there ain't no island left for islanders like me
Arrow: Blast Radius
Oh man, they bring Sean Maher on the show and it's an ep without Summer Glau! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? I WANTED A CRAZY SPACE INCEST REUNION SCENE. Also, they didn't even give Maher a character to play. I wanted more than just a couple boilerplate anti-tax/anti-government rants and a bit where he owns a novelty shop.
While I still think Laurel is a problem for the show, I did like that she actually did something useful in this episode, and now she knows things no one else knows, though I'm afraid her descent into addiction is going to make Oliver/Det. Lance less likely to believe her when she says Blood is a bad guy. Also - and like many of the problems with the character, this is a glaring fault of the writing - while I enjoyed the reveal that the lady in the mental hospital was his mother, not his aunt, and that'd he created his own origin story by killing his father and locking up his mother, it really could have been better written. Also, I really didn't care for the fact that for once Laurel's gut instincts are spot on and her dad is like, "He's a good guy! Stop punishing yourself and let yourself like him!" I can see where that would come from, but 1. I think women are far more likely to downplay those feelings of wrongness and get hurt in the end, and 2. I sincerely doubt Lance would be all that gung-ho about his daughter's boyfriend without doing his own serious background checks. (Which is problematic in a different way, but at least seems in character.)
I did like all the Ollie/Diggle/Felicity stuff. A lot. "You're not my employee. You're my partner." ♥♥♥♥♥♥ If I knew how and didn't find it tremendously annoying, I would make those sparkly, because oh my god, talk about hitting the sweet spot between pandering to shippers and organic character development. HEARTS. HEARTS IN MY EYES. Because when he started out, Ollie really thought he was going to be some kind of lone wolf vengeance-bringer and there's no way he'd have survived like that, and he would have lost whatever was left of his soul if he tried for too long. *deletes lengthy discussion of Batman and his supporting cast, except to say ALFRED. ROBINS. ORACLE.* Suffice it to say when you don't have superpowers, a strong network of partners and allies can often pick up the slack.
I also liked Sara giving Ollie some real talk about how it wasn't his fault Shado was killed, and I believe at this point, Slade would probably believe him, but I don't think anything would have kept that from festering, if the Mirakuru really does have serious psychological effects on people. (I also kind of like that they haven't made it like MCU super-soldier serum where it makes you "more" whatever you are, because I don't think Slade was a bad guy or evil at all prior to this, and I would hate to see them say that he was. I am still kind of hoping they'll pull him back to morally gray antagonist rather than outright supervillain, because SLADE.)
With that said, I hope Team Arrow provides a little more support for Roy than what he's been getting so far. Thea (and maybe Sin?) can only do so much, especially since she doesn't really know what's happening either, though I wouldn't be surprised if either or both of them have figured out that Ollie is the Arrow. LET THEM IN ON THE SECRET GUYS. IT'S NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOESN'T ALREADY KNOW.
So even though this ep wasn't as strong as the rest of the season has been so far, they did do a bunch of things that pleased me.
***
So my niece - okay, technically, my brother-in-law's sister's daughter, but niece is just easier and shorter, all things considered - is having her sweet sixteen on Saturday night, and I just realized this last weekend (I mean, I knew it was happening! I RSVP'd! but not that it was so soon. Me = bad at dates!), so I had to scramble to find something to wear. I ordered a dress - it was on sale for 60% off so it was only going to cost me $30 so I didn't mind paying for 3 day shipping so I'd have it in time. And then they cancelled my order and said it was unavailable. So I ordered the same dress in a different (smaller) size on Monday and only got it for 50% off and still had to pay for expedited shipping, because I needed it to come before Friday.
I also ordered two other dresses from somewhere else in hopes one would fit and also arrive in time. As of now they have yet to be delivered - if they don't get delivered today, FedEx takes them to some depot up in the Bronx where I will never pick them up, so at least I'll get the money back?
The dress I ordered on Monday arrived last night though, and thankfully it fits, though it's sleeveless, so I have to figure out what to wear over it, since it's still January and it will probably be cold at the place. Ugh.
Then last night, my sister-in-law calls and is like, "Do I have to wear a dress to this thing?" and I was like, "I am, mostly because I don't have any really dressy pants." So she was like, "Meh, I don't want to wear a dress." And I was like, "I know that feel, bro." But it is at a fancy catering place from 8 pm - 12 am so it seems to warrant dressing up appropriately. Sigh. I'm not wearing heels, though. My ballerina flats will work fine.
