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S07.E08: Unmasked


Lady Calypso

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The whole horror over Felicity pulling a gun to defend herself and Oliver is ridiculous. But then, remember, y'all, guns are BAD. Mayor Oliver thought guns were BAD, so he passed a law (or something) that solved all the gun problems because they are BAD. Unless you're using tranqs instead of bullets, I guess, sometimes, maybe. Nevermind the fact that they also had Oliver shoot someone - though if it's an arrow, it's all cool? Maybe if Felicity had shot an arrow and only wounded the guy, we wouldn't have to worry about her going all dark-side. Because shooting people with a bow and arrows is totally different from shooting someone with a gun and bullets - one is heroic and the other puts your immortal soul in danger. 

I had legit forgotten about Diaz completely. Like it did not even occur to me that he would be the one Digg and Lyla were going to talk to. I was so annoyed when I realized it was him again. So. Dumb. And disappointing. Diggle.

  • Love 11

So, in the episode where Dinah was introduced in the flash forwards, she said that she attacked the guards at Smoak Tech because they would've killed both her and Roy for being former vigilantes. Then last night at the club the reason she gave for Roy not being there was because they would've had "big trouble" if he'd been recognized. Has Roy done something else that he'd be in trouble for, or did Arrow forget that the vigilante thing was supposed to be an issue for Dinah, too? Is it a hand wave for plot since they needed Dinah there for her (hopefully counterfeit) Mark of Four tattoo, or does it mean something? 

I'm guessing it's a hand wave for plot because Arrow, but god...this show is so sloppy LOL.

37 minutes ago, bethy said:

The whole horror over Felicity pulling a gun to defend herself and Oliver is ridiculous. But then, remember, y'all, guns are BAD. Mayor Oliver thought guns were BAD, so he passed a law (or something) that solved all the gun problems because they are BAD. Unless you're using tranqs instead of bullets, I guess, sometimes, maybe. Nevermind the fact that they also had Oliver shoot someone - though if it's an arrow, it's all cool? Maybe if Felicity had shot an arrow and only wounded the guy, we wouldn't have to worry about her going all dark-side. Because shooting people with a bow and arrows is totally different from shooting someone with a gun and bullets - one is heroic and the other puts your immortal soul in danger. 

Did you really expect anything less from a Batman stand-in?  Pummeling people to a pulp?  That's OK.  Poking people with knives, throwing stars, arrows, etc.?  Sure, why not.  Using a gun?  Nope, not cool. 

2 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

In no universe should she have more screen time than Felicity. Honestly I'm so mad. She's such an unpopular character do they honestly think they can sell her. 

Or is on mandated in her contract?

It's the trouble with the flashforwards, unfortunately. They're inflating her screentime massively. Although even without the FF, Dinah had way too much focus in this episode. IDK what Beth & Co are thinking but they're idiots. 

7 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

It's the trouble with the flashforwards, unfortunately. They're inflating her screentime massively.

Yep. And there's a reason why we don't know what really happened with Felicity, Oliver and Diggle (and even Laurel, too, I suppose) - and that's because they know that people who have been watching this show for years are going to be more interested in finding out where they are in the future than any of the newbies. So they use a newbie, because they need a wizened old whatever to lead William on his trek through the city to find out what's happened, and it has the added benefit of giving the veteran actors extra time off, which I'm positive at least some of them have asked for. 

Personally, I don't think it's the best thing for the show but despite my complaints about TOO MUCH DINAH, I'm still watching, and the numbers are going up so...there isn't any feedback suggesting it's been a bad decision thus far - or at least one that's having much impact on the audience. In fact - it's the opposite. 

  • Love 3
5 minutes ago, Chaser said:

It really says something about a character that they can get that much screen time in an episode and yet generate no traffic online. No trends, no write ups, nada.

Well, Dinah's basically just walking exposition. She's not a character. There's nothing of substance to her. They change her for whatever they need her for. First she wants to do everything by the book, then she doesn't. Next she doesn't trust William, then she does. She's ridiculous. LOL.

