The Starling City Times: News and Media about Arrow

[JJ928]

SA said he’s signed through season 7, I imagine David did too, and at a con Emily said she signed 6 years, so that brings her to season 7 as well. So if they all just have that one season left, they could all be banding together.

[Velocity23]

1 minute ago, Primal Slayer said:

How is it weird? She was signed on S2. SA/PB/DR have been on the show since the beginning. It would be totally normal and plausible that her contract wouldn't coincide with theirs.

I dont see how anybody would have a contract that will go on longer then the current one SA has. And after s6 i think everybody will be getting 1 year contracts. But i am sure this is not the first time any of these actors are in renegotiations for their contracts. And i would say core actors teaming up would give them better leverage in negotiations. 

[tv echo]

'Arrow' Says Farewell to an Original Series Regular
Lesley Goldberg   March 29, 2018
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/arrow-willa-holland-exits-cw-drama-1097642

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"We’re very sad to see Willa go. She’s been a critical part of Arrow since its inception and a wonderful and talented person to boot," Arrow exec producer Marc Guggenheim told The Hollywood Reporter. "But we’re in our sixth season now and supportive of her wish to stretch her legs and pursue other creative opportunities. The door is always open for Willa to return if she has a hankering to."
*  *  *
Holland's exit leaves only Amell (Oliver/Arrow), David Ramsey (Diggle/Spartan) and Paul Blackthorne (Detective Lance) as original series regulars from the pilot. (Emily Bett Rickards recurred in season one before being promoted to regular in season two and was not in the pilot.)

Arrow, which has begun to show its age, is considered likely to return to The CW for a seventh season. The cast is heading into contract renegotiations as is typical for a show following its sixth season.

Edited March 30, 2018 by tv echo

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Holland's exit leaves only Amell (Oliver/Arrow), David Ramsey (Diggle/Spartan) and Paul Blackthorne (Detective Lance) as original series regulars from the pilot. (Emily Bett Rickards recurred in season one before being promoted to regular in season two and was not in the pilot.)

I just have to snert that Katie Cassidy's name was left off as an original series regular from that statement. Because although her Black Canary hasn't been in every episode, her name is credited as part of the cast and not guest star, correct?

[Primal Slayer]

She did leave and come back as a new character which is why they probably left her off.

[apinknightmare]

5 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I just have to snert that Katie Cassidy's name was left off as an original series regular from that statement. Because although her Black Canary hasn't been in every episode, her name is credited as part of the cast and not guest star, correct?

I guess maybe they were referring to them as the only regulars around who have been regulars since the beginning. Katie wasn't a series regular in S5, she had that weird Arrowverse contract. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

8 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

I guess maybe they were referring to them as the only regulars around who have been regulars since the beginning. Katie wasn't a series regular in S5, she had that weird Arrowverse contract. 

Ah, got it. Thanks.

[tv echo]

EW reviewer gave 616 a grade of B+...

Arrow recap: 'The Thanatos Guild'
CHANCELLOR AGARD March 29, 2018 AT 11:34 PM EDT
http://ew.com/recap/arrow-season-6-episode-16/

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Tonight, we were forced to say goodbye to a character who’s been with us since the beginning: Thea Queen. “The Thanatos Guild” was Willa Holland’s last episode on Arrow — which isn’t surprising in the slightest if you’ve been watching the series. Holland’s role was reduced in season 5, and that continued into the current season, which has been a real bummer because Thea became my favorite character on the show. For the past few seasons, there’s always been a sense that Thea is the only one who is even close to having her ish together, even if at times she felt like she didn’t.
*  *  *
It’s all very silly, but that’s always been the case with Arrow‘s conception of the League of Assassins. Unlike in the comics or in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, Arrow has never clearly explained the League’s purpose in its universe. Are they eco-terrorists obsessed with saving the Earth from humanity? Do they play a role in the rise and fall of empires? I honestly don’t know! In season 4, Malcolm delivered one line about the global importance of the League, but it’s still pretty vague. At this point, we just have to assume it’s just a group of people who love swords, hoods, and being ordered around by a dude with dictatorial tendencies. To be fair, though, the show’s lack of clarity about the League’s role is what makes its appearances on Arrow kind of fun — the show usually manages to take it seriously, but not too seriously (except in season 3, which suffered from the focus on this abstract, purposeless organization). Even in tonight’s episode, the reappearance of the League was made more enjoyable because Nyssa spent half of the episode cracking wise about how Oliver’s her husband. (I died when Nyssa referred to Felicity as her sister wife.)
*  *  *
If I’m being honest, I was kind of disappointed by this because I always loved the fact that Thea actually managed to leave the superhero business. With every season she came into her own, and she definitely shined working for her brother in the mayor’s office. Arrow rarely has any genuine happy endings, and it would’ve been nice to see Thea get one. She didn’t have to run away with Roy; she could’ve just moved to another city and fought for what she believed in through a new organization or something. (Remember, Thea has always shown an entrepreneurial streak, too.) But what her actual ending gives us is more story to tell with Thea. Should Holland ever be willing to return to the show, she’ll have an exciting story to bring with her.
*  *  *
Nyssa gives Oliver the ultimate wedding present: She annuls their wedding.

[tv echo]

A.V. Club Reviewer gave 616 a grade of C...

Arrow, you have failed this Speedy
Allison Shoemaker  March 30, 2018
https://tv.avclub.com/arrow-you-have-failed-this-speedy-1824197506

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Still, one of Arrow’s most endearing characters receives a thoroughly lackluster farewell with “The Thanatos Guild,” and it’s not right (but it’s barely OK.) This hour doesn’t grievously wrong Thea Queen. She doesn’t suddenly betray her brother, or become helpless and hapless for the sake of narrative convenience. She heads off into the sunset on an adventure of her own, and while you can’t exactly say that Oliver’s desire to right his father’s wrongs has been the healthiest choice, the episode suggests that it could be for Thea.

That suggestion only holds water if you ignore a hugely significant aspect of Thea’s overall story — her struggle with bloodlust after her experience with the Lazarus Pit. While it makes sense that the discovery of three more pits would draw her out of retirement, it hurts to imagine Thea, who was horrified with herself after threatening Nora Darhk’s life, going back to a life that will include violence. That she’s not doing it alone is some comfort; that there’s a possible end to her quest makes it easier to bear. She’s not curing a city of all corruption, she’s destroying three pits. Daunting, but doable.

But for a moment, forget her choice to retire from vigilante life out of fear of what she’d become. Forget, too, that she was in a coma for six fairly recent months, and that maybe an assassin-fighting road trip to three places sure to mess with one’s head isn’t the best idea. Let’s assume she’s cool with fighting the Guild and that she can FaceTime with her therapist. Where does that leave us?

It leaves us with an episode that attempts to cram a season’s worth of character development into a single hour. ...
*  *  *
What “The Thanatos Guild” winds up being is an occasionally entertaining but poorly handled first chapter to a story we’ll never get to see. There are fun elements — the traps, for example — and an affecting moment or two, particularly what may be the final scene we see between Stephen Amell and Holland, which directly references their first scene together. Some of the best work those two performers have done on Arrow, they’ve done together, and nearly all their scenes here underline that fact. But nearly everything else — including, frustratingly, the scenes between Thea and Roy — is rushed through or skimmed past, ignored in favor of more League lore or an anticlimactic fight or two.
*  *  *
They could dial Curtis’s schtick down one or two degrees on the dial and it would be a lot more charming. (Is the cute cop going to be corrupt, or is he doomed?)

