Spoilers Arrow - Season 6

[Enterprise is Great]

I suppose they killed off Pike because he's a familiar character that people care something about instead of a nameless citizen we've never seen before. It's a little more impactful f it's a known character. For a second I thought that they would also kill off the doctor who has been on the show several times.

I think that info that James got about his son's death probably came from Adrian Chase. Just a little payback from beyond the grave. Or maybe it was Talia Al Ghul. she's still a threat that's out there. Her business with Oliver surely isn't over.

 

[Christopher]

Oh, I'm a bit heartbroken that Kacey Rohl cut that gloriously long hair. Also, did Alena know all their identities already? It's a bit weird seeing her just hanging out in the bunker like that. I knew she knew the basics of who they were, but I didn't think she was that much of an insider.

I was surprised to see Patrick Sabongui's name in the guest cast, and I wondered if Oliver was going to try to contact him to get help from Team Flash or something, but that didn't seem to make sense. But then I noticed the focus on Dinah and Vince and guessed that Captain Singh would appear in a flashback, and then there he was in a flashback!

Still, I can't help but imagine that, sometime during the past week, Ollie and Felicity were trying to reach out to the other superheroes asking if they could help. "No luck. Barry's still in prison, Cisco's too busy trying to get him out and corral some guy named Ralph, Wally's fighting some juvenile Starros that the first one left behind, Vixen's still recovering from her fight with Gorilla Grodd, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were last seen heading into a temple of the Lords of Chaos in the Amazon, and the Legends and Constantine both seemed to disappear at the same time. I guess we just have to rely on ARGUS."

 

[The Realist]

One thing that tickled me in the episode was the passing reference to an "OCB operative." The OCB, aka Organized Crime Bureau, was the fictional FBI division for which Vinnie Terranova and Frank McPike worked on the classic crime drama, Wiseguy, one of my all-time favorite TV series. (A quick Google search shows that some local law enforcement entities do use the acronym in real life, though I wonder if they lifted it from the show, too.)

 

[dahj]

So a bomb that's on the move is threatening to blow up an entire city that's cut off from rest of the country... I had to check that the episode wasn't titled The Green Knight Rises.
(Also, it seems that Cayden is just Bane and the Talia of this story is still unknown.)

Still this was a decent episode, the save Vince/find bomb conflict was believable with good arguments on both sides which was an improvement on the drama front which felt very manufactured at times this season, and Laurel and Dinah had some character progress in opposite directions of the light/dark spectrum. I've been enjoying the show more since it has returned, it's getting more interesting and seems more focused.

80 TB of data transmitted that fast... I guess Star City already has 5G

 

[Christopher]

One thing that tickled me in the episode was the passing reference to an "OCB operative." The OCB, aka Organized Crime Bureau, was the fictional FBI division for which Vinnie Terranova and Frank McPike worked on the classic crime drama, Wiseguy, one of my all-time favorite TV series. (A quick Google search shows that some local law enforcement entities do use the acronym in real life, though I wonder if they lifted it from the show, too.)

That's amusing, since Adrian Holmes's recently-killed police captain character in Arrow was named Frank Pike.

(Also, it seems that Cayden is just Bane and the Talia of this story is still unknown.)

I strongly suspect "the Talia of this story" is actually Talia. She was behind Prometheus last season, and though she was left for dead on Lian Yu, she could always turn up alive.

80 TB of data transmitted that fast... I guess Star City already has 5G

The setup of that scene didn't make sense to me. If Vince couldn't transmit the data from the drive until he got out of the building, how were they able to speak with him on comms?

 

[dahj]

I strongly suspect "the Talia of this story" is actually Talia. She was behind Prometheus last season, and though she was left for dead on Lian Yu, she could always turn up alive.

That would make sense, but on the other hand if Lexa Doig was returning to the role, it probably would have been leaked (or even officially announced) somewhere online by now.