7 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

So they use a newbie, because they need a wizened old whatever to lead William on his trek through the city to find out what's happened, and it has the added benefit of giving the veteran actors extra time off, which I'm positive at least some of them have asked for. 

It's such a rock and a hard place, not use popular characters or deprive your actors of their veteran-deserved break XD. I get the obvious answer is to write good new characters but lbr audiences never like the new characters nearly as much.

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Quote

Older Dinah: "You don't know what you're talking about, kid. You know, you're part of the reason Star City's in the shape it's in right now."
Blackstar (Maya): "Really? 'Cause I could've sworn, the story goes, it's because of you."

I was so hyped about Maya ripping into Dinah that I didn't catch that Dinah is supposedly to blame for the state of Star City.  It has to be more than just bad policing, right?  

 

7 hours ago, apinknightmare said:

 

2. Like @Mellowyellow mentioned, an "I love you" from Oliver. On first watch, I thought the "the old you was the person I fell in love with," was an indictment on "new" Felicity, but on rewatch I realize it wasn't anything other than a defense of the "old" Felicity to the person who was putting her down. But, even when Oliver was in the midst of his idiocy in prison, Felicity still told him that she loved him - it would've been nice to hear him say it, especially since they didn't shy away from him telling her he wanted to work things out between them, and she gave him such a lovely I love you during their convo. So it's not like they left it out to up the drama and make us question the state of their relationship , because Felicity's the one with misgivings, and she even managed to say it to him.

 

 

 

I disagree.  I think it was left out to shake the audience confidence in them and that we are supposed to think Oliver is the one with the misgivings. (Even though that feels like bunk)  Felicity expresses she's worried that what Oliver wants of her, to go back to who she was (aka what is best for the relationship) is not what's best for her.  Her love for him isn't in question. But if she can't give to him what he needs, his love for her is in question so it that's why they withheld the I love you.  (Not that I'm buying into there being any question of his love for her)

Then down the road when they FINALLY let Oliver get his head out of his ass, he will say I love you.  I feel like it's season 3 where Oliver was saying I love you all the time but Felicity wasn't allowed to tell the audience how she felt until all sorts of hurdles were faced even though it was pretty obvious that she loved him.  But not saying it allows for that doubt so they can keep the angst going.  

6 hours ago, Chaser said:

I have a lot of problems with the last Olicity scene. It was designed to put a question mark on Olicity so I found the dialogue off. What direction was Olicity going that wouldn’t have been good for her? For a guy who experienced PTSD himself, he clearly wasn’t getting the point here.

And the whole tone of the scene was too subdued for me.  After everything they went thru the past 7 months to get back to each, it was a rather nonchalant conversation. 

The direction Oliver seemed to take from his time in prison was at least in theory not to be so quick to judge or enact judgement on bad guys but to show them more compassion I guess.  Something that Felicity had always had an easier time doing with anyone. 

But I didn't think they were being nonchalant at the end, so much as calm and trying to be mature and honest.  Neither wants to fight with the other.  So they were walking on eggshells.  

 Oliver was talking and asking how they could get back to going in the same direction and Felicity believes for him that means she needs to revert to who she was before which she says is impossible. And she realizes what's best for her, not feeling helpless, might not be best for their relationship.

To me, it felt like the ball was in Oliver's court, that he had to change his requirements of who he expects her to be since like Felicity kept pointing out, she can't just move on and return to how things were. 

I personally feel both of them are overreacting to a tweak to who she is, not really a huge change.  But the solution seems really simple.  Oliver should HELP her feel more empowered whether that means supporting her need for a fortified home and a tip top of the line security system or more training with firearms.  We know he loves her so it shouldn't be about what he wants her to be, but how he can make her feel safe and whole.   

And I agree, part of that is relearning to trust Oliver.  Again.  He offers an apology but he keeps doing these things to undercut the trust they have between each other.  How can she rely on him when for all she knows he's going to make another decision she's not included in that once again changes her world so she has no one but herself to rely on?

