Arrow (Season 3) (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

It doesn't help that neither the Laurel character nor Katie Cassidy's performance in the role appeal to me at all. It always just seemed like she was slotted in at the beginning as a factory-made love interest for the main character. Contrast that with Felicity and Sara, who both developed far more organically as characters. Basically, if they had to kill off one character, I'd rather it have been Laurel.

My thoughts exactly (especially about Cassidy/Laurel) as I've been writing in the Arrow threads for the past two years.

 

[todd s]

I have said this before. But, why is Oliver "poor"? Even if he lost control of the Queen Industries. That should not affect his personal fortune and assets.

 

[Sam Favate]

I have said this before. But, why is Oliver "poor"? Even if he lost control of the Queen Industries. That should not affect his personal fortune and assets.

I feel like I missed something too. But if they are following the mythology of the comics, he was a millionaire who lost it all (or had it swindled, or whatever, depending on what you read). The character was best when he was living in an inner city tenement in the 70s.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I have said this before. But, why is Oliver "poor"? Even if he lost control of the Queen Industries. That should not affect his personal fortune and assets.

Yes, I've wondered that myself. And he lost the mansion, didnt he? Why would that be tied into the company ownership? I doubt billionaires had mortgage on their home. I think it's just one of those things where the writers just want to lump personal and company fortune all in one for simplicity and hope the audience doesn't think too much about it.

 

[Matt Hough]

Argh! The business about keeping a secret for "someone's own good." It is such an overused trope on this show (Roy finally telling Oliver about Thea at least didn't end their relationship), it never works, and it almost always has devastating results on trust and love. I wanted to slap Laurel silly for keeping the news of Sara to herself. Her father is a big boy and deserves to know

 

[Patrick Sun]

It was an odd episode. Sad how Oliver and the Scoobies had to deal with Sara's remains.

It's weird to think Brandon Routh went from being the "biggest" super hero to going towards being the "smallest" super hero eventually (if they go that way later in the season).

Thea's whereabouts were not surprising, but her progress is.

 

[Jason_V]

Argh! The business about keeping a secret for "someone's own good." It is such an overused trope on this show (Roy finally telling Oliver about Thea at least didn't end their relationship), it never works, and it almost always has devastating results on trust and love. I wanted to slap Laurel silly for keeping the news of Sara to herself. Her father is a big boy and deserves to know

Considering all of Lance's health problems, I can understand Laurel not wanting to tell him his other daughter is dead. Laurel was shown to be trying to protect him in Episode 3.1, so this is a natural outgrowth of that.

 

[Ockeghem]

I was half-asleep when I watched this last night, so I might be reading this wrong, but it sure seemed like they brought Sara Lance back for the sole purpose of killing her off. It would have been far better to keep her off-screen the League of Assassins until the story and Caity Lotz's availability allowed for a more fitting final send-off.It doesn't help that neither the Laurel character nor Katie Cassidy's performance in the role appeal to me at all. It always just seemed like she was slotted in at the beginning as a factory-made love interest for the main character. Contrast that with Felicity and Sara, who both developed far more organically as characters. Basically, if they had to kill off one character, I'd rather it have been Laurel.

I couldn't agree with you more. I was hoping that they would kill off Laurel (if anyone had to be killed off). Despite my son praising the third season thus far, I have no interest any longer in watching it without Caity Lotz. Although I have been told that it's more 'canonical' to have Laurel be the Black Canary, I just don't like her character. There are also a lot of other shows I'm invested in at the moment.

 

[Sam Favate]

So did anyone embalm Sara before they buried her?!?I guess there's always the Lazarus Pit to bring her back, but that's a long shot. Too bad; Caity Lotz had a toughness and an intelligence about her that few of the others do.

 

[Ockeghem]

So did anyone embalm Sara before they buried her?!?I guess there's always the Lazarus Pit to bring her back, but that's a long shot. Too bad; Caity Lotz had a toughness and an intelligence about her that few of the others do.

Sam,My son believes that she will return (and not only in the way you described in a previous spoiler). I would like that.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Stephen Amell really impressed me in last Wednesday's performance. This isn't a show that generally does subtle, but Amell was asked to do some really understated work as Oliver and he pulled it off magnificently.I'm also really really enjoying Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer. Besides the obvious geek out of having a big screen Superman on your D.C. Comics show, Routh is both funny and believably very smart as Palmer. I like the energy between him and Oliver, and I like the energy between him and Felicity.Ever since Oliver called Thea Speedy in the pilot, I've been waiting for that scene of her just completely kicking ass. I really like the road they're taking her down, and I hope she goes a ways further down the supervillain path before the show redeems her (and the show had better redeem her). I just hope they avoid the Charlotte Grayson syndrome.