Edited March 30, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

ARROW: "THE THANATOS GUILD" REVIEW
BY JESSE SCHEEDEN   29 MAR 2018
http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/03/30/arrow-the-thanatos-guild-review

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It may well be that that the shift towards Ricardo Diaz as the main villain of Season 6 will give Arrow the long-awaited boost it so badly needs. But the series seems in little hurry to take advantage of that big twist. The show returned after another short, poorly timed hiatus this week, only for the Diaz storyline to recede in favor of a new League of Assassins-themed tangent. Needless to say, “The Thanatos Guild” did little to help the series build any momentum.
*  *  *
If nothing else, though, it was nice to have Katrina Law back as Nyssa. Well, other than that annoying reminder of how little impact Prometheus’ final plot actually had on the status quo. But as an antagonistic foil to the rest of team Arrow, Nyssa was a lot of fun this week. I especially enjoyed the banter between she and her “sister wife” Felicity. That dramatic tension cleverly built on Ollie’s weird, complicated romantic history. At times, Nyssa had this socially awkward, Drax the Destroyer-esque quality to her, befitting someone raised by Ra’s al Ghul and with little real experience living in the ordinary world. When and if Nyssa returns again, I’d love for the writers to lean even harder on those elements.

Clearly, one of the big goals with this episode was to give both Thea and Roy their big sendoff. You have to give the writers some credit here. All the emphasis on Thea seeking purpose and trying to figure out her true calling in life felt like an acknowledgement that she hasn’t rally had a compelling part to play on the series for a while. If she can spend six months in a coma and her absence is barely noticed, something is wrong. Better she be shuffled out of the spotlight while at the same time be given a quest all her own to undertake. This episode may have failed to build a compelling rivalry between Thea and Athena, but at least it gave the former a decent sendoff. There’s room for plenty more from Thea as she begins her quest to destroy the Lazarus Pits. Conversely, the writers could just as easily leave things there and be done with it. Though it seems hard to imagine they won’t at least use these new Lazarus Pits as an excuse to resurrect a dead character or three.
*  *  *
Among its various problems right now, Arrow is juggling too many characters in Season 6. At least this episode succeeded in trimming the cast by giving Thea Queen a solid sendoff. Unfortunately, neither new villain Athena nor her League of Assassins splinter faction are shaping up to be memorable additions to the show's rogues gallery. The show needs to generate some forward momentum, and this conflict did the exact opposite.

Edited March 30, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS RETURNS AND A NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS IN THE LATEST ARROW
Trent Moore  March 29, 2018
http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-league-of-assassins-returns-and-a-new-adventure-begins-in-the-latest-arrow

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Out of all the characters who make up the ensemble of the Arrowverse, Thea has arguably drawn the shortest straw over the years. After she decided to hang up her hood and retire from superhero-ing, the writers clearly struggled to find a way to keep her relevant within the show’s twisting narrative. Thea has been largely relegated to a peripheral character the past few years, but the return of fan favorite Roy Harper has finally give her story a spark. Yes, it’s a shame it took an old love interesting to get her some focus, but that pretty much sums up Thea’s trajectory for quite some time. She’s been absolutely tortured, from shocking family reveals, death and resurrection, a blood lust, and losing pretty much everyone she opens herself up to along the way.
*  *  *
*Nyssa cracking jokes about being Oliver’s wife was a great bit of levity in an episode that was mostly on the heavy side. The fact that she’s clearly doing it just to piss off Felicity makes it even funnier. The “sister-wife” line alone was worth the price of admission. But when it’s all said and done, we actually get some resolution on that lingering plot thread: Nyssa gives Oliver a League-legal annulment, so how Olicity is officially official.

*This is almost certainly not the last we’ll be seeing of Athena and the Thanatos Guild, and it’ll be interesting to see if those extra Lazarus Pits come into play down the line. That’s not a McGuffin you’d introduce with no plan down the line. 

Edited March 30, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Arrow Season 6 Episode 16 Review: “The Thanatos Guild” 
Chris King  March 30, 2018
http://www.tvovermind.com/the-cw/arrow/arrow-season-6-episode-16-review-thanatos-guild

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If you’re an Arrow fan who pays even the tiniest bit of attention to what’s happening behind-the-scenes on the CW drama, you were already aware of Willa Holland’s shortened episode commitment for the past two seasons. This was a request Holland herself made to the series’ executive producers in an effort to give her more availability to pursue other projects. Due to Holland’s desire to move on from Arrow, plus the fact that Thea’s departure from Star City was heavily teased in “Doppelganger,” it was easy to predict that tonight’s installment, “The Thanatos Guild,” would be her swan song. Fortunately, though, the show zigs when I expected it to zag throughout the hour and delivers a farewell to Thea that feels both surprising and (mostly) satisfying.
*  *  *
While I would push back against Thea’s suggestion that Oliver is his best self when he’s under the hood (Didn’t we just spend all of last season showing how and why that isn’t the case?), her argument for why he’s reluctant to give the role up makes sense. The Queen siblings are people who are not simply satisfied with normal, everyday activities; they need to be of service in a larger way. They need a greater purpose, and for both of them, it appears that this purpose is to make up for the sins of their parents in an effort to create a better world. Thea’s choice to go with Nyssa feels right for her character because she’s always been meant for bigger and better things than domesticity. Just like Oliver, being a sister, daughter, and girlfriend was never going to be enough for Thea. She always was and always will be Speedy, and that’s why, as she explains to Roy, she has to go rectify Malcolm’s mistakes by destroying every last remnant of the League just as Oliver has tried to rectify the ones Robert made by being Star City’s hero.

Fortunately, Roy Harper is the best, and instead of insisting that he and Thea move somewhere with warmer weather and less crime than Star City, he tells her he’s coming with, reiterating what he says earlier in the episode: it doesn’t matter where the two of them go as long as they’re together. “How did I get to be so lucky?” Thea asks. “I think it had something to do with a stolen purse,” Roy quips back. It’s a sweet, tender scene, one that’s only eclipsed by Oliver and Thea’s goodbye to each in the episode’s final scene, a goodbye that intentionally echoes their reunion in the Arrow pilot. “I’m going to miss you so much,” Oliver tells Thea. “You’ll be with me the whole time,” she responds, referencing what he said to her when he finally returned from Lian Yu.

Is Thea’s final episode perfect? No, not at all. There are no proper farewell scenes between her and Felicity, her and Diggle, and, worst of all, her and Quentin. Much of the episode’s action is a letdown; it’s darkly lit, unfocused, and confusing to the point where it’s sometime difficult to pinpoint who is fighting whom. Too much time is spent on Curtis’s romantic life (Really, at this point, who cares?) and his and Dinah’s investigation into Captain Hill, who we already knew was shady.

