Arrow: New CW show to replace Smallville

Eezy_Bordone wrote:

Plus doesn't Laurel become the Canary at some point anyway?

In the comics and even the Justice League Unlimited cartoons, yeah, she's the current Black Canary. At least as I understand it. DC had that reboot a while back and I don't know what that did to things.

Because comic books.

Eezy_Bordone wrote:

My wife did not like Sara dying but yes, Laurel is starting out the season even looking better (she looked anorexic last season) so maybe her acting chops will get a leg up this season. Plus doesn't Laurel become the Canary at some point anyway?

She's supposedly been working out to make her look stronger. I didn't realize she's David Cassidy's daughter. Weird.

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Kurrelgyre wrote:

It felt rushed....It felt rushed....

Flash pun. Twice.

Eezy_Bordone wrote:

I thought The Flash was terrible but Arrow didn't start out strong either in S1 (Lost+Dark Knight+Arrows, they moved from that thank goodness). I'll give Flash the full first season as it takes these shows a season to lay their seeds and let them grow.

...spoilery stuff...

It felt rushed, even with an extended run time, but I wouldn't call it terrible. It hit the character beats it needed to and (re)introduced the character and his world pretty well.

To avoid spoiler problems having two shows being talked about in the same thread I went ahead and created a thread for The Flash. It's especially problematic because the shows don't air on the same nights, and having to a avoid a thread for an entire week because you couldn't keep up with one show or the other, would be a pain in the but.

So here is the link to The Flash thread. http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

To avoid spoiler problems having two shows being talked about in the same thread I went ahead and created a thread for The Flash. It's especially problematic because the shows don't air on the same nights, and having to a avoid a thread for an entire week because you couldn't keep up with one show or the other, would be a pain in the butt.

So here is the link to The Flash thread. http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/1...

So uh, Laurel is uh, developing in an interesting way this season.

Seriously, this episode has really set the stage for this to be a really, really awesome season.

Spoiler:

After those earlier photos and watching this episode, it's pretty clear they're going to turn Laurel into the Black Canary. Merlin training Thea has me all kinds of giddy as well. Still sad about Sarah dying, and man do they know how to make it hurt. My guess is at some point Ra's is going to come in to find out who killed Sarah as well.

The only thing I'm not so fond of are the flashbacks. I hope this is the last season they insist on them. The main story is strong enough now and we have enough background for why Oliver is how he is. We don't need to keep making stuff up. It'll just get convoluted like in Once Upon a Time.

Aw, I still like the flashbacks. They're fun. They let us see Tommy again!

I'm not among them, but there are a lot of Laurel haters out there, and it will be interesting to see how they take to this storyline.

Revised culprit speculation:

Spoiler:

In theory, Merlyn could have flown to the city and back, and may have had nefarious reasons to do so, but I don't think Thea could or does. So, I'm pulling for darkhorse Shado, if not LoA-related.

ccesarano wrote:
Spoiler:

After those earlier photos and watching this episode, it's pretty clear they're going to turn Laurel into the Black Canary. Merlin training Thea has me all kinds of giddy as well. Still sad about Sarah dying, and man do they know how to make it hurt. My guess is at some point Ra's is going to come in to find out who killed Sarah as well.

Spoiler:

It certainly gives us a poignant reason to accept whatever costuming choices come down the road, so long as they include her sister's jacket and a mask. Not telling her father is just going to make it hit him harder when he does learn the truth.

Pretty freaking great episode. Loved the reveal at the end. I'm pretty sure Merlyn was responsible for the death and I was shocked when they went a different direction this episode. I was positive that would have been the first suspect on their list? Or do they still think he's dead? I'm pretty positive they know he's still alive. Am I wrong?

I'm not a big fan of Laurel and least year was such a terrible year for her character. There was one particular scene, I think it's when Laurel finds out who the Arrow is, worst reaction ever. Like soap opera reaction bad, and then they stayed on that shot for a long time. It was terrible. Here's hoping for a better season for her character.

When my brother was watching season one, he confided in me that he felt all the female characters in the show all somehow turned into selfish Female Doggoes. He was primarily talking about Laurel and Thea, which, honestly, yeah he's kind of right. But I assured him Thea improves over time, as do many of the female characters. Basically, once Felicity is a part of the team it helps. They just have to get through the 18-25 female soap opera drama demographic.

But I did tell him "Wait until season two, man. Laurel gets worse."

"She gets WORSE?!"

Favorite reaction ever. Then he was watching the early episodes of season two with my roommate, says "Dude, you're right, Laurel's horrible this season." "Oh no, just wait, she gets worse." "WHAT?!"

But truth told, when she slammed that dude's arm like that, well, I was grinning from ear to ear.

Spoiler:

Now it's just a matter of who will be training her. Oliver? Unlikely, unless they somehow really figure out a way to convince him. Roy? I can see it.

