Arrow rewatch - Season 1, Episodes 9-10

This will be the last Arrow rewatch post for the moment, because after Burned, I started watching faster, without pausing to take notes. I might come back to this project when Arrow goes on break for Christmas - we'll have to see.

Year's End

• The Dark Archer!
• Oliver and Diggle sparring is very hot - we need more of that
• About the island, to Diggle: "There were no holidays on the island - every day was... how do I stay alive? And to do that you had to forget things."
• Had totally forgotten that Malcolm is the first one to suggest "Green Arrow"
• Lots of secrets at that table - and Oliver knows it wasn't the vigilante, but for once he's not the one with the most inside info - that would be Malcolm
• Lance and the Arrow working together for the first time
• In which we are introduced to the Queen method of addressing problems - let's throw a party...
• Walter: "You're a good man, Oliver" - which is pretty much the first positive thing anyone has said to Oliver Queen since the beginning of the show? Really? I've gotta be missing something here.
• Fyers' crew disposed of all the inmates except two - Yao Fei, and, according to Fyers, Billy Wintergreen. And yet Slade tells us that he and Billy were ASIS agents who came to the island together - their stories don't match up.
• Lance tries so hard to stay within the law, but as the series progresses, the corruption in the Starling police force becomes more and more evident. He's a good man, and it's hard to watch him struggle to find the right path.
• I love how Felicity gets so engrossed in things that she's oblivious to stuff around her
• They were cute together from the beginning, but it took me a while to decide they were also right for each other. I always knew he didn't belong with Laurel, though.
• Laurel recognizes the difference between being willing to kill to protect someone, and killing as a means of dispensing justice
• Tommy: "Merry Christmas, sir. How are you?" Lance: "Proficient with firearms."
• Jealous Oliver face - although by this point I had realized that Tommy was the one Laurel belonged with
• Oliver: "Diggle, there wasn't anything on the island that wasn't twice as dangerous as this pretender, and I survived there for five years."
• Oliver: "So maybe we can just accept each other, not for who we were, but for the people we are now."
• I will admit I did not expect Malcolm to be the Dark Archer
• The first glimpse we get of the fate in store for the city - thousands dead in six months time - it gave the show a more cohesive goal than just crossing names off a list
• A couple general thoughts at this point, since I've reached the original midseason break. First, I originally considered the first half of season one to be much weaker than the second half (this held true even when I rewatched it after seeing the whole season). But after having seen the second season, these first nine episodes make a lot more sense, and hold together better. Basically, they require the events shown over the course of the second season to really hold together well, and this also goes the other way - the events of season two only make sense in light of the events in these episodes. Does this mean they were weaker episodes? In some ways, yes - they don't stand on their own quite as well. But I've concluded that this has less to do with the quality and more to do with the lack of time to develop important pieces of the story - specifically the events on the island. Given that information, they become very strong episodes. I'll have to see where they stand once I've finished this rewatch, but I certainly enjoyed them much more this time around. Second, I'm also appreciating the fact that the main cast is small enough at this point that every character plays an important role, and is given the chance to have their backstory and motivations explored (you could argue that Lance hasn't been given that, but I think he has). Marc Guggenheim actually stated that he felt the biggest problem with season two was that they "committed the common second season mistake of introducing more characters than [they] really had time to service." I would definitely agree, and rewatching season one makes that even more clear.

Burned

• Seeing Oliver haunted by his failure really works to make the story more compelling
• Also not complaining about the workout sequence :)
• He's always been one to run or hide from his problems, rather than facing them
• Technically he's being there for his family after Walter's loss, and that is a good thing, but he's using that to avoid facing things, which isn't healthy
• Lance has a half-eaten doughnut sitting on his desk :)
• Oliver's "what the hell?" face when he picks up the phone and it's Laurel - priceless
• The fact that even Oliver is awed by the massiveness of Diggle's arms :)
• Watching Tommy change for the better was awesome. And then he got angsty and died and it sucked.
• For the first time, I find myself thinking about how terrified island!Oliver must have been at this point. The first couple times, it was easy to just condemn him as a whiny brat, but now I'm realizing that he was basically living in constant fear, with no real knowledge of how to defend himself or survive.
• Take #1 of brooding Oliver sitting alone in the darkened lair - this will become something I really think works well for his character - his instinct is to be alone
• Laurel lies to Tommy about talking with the vigilante. I know lies and their consequences is one of the main themes of the show so far. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
• One of my favorite lines of the entire series - after Diggle slams Oliver into a table, and then Oliver does the same: "What did that prove?" "This is one sturdy desk."
• Laurel: "I don't take things slow, remember? I close my eyes, and I jump, just like you. I think that's why we spooked each other."
• Other favorite moments of the series - Lances calling the vigilante while they're with Oliver :)
• I really liked how island!Oliver's progression to a killer was gradual - first the bird, now a man, but accidentally, later a purposeful kill. I wonder, too, if we'll see him progress under Waller from killing in self defense to killing as a method of dispensing justice.
• Oliver: "I've been close to death, on the island, more times than I can remember, and I never feared it, 'cause I had nothing to lose."
• Laurel, Tommy, and falling beams equals a giant lump in my throat
• Oliver: "Thank you." Diggle (with a smile): "What for?" "You know what for."