But there’s also plenty of terrific brother-sister moments between the Queen siblings, including Thea joking to William about the night-light Oliver had until he was 16. There’s powerful themes of legacy, independence, and honor, which are fully on display during multiple interactions between Oliver and Thea, Thea and Nyssa, Thea and Roy, Oliver and Nyssa, and even Oliver and Diggle. And there’s also too many tremendous one-liners to list, most of them delivered by Felicity, Nyssa, and, of course, Thea, who, no pun intended, remains the Queen of Arrow One-Liners.
*  *  *
A huge shout-out to Willa Holland, who has been fantastic on Arrow for the past six seasons and who helped make Thea one of the most empathetic, entertaining, and heroic characters on TV. As I said above, I’m really going to miss her.
*  *  *
Speaking of Nyssa, she officially annuls her and Oliver’s marriage at the end of the episode, which also ends one of Arrow‘s best recurring jokes. Thankfully, they get plenty of laughs from it in this episode.

The Arrow writers have done a nice job of peppering the past few episodes with small moments of conflict between Diggle and Oliver over the Green Arrow mantle. I’m still not in love with this storyline (I don’t fully buy into the fact that Dig would need the hood and the title of GA to feel that important to the team), but I’m hopeful that it will turn into something worthwhile when the two friends clash in next week’s episode.

Edited March 30, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

TV Review: ‘Arrow: The Thanatos Guild’ (Season 6 Episode 16)
MARCH 30TH, 2018 BY NICHOLAS GRAFF
http://sciencefiction.com/2018/03/30/tv-review-arrow-thanatos-guild/

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Alright, after 2 weeks off, ‘Arrow’ returns, with a fairly good episode that felt a little old-school, while still keeping the momentum of the season going forward, and providing a fairly nice send-off for one original team member. I also enjoyed seeing and talking about so many previous characters from past seasons of the show, as we had both Roy and Nyssa guest star, a flashback to Malcolm Merlyn, and mentions of previous villains Ra’s Al Guhl, Damien Darhk, and Count Vertigo.
*  *  *
- Any chance these new Lazarous Pits could herald the return of the actual Laurel Lance?
*  *  *
- Mildly sad to see Nyssa annul her marriage with Oliver, I enjoyed her “sister-wife” remarks to Felicity
*  *  *
Not a terrible episode, but it makes me wonder whether it was all just set-up for Thea’s send-off, or whether any of this Thanatos Guild stuff will actually play into the greater plot for Season 6. Personally, I don’t really see it as the mystical stuff with the Lazarus Pits does not really seem to fit the gritty crime stuff that Diaz is all about, but who knows? He could be involved with those Lazarus Pits after all maybe even having found a way to sell vials of liquid from the pits as “energy drinks” or some nonsense like that. Looking forward to seeing where the show goes next week when we dive back into the main arcs of the season!

Edited April 1, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Arrow Review: The Thanatos Guild (Season 6 Episode 16)
March 30, 2018   Brianna Martinez
https://www.telltaletv.com/2018/03/arrow-review-the-thanatos-guild-season-6-episode-16/

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The parallels between Oliver’s struggles with his father’s legacy and Thea’s issues with Malcolm’s stand out throughout the hour and show how similar the siblings are.

Their journeys, traumatic and heartbreaking as they have been at times, and their unwillingness to fall into their fathers’ footsteps make them who they are and help their ability to offer that insight to each other in moments of doubt.
*  *  *
Meanwhile, Nyssa’s return to help Thea rounds out an hour that brings back a sense of familiarity while also surprisingly bringing a bit of humor at the expense of one of the most uncomfortable story choices on the show — that forced League marriage between Oliver and Nyssa.
*  *  *
While these moments are funny, there is still a hint of discomfort watching them because I can’t help remembering why it happened. Nonetheless, Nyssa’s parting gift to Oliver and Felicity help with that feeling of closing out another chapter in Arrow’s story that permeates throughout the hour.
*  *  *
It’s just a shame we’ll be missing out on more interactions with Thea and William, something we never got much of it seems.
*  *  *
I’m calling this now: the “hot” cop that Curtis asked out will be one of Diaz’s and will eventually turn on him (and by extension, the team) in some way.
*  *  *
Hearing Thea say “plus we have the world’s greatest mathematician right there” and pointing to Felicity is a joy.

Edited April 1, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Ha, ha, ha...

Arrow: Goodbye and Hello
By Matt Ross March 29th, 2018
https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/03/29/arrow-goodbye-and-hello

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I think tonight also planted a couple seeds for some future plotlines. The first was John mentioning that he’d like to be Green Arrow again. If you’ve been picking up on the subtle queues the past few episodes, you undoubtedly know that he feels the mantle of Green Arrow was taken away from him too quickly. I think he understands why it happened, but now that his hand is healed up, John wants that responsibility back—it’s obvious. I feel like this is going to boil over and create either an awkward rift or a full blowout between the two friends. I guess only time will tell.
*  *  *
Speaking of rifts…that’s where the second of what I believe will develop into major plotlines comes into play. If we’re sticking with the hockey theme from earlier, it’s obvious that Rene has been placed on LTIR (long term injured reserve), and I doubt we’ll see him again this season. That opens up the door for Curtis to play a bigger role. It would appear to me that the writers are taking this opportunity to start expanding on him more by sparking up a love story between him and the cop at Dinah’s precinct. There’s only one problem…that guy is crooked and both Dinah and Curtis know it. If Curtis lets his heart do the thinking, instead of his brain, this will no doubt create major problems and drive a huge wedge between the two heroes—most likely ending their team-up. By the way, I got a pretty good laugh at that standard aloof TV cop moment when he sees Curtis in an area—where clearly only police should be—but instead of pressing/questioning him, he instantly offers to give Curtis a tour of the building. Haha!

[tv echo]

‘Arrow’ 6×16 Review: You’ll Be With Us The Whole Time, Thea
ALYSSA BARBIERI   March 30, 2018
http://fangirlish.com/arrow-6x16-review-youll-be-with-us-the-whole-time-thea/

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“You’ll be with me the whole time,” Thea tells Oliver, paying homage to the words he first muttered to her in his return in 2012.
*  *  *
The beautiful parallel brought me to tears instantaneously as a wave of emotions hit. Oliver and Thea have been a staple in this show since the pilot. Their brother-sister bond has been one of the grounding forces in both Oliver and Thea’s lives. It’s something that has defined Oliver as a human being and as a hero.
*  *  *
Contrary to what this show may have convinced itself, Thea’s story was far from over. Instead, it chose to ignore an established character — one with substance, purpose, and fan favor — over new characters the show decided to implement to feel “fresh.” But Arrow only served to alienate its fans and wipe an amazing character under the rug.
*  *  *
- The fact that Nyssa’s continued joking about Oliver being her “husband” was all to get on Felicity’s nerves is to adorable.

- Felicity throwing shade back at Nyssa was beyond satisfying. You might be an assassin, Nyssa, but Felicity will end you.

- Thea to Nyssa about Felicity: “We have the world’s greatest mathematician right here.” YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT.

- The seeds of conflict between Oliver and Diggle have been planted for next week in an episode I’m sure to loathe. Because there’s no way these two characters — judging by that promo — would treat each other that way.
*  *  *
- Can I get a spinoff of Thea, Roy, and Nyssa traveling the world, kicking ass, and taking names?

- Speaking off, can I also get a spinoff where it’s just Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity? Because I know where this season is headed. And this is a NTA-Free Zone.