Then this morning, I got my period, a few days early. Meh. It explains why I've been so sleepy even though I've been sleeping like a rock for 7-8 hours every night this week. (Did I mention last week I dreamt a Community/Avengers crossover, the main gist of which was everyone trying to keep Britta away from Captain America in fear that she would break him somehow?)
***
Random links and news:
- Yesterday, when I read that Chris Hemsworth and his wife might be having twins, my first thought was, "Well, Thor is a fertility god." More adorable Hemsworth babies, yes please! (Now if CEvans and ScarJo would just get together and start having babies, I would be THRILLED. [I am still so sad that there is no great body of Chris Evans/Scarlett Johansson fic to read. Maybe after Cap 2? I kind of ship them a lot. *facepalm*] /tinhattery)
- A Veronica Mars digital spin-off is in the works. Apparently it's about Dick. Casablancas, I mean. I'm not really interested? But maybe other people are.
- It looks like I'm going to get my wish for Miles Morales to team up with Jessica Drew, Cloak & Dagger, and Bombshell after all: All-New Ultimates is scheduled to start in April, starring that bunch, plus Kitty Pryde. While I kind of wanted them all just carried into 616 (and Rikki could come back to share being the lone survivor of a universe with them!), I'm also glad not to lose all the USM supporting cast. Aunt May! Gwen! MJ! J. Jonah Jameson! Ganke! Katie! And
intothespin pointed out that an Ultimate Rikki Barnes is still a possibility, since Ult!Bucky's an old married geezer who has grandkids. *hands* (Though I wonder how USM will be handled next year in yuletide after the ridiculousness this year. IT IS STILL THE SAME BOOK. GOD.)
- I almost never post anything original to my tumblr and when I do it almost never gets reblogged, so I was a little surprised last night to discover a bunch of notes on this screencap of Hawkgirl + Solomon Grundy that I had queued up after I watched that ep a couple weeks ago. I still can't believe they made me cry over Solomon Grundy. Every time I watch the episode!
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/633073.html.
people have commented there.
Oh man, they bring Sean Maher on the show and it's an ep without Summer Glau! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? I WANTED A CRAZY SPACE INCEST REUNION SCENE. Also, they didn't even give Maher a character to play. I wanted more than just a couple boilerplate anti-tax/anti-government rants and a bit where he owns a novelty shop.
While I still think Laurel is a problem for the show, I did like that she actually did something useful in this episode, and now she knows things no one else knows, though I'm afraid her descent into addiction is going to make Oliver/Det. Lance less likely to believe her when she says Blood is a bad guy. Also - and like many of the problems with the character, this is a glaring fault of the writing - while I enjoyed the reveal that the lady in the mental hospital was his mother, not his aunt, and that'd he created his own origin story by killing his father and locking up his mother, it really could have been better written. Also, I really didn't care for the fact that for once Laurel's gut instincts are spot on and her dad is like, "He's a good guy! Stop punishing yourself and let yourself like him!" I can see where that would come from, but 1. I think women are far more likely to downplay those feelings of wrongness and get hurt in the end, and 2. I sincerely doubt Lance would be all that gung-ho about his daughter's boyfriend without doing his own serious background checks. (Which is problematic in a different way, but at least seems in character.)
I did like all the Ollie/Diggle/Felicity stuff. A lot. "You're not my employee. You're my partner." ♥♥♥♥♥♥ If I knew how and didn't find it tremendously annoying, I would make those sparkly, because oh my god, talk about hitting the sweet spot between pandering to shippers and organic character development. HEARTS. HEARTS IN MY EYES. Because when he started out, Ollie really thought he was going to be some kind of lone wolf vengeance-bringer and there's no way he'd have survived like that, and he would have lost whatever was left of his soul if he tried for too long. *deletes lengthy discussion of Batman and his supporting cast, except to say ALFRED. ROBINS. ORACLE.* Suffice it to say when you don't have superpowers, a strong network of partners and allies can often pick up the slack.