Arrow rewatch - Season 1, Episodes 6-8

Lots of quotes stood out to me in these next few episodes - most of them because they relate well to later events.

Legacies

• A bit more about his time on the island - Diggle: "Where'd you learn that?" Oliver:"His name was Yao Fei." "He give you those scars?" "One of them."
• Diggle: "Sounds like you have a narrow definition of being a hero."
• Now I'm curious as to when Oliver really starts to change the way he views his mission. Diggle isn't really able to get through to him at this point.
• Oliver: "I'm not a hero."
• The familiarity with which Oliver and Thea play off each other speaks highly to how close they were before the island. It's tragic how much has been lost between them.
• Major squick with Thea crushing on Tommy!!! He would have been an amazing big brother to her, though. Now I'm sad thinking that he never knew he had a sister, much less that his sister was a girl he already considered practically family. He went through so much of his life feeling alone - I wish he'd known the truth.
• Diggle: "You asked me to work with you, not for you."
• Many feels about how awesome Diggle and Oliver's relationship is. I love that Diggle isn't afraid to call him on his shit, and their snarky conversations are perfect.
• Diggle has a smile reserved only for Felicity, too
• And this is when I realized how much I liked Laurel and Tommy together
• Headcanon: while Oliver was on the island, Tommy sort of stepped into the big brother role as best as he could - threatened boyfriends, was there when Thea needed someone to talk to about anything - even if he didn't always give the best advice, and wasn't always the best role model
• Oliver: "I made you a promise; I couldn't keep it." Moira: "Well, it's nothing new for you, Oliver."
• He reveals himself to Derek Reston - the man who realizes he's responsible for turning his son into a criminal and a murderer
• This line makes a whole lot more sense now - Robert Queen: "The things I've done, what I was about to do..."
• Smart move, Tommy - especially since she's not just "like your sister," she actually IS your sister...
• And now I'm wondering - if Tommy had lived, had been there for Thea like Oliver couldn't be, would things have turned out differently?
• Diggle lifts Oliver's darkness just a little - not enough to actually let light in, but enough that it isn't smothering him for a moment
• The moment when island!Oliver finds something that will keep him fighting through the next five years of hell - it should be more powerful, but it isn't
• Moira: "I guess I just miss my son." Oliver: "I miss you too."
• They try so hard to connect, and knowing what's coming for them just makes these scenes hurt even more
• Foreshadowing much? Oliver: "Mom, it's okay to get your hands dirty every once in a while."

Muse of Fire

• So tempted to skip these next two... I hate Helena
• Diggle: "So let me get this right, Oliver... Your mother's shot at - nearly killed - and the way you process this emotionally is by going undercover with the mob."
• His face when he tells Tommy he's okay with Laurel and Tommy dating is the same as when he tries to encourage Felicity about Barry...
• Oliver: "Tommy... If you hurt her I'll snap your neck."
• Gadreel is Bertinelli's bodyguard... First time seeing it since SPN season nine :)
• Thea: "Aren't you getting sick of his lies?" Moira: "Thea, everyone has secrets."
• About his time on the island, to Helena: "When I didn't feel lost, I felt free. More than one, and, uh, those are the days that I miss."
• Tommy and Laurel are very sweet together
• Oliver: "People are always asking me - what did I miss the most? Air conditioning, satellite radio... those are the answers that I give people because those are the answers they're expecting... I don't know how truthful I can be."
• Malcolm Merlyn is one creepy dude, long before you ever know what he's planning
• Oliver sounds really pissed at Diggle for interrupting his sort-of date :)
• Oh look, the plot twist we all saw coming a mile away
• Lance's sense of honor is the reason his character is so amazing
• And then the plot twist I did not see coming - Malcolm being Tommy's father
• Upon reflection, I think Malcolm cut off Tommy's trust fund in order to hopefully eventually turn him into a sidekick for the Dark Archer - first step being to see what sort of stuff he was made of
• Now he's doing the finger thing around Helena...
• Helena: "When you love somone as much as I loved him - with all of your heart - then you can't just turn that emotion off when they're taken from you. You still feel things as deeply, and if it can't be love that you feel, then it becomes hate."
• You know, at this point, they're both killers, and they're both hurt and alone - this seems to be a theme for his unhealthy relationships (Helena and Sara)
• Why did Walter and Moira's relationship have to get destroyed?!? There's so much love there and the writers smashed it to pieces
• Thea: "You seem really lonely, and we all have our secrets, Ollie - clearly, you have yours - and it's fine it you don't wanna share them with us, but I just really think you should share them with someone."
• Helena: "Why is your vendetta more valid than mine?"
• The parallels between his relationship with Helena and his relationship with Sara are really, really clear, right down to getting together out of desperation and pain
• I liked this episode a whole lot more this time around (third viewing). It makes a lot more sense and fits a lot better after seeing more of what he went through during those five years, and finding out more of how he copes. It also helps his actions and decisions in the second half of season two seem more in character.