Edited April 1, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Arrow, ‘The Thanatos Guild’: Speedy’s Last Ride
BY CRAIG WACK · MARCH 30, 2018
http://oohlo.com/2018/03/30/arrow-the-thanatos-guild-speedys-last-ride/

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Arrow returned from its basketball-related exile for another episode where the big bad conveniently takes the week off so Team Arrow can take care of some light housekeeping, namely sending Thea to the proverbial upstate farm. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest episode of Arrow:
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Sex and the Olicity: This was a fun twist on the good ship Olicity. Nyssa’s arrival back in town served as a reminder that Ollie already had a wife. Sure, Ollie and Nyssa were married in a twisted rite of the League of Assassins, but dammit, a commitment is a commitment. Anyway, Felicity spends most of the episode being hyper-competitive, and engaging in a one-sided game of one-upsmanship with Nyssa, which Nyssa has no clue she’s playing. The bit is mainly played for laughs and almost, but doesn’t quite reach the point where you think Felicity will resort to peeing on Ollie in order to mark her territory.
*  *  *
What’s next: Diggle and Ollie stage a realistic reenactment of Batman vs. Superman in the Arrowcave.

Last impressions:  Thea didn’t die, and Roy once again left town with both arms intact. On the whole this should have felt like a win. The sentimentality was there but it was only half-hearted. Sure, Thea hasn’t had much to do the last couple of seasons, but this is still a character who has been around since the start, and who we’ve seen grow from a drugged out party girl to one of Ollie’s most trusted (and competent) advisers. Thea’s departure should pack more of an emotional punch. Here, you almost expected Ollie to give her a playful punch in the arm, and cheesy advice about not drinking the water in exotic places. Your sister isn’t backpacking around Europe, Ollie (and by extension the Arrow writing room), she’s embarking on a dangerous mission she might not come back from. Her departure deserves more than having her hair tousled and a “follow your dreams, kid” sendoff. Maybe down the line Thea’s presence will be missed, but in this episode it was handled more like checking the box next to the “write Willa Holland off the show” entry on the season to-do list.

Edited April 1, 2018 by tv echo

[KenyaJ]

Arrow's Stephen Amell Weighs In on Willa Holland's Decision to Exit Series

Weighing in on his TV sister’s decision, Amell told TVLine, “Quite frankly, the most important thing when you’re doing a show like this and you’re doing 23 episodes [per season] and you’re working long, hard hours, you need to make sure that everyone that’s here wants to be here.”

Even in recent years, Amell attested, “Willa was nothing short of professional and excellent, and always delivered tremendous performances. But I know that she wanted to move on with her career. And I totally respect that. And I’m glad that she’s going to get that opportunity.”

[Trisha]

7 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

Arrow's Stephen Amell Weighs In on Willa Holland's Decision to Exit Series

His quotes felt a little ... brusque, no?

[Mellowyellow]

Feels a little off to me.  Very polite but frosty. 

[apinknightmare]

6 minutes ago, Trisha said:

His quotes felt a little ... brusque, no?

Yeah. I mean, she didn't seem all that into it anymore, just based on comments she'd made at past cons (just a little snarky and weird about stuff). It's one thing to put that together based on what you read, and another for someone from the show to come out and say it. I'm surprised Stephen came out and said it. 

Makes MG's side of the story more believable IMO. 

[Primal Slayer]

Maybe if they gave her something to work with she might've wanted to be there? But they couldn't even find anything for her to do with 14 episodes lol. 

[Chaser]

They gave her something in S4 and she still asked  (by all accounts) for a reduced episode count in S5. 

I can believe she was just ready to be done with Arrow. 

[Primal Slayer]

I feel like even in S4 her storyline was practically done after the first half of the season. 

[KenyaJ]

1 hour ago, Trisha said:

His quotes felt a little ... brusque, no?

Yeah, they definitely made me think there might be something to the rumors of BTS stuff. Years from now, when we finally get the Arrow oral history we deserve, I think it's going to be fire. I already can't wait.

[Mellowyellow]

They all get shitty storylines. Look at poor Felicity and Diggle this season. That said if she's done she's done. Healthier to move on. 

[kes0704]

I think the worst thing that ever happened to Thea was making her Malcolm’s daughter. Her role was pretty much consumed in service of his plots after that reveal.

[Primal Slayer]

45 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

They all get shitty storylines. Look at poor Felicity and Diggle this season. That said if she's done she's done. Healthier to move on. 

1 bad season vs. 2 1/2.....but at least if she appears in the future for one offs she will get a better storyline.

[Trisha]

8 hours ago, jaye.elle said:

I'm really surprised there wasn't a quote along the line of "I will miss working with Willa blah blah blah". I remember how upset he seemed when Colton left. Maybe the article cut didn't report some of his quotes? It just doesn't seem like him - he normally plays the social media game better than that.

I thought it was funny that in an interview about Willa he managed to throw in some Colton love:

Quote

And as but an added bonus, Amell observed, “It was a good opportunity for us to bring Colton Haynes back [as Roy], and that was exciting.”

I’m sure some quotes were cut (I’d be VERY surprised if he didn’t mention the “with me the whole time” line from the pilot was his idea) but the quotes that made it in were...interesting. 

[tv echo]

ARROW: Here's Our Initial Thoughts Of Season Six So Far!
Ali Harris | 3/31/2018
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/tv/dc/arrow/arrow-heres-our-initial-thoughts-of-season-six-so-far-a159179

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While this season is nowhere near the atrocity that was season 4, this season has been filled with nothing but mediocrity at best which is such a shame after the way that season 5 unfolded. I figured that after season 5, Arrow was truly back to being good but 16 episodes into this season and nothing drastic or exciting has happened in the overall story. There's been hardly any real character development and quite honestly some characters of this season are awfully annoying. When I say that, I'm obviously referring to Rene, Curtis and Dinah which honestly are my biggest complaint of this season so let's talk about them.

Those three characters are the weakest link to this season and honestly that's a shame because instead of giving these characters interesting stories, interesting challenges and even interesting relationships, they made the entire Arrow fanbase hate them in the span of two episodes. The issue with these three is they serve no real purpose, if the writers were to rewrite this season and exclude these three characters it wouldn't change anything for the story other than that they'd be removing the worst characters of this season. In season 5 I quite liked Rene and thought Dinah had potential to be really cool, instead they went with giving them a flawed story in season 6 of going up against Original Team Arrow which is so stupid. Reason being it's so stupid is because nobody would care if they got hurt and also because they have no right to be fighting or be upset with Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. In fact, when Rene was hurt by Oliver, it was such a relief for so many that had been following this season. Dinah also became utterly irritating and hard to watch after Black Siren killed Vigilante, I mean I understand that he was her love and whatnot but firstly, no one cares and second she's a police officer... she should have some restraint as she would've been taught.
*  *  *
How about those good ol' villains this season... that are completely forgettable and uninteresting. Cayden James, Anatoly, Black Siren, Ricardo Diaz and I know I'm missing someone else but it's not my fault the villains are awfully forgettable this season. From his first appearance to season 5, Anatoly was a character I really liked and somehow the writers made him not only boring in season 6 but they made him unlikeable. I mean he does nothing this season that's in anyway a real challenge to Green Arrow. Now, Cayden James honestly was arguably the worst half-season villain on Arrow. Michael Emerson is a great actor, unfortunately he fell victim to bad writing and therefore his character came out just horrible. Nothing about Cayden James was remotely interesting and again, he in no way should've been a challenge to Green Arrow who has defeated Ra's Al Ghul, Slade Wilson, Damien Darhk, Merlyn and Chase. Black Siren this season has actually been pretty good, I won't lie, she's probably the most interesting villain this season especially with her redemption story-arc.

