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Arrow - Canaries - Review

Feb 17, 2015

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Arrow, “Canaries,” was written by the team of Jake Coburn and Emilio Ortega Aldrich and was directed by Michael Schultz. This is Aldrich's first writing credit, but he clearly understands the show and had expert guidance with Coburn. The episode featured some terrific fight scenes and stunts, but it was just as big on character development. Oliver (Stephen Amell) reveals his secret to Thea (Willa Holland), Laurel (Katie Cassidy) reveals her secret to Quentin (Paul Blackthorne), and there’s a cosmic shift in Team Arrow. All in all, it was a pretty big game changer.

Oliver determines that he has to reveal his secret to Thea. Malcolm (John Barrowman) insists that in order to defeat Ra’s Al Ghul, they have to join forces, and therefore, Thea has to know. He insists that Thea is ready to learn the truth. Diggle warns Oliver that “if Thea finds out you’ve been lying to her all this time, you will lose her forever.” And for once, Diggle couldn’t be more wrong!
I can’t even say how relieved I was for Thea not to be a spoiled brat about this! I absolutely adored her reaction to learning the truth. She completely puts the good that Oliver has done before any slight to herself. The reveal scene is a powerful one and Holland and Amell are brilliant in it. Holland plays her dawning realization perfectly. Neither we nor Oliver are expecting her to take this well. Amell’s face as he thinks he is about to lose his sister forever is simply heartbreaking – no words necessary.

Interestingly, this revelation does turn Thea against Malcolm. She blames him for trying to drive a wedge between her and Oliver. Given that Malcolm was right about how Thea would feel about Oliver’s revelation – that she was ready – did he also realize it would likely mean him losing her? In fact, Malcolm simply backs off and gives Thea her space. He doesn’t leave her unprotected, however.
I loved the scene when Oliver comes home after being blown out the window – and WOW! Special effects and stunt team! Thea remarks, “You smell like smoke. Korean barbeque?” And Oliver answers, “C4.” Thea then responds somewhat sarcastically, “It’s nice that we can tell each other this stuff now.” And Oliver, who has been carrying so much guilt for lying to his sister, knowing how much she resents being lied to, says “it is, actually.” Did anyone else also notice Oliver calling Thea Speedy several times this episode? She’s definitely going to be Speedy.

After stumbling upon a hurt Laurel in the lair, the hero business becomes a little too real for Thea and she turns to Chase (Austin Butler) for distraction. After they’ve made love, he tries to poison her, but Malcolm’s training kicks in and she realizes he’s poisoned the red wine. I was surprised – but happy – to have him revealed and taken care of so soon. I love how the show doesn’t need to unnecessarily draw plot points out, yet they take their time to establish those that need it – like Thea’s transformation and Laurel’s.

Thea learns a valuable lesson when Chase almost kills her. Roy (Colton Haynes) is waiting in the wings to save her. Protecting her – or at least having her back – is always going to be his prime directive it seems. Roy also proves to be no match for a Ra’s trained assassin, however, and it takes Malcolm to save them. Chase kills himself rather than give up any information of face Ra’s after having failed in his mission. Thea refuses to thank Malcolm – after all, he’s why she’s in danger in the first place.

         For his part, Malcolm tells her, “No parent needs gratitude for saving his child.” Malcolm is prepared to give up being close to Thea, foregoing both gratitude and love if it means saving her life. The incident shows Thea that they do need Malcolm. She’s not as strong as she thought she was. He seems to be the only one to be able to win against Ra’s forces. Malcolm tells them that “Ra’s preys upon the fears of his enemies.” The first lesson that Malcolm gives them is that to defeat him they will have to conquer their own fears.

Oliver and Thea head off to the Island to face those fears. Interestingly, the flashbacks end with Oliver returning to Starling, setting us up for a reversal of setting for next week’s episode. Another great example of how the writing weaves these stories together. The flashbacks this week really reinforce the themes of the present. Maseo (Karl Yune) flees with Tatsu and tells Oliver to do the same. They will go into hiding, but Oliver needs to go public to protect themselves against Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson).