Edited by BkWurm1
  • Love 5

I'm still puzzled by Oliver's reaction to Felicity. Like, if the guy had been tied up or knocked out and she fired a round into him, sure, that's excessive and a cause for concern. But they were still actively in the middle of a home invasion where the guy was trying to murder them. WTF Oliver??

It's frustrating because all these nonsensical plots just need a few tweaks. (Besides actually writing for character which TPTB clearly never learned.) We could have had good angst not this mess. We could have had an intriguing mystery in the future instead of way too much Dinah. 

Isolating Felicity and having everyone turn their back on her is only planting me more firmly in her corner. 

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7 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

I'm still puzzled by Oliver's reaction to Felicity. Like, if the guy had been tied up or knocked out and she fired a round into him, sure, that's excessive and a cause for concern. But they were still actively in the middle of a home invasion where the guy was trying to murder them. WTF Oliver??

It's frustrating because all these nonsensical plots just need a few tweaks. (Besides actually writing for character which TPTB clearly never learned.) We could have had good angst not this mess. We could have had an intriguing mystery in the future instead of way too much Dinah. 

Isolating Felicity and having everyone turn their back on her is only planting me more firmly in her corner. 

I agree,I find it very hard to buy all this angst because I just don't think Felicity is dark,ruthless or even very different from previous seasons.So all this drama and suprise over her actions just seems weird and contrived.

Imo the problem with the olicity angst this episode is that it's not being written to suit their characters and experiences,their PTSD etc.It's  written as a way to push an evil Felicity narrative that they're implying in the flashforwards.So it comes off awkward and weird because it's written for a twist mostly.

Edited by tangerine95
  • Love 2
11 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I disagree.  I think it was left out to shake the audience confidence in them and that we are supposed to think Oliver is the one with the misgivings. (Even though that feels like bunk)  Felicity expresses she's worried that what Oliver wants of her, to go back to who she was (aka what is best for the relationship) is not what's best for her.  Her love for him isn't in question. But if she can't give to him what he needs, his love for her is in question so it that's why they withheld the I love you.  (Not that I'm buying into there being any question of his love for her)

Then down the road when they FINALLY let Oliver get his head out of his ass, he will say I love you.  I feel like it's season 3 where Oliver was saying I love you all the time but Felicity wasn't allowed to tell the audience how she felt until all sorts of hurdles were faced even though it was pretty obvious that she loved him.  But not saying it allows for that doubt so they can keep the angst going.  

Eh, if this is what they were going for, I think they failed. They had Oliver wanting to work on things, to get them going in the same direction, and Felicity being the one to say that she didn't know if what was best for her is what was best for them. If they were aiming to show that he was the one with misgivings, IMO they failed. 

15 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

I was so hyped about Maya ripping into Dinah that I didn't catch that Dinah is supposedly to blame for the state of Star City.  It has to be more than just bad policing, right?  

Just another reason I would love it if Dinah turns out to be the bad guy.

Everything William (and Roy)(and therefore the audience) is learning about the future so far is from Dinah. Now, Maya is offering another story (maybe the real one?).

Seriously, in one episode I'm already so much more invested in Maya's story in the future than I am in anything Dinah-related past, present, future, sideways timeline, etc.  

  • Love 11
4 minutes ago, apinknightmare said:

Eh, if this is what they were going for, I think they failed. They had Oliver wanting to work on things, to get them going in the same direction, and Felicity being the one to say that she didn't know if what was best for her is what was best for them. If they were aiming to show that he was the one with misgivings, IMO they failed. 

Well if you combine it with him saying he loved the old her and Felicity saying she's gone, it fits easier.   And all we know of for what Oliver considers best for them, is what Felicity has said she thinks he wants of her, to be talked back to the old her.  And he doesn't tell her she's wrong.  Plus, given their actions, Felicity being fully supportive of him and him not supportive of her, then he's the one with the problem, but yeah, they are framing it as it's Felicity's problem because she's the one that spells it out.  

