Board Thread:Arrow episode discussions/@comment-24494245-20150328190208/@comment-24494245-20150405005148

So massive episode, weren't joking when they said they were going to 'blow up the show' I think they started early.

Poor Ray, I actually only dislike ray in relation to Felicity, he was actually funny as he was back at the beginning when he first showed up in this ep and I liked it.

Oliver and Diggle find out about the Mayor being dead (poor Christina Cox -barely any lines or action and now she is dead) and Ray injured from TV coverage. I would have thought Oliver's reaction as Felicity was there would have been more apprehensive as Diggle has already confirmed that he can't reach her. Then Lance stabs the knife in a little with his stint saying that the Arrow is a criminal and the task force is back in action to hunt him down. Lance I really don't like you right now.

I totally thought Mei would be the twin of Shado and also handy that she was Oliver's instrument of salvation much like the rest of the family just when he need somewhere for him and Akiro.

Lance is going to push everyone away and he will loose Laurel too this way and he doesn't see it. She will only take this for so long, I know she said she would never give up but she will stop actively trying.

Ahhhh the Thea and Roy - getting back to where they were and should be. Glad to see that they both have come back to each other. Literally the only thing keeping these two apart was secrets. His, Hers, other peoples, revelations etc all in the way. Now the fog has lifted and its good to see them maybe even a little bit happy dare I say - hence it will now all be torn asunder.

Ray is alive! - Ok so he looks a bit peaky but quite well for an arrow in the chest, the brain aneurism is a bit more problematic. So they can open the head and he might die or they can leave it and he will die. All that money and Im sure they could have found a brain specialist with an alternative. but I suspend the practical part of my brain as there is no need to panic, there are nano tech robots can save the day. Also wouldn't Ray have gone to the nice rich hospital that the queen family was using all of season 1 and 2? chocolate sheets, wider and more comfortable looking beds, that looked like he was perched on the emergency gurney and they are narrower and plainer as they need to move around, proper bed is bigger and more adjustable and comfy. Also no cot sides and they wouldn't have left him in it without them as its a fall risk. Sorry practical brain will not let that slide and also a nicer bed would have been more aesthetically pleasing.

Mama Smoak - totally happy that Charlotte Ross made it back on the screen. She rocks. I tweeted as I was watching this episode and she fav'd me saying that and I was sooooooo chuffed. lol I'm really to old to be this nerdy! She nailed it, Ray's in hospital and everything is going on and she can see how stressed Felicity is and then he response cracked me up "at least you finally have a boyfriend".

Asking Nysa for help - She wasn't ready to do it and then she is thinking hang on my dad has handed the keys to my inheritance over to a complete stranger and its all to get back at me for the love I had for Sara who is dead. So she takes a little bit of revenge for herself but doesn't exactly turncoat as she is still hardcore league.

Face Off - Maseo and two trained assassins I could see Oliver successfully fighting these guys but Laurel has only had training with Nysa for like a couple of weeks and Roy although he has been trained by Oliver has never gone up against the same techniques - how are they still standing at the end? Still at this point Oliver is unaware that it was Maseo that was going to fire at Felicity and hit ray and it will not be good when he does. Ra's calmly strolling around Starling City like he owns the place and Oliver would think that to cut off the Demon Head would solve his issues but the whole league is doing what Ra's wants until he takes up the new mantle hence no win. Police show up and pour petrol on the fire that is already raging out of control. Now our leather clad trio are running from Lance, again. Sinceriously what was Lance going to do when he cornered Laurel? aiming his gun at his only remaining family?! Just how blinded by his grief is he going to get before he does something he will regret and cannot undo? Splitting up was risky but Oliver was the main attraction and it was the only way the others had a chance of getting out. Though how relieved were you when Diggle came to the rescue, I mean it was great he was leading the team but he shows up like MR T in the A-Team in the back van and is saving Oliver, again.

Arrow-cave regroup - Calling Lance doesn't help, but how can he not see that there is no way the Arrow would go back to killing after everything they went through?! I know its all about Sara but he is going to regret this later. Thea is left as the one seemingly burling in circles just thankful that everyone came home and isn't asking as many questions as I would have had I been her right then.

Mei and Shado - Oliver clearly intrigued to know more has taken her up on her offer of sanctuary but is keeping all the info as he never want to hurt anyone and this information would definitely hurt her. Yeah lets have a shower why not? seems random, I would have thought food and water would have been a better place to start and then possibly transport and exit but hey that me thinking too much. BINGO reason for shower is to reveal Shado's tattoo and now Mei knows there is something big to be revealed by this 'Tommy' (he doesn't even look like a tommy).