 

[LJones41]

Vixen's still recovering from her fight with Gorilla Grodd

Which Vixen? Mari McCabe or Amaya Jiwe?

Laurel and Dinah had some character progress in opposite directions of the light/dark spectrum

The "light/dark spectrum"? What? Could you be a bit more specific or has society become addicted to using racially charged color metaphors to describe morality? If light is supposed to be good, why is the White Witch of Narnia evil?

 

[dahj]

The "light/dark spectrum"? What? Could you be a bit more specific

No.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Kyra Zagorsky to guest star

 

[Phoenix219]

I agree.

And liked the Outsiders reference...perhaps setting up in/when Arrow ends its run, that Black Lightning will wind up being a part of Earth 1, and lead the Outsiders...at least from time to time.


I am guessing that such a move would have broke the lever, and wasted precious time.

Though i am wondering if that move killed or hurt the driver of the train. In Chicago, that cabin is very small, and would have been possibly crushed or trapped.

However, cool new use.

Tangent - i still think Dinah should use a blond wig. It would make more sense for the future...

I wonder if it was one of those failsafes from Prometheus...JUST IN CASE he might have failed. Merlyn doesn't have any reason, why, right?

Someone just posted that Katrina Law is guest starrring later... sounds like she might be the mastermind, and set that up.


In terms of the actions, it was great...but that scene kinda showed the skills of the actor don't seem so great (as opposed to say David Masouz on Gotham)



I wonder if the are going to eventually sub in Green Lantern's story for Green Arrow's (kinda like Arrow being the lower budget TV version of Batman. If they introduce a Guy Gardener like Arrow

I still hold out hope that Diggle will be a version of Green Lantern. We shall see.

I've said that since about, oh season 2 or so? He is *very* similar to John Stewart in terms of characterization and personality (DCAU military background instead of architect, of course), and they got the friendship and bond with GA developed as well. A GL ring would have been the perfect solution to his medical issues, leaving the power of his will as the key, as opposed to some magic tech.

 

[Commander Richard]

Ben gets another flashback.

 

[Christopher]

Remember back in October when Oliver name-dropped Bruce Wayne and we had a discussion about whether Batman existed on Earth-1? I just noticed something that complicates the question. I'm rewatching Constantine on CW Seed in preparation for his guest spot on Legends of Tomorrow next week, and I noticed that at the end of the Halloween episode, there's a kid trick-or-treating in a Robin costume.

 

[Snaploud]

I'm 20 minutes into the episode: the writers can't argue that the Flash was unavailable this time. They used Barry for a quick trip to see Caden James. They just didn't bother to have Barry evacuate Oliver's son, help gather the targets, or evacuate the rest of the city.

 

[The Realist]

^ Yep. That might have seemed like a fun "cameo," until you thought about it for a nanosecond and realized it raised many more narrative problems than it was worth -- a nanosecond the writers evidently couldn't spare.

 

[Christopher]

I'm 20 minutes into the episode: the writers can't argue that the Flash was unavailable this time. They used Barry for a quick trip to see Caden James. They just didn't bother to have Barry evacuate Oliver's son, help gather the targets, or evacuate the rest of the city.

Well, he just got out of prison. He's probably a little out of shape.

But yeah, that was a bit of a lazy deus ex machina. Can't figure out a way to get the characters to the right place in time? Just have a half-second Flash "cameo." The later continuity nod was more effective -- the power-damping collar that Dinah said they "got off another couple of doppelgangers." That was presumably one of the Earth-X Reichsmen's damping collars. Although I'm not sure why they needed it; just have Cisco supply some of the power-damping cuffs they use on Team Flash.

I'm afraid I found the writing of Cayden James too inconsistent. So he's this gentle, well-meaning man who loves his son, and his son's murder somehow turns him into a genocidal terrorist? I can't say it works for me. Someone as effortlessly cruel and sinister as he's been all season had to have that in him beforehand, or at least would've needed years to change from one to the other. I mean, if you want to portray a character who has both soulful gentleness and cold malevolence in him, Michael Emerson's an ideal casting choice, but they didn't really bridge those parts of his character convincingly.