Vendetta

• After the end of season two, every time I see the opening sequence I get really, really curious as to why he wound up back on the island
• He doesn't see himself as a hero; he sees himself as a killer atoning for his sins and his father's sins, and that's why he tries so hard to save people, both from others and from themselves, because maybe if he saves enough people he can wipe out the red in his ledger
• Thea has been incredibly lucky to have had not one, but two amazing fathers. I get that Robert was far from perfect, but he loved Thea, and always made sure she knew it, and Walter stepped in to fill that role after Robert's death
• What do you mean "back then" you didn't do serious well and were excellent at screwing things up? Pretty sure you still have a long way to go with that, Mr. Queen...
• About Sara: "I brought her on the yacht, and she died, right in front of me."
• He's such a showoff and it's really adorable
• Diggle: "Oliver, you're lonely - lonelier than you wanna admit. And that's why you think you can change this girl: because you need to think you can."
• I think the other reason Oliver tried to save her was because he is so alone all the time, and the chance to have a romantic relationship where he doesn't have to hide who he really is seemed pretty darn good to him
• The really, really awkward double date... worst thing pretty much ever
• Sometimes Oliver can really be a douche. I think his pre-island friends tend to bring out that side of him more.
• I think he legitimately cared about Helena, and it could have become something more. He was trying really hard to move on from Laurel, and given time, he would have. But right then Laurel also represents all that was good before the island, all that he lost and is trying to find again. Later on, when she starts to struggle, I think he realizes how much he idealized her, and starts to reevaluate his way of thinking, but at this point I think he was still in love, not with Laurel herself, but with what she represented to him.
• It's painful watching Tommy/Laurel scenes and knowing what's coming
• Even before she joins Oliver, Felicity is willing to put herself at risk to chase the truth
• Oliver expressing his loneliness and how he felt the universe owed him one is heartbreaking
• Diggle: "I don't think love is about changing or saving a person. I think it's about finding the person who's already the right fit. One day you will."
• Diggle: "You opened up, took a risk with your heart. The Oliver I met a few months ago would not have been able to do that. And when you meet the right person, you'll be ready for her."
• Tommy finally growing up is amazing
• And the fact that Oliver and Tommy can maintain a strong friendship with everything that's going on is also awesome. I hate it when they fight later.
• Also two episodes with no island scenes - it's no wonder these didn't work as well the first couple of times I saw them - at this point we know next to nothing about what happened to Oliver on the island

Arrow rewatch - Season 1, Episodes 1-5

I started an Arrow rewatch to try to recover from season finales - it's sort of working. This will be my third time through most of the episodes - I watched as it aired, then rewatched season one last summer, and the first half of season two over the winter break. So this is my first time watching season one after having seen season two. I meant to just jot down a few interesting notes and/or quotes from each episode, but that expanded rather quickly... This will be split up into blocks of episodes that I watched on the same day.

Pilot

• Oliver having bad dreams is something I wish we'd seen more of
• He does the finger thing around Laurel in the beginning!
• Isabel Rochev is on the very first page of the list you see
• Guys smoothly vaulting fences turns me on big time

Honor Thy Father

• So much anger right under the surface
• Diggle having his back from the very beginning
• Lance: "I'm your father - I live to keep you safe."
• Oliver: "It will never be enough."
• Having Oliver narrate worked well early on
• Oliver: "I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets"

Lone Gunmen

• When he climbs the wall to dig the bullet out - gymnast's gracefulness right there
• The way he looks at Laurel then is the way he looks at Felicity now
• Badass Laurel
• Oliver and Tommy's friendship was so awesome
• Felicity!! and Oliver's smile totally says he thinks she's cute
• Plus he is such a TERRIBLE liar :)
• Oliver: "I can't do this alone."
• Laurel did know him well enough to know that he knew about her and Tommy
• Tommy: "You said you didn't think I was a one girl type of guy. I'm gonna prove you wrong."
• Pretty sure he was planning on telling Diggle even before Diggle got shot
• What is it with Oliver and putting arrows in eyes?