 

[Jason_V]

I think "Sara" was my favorite episode of the series so far. The performances were all on point, the motorcycle battle was pretty nifty and all the main characters got used in important ways.

Hands down my favorite scene is the one halfway through where Felicity breaks down and Oliver has to tell her he can't fall to pieces because, if he does, no one else can. I'll tell ya...that got to me deep and I rewatched it twice last night. That was a man, someone everyone else looks to for direction, acknowledging the insane mental, emotional and physical burden on his shoulders.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Good episode tonight. I've always thought that Willa Holland was one of the more underrated members of this cast, and it was good to see her given something more to do. Much like with Stephen Amell in last week's episode, she was asked to do some pretty subtle work her. Thea's issues are the same, her complaints are the same, but how she feels about them is different. Her anger is gone. And seing her express the same hurt and the same sense of betrayal without the anger was really interesting to watch. And because she's Oliver's sister, it's interesting to see how she reacts to some of the same pressures he experienced on the island. It's also fascinating to watch these two siblings with very smart parents realize their potential. I do hope Oliver sticks with his decision to tell Thea everything, though. Otherwise, it's just more contrived drama.Didn't mind Laurel's storyline for a change. Katie Cassidy did good work in the hospital scene.I like that they continue to keep Argus morally ambiguous. All of the flashbacks were Thea's this week, but I hope once we return to Hong Kong that our understanding of Argus will be further complicated.Also really liked Colton Haynes's acting and the writing in the scene by the dumpster. Roy didn't make a play to get Thea back. Instead, he apologized for his transgressions and showed that he respected her enough to trust her decisions. His character was so amped up on the Mirakuru that it's fascinating to what the stillness Haynes brings to the character after being cured. His character on "Teen Wolf" was also very angry and amped up, so this is something new from him.

 

[Matt Hough]

OK episode for me, too. Nice to see David Cubitt after all those years on Medium playing something else.

As usual, I could take or leave Laurel, but we know her inevitable transformation, so it had to happen some time. I guess convicting bad guys in court just isn't enough justice for her.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Laurel's butt-kicking was an unexpected bonus... (just tired of her character, just kills the show's momentum each week when she gets air-time).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

As usual, I could take or leave Laurel, but we know her inevitable transformation, so it had to happen some time. I guess convicting bad guys in court just isn't enough justice for her.

I share your lack of enthusiasm, but I will say that I was glad that the show presented more or less the truth of what would happen if a woman with no combat skills walked up a dark alley and started whacking a much bigger and stronger thug with a baseball bat. If they want us to buy into Laurel as Black Canary, we're going to need to see her earn it -- even as we're impatient to get to the next character we care about more.

 

[Gary Seven]

It was interesting they brought in Ted Grant, alias WildCat. Nice easter egg in the gym referencing that. I don't know much about the character though other than his existence in the DC universe.

 

[Jason_V]

There's a lot I really, really love about Arrow. For the second week in a row, I had an unexpected emotional reaction to a scene. This week it was the heart to heart Oliver had with Thea. Here's this guy who has protected or tried to protect everyone in his world for so long and he is being honest with the person who is arguably closest to him. It was perfectly acted by both Stephen Amell and Willa Holland. That being said, I'm almost 100% certain Thea has a different agenda in going back to Starling and Ollie's honesty didn't have a thing to do with it.

The interaction between Felicity and Ray Palmer is so very fun to watch. When he started to finish her sentences ("...it's a long story..."), they play off of each other really well. Brandon Routh is 100% more fun than he was in Superman Returns and a 100% better actor than in the terrible Partners from last year. The way he conveyed being up all night with caffeine in their first scene together was hysterical.

This was a welcome scenery change for the show. Starling is very dark and grim...getting our characters out into the light was a good change of pace even if the Arrow only showed up once in the episode. And the music...I'm really digging everything Blake Neely is doing with it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It was interesting in tonight's episode to note how many characters are either withholding information from or outright lying to the people they care about most. The Oliver/Thea/Malcolm dance is particularly interesting to watch, since Malcolm's the only one who knows the full picture. Interesting, he doesn't ever seem to outright lie, but he does deceive through selective omission.

 

[Matt Hough]

This show couldn't exist with the secrets that characters withhold from others "for their own good."

I did enjoy tonight's episode, though I don't understand why no one will trust Oliver's estimation of Malcolm's truthfulness about Sara's murder. His (Malcolm's) reasoning seems sound to me.