I also liked Sara giving Ollie some real talk about how it wasn't his fault Shado was killed, and I believe at this point, Slade would probably believe him, but I don't think anything would have kept that from festering, if the Mirakuru really does have serious psychological effects on people. (I also kind of like that they haven't made it like MCU super-soldier serum where it makes you "more" whatever you are, because I don't think Slade was a bad guy or evil at all prior to this, and I would hate to see them say that he was. I am still kind of hoping they'll pull him back to morally gray antagonist rather than outright supervillain, because SLADE.)
With that said, I hope Team Arrow provides a little more support for Roy than what he's been getting so far. Thea (and maybe Sin?) can only do so much, especially since she doesn't really know what's happening either, though I wouldn't be surprised if either or both of them have figured out that Ollie is the Arrow. LET THEM IN ON THE SECRET GUYS. IT'S NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOESN'T ALREADY KNOW.
So even though this ep wasn't as strong as the rest of the season has been so far, they did do a bunch of things that pleased me.
***
So my niece - okay, technically, my brother-in-law's sister's daughter, but niece is just easier and shorter, all things considered - is having her sweet sixteen on Saturday night, and I just realized this last weekend (I mean, I knew it was happening! I RSVP'd! but not that it was so soon. Me = bad at dates!), so I had to scramble to find something to wear. I ordered a dress - it was on sale for 60% off so it was only going to cost me $30 so I didn't mind paying for 3 day shipping so I'd have it in time. And then they cancelled my order and said it was unavailable. So I ordered the same dress in a different (smaller) size on Monday and only got it for 50% off and still had to pay for expedited shipping, because I needed it to come before Friday.
I also ordered two other dresses from somewhere else in hopes one would fit and also arrive in time. As of now they have yet to be delivered - if they don't get delivered today, FedEx takes them to some depot up in the Bronx where I will never pick them up, so at least I'll get the money back?
The dress I ordered on Monday arrived last night though, and thankfully it fits, though it's sleeveless, so I have to figure out what to wear over it, since it's still January and it will probably be cold at the place. Ugh.
Then last night, my sister-in-law calls and is like, "Do I have to wear a dress to this thing?" and I was like, "I am, mostly because I don't have any really dressy pants." So she was like, "Meh, I don't want to wear a dress." And I was like, "I know that feel, bro." But it is at a fancy catering place from 8 pm - 12 am so it seems to warrant dressing up appropriately. Sigh. I'm not wearing heels, though. My ballerina flats will work fine.
Then this morning, I got my period, a few days early. Meh. It explains why I've been so sleepy even though I've been sleeping like a rock for 7-8 hours every night this week. (Did I mention last week I dreamt a Community/Avengers crossover, the main gist of which was everyone trying to keep Britta away from Captain America in fear that she would break him somehow?)
***
Random links and news:
- Yesterday, when I read that Chris Hemsworth and his wife might be having twins, my first thought was, "Well, Thor is a fertility god." More adorable Hemsworth babies, yes please! (Now if CEvans and ScarJo would just get together and start having babies, I would be THRILLED. [I am still so sad that there is no great body of Chris Evans/Scarlett Johansson fic to read. Maybe after Cap 2? I kind of ship them a lot. *facepalm*] /tinhattery)
- A Veronica Mars digital spin-off is in the works. Apparently it's about Dick. Casablancas, I mean. I'm not really interested? But maybe other people are.
- It looks like I'm going to get my wish for Miles Morales to team up with Jessica Drew, Cloak & Dagger, and Bombshell after all: All-New Ultimates is scheduled to start in April, starring that bunch, plus Kitty Pryde. While I kind of wanted them all just carried into 616 (and Rikki could come back to share being the lone survivor of a universe with them!), I'm also glad not to lose all the USM supporting cast. Aunt May! Gwen! MJ! J. Jonah Jameson! Ganke! Katie! And
intothespin pointed out that an Ultimate Rikki Barnes is still a possibility, since Ult!Bucky's an old married geezer who has grandkids. *hands* (Though I wonder how USM will be handled next year in yuletide after the ridiculousness this year. IT IS STILL THE SAME BOOK. GOD.)
- I almost never post anything original to my tumblr and when I do it almost never gets reblogged, so I was a little surprised last night to discover a bunch of notes on this screencap of Hawkgirl + Solomon Grundy that I had queued up after I watched that ep a couple weeks ago. I still can't believe they made me cry over Solomon Grundy. Every time I watch the episode!
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/633073.html.
people have commented there.