Now, Ricardo Diaz is supposedly the main villain for this season which honestly I find to be laughable. Ricardo Diaz in the comics basically breaks Green Arrow, he destroys him mentally and physically, he basically kills Oliver Queen. On the show, he's a thug with a bit of martial arts from what we've seen... literally that's it. Yes, he did kill Cayden James and framed Green Arrow for the death of Cayden's son but that's about it. Honestly his first encounter with Green Arrow was absolutely weak and it wasn't special as a confrontation between the hero and the villain should be. Even the actor is quite weak in the role, other than his somewhat menacing voice, Kirk Acevedo just isn't exciting to watch and he doesn't necessarily feel threatening. Instead, he comes off as a thug with some moderate skills but that's it. There's no interesting personality, no good backstory from what we've learnt, nothing about Ricardo Diaz on Arrow makes him a good villain. To make matters worse though, the writers are barely focusing on Diaz and it took them too long to finally reveal that Diaz is the main big bad.
*  *  *
Let's talk about some good stuff in this season though... William and Oliver's relationship as well as William's relationship with Felicity! I absolutely love the relationships that William has with Felicity and Oliver. Felicity has played a different role to previous seasons as this time she plays almost a mother-figure for William after his mother died last season. The relationship between those two feels really natural and honestly sweet. I've also enjoyed the development between William and Oliver's relationship which started out as seriously damaged after the conclusion of season 5 and eventually developed into a real father-son relationship. I was worried that William would be entirely annoying and would just get in the way this season but he's honestly written quite well and I'll give credit because it's always hard to write in a child in these types of shows and make the character at least decent. 
*  *  *
Let's head back into the bad stuff from this season.

Spoiler

Since the show started, John Diggle has always been portrayed as this wise person who would develop a brotherly relationship with Oliver. Diggle would even serve as almost an advisor to Oliver and a lot of the times we see that Diggle was always very mature and cool-headed. I love Diggle, however, episode 17 of this season is going to put Diggle against Oliver for the mantle of Green Arrow. This is stupid for two reasons, the first reason being that in the way that Diggle has been written on the show, he wouldn't ever act so irrationally as to fight Oliver. The second reason being that Diggle doesn't need the mantle... he has the mantle of Spartan and he does the same thing as Spartan that he would do as Green Arrow. He could even go back to using a crossbow and it'd be literally the same thing. This sub-plot of Diggle vs Oliver for the mantle of Green Arrow is absolutely unnecessary and just comes to show that the writers are yet again not focusing on the big bad of the season.

 

Edited April 2, 2018 by tv echo

[SmallScreenDiva]

22 hours ago, tv echo said:

Sure, Ollie and Nyssa were married in a twisted rite of the League of Assassins, but dammit, a commitment is a commitment. Anyway, Felicity spends most of the episode being hyper-competitive, and engaging in a one-sided game of one-upsmanship with Nyssa, which Nyssa has no clue she’s playing. The bit is mainly played for laughs and almost, but doesn’t quite reach the point where you think Felicity will resort to peeing on Ollie in order to mark her territory.

I get everybody watches shows a bit differently but ... seriously, Craig? Where?!?!

[Featherhat]

6 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

Sure, Ollie and Nyssa were married in a twisted rite of the League of Assassins, but dammit, a commitment is a commitment. Anyway, Felicity spends most of the episode being hyper-competitive, and engaging in a one-sided game of one-upsmanship with Nyssa, which Nyssa has no clue she’s playing. The bit is mainly played for laughs and almost, but doesn’t quite reach the point where you think Felicity will resort to peeing on Ollie in order to mark her territory.

Nyssa absolutely knew what she was doing, she admitted it outright to Oliver with a smile. The only thing she apparently didn't get was Felicity wanted her out of the room not breathing down her neck but she absolutely knew she was needling with the sister wife comment, wasn't it after Oliver had asked her to stop as well?

[statsgirl]

I never underestimate Nyssa.  I'm pretty sure she knew Felicity wanted her out of the room and deliberately  misinterpreted it.

I think that Craig Wack likes Felicity so I'm not going to get upset about it but yeah, major difference in our viewing perceptions.

[Featherhat]

3 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

I never underestimate Nyssa.  I'm pretty sure she knew Felicity wanted her out of the room and deliberately  misinterpreted it.

Probably. And KL was playing the whole thing very dry.

[tv echo]

Arrow Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 16 - The Thanatos Guild
Starman   March 29, 2018
http://www.mygeekygeekyways.com/2018/03/arrow-episode-guide-season-6-episode-16.html

Quote

As far as final bows go, Willa Holland gives a good one. The only downside is there's no final moment with Quentin, who has been more of a daughter to him than anyone else the past two seasons.
*  *  *
A marked improvement over most of the episodes of the second half of Season Six, but that's likely due to the fact that it has nothing to do with the on-going story of Season Six. Even the bits with Dinah and Curtis investigating the SCPD seem far removed from the on-going story since it doesn't involve them butting heads with the Original Team Arrow and there's no Black Siren getting in the way.

This episode is almost entirely devoted to giving Thea Queen a proper send off . It does the same for Roy Harper and Nyssa Al Ghul to a lesser degree, but this is honestly Willa Holland's swan song and she makes it clear just why she was so essential to this show's success. Of course the show hasn't given her much to do in recent episodes but at least she's been given a good send off with a chance of coming back later.

Unfortunately, the preview for next week indicates more stupid bickering and heroes fighting heroes while the villains get away with murder.  For this week, however, Arrow was good.

Edited April 2, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

5 things you probably didn’t know about Stephen Amell
April 2, 2018 by ROBERT ENGLISH
http://thecelebritycafe.com/2018/04/5-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-stephen-amell/

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Before landing the role in 2012 of the famous DC hero, the Green Arrow, Amell made guest starring and recurring roles in several famous TV shows. One of his first appearances was as a doorman in Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Throughout the next ten years, Amell appeared in Dante’s Cove, Blue Mountain State, CSI: Miami, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Vampire Diaries, 90210, New Girl and Private Practice.

Beyond his prolific television career, the 36-year-old actor is also active behind the camera as well.
*  *  *
Amell has portrayed his version of the Green Arrow in five different TV shows: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Vixen and Legends of Tomorrow. He has also lent the voice of Green Arrow to the video games Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and Injustice: Gods Among Us.

