Arrow (Season 3) (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I found it hilarious that Merlin's 'get out of jail' card is simply "I'm Thea's dad, you'd piss her off if you killed me. KThxBye." Cue smoke bomb distraction. Boom!

 

[Matt Hough]

Had to love the way Felicity disarmed her nerdy ex-boy friend. That gave me a big laugh. I'm sure he never thought she had it in her to do that.

I'll certainly be watching to see how the Roy nightmare is explained.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Really strong episode tonight. I liked everything from the humor of Oliver/Roy, Laurel/Wildcat, Thea/Malcolm sparring montage jump-cutting into Felicity doing sit ups at half the speed of an exercise tape to that absolutely whopper of a closing reveal.I like that they're parsing out the flashbacks between different characters this season, and Felicity had a way more interesting backstory than I expected. In her early episodes, I never completely bought that someone who looks like her would be this socially awkward shrinking violet. So it was gratifying that that persona was at least partially a conscious choice on her part, to have a fresh start and put some distance between her and her past.Some definite foreshadowing about Felicity's dad, since he's apparently where she gets her smarts from. The show's actually pretty skilled at peeling back the layers in a deliberate fashion without ever really spinning its wheels, so I'm sure we'll learn what the story is with him at some point.I also thought the introduction of Felicity's mom was handled better than I expected it would be. Since our lone bit of information about her was that she was a cocktail waitress, I expected one of two scenarios to play out. Either she really was a cocktail waitress, and the show would be content to mine the humor of a fish out of water, or she was going to be revealed as some sort of secret ARGUS agent or something whose cover identity was as a cocktail waitress. Instead, the show said she was as presented, but took the character seriously and underscored the respect due to single parents who work often demeaning jobs to support their families. Felicity's mom isn't a genius with extraordinary talents like most of the characters on the show, but she wasn't a moron either. It was nice to see the two of them mend some of their fences.I also liked the way the familial conflict between Felicity and her mom was counterweighted with Oliver's disagreement with Thea about the use of the money from Malcolm Merlyn's estate. Thea's training and secrets with Malcolm have been good for the show in the sense than they've introduced a certain balancing in their relationship. Neither character has the full picture or the real moral high ground this time. And I also like that both siblings are actively trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Oliver is compromising in ways that he never would have in the first two seasons, while Thea has grown up a lot since she ran away and sets her terms clearly while being willing the accept the consequences either way. Malcolm Merlyn is manipulating a lot of the pieces on the board right now, but he sure didn't look happy to see Oliver and his daughter enjoying a movie together.Laurel continues her streak of making one terrible decision after another.Assuming that Roy really was the one who killed Sara, it'll be interesting to see how he was made to do it.

 

[DaveHof2]

Laurel's decision was scripted as a terrible one, but I can't figure out why it was - a violent mob was descending on a bank, and sending cops in riot gear is a bad idea?

 

[todd s]

I had this thought at the end when Felicity tells Ray she is "sick" that he might have known what had just happened. He looked down at his tablet. I kept expecting him to see that the advanced watch he gave her mom might have some kind of data that shows Felicity talking to the Arrow.

 

[Sam Favate]

Enjoyed the Felicity episode a lot. Hope to see more of her back story.

 

[Patrick Sun]

That was Charlotte Ross playing the role of Felicity's mom?

 

[ponset]

Charlotte Ross. HUBBA-HUBBA!!!
I recall that bathroom scene with her from NYPD Blue.

Maybe Felicity dad is Noah Kuttle aka The Calculator. Just a theory.

Last few seconds with Roy was interesting.

 

[David Weicker]

Laurel continues her streak of making one terrible decision after another.

So you are saying she should have taken the red outfit?

 

[Sam Favate]

I'm not going to consider this a spoiler, since we have known it was coming since Episode 1:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/12/arrow-black-canary-katie-cassidy-photos/

Laurel as the new Black Canary.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

For what it's worth, since it's from an upcoming episode I would spoilerize it if it were me posting.My opinion regarding this story development:

Spoiler

Ugh. Laurel's been training with a boxing instructor for an hour or so a night after work for a few weeks, and she's supposed to fill in for Sara, who trained for years with the world's top assassins? Give me a break.Thea's fighting skills developing as well as they have after months of grueling all-day training with her father, one of the world's deadliest people, is a bit of a stretch. Laurel being a legitimate threat after weeks in a boxing gym is a joke.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, the morphing into Black Canary should have taken at least a season.

That said, I enjoyed tonight's episode even if Oliver has NO business interfering in Laurel's business if she wants to train - no matter WHAT the reason is. He is not paterfamilias though he certainly seems to think so.

 

[ponset]

Boxing Glove Arrow. YAY!!!

 

[Sean Bryan]

Ugh, what is with this disco DJ dude and why was this guy on my TV screen?The whole thing with Thea trying to find a competant DJ and this jerkoff being "so good" wanted to make me turn it off whenever if went back to it. I mean, seriously. What the hell? Even though brief, that whole subplot was just awful. Is this something from the comics or just more CW tweenishness creeping into the show?I'm hoping it goes somewhere relevant to superheroes and vigilantes.

 

[Matt Hough]

I figured it was all about giving Thea a love interest since Roy is otherwise occupied.

I cringed at the completely predictable moment when Oliver who's finally made up his mind about Felicity walking in on a kiss between Felicity and Palmer and backing out of the room thus sublimating his feelings instead of going to her and confessing them and letting her make the choice.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I figured it was all about giving Thea a love interest since Roy is otherwise occupied.

My guess is that that's so, though I don't understand the show's need to always pair her off with somebody. It's always the weakest thread of the show when they do. Her relationship with Malcolm is far more interesting than DJ Boy. Austin Butler has made a career out of these roles, and so far DJ Boy is the least interesting of the lot.

 

[todd s]

2 things I liked....

-White dwarf star and the atom suit.

-This....

 

[ponset]

Captain Boomerang. YAY!!!

 

[NeilO]

It was nice hearing about the white dwarf star alloy and seeing designs on the suit. I didn't think they'd be mentioning those things this early in the season.

Now why are they doing a Marvel Flash vs Arrow crossover?

 

[Matt Hough]

I enjoyed the conclusion of the crossover episodes last night. Team Flash brought humor and sweetness to the Arrow Cave while getting an education about the seriousness of their mission. Barry was great in rounding up and tying up bad guys while Roy looked on in astonishment.

I couldn't tell any major changes Cisco brought to the Arrow outfit? What did I miss?