurel and Oliver though with him much less then she should be and its all Oliver worrying about her.Her bloodlust storyline is interesting but now they just made it a way to make Malcolm relevant and involve Oliver in the LoA storyline that no one really liked last year either and Thea is just left in a coma like last year waiting for a magic cure.Tbh the best thing for Thea would be if they kill off Malcolm.As soon as he appears she gets turned into a prop for him.

Edited February 4, 2016 by tangerine95

[Ann Mack]

@tvecho I just want to say thank you so much for gathering ALL these reviews/articles in such a timely manner and making them available so EARLY for reading. I definitely come here to get Arrow TV information/articles from you the one stop review shop!! Thanks again. Life is good! :)

[Chaser]

Another reason I want Laurel in the grave, people can stop ignoring what is going on the show in favor of citing comics.

Seriously, the whole Olicity is going to break up and Oliver and Laurel are going to get back together is so tiring. Have these people never watched an episode of TV ever? Every couple has at least one break up for drama purposes before getting back together. And there is zero in show reason to believe that Oliver and Laurel are getting back together.

[Starfish35]

Another reason I want Laurel in the grave, people can stop ignoring what is going on the show in favor of citing comics.

Yep.

[Ann Mack]

I love this observation by Robert Dougherty (http://www.themovienetwork.com)

 

 

"....And it also turns out past Oliver is quicker to admit a massive lie to a woman this season than present Oliver, which is even more evident when he mentions back and forth trips to Central City right in front of a still unsuspecting Felicity.

 

When she isn't so unsuspecting in two or three weeks, the Arrow Season Four self-sabotage and apocalypse will probably be in full swing. Therefore, this two-part side trip is a potential last hurrah for a while -- and with the nature of the duel cliffhangers and a follow-up episode literally called Sins of the Father, the quick transition into Oliver's fatherhood doing even more long term damage stands to be seamless if nothing else."

 

I love how most are saying the show is committing it's own suicide with this stupid ass BMD story line, still SMDHH!!

Yep.

 

Another reason I want Laurel in the grave, people can stop ignoring what is going on the show in favor of citing comics.

Seriously, the whole Olicity is going to break up and Oliver and Laurel are going to get back together is so tiring. Have these people never watched an episode of TV ever? Every couple has at least one break up for drama purposes before getting back together. And there is zero in show reason to believe that Oliver and Laurel are getting back together.

Yep I watched the Collider review last night and damn-it if 3/4 of them believe that at some point the show is going to come back around to putting Oliver and Laurel together wait for it.....because of comics. Seriously, what the actual fuck?

[way2interested]

Meh, Collider's after show is one of my lesser liked aftershows for Arrow. They make some good points, but a lot of the times I find myself disagreeing with them and their reasoning.

I try to watch all the quality aftershow/reactions that I can, and I can totally say that I find the Collider one the best produced but least enjoyable, again, at least for me. The predictions and reasoning just don't make sense to me tv-wise, and I just don't like their kind of joking around commentary. Plus, the over-love for comics is strong in that one.

I prefer the AfterBuzz aftershow myself, or at least I enjoy watching that one more and I enjoy their analysis more (I haven't watched their newest one yet, but they were guessing that the Calculator wasn't Felicity's father since almost every male character coming on was predicted to be her father and they were getting tired of guessing, so I'm kind of excited to find out their reactions). It's more balanced, IMO, with how they approach things comics and TV wise, and I just enjoy the panel more.

TheStream's is alright as well. My favorite panelist was out for the last two episodes, but she's back for the next one. It's a bit more slow and stiff than the others, but they stay pretty tasteful and talk about how they feel about things that happened in the episode and going forward rather than analysis.

[looptab]

Meh, Collider's after show is one of my lesser liked aftershows for Arrow. They make some good points, but a lot of the times I find myself disagreeing with them and their reasoning.

I try to watch all the quality aftershow/reactions that I can, and I can totally say that I find the Collider one the best produced but least enjoyable, again, at least for me. The predictions and reasoning just don't make sense to me tv-wise, and I just don't like their kind of joking around commentary. Plus, the over-love for comics is strong in that one.

I prefer the AfterBuzz aftershow myself, or at least I enjoy watching that one more and I enjoy their analysis more (I haven't watched their newest one yet, but they were guessing that the Calculator wasn't Felicity's father since almost every male character coming on was predicted to be her father and they were getting tired of guessing, so I'm kind of excited to find out their reactions). It's more balanced, IMO, with how they approach things comics and TV wise, and I just enjoy the panel more.

