Spoilers Arrow Season 7

[Christopher]

Can't say I'm a big fan of flash forwards, it's such a delicate balancing act of not giving away too much information and basically the writing becomes spoilers.

It's not a spoiler if the writers want you to know what happens in the future. "Spoiler" means something that spoils the intended experience of the story. If the intended experience is for you to know the end first and then gradually learn how things led to it, then the spoiler would be not knowing the future. For instance, telling either Citizen Kane or Sunset Boulevard in linear chronological order, with the main character's death at the end instead of the beginning, would betray the intent of the narrative.

 

[LJones41]

It's not a spoiler if the writers want you to know what happens in the future. "Spoiler" means something that spoils the intended experience of the story. If the intended experience is for you to know the end first and then gradually learn how things led to it, then the spoiler would be not knowing the future. For instance, telling either Citizen Kane or Sunset Boulevard in linear chronological order, with the main character's death at the end instead of the beginning, would betray the intent of the narrative.

"LOST" spent most of Season 4 using the flash forward narrative device. Aside from a few episodes, I thought the show handled it rather well.

 

[Gaith]

FWIW: Arrow has become the first Arrowverse show to have its ep-by-ep AV Club reviews cancelled, although reviews for special/crossover episodes will still appear from time to time.

 

[Snick27]

It's DC. They'll probably have rewritten the timeline several times by then.

Or Flash screws up the timeline again and William is now a girl.

 

[JD]

Can't say I'm a big fan of flash forwards, it's such a delicate balancing act of not giving away too much information and basically the writing becomes spoilers. I instantly knew that was an older William from the opening second we saw him. I guess the future sucks since Roy is hiding on the Island and William has no Team Arrow with him.

What gave it away for you? It didn't even occur to me that it could be a flash forward, I had assumed it was a flashback to someone looking for Ollie.

 

[Jax]

He just looked like an Older William to me so at least they casted well I guess

 

[Christopher]

What gave it away for you? It didn't even occur to me that it could be a flash forward, I had assumed it was a flashback to someone looking for Ollie.

Yeah, we were presumably supposed to think the guy in the flashbacks was the impostor Green Arrow. Until the final reveal, I had no idea we were seeing the future.

 

[Snaploud]

I think there might be more to the decision to not show Argus saving Felicity. My guess is that the fake Green Arrow is responsible for Felicity surviving that altercation.

It would also fit in with the time travel theory. Perhaps Felicity and Rene died in the original timeline.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Do they play timeline hijinks on this show? I though that was for Legends, Flash and maybe crossovers. This is the "grounded" show, right?

 

[Christopher]

Do they play timeline hijinks on this show? I though that was for Legends, Flash and maybe crossovers. This is the "grounded" show, right?

On the other hand, it's the show that introduced magic into the Arrowverse through Damien Darhk. And that now has a regular cast including two metahumans, one of them from Earth-2.

Still, I doubt the new Green Arrow is a time traveler. I suspect it'll be Roy.

 

[Turtletrekker]

On the other hand, it's the show that introduced magic into the Arrowverse through Damien Darhk. And that now has a regular cast including two metahumans, one of them from Earth-2.

And who's 100th episode ended with an escape from an alien spacecraft while being pursued by a armada of starfighters.

 

[Mage]

Finally saw the season opener, appereantly Dutch Netflix uploads Arrow almost a week after the US broadcast.

Solid opener, I like the idea of flashforwards. Ollie using the Count Of Monte Cristo to beat someone up was funny.

I personally doubt that the new Arrow is a future William. With two shows already doing so much with timetravel, I doubt it will become a part of Arrow.

 

[dahj]

I think there might be more to the decision to not show Argus saving Felicity.

I doubt there's anything more to it, I think it was just done that way so that the audience would be in the same position as Ollie, not knowing what happened until she shows up.

 

[Christopher]

I doubt there's anything more to it, I think it was just done that way so that the audience would be in the same position as Ollie, not knowing what happened until she shows up.

I agree. People these days have gotten so addicted to looking for clever plot twists and hidden secrets that they forget that story points can be motivated solely by character and emotion.

 

[Snaploud]

I just said there "might" be more to the decision not to show that moment. I have no special knowledge of the subject. I just happen to think such a time travel story would be a good way to bring more focus to the show. There's nothing wrong with the occasional whacky theory if we're willing to change our perspective when confronted with evidence to the contrary.

 

[JD]

On the other hand, it's the show that introduced magic into the Arrowverse through Damien Darhk. And that now has a regular cast including two metahumans, one of them from Earth-2.

We also had Ragman as a member of Team Arrow for while.

 

[tomalak301]

Good episode but a little more on the low key side following last week. We didn't even see the reappearence of the green arrow imposter, even though I am wondering if it is William. As for the William stuff, I like this actor more than I like the younger actor. The way they are doing the flash forwards seem to be in the vain if the first two seasons, showing very little each episode.

The Felicity and Diggle stuff has felt like this is the same show as last season which is unfortunate. I am hoping the new show runner can bring some life back into it. I did like the stuff with Dinah and Laurel though,and they are making Dinah likable again.

 

[Christopher]

I found Dinah a bit hypocritical for getting judgmental about Laurel's desire for revenge on Diaz, given that in Dinah's debut episode, she straight-up murdered two people on her own quest for revenge. I've always been bothered that the show glosses that over and lets her be a police detective -- even a captain now -- with that in her past.

We're just two weeks into this "no costumed vigilantes" phase of the series, and I'm already sick of it. I like the costumes! I'm also not thrilled to see Samanda Watson returning. I really dislike the character and find the actress unpleasant.

 

[Kirk Prime]

Definitely not as good as last week, but it moved the story forward. I find myself more interested in the future than the present storyline. I guess given that Diaz was the villain last year, it feels repetitive. And I agree that the lack of costumed heroes changes things. It's a superhero show, not a crime drama.

I hope Ollie gets out of prison soon. I don't want that to drag too long.

 

[dahj]

That was alright-ish.

I liked the future stuff and the Canary/Siren double act. The prison bits were kinda standard prison movie fare (Prison Speedy is totally going to turn out evil, isn't he?), but that's okayish too.

The Team (formerly) Arrow stuff was a bit uneven, I get Felicity's frustration at not being able to do anything, and Dig's confession on why he doesn't don the hood was good, but the plot surrounding it was once again a "bomb that can level a city" gimmick which is sooo overused and Diaz is still lame, so the whole thing felt a bit boring.

Haven't been keeping up with promos, and Cisco wasn't around in this episode to name them but do we know what nicknames the Longbow Hunters go by or do I just call them Needles, Anti-Canary and Captain Evil America?