         Maseo lies to Oliver to protect himself and his family, but still comes to save him in the end. Addai-Robinson is becoming increasingly chilling as Waller. She tells Oliver that she’s erased the message to his mother, and then she threatens Thea’s life. Nothing is stronger than Oliver’s bond to protect his sister and even though he’s withstood torture, he does give up Maseo to save Thea.
The lesson that Oliver must learn in the present is to give up some of his control. I loved the scene in the lair when Roy steps up and challenges Oliver about Thea. This is perhaps Haynes finest scene yet in the series. When Oliver barks at Thea to get out, Roy tells him, “Don’t talk to her like that. You brought her in. You don’t have the right to kick her out.” Oliver insists that he’s protecting her, but Roy isn’t having it: “By telling her what to do? Letting Merlyn get his hooks in deeper? She makes her own choices, Oliver.” Of course, this becomes more poignant when Roy follows Thea and sees her choose to go home with Chase. But it also resonates with how Oliver has been treating Laurel throughout the episode.

Oliver continues to resist the idea of Laurel joining the team. When he gets angry with Diggle (David Ramsey) about it, Diggle points out that “she’s not exactly lobbying for anyone’s permission.” And he also points out that “she can hold her own out there.” Oliver tells Laurel she’s being selfish, trying to get her to think about what it would do to Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) if anything should happen to her. Laurel tells him, “Fighting for your city isn’t selfish. It’s what a hero would do.” Oliver tells her flat out that she’s not a hero.

After Zytle (Peter Stormare) escapes, Laurel again confronts Oliver. Anybody else disappointed at how underused Stormare was in the episode? I did love Laurel taking out the cop with one punch! I also loved her sarcastic, “What’s wrong? Was my form off?” at Oliver’s continued disapproval. He tells her his concern has nothing to do with respect, but concern for her being an addict. Hard to believe anything could have made her angrier. She tells him, “Go to Hell, Oliver. You don’t get to play that card with me ever, and if there is anyone who is using adrenaline to hide the pain of real feelings and real life, it’s you.” Luckily, Oliver does tag Laurel with a tracer, so when she does get in over her head, he and Roy are able to save her. Of course, had he let her be a part of the team, she wouldn’t have been out there alone.

I liked the use of the vertigo to let Laurel face her demons in the same way that Oliver faced his own demons while under its influence. While it was great to have Caity Lotz back as Sara, it would have been even better to have had her as the real Sara – not this rage monster. However, Sara tells her that she’s a fraud and an addict and asks her why she’s trying to take her place. When Laurel wakes up, she finds comfort from Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards).

        Felicity tells her “I think Sara wore her mask just as much to hide her demons as she did to help people, and I don’t see that with you. You have a light inside you that Sara never had. Maybe you should stop trying to be Sara, and just be yourself.” It’s good advice for Laurel. It doesn’t negate what she’s achieved, but it also takes away the pressure to be as good as Sara was. This is a really great scene between the two of them, and it’s nice to see them developing this friendship – we say last episode that Laurel respected and admired Felicity’s skills.

Felicity is clearly happy to have another woman in the lair again, and actually comes to Laurel’s support more than once. Upon hearing that Oliver tagged her with the tracer because what Laurel was doing was reckless, Felicity snarks, “I don’t know how reckless it is.” She has a lot more faith in Laurel’s abilities than Oliver. Felicity also doesn’t spare Oliver’s feelings when Roy stands up to him. Diggle tries to smooth things over, but Felicity is having none of it! “No. We need this. Oliver, you were done. Dead. At least we thought you were and we had to go on with our lives and doting that meant not doing things your way.” Oliver points out that he’s back now, and Felicity continues, “That doesn’t mean that we can go back. You do not have the right to come back here and question everyone’s choices.” Once again, Amell is terrific in this scene and his face speaks volumes as he walks away.