Edited by BkWurm1
56 minutes ago, Angel12d said:

Well, Dinah's basically just walking exposition. She's not a character. There's nothing of substance to her. They change her for whatever they need her for. First she wants to do everything by the book, then she doesn't. Next she doesn't trust William, then she does. She's ridiculous. LOL.

Yeah thats one of the weirdest things about Dinah. As much as she has been shoved down our collective throats, she doesent really have much going on as a character. I can hardly name more than four character traits that she has, or really describe her arc. She just does stuff because the plot needs stuff to happen, and the show seems to think that we want her as our exposition fairy. Can we just get Maya back on screen so she can tell her how much she sucks again? Because if this is what the city has become, she didnt seem to do a very good job as police chief. Its almost like she was totally unqualified for that position... 

  • Love 8
5 minutes ago, tangerine95 said:

I agree,I find it very hard to buy all this angst because I just don't think Felicity is dark,ruthless or even very different from previous seasons.So all this drama and suprise over her actions just seems weird and contrived.

I mean did they forget this:

bf17f66185785911721df32e38a459ad159f3b51

3 minutes ago, insomniadreams88 said:

Seriously, in one episode I'm already so much more invested in Maya's story in the future than I am in anything Dinah-related past, present, future, sideways timeline, etc.  

I wonder if most of us working on the assumption she was going to be Olicity's daughter helped her be better recieved then other new characters who've come into the show.

  • Love 9
1 minute ago, Mary0360 said:

I wonder if most of us working on the assumption she was going to be Olicity's daughter helped her be better recieved then other new characters who've come into the show.

I'm sure it helped but she had an awesome fight no matter who she was, hated on Dinah, and is Felicity's only known ally.  Of course we like her.  

  • Love 13
2 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Well if you combine it with him saying he loved the old her and Felicity saying she's gone it fits.    Plus, given their actions, Felicity being fully supportive of him and him not supportive of her, then he's the one with the problem, but yeah, they are framing it as it's Felicity's problem.  

I'm not saying Oliver doesn't have a problem - he clearly needs to come to terms with this new Felicity. But Felicity had already told him that the old Felicity was gone and wasn't coming back, and he still told her he wanted to work things out. She said she wanted to as well, but she was the one with a but. 

I do agree with your general read on things, I just think it could've been conveyed much better if that's what they were going for.

  • Love 1

The more I watch it the more I don't think it's about the gun but his pattern of reacting badly when she needs him the most and when he thinks he's might lose her. 

In s4 when she got shot he went off to have a meltdown and really wasn't there for her.  Now he's having another meltdown after witnessing first hand what his choices have done to her. 

Her trashing red pen Felicity is probably contributing to his meltdown because while she hasn't left him physically she keeps trashing who she is in the past and that person was/is the love of his life. 

I feel like I don't know what he's thinking when he asked her what can they do to move forward. Felicity took it to mean he wanted things to reset  to the way they were and so he can have his beloved red pen girl back. I liked it at the end that she wasn't all magnimous anymore but served him a reality check. I want to know what he's thinking when he's sporting stunned mullet face. Why won't they give me that???

I just really hope this will get the screen time it deserves but I have no faith. I would love to explore all this even with all the angst but the writers/network whatever are bastards who will give us more Dinah. 

  • Love 3

Honestly, it seems like the Olicity stuff was the groundwork for some really interesting drama between them, that was tough, yet understandable, they just didnt have the time. Looking at it again, I can kind of see why Oliver was freaked out by Felicity shooting the guy, and being pretty much cool about it. He has always feared that his "darkness" rubs off on the people around him, and Felicity becoming a darker person is something that he would blame himself for (as usual) and feel terrible about. Even his comment about loving "the old Felicity" I think was Oliver saying that the women he first met was never weak, and that he loved her just as she was. However, I think we needed a longer conversation, or some follow up, where he explained himself better, and told Felicity that he loved her no matter what, and what she did with the gun was surprising, but understandable. 