So Ricardo Diaz is the real big bad, huh? In a way, that explains a lot. They bring in an actor of Kirk Acevedo's caliber for a recurring role, and then they hardly do anything with him; he's just a thug hanging around in the background. I did sometimes feel he wasn't getting enough development. Now we know why.

 

[Romulan_spy]

^ Yep. That might have seemed like a fun "cameo," until you thought about it for a nanosecond and realized it raised many more narrative problems than it was worth -- a nanosecond the writers evidently couldn't spare.

Yeah, I really think the writers should avoid doing this again. It raises the obvious question of why the Flash did not help in the rest of the episode when he could have made things a lot easier for our characters. He could have done a number of things, from capturing the 3 goons, disarming the bomb, capturing Cayden or getting William out of harm's way, all in a blink of an eye. Of course, that could not be allowed to happen because then the Flash would have solved the episode's problem for our main characters. So it is best just to keep Arrow and Flash separate unless it is for a special crossover.

 

[dahj]

and I noticed that at the end of the Halloween episode, there's a kid trick-or-treating in a Robin costume.

Maybe it was just an "acrobat costume"

Yep. That might have seemed like a fun "cameo," until you thought about it for a nanosecond and realized it raised many more narrative problems than it was worth

The biggest plot-hole is that Diggle didn't puke right after being supersped there.

So they basically split the season into two arcs, the Cayden James one is now over, and Ricardo Diaz is coming up. I've liked the last several outings and I think they've improved upon earlier episodes, but overall I'd say the first half was a bit of a dud, and they've largely wasted Michael Emerson in this. I should hope Kirk Acevedo won't be similarly underused... if he makes it to the end of the season, that is.

I thought it was a rather good episode, even if Cayden's flashbacks were a bit cliched, Emerson sold it, the Canary/Siren stuff moved their arcs forward, William was kinda an idiot, but his presence there was required by the script for the father/son stuff, and it seems Quentin's gone full Misery there at the end...

(Is this like the third episode with the "This doesn't change anything" disclaimer given by someone from Team Canary after everyone collaborates but then goes their separate ways at the end again. We get it already... call us when thing do change. )

 

[Christopher]

The biggest plot-hole is that Diggle didn't puke right after being supersped there.

But he did hunch over for a moment as if he were about to. This time, he probably had advance warning, so it wasn't as big a shock as it usually is.

(Is this like the third episode with the "This doesn't change anything" disclaimer given by someone from Team Canary after everyone collaborates but then goes their separate ways at the end again. We get it already... call us when thing do change. )

I still say they should be called the Terrific Trio. Curtis does seem to be the unofficial leader, for all that they try to work by consensus.

I agree that they should get over recriminations about the team split. Having two teams protecting the city is a good thing, as long as they take care not to get in each other's way. And as long as Team Arrow manages to make up its diminished numbers with some new recruits, or bring back some old ones.

Indeed, it occurred to me that of the two teams, the Trio has the definite power advantage. After all, they've got the Canary Cry and the T-Spheres at their disposal. Team Arrow just has a bow and a gun.

 

[dahj]

I still say they should be called the Terrific Trio. Curtis does seem to be the unofficial leader, for all that they try to work by consensus.

If they want their name to reflect the consensus rule, then Terrific Wild Canary or Mister Black Dog or some permutation of their names should do...

Team Arrow just has a bow and a gun.

Half of that is Green Batman and Time To Prepare, the undefeatable combo!

 

[Snaploud]

I thought the Helix girl was going to turn out to be the killer of Cayden James' son. Her motive would be that the son was a distraction and a danger to the cause. She's also one of the few people with the tech skills to fool him, and Cayden said the traitor was in his organization.