Diggle is the one to come to Oliver. He tells Oliver that they had to make a choice when they thought Oliver was dead. They thought about just hanging it up, but then, “we realized we weren’t just fighting for you. We were fighting for ourselves too. And that includes Roy and Laurel.” Oliver points out that Laurel isn’t a soldier. And Diggle goes on, “you started something. Something strong enough to live past on past you. The question is, can you live with what it’s become?” As always, Diggle can put into words what Oliver needs to hear. Oliver is going to have to live with letting the others have input into decision, he’s going to have to give up some control. He’s also going to have to live with the others choosing to put themselves into danger because of their own decisions – he can’t simply protect them anymore. In reality, he’s already had to do this to some extent with Barry (Grant Gustin).

Oliver takes the first step by asking Laurel to come with him to help get Zytel when Roy isn’t available. Laurel is able to put her ghosts to rest – she tells Sara that she’s through trying to be her. She beats both the vertigo and Zetyl. With her second dose of vertigo, though, she comes face to face with Quentin whose specter tells her he deserves to know the fate of his own daughter.
        Rather than shy away again, Laurel finally comes clean to Quentin about Sara. Blackthorne and Cassidy really deliver a powerful emotional punch in this scene. I loved that Quentin had pretty much figured out it was Laurel in the black leather, and he was actually pretty okay with it. But most of all, I was really, really glad that they finally tied up the rather idiotic storyline of Laurel keeping it from him. Still, nothing to take away from the brilliant performance in this scene.

It may seem a little silly for the Arrow to promise to never leave the city again in the last episode and then be gone by the end of this one, but Oliver says, “You’ve shown me the city is safe in your hands.” He will never truly be gone from the city now that he’s accepted that the others carry the same mission.
There was a lot to like about this episode. The themes are weaved throughout the episode and the writers give us some great continuity back as far as the first season. Once again, all hail the stunt team! Fabulous parkour sequence to begin the episode and great Canary on Canary fight scenes. The stunt with Roy and Oliver getting blown out of the windows was excellent – and hopefully also owes a debt of gratitude to the excellent VFX team! I loved Thea acknowledging that is was lame for her not to recognize her own brother in the hood. And finally, Thea not only accepting Oliver as the Arrow but thanking him was both satisfying as a viewer and also a terrific indication of just how far this character has grown since we first met her.


What did you think of the episode? Were you surprised by Thea’s reaction? Are you convinced that Laurel has earned her way onto the team? Are you relieved that no one, not even Laurel, thinks of her as replacing Sara? Do you think Oliver will be able to adjust to the new order in the lair? Is it me, or is Oliver suddenly surrounded by some pretty fierce women? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!


About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.

52 comments:

  1. i still don't like that Felicity said Sara had no light, if she didn't have a light inside her she wouldn't have been a hero

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  2. Laurel is my fav character well besides Roy and Diggel.I prefer characters that are damaged and fight to heal themselves.Ollie knows what it is to not be able to fight ,he knows what he went through but yet he acts/acted as if she was not also fighting demons of her own and doesnt see the real reason behind why she wants to take up the mantle.Laurels' story arc is the most fascinating,well besides Oliie so far because she has come a long way and still has far to go.Good for Felicity for standing up to Ollie,he needed to hear that.More bad ass fight scenes and we are good!

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  3. Loved Paul Blackthorn, he was amazing, glad that Quentin knows and very relieved that Thea is in the know. This episode showed were the rocky road was took us ;-)

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  4. I loved this episode. I was so glad when Over finally told Thea about him being Arrow. Its seems like Team Arrow gorws every episode. I really liked how Felicity and Roy stood up to Oliver telling him that things are different and that he's no longer the only one on the team.

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  5. OK, this is my problem with Laurel joining the team and is something the writers should make their mind about: is gonna be part of it 24/7 or if she gonna be a free agent like Sara was in Season 2A,

    Every freaking time Oliver and Laurel have a "disagreement" it turns into a nuclear bombing... Do they need to clash that bad all the time? Every time they have a verbal fight Oliver enters "D*ck Mode" and treats Laurel as crap... and then it's a 2 minutes scene about them throwing every piece of dirt under their beds!