Felicity hasn't been in touch with the team and is still with Ray and her mum who once again steals the scene with some fabulous delivery. Felicity doesn't think there is anything of her mum's style in her but the bright colours the bold prints that all from her mum as they stand in dresses of brighter than normal yellow and pink. Her mum is the one to actually push her to do it, to go the extra to risk a little to save Ray. She wouldn't have had to push her to save Oliver, she accepted in seconds when Barry wanted to inject Oliver with Rat poison and she knew it was a risk but he was going to die. Same situation with Ray and she was unsure what to do.

Lance meets Ra's - He hates this guy, he feels he is the reason Sara was in danger when she got back and rightly so but he is about to know a whole lot more. Ra's seems to fill him in on everything he knows about Sara and Oliver and the events during their assumed deaths. Then he throws in that Oliver is the Arrow. THANKS FOR THAT RA's. Ass*$%(

Laurel confronts her dad - again she tries to reason with him but he in his official captain jacket should have given Laurel a cue that he was about to go public with something and then he lets it out simply that he knows and she flickers an almost blink a tell that she knew and he sees it. Now he has said he may never forgive her and he's now so angry that he will take all his anger and frustration back out on Oliver. Back to Season 1 then.

(*this makes me think of how Stephen was talking about doing scenes with JB and PB. PB is method style and hence spends time before coming on set swearing profanities about Oliver Queen and how much he hates him and I wonder if he stopped when they were cool with each other as characters and if this meant he now reverted to swearing and hating on Oliver before their scenes? if you get the chance to ask them then do!) I tweeted this to some folks at the FanExpoVan today so who knows maybe someone will lol

Where was I, ah yes Lance hating Oliver with a passion. lol Then he states that he has officers everywhere, so he wasted no time in getting men in position and then a press conference. The house di he say house?-what house? Oliver technically doesn't have one anymore he sleeps @ the foundry (on the bed he let Felicity buy him). Maybe I heard wrong. I am going by memory at the moment and although I have watched it a ridiculous amount of times I may have got that muddled. lol apologies if I did.

Nanobots - Mama Smoak to the rescue like the Murdoch of the A-Team crazy but genius at distractions. lol She gives Felicity time to inject Ray with the nano bots and he seems sure just worried she would go to jail and we all know that won't bother Felicity. So ahead with the trial and well its going well till he seems to fit and flat line then pops back like a short circuit was fixed and well apparently the little guys did the job. I wonder if they are still in him though if they continue fixing things like the wound and damage from the arrow and then continue or do they time out? do they then die off/run out of power? Or could they be part of what will give the ATOM his powers in the future? Ideas abound.

Thea and Roy sitting at the bar, they have come full circle back to each other and he is stressing about the cops he had to stop making him think about the one he killed on Miracuru. Thea has taken the whole she killed Sara thing better since Nysa and Laurel seemed to accept that it was out of her hands. Oliver feels responsible for Roy and unlike Huntress he was a success story, but not without hardship. Then he has to run as the cops burst in the club.

Mei flashback - she called the cops and surprise surprise the guys in black show up and shoot the crap out of her apartment. Insurance is never covering bullet holes.

Felicity and her mum still getting more bonding time I think is great, there was obviously a rift between them and now its getting ironed out they are getting closer and closer and its not because there was no love there its just they didn't know to just talk to each other. Felicity is so good at advising others but in her own life she can't always get herself in the right place. Doctor confirms the magical recovery of Ray and well gotta love Mama S as she says she works a table in vegas with 3 Lawyers. lol News in background of course interrupts and Felicity is immediately drawn to it.

Oliver had no where to go so he went to John's. I get it, there should have been more times where he and John sat in this place just having a beer, or sitting. Bromance been lacking. AAAAAAAAAAAnd yip on the tv there is Lance outing Oliver as the Arrow on national news to the masses. Thanks for that Lance and welcome to the top of my dislike might even want to slap list. The rest of the team turns up and Felicity straight to Oliver, he asks about Ray and she is like what are you thinking about?!?! She wants him to run, to get to safety and then in steps Laurel with how good her Dad is at screwing that up and have left Oliver with almost no where to hide or run to without being caught or seen. He seems to have somewhere in mind, but where could he possibly be going...

Back to the flashback and Mei's apartment is trashed. Oliver keeps Akiro under him to protect him how adorable. Then he sends Mei and Akiro to hide at the back of the apartment and waiting on the assailants to enter then proceeds to kick ass. Just as we think he might get shot Maseo saves him. Tatsu then follows and slices the other guy before the family is reunited. Mei looks a little dumbfounded.