Instead, because we had to spend so much freaking time on other random crap (like our required NTA scenes) that we didnt get the Olicity time that we should have, to talk about these very real issues. So instead of being understandable, Oliver's concern came off as petty and patronizing, with the message that "girls should stay scared damsels and not to to protect themselves and their families, or everyone will hate them", and a lot of hand wringing about how "dark" Felicity is, when she hasn't even gotten to a fraction of the darkness of basically every other member of team Arrow, past and present.

I like Maya, and I am glad that she seems to have been pretty well received by fans. Of course, knowing this show, that means she will be written off soon, and replaced in the flashforwards by a future Curtis, who has somehow copied himself into three different Curtis's, each more annoying than the next.

  • Love 13

Okay I rewatched the last Olicity scene 2 more times and I don't feel like Oliver let himself off the hook. 

Felicity said "That wasn't on you" and he wanted to argue, he was like "Well..." wanted to say something but then backed off and said "okay" in a resigned tone. 

Feels like he didn't think arguing about it was going to help.

Grrrrr I hate that they're making me obsess about this. 

  • Love 1
1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Yeah thats one of the weirdest things about Dinah. As much as she has been shoved down our collective throats, she doesent really have much going on as a character. I can hardly name more than four character traits that she has, or really describe her arc. 

I am pretty sure the weirdest thing about Dinah is what is done to her hair every week. The hair and makeup crew working on her should be fired. And never work again. Or hold a blow dryer. Or a brush.

  • Love 5
6 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

She definitely looked older this week, lol. 

Yeah, I see more of the "gray" in her hair. But her face looks absolutely PLASTIC.

And maybe I'm overthinking this, and I'm totally unspoiled, because I don't read spoilers for any of the shows, so didn't know about Maya or Emiko. So, about the latter. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but how in the bluedilly frack did she decide to become an arrow like big brother? I mean, the "public" didn't know Oliver was Green Arrow until the end of last season, when he outed his ass. And learning to be the Hood/Vigilante/Arrow was something he learned/was taught when he was exiled on the island/working for A.R.G.U.S., etc. This is not like a family of Arrows, if you will, like a family of generational cops, doctors, lawyers, firemen...you get the idea. 

And how old is she supposed to be? And no way Robert knew that Oliver would become the Arrow because he FUCKING KILLED HIMSELF before Oliver set on this path.

Why yes, I am anal-retentive and get stuck on the small stuff.

  • Love 5

I agree with whoever said upthread this was a mediocre episode.

I actually have no problems with this conflict between Olicity aside from the fact that it wasn't featured prominently enough and some things were never touched upon. Like Felicity not automatically helping with the investigation but staying home. Shouldn't that have caused Oliver to pause? It's very unlike her. So, Felicity remains isolated, but seems to be chosing that herself now. If so, then for the love of God, just go into it. But no, I'm not mad at Oliver. I have plenty of mad to go around. Maybe I should go around in chronological order:

  • Rene for bitching about not getting the same treatment for catching Diaz. Bub, for one you were just tagging along. For another, he went on to almost burning up Slabside and everyone in it afterwards.
  • Curtis with his stupid question. My God, it's like S1 with Oliver getting back from the Island and people asking him the dumbest shit. Shut uuuup. Whoa, can't believe the guy who plays his boyfriend got paid to stand around.
  • Dinah for just too many reasons. Her lame ass quips, stupid strut and looking like she's hitting on future William. How exactly she has the power to just approve Oliver working with SCPD I don't have a clue.
  • Saint Diggle of the Hypocrites going to work with Diaz. Nice. Lyla going to Diaz I'm okay with because she never tried to mount the high horse Diggle feels comfortable on.
On 04. 12. 2018. at 4:35 AM, apinknightmare said:

Can we talk about the Canary Network? How many are there if there's a whole NETWORK?