    Can we not do that? Is that what it's gonna be between them everytime they have to go on a mission? Can they, please, get along? I get that their romantic relationship was a toxic fest, but both of them moved on from that... We don't need to be remainded of what a crappy relationship they have. It would be cool if they could be nice to each other, u know...

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  6. The little bit of scene between Roy snapping at Ollie and then Ollie snapping back at Roy just made me smile. I want to see those two butt heads more and more. It'll be like Young Justice all over again.

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  7. But Sara continued and continued to protest that even she wasn't a hero. Even while she saved someone in the S2 finale, right before she told Laurel that she's nothing like a hero. She proved this even more when she just left with Nyssa as if that certain darkness is the only way she can live.

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  8. I did not take it that way, but I still had issues with Felicity's statement!


    To me Felicity was saying that Sara and Laurel are different and that laurel has something inside her that Sara is missing. I think that is fairly true. Sara lost her innocence and some of her humanity after going through everything she endured the past years.


    My issue was with Felicity using the word "light" itself.
    Light is the last word that should be associated with Laurel. Even before losing Ollie and her sister on the boat we saw Laurel being petty, melodramatic, and reactionary to Sara and her family. She is rarely if ever happy, she overreacts and gets angry at everything, she has a huge self-destructive streak... basically everywhere she goes she brings darkness with her.


    On the contrary, Sara was often outwardly happy (even if tormented internally) and brought happiness to the people she knew. Despite all Sara's darkness and damage that seems more like an inner light to me than what I have seen from Laurel so far.


    That all said, I think Laurel usually has a better grasp of what is "right or wrong" and is guided bu justice more often than not. Ironically that is all changing as she becomes a vigilante/ heroine who often seeks revenge over justice. Maybe it is a phase and she will evolve into more of a justice seeking person once again as she becomes a true heroine?

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  9. Green Arrow and Arsenal fought in Young Justice?

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  10. Sara was interesting that way!
    She was willing to sacrifice herself for the good of others on multiple occasions, but did not consider that act or herself a hero.


    She was certainly capable of doing heroic acts and helping others.. but I always thought she felt that she did not deserve to live after the things she had done. That made sacrificing herself easy for her and also kept her from thinking she was "good" or heroic.

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  11. The last part of your argument I agree with about it being a phase for Laurel.Didnt Oliver start out that way,where it was all about vengeance and no control?He then changed and his manner of dealing with criminals was different i,e no more killing.The character arc for these two are the most visual as we can see where they came from,where they are to date and if the writers permit where they can lead.

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  12. I hope it is.They were like that in the comics as well.Always clashing ...lol.Strong by themselves and stronger together.

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  13. Agree. In a way, it's as if Ollie was speaking the truth to Ra's al Ghul when he lied about Sara wanting to die. In many ways, it seemed like Sara ACTUALLY wanted to die. Laurel tried to make Sara believe she could be a hero and people actually spoke about her when she saved that (child?) in the S2 finale, but Sara would obviously not here of it. So I could see why Felicity thought that about Sara.

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  14. In the beginning, he was Red Arrow of the series and snapped at Green Arrow in many occasions, even when GA wanted to work with him, now Arsenal, later in the series.

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  15. red arrow was a clone of Roy in that TV series

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  16. you not the only young justice fan lol I hated they ended it on a cliff hanger

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  17. For me, the highlight of this episode was all of the Oliver/Thea moments which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Aside from that, most of this episode annoyed me. Team arrow getting angry at Oliver in the midst of treating Laurel, who was almost bleeding to death just seemed incredibly out of place and unnecessary in that moment. I loved when Felicity gave him that angry speech about collaborating with Merlyn, but in this episode, her outburst just seemed like she was looking for any excuse to yell at Oliver. Ray's outburst also seemed out of the blue. I'm not sure where all the resentment is coming from. Felicity just seems angry at him for being gone (and not half as happy about him being alive). Diggle seems brainwashed into thinking that he actually needed Laurel to do his fighting for him and I'm not quite sure what Roy's issue is. .Surprisingly, the one person who I expected to be the angriest with Oliver for keeping his secret from her (Thea), ended up being the most understanding of all of them. In fact, the only person who actually behaved in character in this entire episode was Oliver.