1. He is an avid fan of WWE and appeared on Raw
2. He has hosted several successful charity campaigns
3. He has portrayed Oliver Queen on 5 different shows
4. He has a wife and one kid
5. He owns a wine company

Edited April 3, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Why The CW should let Arrow end with season 7
by Amy Woolsey   April 4, 2018
https://culturess.com/2018/04/04/cw-let-arrow-end-season-7/

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Since 2012, Arrow has served as the anchor of The CW’s superhero universe. But the show is losing steam – and should quit while it’s ahead.
*  *  *
Look, my relationship with this show has been through a lot over the past six years. It survived Sara Lance’s death, Ra’s al Ghul, Amanda Waller’s death, Laurel Lance’s death and countless melodramatic twists and turns in Oliver and Felicity’s whirlwind romance. At times, I wondered if my affection for season 2 (which, for the record, is limitless and eternal) justified continuing.

Then, like an angel, season 5 arrived, rewarding my suffering with a riveting central villain and well-earned character development. Episodes like “Kapiushon” and “Underneath” ranked among the best ever. However, the uptick in quality didn’t happen by accident. Season 5 represented the final act of the show’s original arc, connecting the flashbacks to the present-day narrative and completing Oliver’s transformation from murderous vigilante to righteous hero. It unfolded with a confidence and urgency that previous seasons lacked.

I knew it was possible, even likely, that the next season would be a disaster. Season 5 propelled Arrow into uncharted territory, creating a sense of uncertainty that was equally exciting and scary. Still, I held out hope that showrunners Wendy Mericle and Marc Guggenheim would take advantage of this opportunity to branch out. Without a template to follow, they could take the characters in new directions and experiment with style and structure.

At first, things looked promising. Oliver accepted fatherhood and, later, marriage. Diggle, along with the season 5 recruits, seemed poised to take over the team. We got two episodes centered on Slade Wilson. But after “We Fall,” the rails started to crumble. Michael Emerson was dispatched in favor of a Big Bad that the show hasn’t even tried to make interesting. William faded into the background. Team Arrow succumbed to petty squabbles.
*  *  *
Theoretically, superhero shows could function like a procedural/soap hybrid, mixing villains-of-the-week with long-term character arcs. After all, superhero comics have endured for almost 70 years, constantly reinventing themselves and adapting to their times. Unfortunately, like its hero, Arrow exhibits little interest in changing. Wasn’t the point of “Lian Yu” to cleanse Oliver of his trauma? (Not that you can entirely get rid of trauma, but you can learn to handle it.) So, why are we still watching him self-destruct and alienate his teammates?

Except for the action choreography, which remains as dynamic as ever, everything about season 6 feels aimless and robotic. It’s as if once Oliver donned the hood again, in essence rejecting his humanity, so did the show. By nature, superhero stories are larger-than-life. At their best, though, they retain some connection to real life, whether through social commentary or personal stakes. Legends of Tomorrow, for example, jumps across time and features cameos by historical figures, but it grounds the zany adventures in relatable emotions: regret, loneliness, the desire to belong or matter. Right now, Arrow seems to have forgotten how the world works and how people act. It might as well take place on the moon.

Maybe all the contrivances have a purpose, and the season will offer a brilliant, cathartic payoff. However, at this point, I don’t have the patience to wait and hope. There’s too much other TV to catch up on, and frankly, it’s just depressing seeing something you love turn into a zombie. As any party host will tell you, skipping out early is preferable to overstaying your welcome. While I’d miss seeing Oliver, Felicity and Diggle in crossovers, I’m willing to make the sacrifice if it means a (semi-)graceful exit for the show.

Edited April 4, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Revenger Submission: “My Love For ARROW And The DCCW”
Brent Clark    April 3, 2018
https://revengeofthefans.com/2018/04/03/revenger-submission-my-love-for-arrow-and-the-dccw/

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In October of 2012 a new show was starting called Arrow on the CW. It was an origin story for Green Arrow, cut from the same tonal cloth as the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. At the time I was saddened that it wasn’t a Smallville spin-off with Justin Hartley in the title role. I had enjoyed Smallville for ten seasons and wanted to see that world continued. Smallville had given a tease of what could be (and what would come) with episodes introducing other heroes from DC Comics, and Hartley’s Green Arrow by far had the most screen time. One of my favorite episodes was one featuring a proto-Justice League. I had dreams of a spin-off of that Justice League which of course never came to fruition.  Instead of Hartley, an actor I hadn’t heard of before (which isn’t saying much I admit) named Stephen Amell was playing the title character in Arrow. I watched the pilot with reservations, fully aware that I was basically watching it because it was a new comic show, and without Smallville, there was nothing else for me. I was blown away by the Pilot episode. In an early scene, Oliver and his best friend Tommy are abducted and watching how Oliver got them out of that scenario is basically the scene that hooked me. I didn’t know at the time how much that show would mean to me.

I really enjoyed all of Season 1 of Arrow, but it was Season 2 that really cemented that show, that world (at the time dubbed the Arrowverse by fans) as having a special place in my personal fandom. In a two-parter told in episodes 7 and 8 of that season, the single biggest step towards giving me a live action Comic Universe was taken, though I didn’t know it at the time. But those are the episodes that introduced Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin).  Prior to episode 8, everything in Arrow existed in a world of semi-reality where the events are just plausible enough for the viewer to feel it could take place in the real world. Then, after being struck by lightning, the viewers were shown that Barry Allen was indeed going to gain super powers, just like his comic counterpart. Originally a later episode that season was meant to be a backdoor pilot for The Flash but later it was upgraded to getting a pilot of its own (though that planned Arrow episode did still show a couple of people who would go on to be supporting cast members in The Flash). I had no idea how big it would become.
*  *  *
The following season (Arrow season 3 and Flash season 1) I was in geek heaven. Two active shows, that I loved, that were in a shared universe plus they would actually have crossovers (both large and small) on a semi-regular basis. Even better they were comic shows from the big two. It was characters that I loved having separate stories and adventures, but occasionally coming together for larger threats. And unlike movies, where I was lucky for an installment or two every couple of years, I got 20 plus episodes from both shows. I’ve long considered myself a TV fan more so than a movie buff. I love the long form story telling (while still enjoying the occasional one-off) that can only be found in TV. TV has the advantage of runtime, and being able to tell longer, more drawn out stories and showing character development over years worth of stories.  Great movies certainly can show development. And great franchises can even more so. But a movie just isn’t as satisfying to me as a good tv show I can sink my teeth into and get lost in for a few seasons. Of course there are exceptions (I truly love the MCU for example) but as a general rule I would rather watch a tv show over a movie just about any day of the week.

From the introduction of The Flash,  the DCCW (as I like to call it) doubled in size to include DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and eventually would absorb the CBS show Supergirl. Legends featured characters from both Arrow and Flash, as well as new characters. Supergirl, while existing on a separate Earth, was brought in via the Flash accidentally going to her world. When Supergirl came to the CW formally I finally started seeing the potential to once again have that super team that was teased in that Justice League episode.  Something that I feel was truly brought to fruition with the four episode, four show, Crisis on Earth-X. The Crisis event is basically what I wanted going back to that proto-league in Smallville. It was truly like reading a line wide crossover event. My favorite franchise in comics media, including comics themselves, has grown to 4 shows, all of which are in their third season or greater, with a reasonable possibility of renewal. Back in the days of Hercules or Buffy, I never thought something like this was possible in live action television. And if I were a betting man, I would bet on it expanding further to include the excellent Black Lightning which is also on the CW.
*  *  *
The DCCW is basically the realization of a comics/television dream I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember. I don’t know how much longer it will last. But I’ll love the ride as long as it does.