TheStream's is alright as well. My favorite panelist was out for the last two episodes, but she's back for the next one. It's a bit more slow and stiff than the others, but they stay pretty tasteful and talk about how they feel about things that happened in the episode and going forward rather than analysis.

You know, as much as I dislike Ann Campea and Kaori whatshername, I preferred the structure they followed when they were on the Streamtv and John Campea was still on it. Each went about their positives and negatives, in order, and I appreciated that even if I did not always agree. Now that they are on Collider there's that guy that won't let anyone finish talking and keeps interrupting, and it's something I hate, haha. Edited February 4, 2016 by looptab

[Soulfire]

 

Afterbuzz TV on comic canon.

[strikera0]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I found this recent article, which is critical of the way Arrow treats it's female characters:

 

http://www.comicsbeat.com/cws-arrow-is-mistreating-its-female-characters-and-its-not-okay/

[AyChihuahua]

Guggenheim responded in the comments of that article.

[jay741982]

Guggenheim responded in the comments of that article.

Am I reading it wrong or Did Guggie say Slade killed Shado when it was IVO

[Morrigan2575]

Does Guggie even watch his own show? Ivo killed Shado FFS.

[calliope1975]

I enjoy that in his vaguely condescending dismissal of the author's points, he gets basic information about his own show wrong.

[Primal Slayer]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I found this recent article, which is critical of the way Arrow treats it's female characters:

 

http://www.comicsbeat.com/cws-arrow-is-mistreating-its-female-characters-and-its-not-okay/

[apinknightmare]

Does Guggie even watch his own show? Ivo killed Shado FFS.

*Nobody* cares about the flashbacks!

[Ann Mack]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I found this recent article, which is critical of the way Arrow treats it's female characters:

 

http://www.comicsbeat.com/cws-arrow-is-mistreating-its-female-characters-and-its-not-okay/

Marc is quite the whiny little asshat, who doesn't even know some aspects of his own damn show. He really needs to just remain silent instead of trying to clap-back whenever someone points out flaws, discrepancies, or expresses an opinion about the show that differs from him. He tried the same damn thing on Twitter when fans said he had "regressed Oliver' with that stupid ass lie in 4x08. I really dislike this damn childish ass man. He seriously needs to be put in a SM time-out by Greg Berlanti. 

[tarotx]

Arrow doesn't have a lot of male characters take hold so the big characters that die have been females to a large degree. They aren't the only ones that die or are injured. Though two of Oliver Queen's girlfriends have been been into situations that could make them take up the Oracle namesake. But it's more the treatment of non costumed heroes that the show suffers from. 

[Carrie Ann]

Eh, we've talked about this at other times on this forum, and I think for those of us who do feel there's some disparity, it comes down to the manner of the death/violence and what purpose it serves for women vs. men. On this show, male characters--especially those who are not explicitly villains but even the villains--die heroic deaths, or they die fighting, while women are often killed on their knees, or before they have a chance to fight. Also, the deaths of two men explicitly propelled Oliver's mission (first his father's, then Tommy's), while the deaths of major female characters have not been given that kind of emotional story-weight. Except for the episodes that immediately followed their deaths, the impact of Moira and Sara's deaths on Oliver were basically non-existent, other than as plot engines. 

 

The one area I don't agree with some critics is in "damseling," because I think all the characters take turns being the abductees, or the injured parties. I'd have to go back through the history of the show to see how each of those instances play out--I'm sure that Oliver saves himself more often than other characters do, and maybe there are some troubling trends there, but I'm pretty sensitive to that stuff and it doesn't stand out to me as an issue on this show. Until now, because I do think it's a little ridiculous that the only people facing long-term consequences of injuries are Felicity, Thea, and Sara.

[tv echo]

Los Angeles Times' mixed review of 412 ("an enjoyable, fast-paced and fun episode")...

 

It's nerd vs. nerd as Felicity takes on the Calculator in Arrow's 'Unchained'
James Queally FEBRUARY 4, 2016 
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-arrow-unchained-recap-20160203-story.html

“Unchained” definitely has a bit of a soap opera feel with a twist-heavy plot that moves from shock moment to shock moment: Roy’s back! Shado’s back! No wait that’s just a vision ... but wait, here’s the Calculator reveal! The episode can feel a bit hokey at times (the entire flashback sequence had the emotional tenor of a Xanga page littered with My Chemical Romance lyrics), but most of this chapter does well to balance the gravitas of Thea’s situation with the weirdly fun Calculator storyline.
*  *  *
The Calculator plot on its own is kind of … whatever. The character has never done anything for me in the comics and we get no hint as to his motivations here, other than to “make a statement.” The late reveal that he’s Felicity’s father is a nice touch, and one I should have picked on given he shares his daughter’s knack for awkward humor during tense situations (the cat videos crack was delightful).
 