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  18. I think Sara and Oliver were very similar in that regard. I think that Oliver caries a lot of unnecessary guilt and thinks that the city is responsibility. But I don't recall him ever referring to himself as a hero either, He's far more likely to take the blame for everything even when it isn't his fault. But just because Sara and Oliver are hard on themselves and don't always see themselves as heroes doesn't mean that they aren't heroes and that others shouldn't regard them that way. Similarly, just because Laurel proclaims herself to be a hero, doesn't make her more of a hero than Sara.

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  19. Me too...they need to bring it back.I think there was a petition going some time back for it.I really miss it.

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  20. Yeah and look what they were... People now talk about Oliver and Dinah as this power iconic couple. Sorry, but they're no Clark/Lois, no Barry/Iris, no Dick/Babs, etc. They were a mess.


    They were toxic in the comics and they're toxic in the show... thing is, Arrow's Oliver isn't comicbook Ollie: In the comics you had Ollie being a jackass and that was ok... But in the show he isn't like that, so that relationship does not go with what the tv counterpart wants. And for the love of God, Laurel isn't Dinah... Sara was more Dinah than Laurel will ever be.


    Let the show be the show... And just make that unnecessary bickering between Oliver and Laurel stop. It's making me dislike Oliver for being such a jackass to Laurel everytime they have a discussion.

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  21. Sorry but its like you forgot the fact that Sara was sleeping with her sister's boyfriend. Flashback Laurel "may" be all those things you said but Laurel has never done anything so low as to sleep with her sister's boyfriend. Also someone with a light wouldn't do that either. Sara was darker than Laurel even before the island.

    That said I think Laurel seems outwardly harder or darker because of what she does for a living. We very rarely see her with her defenses down because we rarely see her on her downtime. You can't say she was dark with Tommy or even Lance. Internally though she seems light and optimistic thinking that she can make a difference in Starling. First by fighting for the little guy as an attorney, then working from the inside with the DA and now as a vigilante.

    Sara did what she did as a way of making something good out of a bad situation. Before the island Sara didn't have a desire to help people and the fact that she was chosen to be a member of the league proves that she has a lot more darkness inside than light. That doesn't mean that whatever she accomplished was for nothing.

    I think sisters are allowed to fight and rivalry is common but it seems to me that the writer retconned Laurel's pre series behavior in order to make Sara's (and Oliver's) betrayal more justifiable.

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  22. Sara and comic book Dinah are nothing alike,Dinah never cheated and was always a lighter person than Sara who is dark they are only similar in that they both know martial Arts, I see more in Laurel than in Sara in who is like the comic book Dinah, who cares about the romances on the show. She is on her way to becoming Dinah and is Dinah. You all can have Olicity, But Laurel is Black Canary.

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  23. Sara was physically Dinah but no so much in personality.
    Laurel is stuborn , implusive , has a better bearing of right and wrong and has a no kill policy and shes starting to get BC's sarcastic funny personality.
    Sara killing is ultimately what stops her from being BC , her willingness to do it . The season 2 finale showed this Oliver had to stop her.Sara seeems more like Dinah due to the blonde hair and superior martial arts skills but shes not.
    Mind you Oliver isnt even like his comic book character so Im guessing Laurel and Olly will evolve and grow until they are like their comic book counter parts.
    With Ollys son Im guessing the show will have a time jump in season 6 and by that time Laurel may have surpassed Sara's training.
    BC and Oliver fought a lot in the comics because they were generally not afraid of each other and jut lay it all out there , thats Olly and Laurel for you.

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  24. Diggle has a baby now so honestly lm sure he is okay with sitting out some missions.