For me, the question is why would Merlyn kill Sarah? I mean, Sarah knew her killer, that was clear. But why would it be Merlyn? Is he planning on going to war against Ra's? He has no vendetta against Sarah. Of course, Sarah was in town investigating something, so it could have been something Merlyn related I suppose. Either way, I feel like that may be too obvious.

Wonder if The Huntress is still alive? I don't recall her getting killed. That's reaching a bit, though.

Oh, last observation: love that "Hong Kong police!" was shouted in English. How convenient!

I finally got totally caught up with the show (I got sidetracked around the middle of last season), and it's becoming a favorite of mine. I just love how, for the most part, it just doesn't f*ck around.

So rewatching the series on Netflix, there's one thing that's just kind of nagging me that I had totally forgotten.

The fake-out Deathstroke in season one? The dude that tortured Oliver on the Island? He was the Godfather to Deathstroke's son.

...and that has never been addressed since that single line of dialogue.

I feel like that should really have been an influence on his descent into madness.

Isn't that guy dead?

Oh yeah he's long been dead. But Deathstroke has a son out there that he doesn't at all give two sh*ts about but YOU MUST SUFFER OLIVER BECAUSE SHADO IS DDDDEEEEEEAAAAAADDDDDD

It's like... so... you don't love your son? Or his mother? Okay...

Or they're also dead. There are lots of possibilities and plenty of time.

Potential season spoiler, but looks like Bullet Tooth Tony will be joining the cast of characters this season.

Spoiler:
He’s known as 'Brick' on the streets because he’s been shot dozens of times but never put down.

Bit of a role reversal, eh?

I feel/hope:

Spoiler:

Merlyn pinning the blame on Ra's' orders clears him, mostly because Ra's is one of my favs, and I want him doing grandiose stuff like, oh, say, declaring at the end of an episode "Then Queen courts war with Us!" and for him not to be a homophobe.

Seriously, that ruled.

I kinda wonder if the reveal at the end of the flashback doesn't tie into current events.

...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?

That good huh?

Now I really want to watch the new episode tonight.

Same here. Got me all kinds of curious.

Thin_J wrote:

That good huh?

Now I really want to watch the new episode tonight.

Well, you can never go wrong in my book by doing a Felicity-centric episode.

And then...we'll see how those developments at the end play out.

I'm cutting out the commercial breaks to re-encode it now.

Usually I don't bother with any of the Wednesday shows until Thursday morning sometime but you've piqued my interest.

Oh come on, does anyone believe her mom is a natural blonde?

I dug some of the character moments they had in this one. Oliver not being comfortable having a baby in his headquarters being up there.

I'll spoiler-tag the episode ending:

Spoiler:

My roommate and I are tossing all kinds of speculation out there just because we imagine it's nothing as simple as it seems. Anything from hypnotism to the mirakuru not being fully out of his system, or even the "cure" having some negative lingering side effects. In order for Roy to be able to throw the arrows like that he'd need super strength of some sort, which either means he didn't do it, it didn't happen like he's dreaming, or he's still got some super drug in him. A whole bunch of possibilities there. Curious to see how it develops.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Oh come on, does anyone believe her mom is a natural blonde?

Well, maybe not that blonde.

ccesarano wrote:

Oliver not being comfortable having a baby in his headquarters being up there.

Yeah, that was great stuff. See spoilers below more more thoughts.

ccesarano wrote:

I'll spoiler-tag the episode ending:

Here is mine, post-bike ride:

Spoiler:

It's not a red herring or a "manifestation of his guilt" over killing the cops last season--it's a lingering mirakuru/cure effect, possibly with some hypnotic suggestion as well, but he did it. Question is who ordered it, since most of the mirakuru enknowledged are out of play. You can take it as implied that Malcolm knows about the stuff (he told Thea last season he knew all about Roy), but Waller knows all about mirakuru.

Waller and ARGUS are going to be the ultimate foes this season--for some reason she wants the LoA at war with Team Arrow, so she killed Sara to set them against each other.

[i]Don't trust baby Dig, Ollie! She's an ARGUS sleeper agent who will doom you all!

Also, Felicity's Dad Pool:

Spoiler:

Ray Palmer's Dad - 2/1
Malcolm - 15/1
Mr. Queen - Eww, gross, 500/1
Slade - 1000/1, but this would be so hilarious, I'd love it

I like your theories re: villain of the season and will acknowledge them as the most likely outcome.

Everything else I don't even want to touch with a ten foot pole.

Also: it was great getting someone else's five years ago flashback instead of insisting on Oliver's change of location that I wish we could just forget about.

Ugh I wish they'd stop with the Felicity episodes. Feels like this season is more about her than anything. And she's boring as sh*t.

cheeba wrote:

Ugh I wish they'd stop with the Felicity episodes. Feels like this season is more about her than anything. And she's boring as sh*t.

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cheeba wrote:

Ugh I wish they'd stop with the Felicity episodes. Feels like this season is more about her than anything. And she's boring as sh*t.

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EDIT: I forgot to post that I thought the training montage at the beginning, ending on Felicity, was great.