An Innocent Man

• Oh look - the opening sequence for the season makes its first appearance
• On the rewatch it becomes quite apparent how much thought Oliver put into the reveal
• Diggle: "You're a criminal. And a murderer."
• Love the little moments where he and Thea actually connect
• More bad dreams. In my headcanon, he never sleeps without at least one nightmare
• Why don't we see him making his arrows anymore? That's just awesome
• The first time Oliver tells anyone any part of the truth of what happened during those five years - to Diggle: "We both made it to a life raft but there wasn't enough food and water for both of us so he shot himself in the head."
• Even when she doesn't know who he really is, or really anything about him, Laurel instinctively knows she can trust the vigilante
• She also understands how lonely his job must be
• Laurel: "I think they need someone who cares about the lives of other people. Someone like you."
• Oliver hassling the replacement bodyguard is hilarious
• I love Laurel as the badass lawyer fighting for justice
• I really miss this Laurel - a strong woman who was more than just a way to create love triangles and unnecessary drama. I want her back in season 3...
• Laurel: "He's a killer. He would have killed that man. I looked in his eyes - it's like he had no remorse."
• The pain in Oliver's eyes as he hears her say that...
• The bird was the first step to becoming a killer. Felicity was the first step to becoming a hero.
• Oliver: "Diggle, I'm not looking for anybody to save me." Diggle: "Maybe not. But you need someone just the same. You are fighting a war, Queen, except you have no idea what war does to you, how it scrapes off little pieces of your soul. And you need someone to remind you of who you are - not this thing you're becoming."

Damaged

• He is one smart and manipulative guy. This is an incredibly elaborate plan, and relies on a whole lot of pieces working out the way he wants
• Even after Laurel calls the vigilante a killer, she still believes he's trying to make a difference for the good of the city
• For all the harsh things Laurel says to Oliver's face, when she's talking to other people it becomes very clear that she still sees good in him
• Holy mother of god his eyes are a gorgeous blue
• It's amazing how little I care about the island storyline at this point
• Deathstroke 1.0 - how quaint
• Thea: "I can't lose you again." Oliver: "Deal." AND MY HEART FREAKING BREAKS
• His birthday - May 16, 1985
• Realizing now that he actually lies during the polygraph about being on the island for five years
• We get a bit more truth about the island: "No. I wasn't alone. I didn't want to talk about what happened to me on the island." "Why not?" "Because the people that were there tortured me." "Have you killed anyone?" "Yes."
• But then he deflects that to Sara's death - he holds himself accountable for that
• Oliver: "It was never my intention to put you in harm's way." Diggle: "Oliver, I didn't think joining your crusade was ever going to be risk-free. I just don't like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life, but I'm the one guy you don't lie to."
• Oliver: "Why don't you hate me? You should."
• He opens up to Laurel after she forgives him and tells him what happened on the island was more than he deserved: "There were times when I wanted to die. In the end, there was something I wanted more."
• I love Moira Queen when she goes into mama bear mode
• Oliver: "Do you wanna know why I don't talk about what happened to me there? Because if people knew, if you knew, you'd see me differently. And not as some vigilante guy. As damaged. I don't sleep. I barely eat. I can barely sign my name, let alone aim a bow and arrow."
• Diggle: "You didn't think about what happens when you lie, especially to the ones you love the most. When you were stuck on that island, plotting your grand plan to save the city, I don't think you stopped to consider the effect it would have on the people in your life, or how it might hurt them." Oliver: "You're wrong. I think about it all the time. And just to be clear, not being able to tell my family the truth... it doesn't hurt anyone worse than it hurts me."
• This is the episode where I started to actually sympathize with Lance
• Also Oliver is a freaking terrifying killer and Diggle isn't enough to stop him

Last week on TV - May 4th-10th

Finally got caught up on H50 just in time for the season finale...