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  25. Just in "Canaries", he sorta referred to him as a hero, saying Laurel wasn't one. Plus, I think the fact that he is choosing not to be a killer is another form of him trying to be a hero but not necessarily calling him one. Sara, on the other hand, did choose to kill in many occasions.

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  26. But that's not really consistent with all of the conflicts that Diggle had with Oliver a month earlier, where he insisted on going out in the field and Oliver wanted him to stay out of danger, Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the writers made Diggle a father as a way of diminishing his role in the field and just assumed that we'd forget about the arguments he had with Oliver. Either way, it's clear that they're sidelining Diggle to make way for Laurel. which is unfortunate for fans of Diggle. But the writers aren't even making the effort to give us a plausible explanation for this which makes it even more frustrating.

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  27. Oh, don't get me wrong, i'm also happy that Laurel is finally BC. The thing is Black Canary should be, at some point, way better skilled than Oliver... Don't know if we will get there by the time the show ends and time jumps are off the table because of the shared universe with Flash/Supergirl.


    I don't see much of Dinah in "Laurel, the DA" tbh. I'm just being sincere. What you say seems kinda generic and simple. Sara's relationship with Sin and things like that it's what sold me on her. At one point i tought Laurel was gonna become Manhunter.


    Oliver and Laurel in the show don't fight because "they're not afraid of each other", they fight because both pull the worst of each other. Not so much about Laurel, but Oliver... he turns into an a**hole when they talk. For me it's different because, in the comics, Oliver was supposed to be like that... But he's not supposed to be like that in the show.


    Say what you want, i don't think they're going to become their comic counterpart. The show is the show just like the movies will be the movies... That's why i don't like when people bring the comics, they tie the creative standpoint.


    I read the comics because i like those characters. I watch the show because i like those too... i enjoy both because they're different.


    They already did that with the comics and i'm about to stop reading GA since i started back in 2002 with Quiver. This new run is like Arrow: The Comicbook Version and i HATE it with all my guts.

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  28. I agree! Laurel is a fascinating character and really the one character whose journey we've really been on since the beginning of the show. I think that Oliver's real problem is seeing past Laurel as someone he needs to protect...

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  29. All the feels for Paul Blackthorne!

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  30. Agree! I really, really can't say how much I loved her reaction!

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  31. I think there is going to continue to be "strong discussion" now with all the team members, but I think mainly their relationship will now go on as their last interaction in this episode, when Oliver simply asked Laurel to come on the mission with him. He's learning to accept her, so that should keep the yelling down to a minimum...

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  32. I loved that scene! Especially this look on Oliver's face of "who ARE you" when Roy started!

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  33. I agree that Thea's reaction was perfect! I'd have to disagree about the other's being out of character - I do agree that Felicity just came across as waspish though. But Roy jumping to Thea's defense after Oliver snapped at her seemed perfectly in character for him. Roy still loves Thea after all. In fact, it's a pretty common phenomenon for people to be annoyed when someone who has been away comes back. You get used to them not being there and then suddenly have to readjust....

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  34. We see things completely differently...
    I think outside of Ollie, Laurel is the darkest character on the show easily. Sara sleeping with her sister's boyfriend was bad, maybe even terrible, but it does not make her nearly as dark as Laurel is on any given day.

    She usually sucks the light out of a room more than lighting up a room when she enters. She has basically been melodrama incarnate for most of two seasons. Her first instinct takes her to her dark place. A lot of that has to do with having 2+ seasons of her dealing with addiction and loss, but that does not excuse it in any way.. She is just a buzzkill.




    .

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  35. Stephen really nailed that scene, but so did Colton.

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  36. I'm ok with that, my problem is when they make Oliver treat Laurel like crap: in 2x14 with that scene in the hallway and last episode telling her she was just an addict. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that... and it's weird because Oliver doesn't treat another character like that.


    Let's hope they stay friendly to each other if they will be working together...

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  37. Yeah I find that annoying too.