Edited April 4, 2018 by tv echo

[Angel12d]

26 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Why The CW should let Arrow end with season 7
by Amy Woolsey   April 4, 2018
https://culturess.com/2018/04/04/cw-let-arrow-end-season-7/

I basically agree with this tbh. Or at least cut down the episodes. Something!

[tv echo]

EXCLUSIVE: Arrow’s Juliana Harkavy Reveals the Marvel Character She Wants to Play!
John F. Trent  April 3, 2018
http://boundingintocomics.com/2018/04/03/exclusive-arrows-juliana-harkavy-reveals-the-marvel-character-she-wants-to-play/

Quote

We had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Juliana Harkavy last week where we touched on a number of different topics including what we can expect from Dinah Drake and the Black Canary in the final episodes of Arrow for Season 6 as well as how her character will progress into Season 7. This is the first little tidbit of our over 30 minute conversation which we will be rolling out over the week. Make sure you check back in so you don’t miss anything!

We asked Juliana if there are any other superheroes she would like to play on the Marvel side given she’s already established herself as one of the top crime fighters in DC Comics’ and The CW’s Arrowverse as the Black Canary.
*  *  *
Juliana initially told us she would “love to play Storm in X-Men.” In fact Juliana is a big fan of the X-Men. She would add, “All of the X-Men characters really intrigue me.” And while she initially told us she would love to play Storm, she had her heart set on another X-Men.

“Wolverine is my favorite. And I don’t know how I would live in that world, but I would love to at some point.”

Edited April 4, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

There's a poll at the end to vote on "Which Character Should Be the Next to Leave" (current results are posted below)...

‘Arrow': Why (Spoiler’) Exit Confirms the Show Is Too Crowded
BY MICHAEL KOCZWARA      APRIL 5, 2018
http://collider.com/arrow-season-6-thea-exit-explained/

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Arrow has a problem. The ever-growing Team Arrow is just too big, and as a result it’s sacrificing our interest in these once-beloved characters. Look, I get it — introducing new superheroes will always be awesome, but giving the older and even the newer characters the backseat because of it is simply not worth it. Arrow once excelled at keeping its cast busy and intertwining their stories, but that is no longer the case.

This problem couldn’t have been more apparent than in last week’s “The Thantos Guild.” The episode itself was actually a great send off for Thea (Willa Holland), but that’s the point. Why did it take Thea leaving the show for her to be given an interesting and detailed storyline? Why was this character standing around all season before that? It’s simple: Arrow doesn’t have room for everyone.
*  *  *
It’s worth noting that Season 5 was also the year of the new recruits. We got Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez), Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy), Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), Rory Regan (Joe Dinicol), and Evelyn Sharp (Madison McLaughlin). It’s true that only three would go on stay with series in Season 6, but that’s three extra characters that each deserve their own time and story. And yet, those characters didn’t get much individual  attention, and were mainly grouped together as “The Newbies.” Dinah had a great introduction with her backstory with her meta powers, but not an episode later she was pushed into the background for the majority of the season. Thankfully, in Season 6, she was given the Vincent story and the fallout from his death, but there’s always a tradeoff — which characters are now the ones suffering for getting sidelined?

Trying to give characters small arcs and then silencing them for weeks is not working. This season, Diggle (David Ramsey) had a drug problem and a stint as the Green Arrow, but it was all quickly discarded once that story was put on pause. Rene is currently focused on getting custody of his daughter, but it’s such a slow burn that it’s not catching interest from week to week. And while I will always love seeing Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) interact, it’s hard to ignore that his character has become so focused on a single plot. Last season it was coping with the death of Laurel, and the current season focuses all his attention on Black Siren. At least this new Laurel has the evil edge to gives the character new life, but Quentin has been relying on his daughters for story material for one season too long. Not only that, but the poor guy has been through hell and back. Once things look good for Black Siren’s redemption, let’s give him a send off too.
*  *  *
Even though Thea has left the show as the season heads towards its final episodes, her absence will be hard to notice. She’s been so underutilized this season that it’s doubtful it will make a difference in furthering the stories of existing characters. It’s time for Arrow to start making the hard choices and give lingering characters an exit. Or better yet, send them over to Legends of Tomorrow. At least that way we can rest assured they’ll be taken care of.

Current Poll Results:

Quote

Curtis                          34    13%
Black Siren / Laurel     44    17%
Diggle                         12      5%
Quentin                      28     11%
Dinah                          21      8%
Felicity                        27     11%
Rene                           70     27%
Oliver Queen              19      7%

Edited April 5, 2018 by tv echo

[bijoux]

Oliver's 7% truly made me laugh. Sure, that makes sense. 

[tv echo]

[Sakura12]

13 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Curtis                          34    13%
Black Siren / Laurel     44    17%
Diggle                         12      5%
Quentin                      28     11%
Dinah                          21      8%
Felicity                        27     11%
Rene                           70     27%
Oliver Queen              19      7%

Haha, so is Black Siren/Laurel not as popular as people keep telling me she is since she's second after Rene (whom I know everyone hates). 

[tv echo]

Those poll results are changing quickly, as more people vote. Curtis is catching up to BS/Laurel, and Dinah now has more votes than Felicity.

Edited April 5, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

“The Thanatos Guild” - Arrow Music Notes 6x16
Austencello   April 4, 2018
https://austencello.tumblr.com/post/172610675119/the-thanatos-guild-arrow-music-notes-6x16

Quote

Meanwhile in the present day, it is revealed that Merlyn had set up another branch of the League of Assassins called the Thanatos Guild.  As the leader Athena announces that they are ready for rebirth and Nyssa reveals herself, parts of the music “Black Wedding” from 3x22 plays (also “Stir the Grass” when the wedding of Oliver and Nyssa is announced to the team).  This includes Ra’s al Ghul’s theme, appropriate here for the return of his daughter intent on making right his wrongs, as well as the duduk and percussion associated with Nanda Parbat.  It is a blend of old and new music, fitting for a new branch coming out of the old League.
*  *  *
Roy, Thea, and the team have a goodbye party in the bunker.  During this time, Diggle asks Quentin about Black Siren staying at his place.  While Quentin answers, encouraged that she gave good information to help, the Black Siren theme “Laurel, not Laurel” plays subtly in electronics, reminding the audience she is not to be trusted.

Roy and Thea almost make it out of town to be attacked by Athena’s scouts and saved by Nyssa.  As Nyssa shares with them and the rest of the team about Merlyn’s creating the Guild and Athena taking charge seeking the map Merlyn hid, “Heir to the Demon” from Season 2 plays.  This repeated electronic note was introduced with Nyssa in 2x13 but now has a double meaning as Thea herself is now heir to the latest Ra’s al Ghul.  Both women are dealing with the legacies their evil fathers left behind.  Thea wants to reject it as Merlyn’s string patterns return.
*  *  *
Oliver is not happy about Thea’s choice to right Malcolm’s wrongs since he was evil and Thea was about to leave for her happy ending.  He expresses his displeasure to Nyssa for bringing this path to Thea.  As Oliver and Nyssa argue about Thea’s choice in light of their own choices to right their fathers’ wrongs, the music alternates and overlaps between the duduk (representing Ra’s and Nyssa) and strings with three notes of “I forgot who I was” (for Oliver and the Queen family) foreshadowing the end of the episode.