Once Upon a Time - Kansas: Once again, rushed and predictable - my two most common complaints about this half of season three. Everything fell into place too easily, and things that should have meant a lot, like Regina finding good in herself, or Emma choosing to save Hook, wound up having little to no impact. I was also annoyed by Rumple's character regression. Nothing annoys me more on a show than when character development is discarded for the sake of a plot device. It wasn't terrible - in fact, I don't know that it could have been much better, given the lack of good development up to this point and the pressure to fit a whole lot of plot into just a few episodes - but it struggled in some key areas. Overall grade: B-

Supernatural - King of the Damned: Manipulative Winchesters are awesome, Crowley having feelings and hating it is always fun, Dean was very bad-ass, and the angel command post was pretty cool. I wish they'd given us more this season on the angel war and how it's affecting the world, because that could have been really great. Having Crowley remember the Winchesters' code word was a nice touch. My only thought is that Abaddon went down way too easily, or at least it seemed like it to me. If she's not really dead, that'd be okay, but if that really was the fight to end it all, it was kinda lame. Overall grade: B+

Arrow - Streets of Fire: I've seen it twice and I still can't seem to manage to be coherent... It was amazing. From Felicity hitting Isabel with the van, to all the Team Arrow action, to the Lance family awesomeness, to Slade at his window watching the city burn, it was all perfect. And don't even get me started on the Olicity scene in the clock tower. Felicity balances Oliver out so perfectly, and they are perfect together. I was intending to save the highest marks for the finale, but this episode deserves all the points. Overall grade: A+

Hawaii Five-0 - O Ka Pilo 'Ohana Ka 'Oi: After last week's powerful ending, this episode fell a little flat, though it was still good. It felt more like a mid-season setup episode than a finale - the story was pretty much self-contained, with the only question being exactly what Wo Fat is up to. I think Grover will bring an interesting dynamic to the Five-0 team, if the show can find a good balance between character screen time. It was nice to have a finale that wasn't a cliffhanger, but there are a whole lot of unresolved questions from the season that have yet to be addressed, and I was surprised that none of them were touched on. Overall grade: B+

Last week on TV - Apr. 27th-May 3rd

Yes, I'm down to only three shows that I'm actually caught up on. I'm still watching most of my other shows - I'm just behind, so no episode reviews for those.

Once Upon a Time - A Curious Thing: The good: Outlaw Queen is adorable and I ship them hard. Plus the number of snarky one-liners in this episode was amazing. And let's not forget the extremely shallow but also extremely important fact of the hotness of Charming, Hook, and Robin. I also liked that the good guys were actually the ones who cast the curse; it was a nice twist. The bad: the good guys casting the curse had exactly zero lasting effects on them. I know no one ever really dies on this show (except for Neal, and don't get me started on how that was a terrible way to get him out of the way for Hook), but for something to have a proper impact on viewers, it has to last for longer than a minute or two. Also, those monkeys are cursed people - you might want to think before going around shooting them. And then we come to my constant complaint about this half of the season - it's way too rushed. I really like the ideas, but the material covered in this episode alone would have been enough for at least two, and maybe three, more in-depth episodes. It wasn't terrible. It made me smile. But it wasn't as good as it easily could have been. Overall grade: B-

Supernatural - Bloodlines: Mediocre episode, which had a very different feel from a normal episode of Supernatural. That was okay, though, because it was intended as a backdoor pilot. However, it would have worked better somewhere around episode 14-16 of the season. At this point, three episodes out from the finale, with so many unresolved plot lines, I didn't want to be wasting time on an only-halfway-decent MOTW episode. Nothing I'd heard or seen up to this point had made me excited for the spin-off, and this didn't really do much for me either. The bad guy being human was obvious from the beginning - I'd rather have seen the werewolf girl die, and him survive as a super villain or something, though. The shifter guy is hot, the hunter kid is not interesting at all, and although I'll still probably watch at least the pilot for the spin-off, I don't see myself really getting into it. Overall grade: C+

Arrow - City of Blood: Loved it. Still rather incoherent with happiness. Loved how all the pieces played out, loved watching Oliver say his goodbyes, even loved that Laurel was able to give him a new purpose. There was no way he was going to be talked out of giving himself up. It wasn't that Felicity failed and Laurel succeeded. Laurel just had information Felicity didn't have, information she'd obtained at great personal cost. It's nice to see her storyline getting the payoff it deserves (yes, I like Laurel). I want to see Felicity get similar treatment next season. But for now, I will be satisfied with that perfect scene where they both knew it was very likely the last time they'd ever see each other, and their guards were both down all the way. I really thought he might kiss her then, but I think he didn't because he didn't want to make his impending death any harder for her to bear. Just replaying that scene in my head makes me scream internally. Only two more episodes left, and I am so psyched. Overall grade: A