    Even more so since he is usually spot on with what he means, but he says it in such an abrasive manner the point is lost! Yes I think being Canary is like a drug to Laurel, she is an addict, and why she is doing what she's doing is wrong, but saying she is just an addict was wrong.

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  38. I can buy Roy being in character,but I still think that Felicity and Diggle were behaving out of character. And Felicity being waspish may be due to resentment, but I certainly don't think that Oliver deserved her lashing out at him, like the reviewer and others have implied. As for Oliver being away...the fact that they had to readjust is not the issue, it's the fact that they almost seem to blame him for being away, which is odd, given that he was on the brink of death and everyone thought he was dead. I would just have expected a different attitude from people who cared for him, given everything he went through. I guess I would have expected them to behave more like Thea.

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  39. Thats it.Im hoping that he can somehow see himself in her and not someone that needs to be protected.

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  40. Okay..are talking together romantically or together as in working together because I meant just working together, and Ollie was a jackass from the beginning of the show so I dont see that changing anytime soon.Hes headstrong ,thats Oliie.

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  41. I mean just working together. Not a fan of them as a couple, i think it speaks poorly of Laurel to even consider him as a life partner again after all he did pre/post-island. They both need someone to start over(i was a fan of Oliver with McKenna, now of him and Felicity).


    Back on topic, the show is the show and is a brand new universe with new characters. In this world, Oliver can fight with Digg, Felicity or Roy, but he even apologize in some cases... but with Laurel he is so abrazive and mean, i fear makes people dislike Laurel because Oliver, the one we should connect with(the show is looked throught his eyes) is always fighting with her.


    They need to stop that...

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  42. That I agree with ,however I sense the writers are trying to keep some of the comic canon in the TV series with having Oliver acting like that with her .That said, as a huge fan of Laurel,I dont want him to treat her with kids gloves.I prefer her to have to fight and come into her own without having help from Ollie.Was a fan of him and Felicity ..not so sure anymore ..mainly because of the fans that hate on Laurel .Lets see what the writers do for both.

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  43. While I agree - and he also barks at Thea in a really condescending way, I think it's also a bit of tough love. Sometimes you have to really confront an addict to get past the addiction and through to them. Remember what a hard time Laurel had admitting she had an addiction in the first place.

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  44. I agree! That's why I included Colton's picture in the review!

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  45. I am the reviewer ;)
    I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I think it's a natural reaction for people who've had a bad scare to be a bit angry with the person who scared them, but I don't think that is their issue at all. They had to learn how to do things without Oliver. They had to step up and make choices and decisions. By coming back and simply making unilateral decision, Oliver is disrespecting that, and I think that's what they (rightly) resent.

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  46. Great observations! Thanks!

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  47. who cares if it's comic book canon if it just sucks? yeah, Laurel is black canary, but even more she is annoying. and Katie Cassidy is a terrible actress. Sara was at least likeable and well played - what's more important?

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  48. I'm a huge Olicity fan but right now Felicity is doing nothing but getting on my everlasting nerve with her attitude! They need to get that stick out of her butt and I mean NOW!

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  49. The main issue my fiance has with this show is that pretty much EVERYONE knows OIiver is the Arrow. LOL I try to tell him babe this isn't Batman and even then some people knew who Batman was.

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  50. Nice review. Lots of good points. I have to say, though, that Arrow continues to slide, for me, on the plausibility scale. It's still worlds better than Flash, but I am beginning to get tired of it. Without belaboring the point, I'll just as one instance point oto the absklute lack of consistency in Thea's character. Literally from one episode to the next she goes from totally trusting Malcolm to totally shutting him out. Serously, can Thea not manage even a modicum of logic or consistency on how she relates to people? Not that she was right to trust Malcolm in the first place (is on set of irrationalities right there), so much as that her change in view seems to me completely unjustified by circumsances. After all, Oliver did not say word one against Malcolm to Thea; she has not learned that he used her as a murder weapon. Nope, it just comes down to, "oooh, Ollie's the Arrow, so now I must no longer trust the other bow-wielding vigilante I know."

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  51. That brain of yours is totally working ;)

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