Yo, some thoughts...
So, none of you watch The Walking Dead do you? It makes me incredibly sad, seriously. It's such a good show. SO GOOD. You should be watching it! I have so many thoughts and feelings, but I'm not gonna post about them because I don't think anyone would really read them. Woe.
I'm not ready to give up on it yet, or anything, but it just doesn't bode well for S3 that I have two HUGE complaints about the first two episodes of the season. It's very disconcerting for me.
So my problems with this week's Arrow are mostly in relation to the flashback with Tommy.
The thing about this show is that they've retconned certain unplanned things (like Oliver and Felicity) to make it look like part of the long-term plan all along. They did a great job of that, without any clunkiness and I've appreciated that...how they let the Oliver/Laurel relationship die its natural death, and even the Ollie/Sara relationship, too, because both those relationships were important to his growth.
The problem with Tommy going to Hong Kong is it just feels like a way to shoehorn Tommy into the narrative. I mean, I LOVE TOMMY. No one misses him more than me, and I was so happy when I heard that Colin Donnell was coming back, but I thought the execution was TERRIBLE. And I just don't usually feel that way about this show. So coming off my irritation at how fast they moved on the Olicity thing (and the inexplicable 'quit dangling maybes' conversation) combined with this unnecessary and clunky flashback, I'm just worried about S3 is starting off. Like Tommy wouldn't have mentioned at some point after Oliver turned up alive--hey, I thought you were alive that one time I went to Hong Kong and nearly died! but yet of course we haven't heard a word about it. Just, pointless. I usually really enjoy the flashbacks and feel like they do a lot for *showing* where Oliver is in the present timeline, but this was just bad.
As for the rest of the episode, I liked it. I like Laurel coming a bit unhinged, but keeping her sobriety. I like the friendzone vibe between her and Oliver. I like the distance and angst of Felicity saying FUCK THIS SHIT to Oliver because it makes sense from a character standpoint, but I think it will make even MORE sense once we meet her mother. I love Ray Palmer. And, Oliver's angst fest to beat all angst fests doesn't bother me. This guy will have to get to the place where he isn't co-dependent with the world, acting as though EVERYTHING is his responsibility. And I want him to get there, honestly. For himself, mostly, but obvs also so he and Felicity can work it out.
I think Thea's return is really important to his arc here, so I'm excited for next week.
But, please show, no more clunky and/or inexplicable stuff???
I'm not ready to give up on it yet, or anything, but it just doesn't bode well for S3 that I have two HUGE complaints about the first two episodes of the season. It's very disconcerting for me.
So my problems with this week's Arrow are mostly in relation to the flashback with Tommy.
The thing about this show is that they've retconned certain unplanned things (like Oliver and Felicity) to make it look like part of the long-term plan all along. They did a great job of that, without any clunkiness and I've appreciated that...how they let the Oliver/Laurel relationship die its natural death, and even the Ollie/Sara relationship, too, because both those relationships were important to his growth.
The problem with Tommy going to Hong Kong is it just feels like a way to shoehorn Tommy into the narrative. I mean, I LOVE TOMMY. No one misses him more than me, and I was so happy when I heard that Colin Donnell was coming back, but I thought the execution was TERRIBLE. And I just don't usually feel that way about this show. So coming off my irritation at how fast they moved on the Olicity thing (and the inexplicable 'quit dangling maybes' conversation) combined with this unnecessary and clunky flashback, I'm just worried about S3 is starting off. Like Tommy wouldn't have mentioned at some point after Oliver turned up alive--hey, I thought you were alive that one time I went to Hong Kong and nearly died! but yet of course we haven't heard a word about it. Just, pointless. I usually really enjoy the flashbacks and feel like they do a lot for *showing* where Oliver is in the present timeline, but this was just bad.
As for the rest of the episode, I liked it. I like Laurel coming a bit unhinged, but keeping her sobriety. I like the friendzone vibe between her and Oliver. I like the distance and angst of Felicity saying FUCK THIS SHIT to Oliver because it makes sense from a character standpoint, but I think it will make even MORE sense once we meet her mother. I love Ray Palmer. And, Oliver's angst fest to beat all angst fests doesn't bother me. This guy will have to get to the place where he isn't co-dependent with the world, acting as though EVERYTHING is his responsibility. And I want him to get there, honestly. For himself, mostly, but obvs also so he and Felicity can work it out.
I think Thea's return is really important to his arc here, so I'm excited for next week.
But, please show, no more clunky and/or inexplicable stuff???