Felicity figures out how to open the box and as Thea opens it, wooden percussion (music for the League and used in 3x03 “Like Father, Like Daughter”), the duduk, and Merlyn’s harp theme play.  On a side note, Thea’s eye roll when they discover the paper is blank was perfect.
*  *  *
This music continues as they saw goodbye to Oliver.  Crutales (bells used for Nanda Parbat), the duduk, and the piano play as Nyssa gives Oliver the annulment dagger for their marriage.  As Thea gives Oliver one last piece of advice to not string John along regarding the Green Arrow, “I forgot who I was” begins in the strings.  This is a piece since 1x05 that has accompanied Oliver and his family as they struggled with who they are individually and as a family, moving past their own sins and the sins of their parents.  The evolution is heard from 1x05 when Oliver becomes aware that his lies to his family has a toll, to “Own Worst Enemy” in 2x18 as Moira worries that she has lost both Oliver and Thea due to her lies, to 3x03 “Lose you forever” when Oliver tells Thea how much he needs her home, to 4x08 “Oliver meets William” as Oliver meets his son but has to lie to Felicity about him, to 5x02 “Everyone left” as Oliver dealt with almost everyone leaving him on the team, to 5x08 “Not my life now” as he said goodbye to his parents and Thea in the alien dreamworld.  Again he says goodbye to Thea but he is able to let her go knowing that she is following her heart.  All he has ever wanted is for his little sister to be happy and safe.

Edited April 5, 2018 by tv echo

[strikera0]

As far as I am concerned Curtis, Rene, Quentin, Dinah and BS are free to leave at any time. Curtis is nothing more than a shallow gay male version of Felicity and I never saw the point in having the same character twice on the show. Rene is a single-father to a young daughter, who has already spent years in foster care. This shitty character has no business running around as a vigilante any longer - especially after he almost died twice this season. Quentin has been torturing us with the same ol' addiction and daughter drama since the pilot episode. I don't care how good of an actor PB is. If you can't cover new ground with a character, you have to cut them loose. Dinah eats up a shit ton of screentime and yet, she's still the same one-dimensional "tough chick" we met in her introductory episode. Seriously, I feel like I know more about her dead boyfriend and he was only on the show for a handful of episodes. And while KC may be playing a different character, her continued presence on the show feels like a cheat to me after everything that went down in season 4 and I just know that the writers will start writing BS like original recipe Laurel if a BS redemption arc ever comes to fruition. 

[Primal Slayer]

I think they wouldn't write her that much that LL. They've done a decent job of giving them differences that they can build upon if furthered explored.

[tv echo]

Here's the entire Bounding Into Comics' interview with JH (portions are arguably spoilerish, so I've used spoiler tags to be safe)...

Interview: Arrow's Juliana Harkavy
Published on Apr 5, 2018, by Bounding Into Comics

-- JH first talked about WH and her recent exit episode (exit was emotional, Willa's performance was great, etc.).

Spoiler

-- On what we can expect to see from Dinah for the rest of S6 of Arrow, JH: "I think Dinah is - she's really gone through an emotional and spiritual roller coaster this season. I think she's really kinda - because of the loss that she went through and going through another tragedy again - like, she kinda lost herself to find herself. So she's just going to be coming into, I think, a new stage, a new approach to her position as the Black Canary and her position as Dinah, as herself. Um, I think that, the moment where she understood that vengeance is not necessarily the best way to get justice and that, you know, violence isn't the best way to, um, [unintelligible word] justice or [unintelligible word] be a hero, it's just going to be a new kind of Dinah. She's going to be a little more zen maybe in her approach."

Spoiler

-- On Dinah being on the odds with the GA right now and whether we'll see a reconciliation, JH: "I think Dinah's always going to challenge the head of the team, whoever it is, if it's not her... It's kinda in her nature... I think that Dinah and Oliver are actually great together. I do think that they fight well together, they work well together. From the moment that he found her, he kinda pulls her out of, again, this sort of downward thing that she - or, uh, I wouldn't say downward - like, the dark place that she falls into. Um, he pulls her out of it, so I think she really cares about him and I do hope that on some level, um, they get to work together and be a team together. Again, but, you know, it's all - it's going to be a process because, again, she's strong-headed."

-- On whether she has any rituals before shooting her scenes, JH said that she thinks about "the things that Dinah stands for."

-- On her exercise regimen, since Arrow has a lot of action scenes, JH said that she's become physically stronger and that she tries to get to the gym at least 3X a week. She does weight training, sit-ups and push-ups. When asked, she replied that she no plans to be on American Ninja Warrior. She did say that she's been working on the salmon ladder and that SA was showing her how to do it the other day. She's got one. It's a "popular priority" for her. Interviewer mentioned last season's flashback scene with Felicity on the salmon ladder. They talked about how the salmon ladder has become a thing on the show.

-- On whether she was familiar with the BC character before she was cast, JH said that it was all new to her. She didn't even know when she was auditioning that the role was for the BC. She had to do a lot of research, including reading comics but mostly going online and gathering information. She also had to catch up on five seasons of Arrow.

-- On whether there are any characters she'd like to play on the Marvel side, JH said that Wolverine is her favorite character. Interviewer mentioned that X-23 as a young girl was introduced in the Logan movie and that this character is a young woman in the comics. JH got excited and said that she'd love to play that character.

-- Interviewer then mentioned the #metoo movement and AK's removal from the Arrowverse shows. JH said that they talked about it openly on set and that they have a great cast and crew. She also mentioned the greater number of female directors. She said that she spent time with AK and "had no idea." She said that it was "upsetting," but that they were all talking openly about it on the Arrow set. Interviewer then mentioned the inclusion riders, and JH thought it was "wonderful." 

-- On what else she is working on besides Arrow, JH said that Arrow takes up a lot of her time and so she just goes home, spends time with her husband, plays music, plays with her dogs, and works out. In her off time, she just "recharges" and "thinks about Arrow." She said that shooting 23 episodes is 10 months out of the year. She said that she "feels very fulfilled" with this role and that Arrow is pretty much her life right now. So other than Arrow, she just tries to have a wonderful family life.

-- Interviewer then mentioned the comic cons that she's been going to and asked what was her favorite place. JH said that her favorite place to go so far was Atlanta (she mentioned that they took DR out for his birthday). She said that she liked traveling around and meeting people at these cons. She mentioned a little girl named Cassandra, who had a wheelchair made up to look like an Arrowmobile, and who told her that, before she goes into surgery, she thinks of JH's superhero character.

-- On what we might see in the next big crossover, JH said that she hasn't heard anything about the next crossover. She has heard generally where their next season might go.

Spoiler

She also just heard that CL will be appearing in this season's finale.

-- On which superhero or supervillain she would want to see come on Arrow (again), JH mentioned Constantine, Iris and Supergirl. She also said that "just a Dinah and Felicity mission would be awesome." She would love a "girl mission" with anyone from the DC Universe.

Edited April 5, 2018 by tv echo

[EmilyBettFan]

lol I'm sorry but I can't help but think that KC and JH are the same person. They talk in interviews the same about wanting to show up everyone with the salmon ladder. You can just tell they are pissed Emily was on it and on screen.