I missed that but I had trouble understanding a lot of the dialogue in the first FF sccene.

 

On 04. 12. 2018. at 3:48 PM, Mellowyellow said:

Random note but Felicity is a tea drinker!!! There was a tea bag!

Now we know shit has hit the fan because she's always been a coffee person. :o

8 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And maybe I'm overthinking this, and I'm totally unspoiled, because I don't read spoilers for any of the shows, so didn't know about Maya or Emiko. So, about the latter. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but how in the bluedilly frack did she decide to become an arrow like big brother? I mean, the "public" didn't know Oliver was Green Arrow until the end of last season, when he outed his ass. And learning to be the Hood/Vigilante/Arrow was something he learned/was taught when he was exiled on the island/working for A.R.G.U.S., etc. This is not like a family of Arrows, if you will, like a family of generational cops, doctors, lawyers, firemen...you get the idea. 

And how old is she supposed to be? And no way Robert knew that Oliver would become the Arrow because he FUCKING KILLED HIMSELF before Oliver set on this path.

Why yes, I am anal-retentive and get stuck on the small stuff.

I was thinking along the same lines myself. The opening scene was da bomb, I'm not sure even Oliver could do that work out, but it's weird to think about the specifics. How could she have had the same training as the super specific, comrehensive one Oliver had? And why? Did Robert take her to Lian Yu to summer with Yao Fei? I don't get it. Thea should probably be grateful she was only 12 when he died or she'd have been handed a little black book as well. Dick move, Robert!

Quick aside, I'm totally chosing to believe Oliver and Felicity rushed to see William as soon as Oliver washed out his cuts, and they hugged for two hours. After which it was decided to let William finish up his term for some sense of normalcy. To suggest differently is insanity.

  • Love 8

Nope, she's been a documented coffee addict on the show I think. Two instances that pop into mind are 3x04 and her not being able to talk before coffee when Ray showed up on her doorstep like a freak, and Diggle being the saviour bringer of java last season when he was still her friend and I knew who he was. I'm sure there were others.

I forgot to mention, Max Fuller was relatively engaging. I cared more about his storyline than a lot of the regulars. He really wasted that Ivy League education. Yale, right? Not to be judgy, but I thought it was a waste that he used it to run night clubs even before his shadiness was uncovered. I was also really looking down on him when he picked up a gun. Sure, your hired killer couldn't get Oliver but you will. So him going into the crowd and threatening a bystander was a surprisingly smart choice. Didn't work, but it was a sensible way to try to get away from Oliver in that situation. 

  • Love 6

I noticed something during another rewatch of the first Olicity scene. Just before Oliver takes off his shirt, Oliver tells Felicity something and she nods. Could it just be him saying he’s taking off his shirt? There’s no dialogue in the closed captioning, unfortunately. Maybe I should watch again. For science. 😊

  • Love 3
12 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

I noticed something during another rewatch of the first Olicity scene. Just before Oliver takes off his shirt, Oliver tells Felicity something and she nods. Could it just be him saying he’s taking off his shirt? There’s no dialogue in the closed captioning, unfortunately. Maybe I should watch again. For science. 😊

Watching it on youtube with the music stripped, to me it sounds like he says "I've missed you" but I'm not sure. 

18 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

I noticed something during another rewatch of the first Olicity scene. Just before Oliver takes off his shirt, Oliver tells Felicity something and she nods. Could it just be him saying he’s taking off his shirt? There’s no dialogue in the closed captioning, unfortunately. Maybe I should watch again. For science. 😊

I think he says "Let me get this thing off." 

  • Love 3
21 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

I noticed something during another rewatch of the first Olicity scene. Just before Oliver takes off his shirt, Oliver tells Felicity something and she nods. Could it just be him saying he’s taking off his shirt? There’s no dialogue in the closed captioning, unfortunately. Maybe I should watch again. For science. 😊

I could have sworn I saw someone post a screenshot on Twitter of someone asking SA on his FB page and he said he couldn't remember? 

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