Felicity doesn’t necessarily need an archfiend, but the chance to explore her relationship (or lack thereof) with her father seems like an important step for the character. Donna has hinted there was nothing pleasant about the Smoak domestic situation when Felicity was a child, and it would be interesting to see how her father’s wicked ways helped shape the First Lady of Nerdom.
*  *  *
- God, the flashbacks … one week after I complained about "Arrow’s" overuse of the “traumatized character sees visions” trope the show doubles down on the device and brings back Shado for an incredibly annoying journey of self-discovery and forgiveness with past Ollie. Just stop it. There are a million more emotionally realistic ways to force Oliver to confront what he did to his fellow captive’s brother. Ghosts aren’t necessary.
*  *  *
- Project Cadmus logos on the Calculator’s bomb could be nothing but an Easter egg, but it seemed worth noting.

[tv echo]

Den of Geek's positive review of 412 (rated it 3.5/5 stars)...

 

Arrow: Unchained Review
Kayti Burt 2/3/2016 at 9:52PM
http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/arrow/252579/arrow-unchained-review

Wow. Pretty much everyone hates Star City. Why does anyone still live there? This week, it's The Calculator's turn to try to kill pretty much everyone within the Star City's confines. He hires his own band of mercenaries from the dark web and everything.
 

Luckily, our girl Felicity is one step ahead of him (even with a super important presentation that will pretty much determine the future of Palmer Tech on her mind). With the help of Team Arrow (especially Roy), Felicity stops The Calculator.
*  *  *
Thus far, the most interesting Arrow villains have been the ones who have personal connections to our heroes: Slade, Malcolm, etc. So far, The Calculator's larger motives are unclear. Arrow might choose to make him a redemptive character rather than a straight-up bad guy. Either way, he just made Arrow season 4 a little bit more compelling.
 

It doesn't hurt, of course, that The Calculator is played here by the ever-charming Tom Amandes, who has made every show he's ever graced with his presence about 10x more interesting by simply appearing on screen. Favorite line in tonight's epiosde? The Calculator's reaction to the idea that he might target the Internet: "Not only is it where I work. I'm addicted to funny cat videos." Yep, he's definitely Felicity's dad.
*  *  *
This conversation was so awkward and Oliver pretty much went about it in the worst way possible, opening with "I have this darkness inside of me..." and ending with: "There are reasons, but they don't matter. They don't change what I did."
 

Actually, Oliver, context does matter. This has always been an unconvincing argument that Arrow tries to make: that killing is always the same degree of morally wrong. Context is important, and it actually kind of hurts narratively that we're still not really sure why Taiana's brother attacked Oliver like a crazy person. But that's what happened, and I don't think Oliver actually wanted to kill him.

[tv echo]

Collider's very positive review of 412 (rated it 4 stars "Very good")...

 

‘Arrow’ Recap: “Unchained” – My Roy Friend’s Back and There’s Gonna Be Trouble
BY DAVE TRUMBORE      12 HOURS AGO
http://collider.com/arrow-recap-unchained/

Last night, The Flash missed a molten opportunity to tie an interesting villain into the episode’s plot; tonight, Arrow took an otherwise uninteresting villain, put him at the center of a fast-paced story, and threw a monster twist in at the end that affects everything going forward. Yeah, it looks like Team Arrow is definitely taking the win this week, and they did it with an episode that featured a villain named The Calculator. But before we tally up the final score, let’s take a look back a few years with tonight’s flashback sequence.
*  *  *
... While Felicity finds the confidence to unveil Palmer Technologies’ new super-battery / power-cell to the shareholders, it seems she’s attracted the attention of The Calculator himself. Though Oliver and Felicity are unaware that this is the man they spent the previous night battling against, Felicity knows him by another name: Dad! Rarely do network TV shows catch me off guard, but this was one of those times. Hopefully this opens up a whole new line of awkward family gatherings for future episodes.
*  *  *
I’l concede that yet another battle between Oliver and Malcolm feels like we’re retreading the same old ground again, which means the writers are probably looking for a little bit of breathing room in this season....