Felicity goes back to see Ray who is feeling better and she once again adorably puts her foot in her mouth but when Ray says he loves her the response is very telling. She doesn't say it back. "that's a really nice thing to hear". WOW. Guys just love telling her they love her! Can I get what she has bottled? She makes the excuse to leave the room and Mama S catches her and after she gets excited about hospital sex, sits felicity down. Ray is the Disney prince, he's a genius and a nerd and hes funny and attractive and she should be in love with him as he's perfect. Mama S knows, like us that's because she is already in love and although her actions trying to move on with Ray after Oliver told her he couldn't be with her she still left her heart with him. But he won't be with her and Ray is willing to try. Mama S tells her she has to make the choice to love Oliver in spite of his decision or to let it go and love Ray. I know what I would pick! lol

Oliver king of stupid ideas just walks into the police station and turns himself in to Lance. No surprise that he is in handcuffs straight away and Lance is smirking. Don't get too cocky Captain, you shall fall off that high horse and its going to hurt.

Laurel brings in the team; Diggle, Felicity and Roy to see Oliver. She has managed to get them some time with him but is weary of them being seen around him due to their secret identities. Lance knows Roy is Arsenal, he knows she is being the Black Canary and he knows Diggle and Felicity helps him so there are no other barriers there. Laurel doesn't go in the room with them as they are the core team arrow, not that I think that was deliberate but I liked it. Oliver is horrified that they even came there as Felicity is about ready to give him a piece of her mind she is just lost for words but you can see how upset and angry and frustrated they all are with him and everything. I loved how Oliver says to them "the best way to save lives, including yours!" and looks at Felicity. Does he know she was the target or is he just worried that she was one? Really want to see what happens when he knows it was Maseo and that he was going to kill her to get to him. Roy and Diggle trying to reason with him but he's saying how he's been through worse than prison and they have followed him this far to stick by his decisions a little longer - but then he says till its over - like he dies or Ra's takes him? It sounds like he is saying a little bit of a goodbye.

Mei gets the truth - Maseo has taken care of the bodies, and then Oliver lets her know that her family will never come home and she thanks him for the truth and the power that has. words he has just used to the team.

Felicity, Roy and Diggle are shocked in the arrowcave. They don't know what to do. But you see in Roy's expression - I'm going to do something stupid.

Police escort - inside the truck is Oliver and Lance. Wow, Lance is sooooooo mean here. Rubbing Sara's Death, Tommy's even his mum's in his face. He even lashes out and hits Oliver. You can see Oliver's eyes well up a little a couple of times during this scene. Hard not to when Lance is being so accusatory and harsh. I get that he is in pain but wow did he learn nothing about all the good since they spent the last year working the same side? has no good remained? (this scene is where I was thinking after a few viewings if Paul was back to his method style of swearing and shouting abuse about Oliver Queen before shooting a scene with him to get the right feel. And had he stopped doing that when he started working with the Arrow?)

Enter Roy with that stupid idea we saw on his face - dressed as the Arrow he stops the van and hands himself in to the cops as the man they are after. Oliver looks shocked.

Okay so questions this left me with:

1. Lance knows that Roy is Arsenal so he can't be the Arrow as they work together. 2. They couldn't just then let Oliver go? could they? 3. Surely they wouldn't put someone they though was the Arrow in Jail in main community where he would definitely be a target! 4. How do we 'put the genie back in the bottle' as Diggle said, this would only work if Barry's time travel affected this show too but there is so much I don't want to change. 5. Maseo Vs Oliver - truths told and gauntlets thrown 6. Ray and Felicity - beginning of the end? (no offence Ray you were actually likable in this but I am Olicity all the way.) 7. Mama Smoak - more please, could she move to town so she can be there more often? 8. Stephen was at FanExpoVan today and said what Roy did at the end of this episode pales in comparison to what happens at the end of 3x19.

I know some folks have changed their theory to Thea dies, but I think with Roy in jail and them trying to break him out but they just won't get to him in time and that he will be stabbed and die, perhaps in Oliver's arms when they get in and that's what would make it a real emotional heart wrench. Colton has been in Kansas while they filmed the end of the series, he did the goodbye rounds visiting the writers offices and prod office, then also msg to Brandon about not getting a chance to work with him on the show - as in won't have the chance now. I don't want it, but I think Roy is going to die. And possibly not in the jail, maybe Thea is under control again and is made to do it but I regret that I still think its him.

Literally now in torture mode for 2 weeks till get our next fix!!!!!! HATE HATE HATE HIATUS!!!!