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 Season 2 of Arrow premieres on the CW on Wednesday 9th October at 8pm EST. But “why should I watch it?” I hear you ask, “It's a CW show!” That's a very good question. Luckily, I have a whole load of very good answers.
But seriously, watch this show. It's so drat good.  SEASON 1 SPOILERS FOLLOW  Stephen Amell is... OLIVER QUEEN A boating “accident” left millionaire playboy Oliver Queen stranded on a desert island called Lian Yu for five years while mourning the death of his father, who tasked Oliver to right his wrongs moments before his suicide. Despite its isolated appearance, the island was home to a faction of mercenaries, a Chinese political prisoner and a rugged Australian. These circumstances forged Oliver into a man – he killed the mercenary leader and helped clear their influence from the island. Five years later, Oliver returns to his home with a list of names that are responsible for corrupting Starling City. Setting up his lair in the basement of his new nightclub, he slowly brings people into his operations as he works his way through his targets under the mantle of the Hood – all while reconnecting with his ex-girlfriend, Laurel. However, his true enemy is Malcolm Merlyn, the father of his best friend, Tommy. With Oliver's secret tearing the friendship apart, he faces off with Malcolm in an attempt to prevent his plan of decimating the city with an earthquake machine. While Oliver beats Malcolm, he is unable to predict his back up machine that ensures the destruction of the city's most rundown area, the Glades. With his world falling down around him, Oliver races to save Laurel only to find that Tommy has got there first at a fatal cost. With Malcolm's plan a success, Oliver slips away into the night to escape his loss. Oliver Queen has failed his city. Abs Status: Substantial  Katie Cassady is... LAUREL LANCE When Oliver was seemingly lost at sea with the sister of his girlfriend, Laurel, she was forced to miss him and hate him at the same time. By the time Oliver returns to Starling City, she has moved on and soon finds herself in a relationship with his best friend, Tommy. Dedication to her job as a legal aid attorney makes the relationship hard but it is her lingering feelings for Oliver that lead Tommy to break it off. Laurel manages to reconnect with Oliver and they resume their relationship just prior to the destruction of the Glades. When her office is wrecked in the earthqauke, Laurel finds herself trapped but it is Tommy who answers her pleas for help. He saves her, but at the cost of his own life. With Oliver now grieving over Tommy's death, Laurel has lost her two closest friends. Abs Status: Toned  David Ramsay is... JOHN DIGGLE After serving in Afghanistan, Diggle retires from the army and transitions into the role of private security, where he soon takes on a position with the Queen family as bodyguard to the newly returned Oliver. While his unexplained absences make the job difficult, Oliver's actions are soon explained as Diggle is poisoned and Oliver is forced to bring him to his lair to save his life. Despite his reservations, Diggle accepts Oliver's invitation to join his cause in order to make sure he doesn't lose his humanity. While his work with Oliver continues he finds himself growing closer to the girlfriend of his dead brother, Andy, and they begin to form a relationship. However, his life is twisted when the mercenary known as Deadshot returns to Starling City and Diggle discovers that he is responsible for Andy's death. Despite many attempts, Diggle has not yet been able to bring Deadshot to justice and avenge his brother's death. Abs Status: Startling  Willa Holland is... THEA QUEEN With her family torn apart by the boating accident that left Oliver on the island, Thea was left to cope with her loss with only a distant mother for company. Five years pass and Thea deals with her grief with a regular cocktail of alcohol and drugs and while she is happy to see her brother return they soon come into conflict over her new rebellious nature. On the night of her birthday party, she takes a new hyper-drug known as Vertigo to repress her anger at her mother's assumed affair and goes for a drive, crashing her car. Charged by the police for drug possession she is sentenced to community service at Laurel's law office where one day her bag is stolen by local street-thief, Roy. Thea tracks him down to claim back her bag and the two begin to connect, eventually forming a relationship. Thus she is drawn into Roy's search for the Hood, unaware that the man she hunts is living in her own home. When her mother announces that she is complicit in a conspiracy to level the Glades Thea is torn between two of those closest to her and she chooses Roy, rushing away to save him despite her mother's pleas. With her mother now in prison and Oliver deep in mourning for his failures, Thea finds her family is further apart than ever. Abs Status: Robust  Emily Bett Rickards is... FELICITY SMOAK A skilled computer programmer and hacker, Felicity works in the tech department of Queen Consolidated where her skills are soon noticed by Oliver. He turns to her for aid in much of his work as the vigilante, although his excuses get increasingly unbelievable. However, Oliver is not the only one to notice her talents – she is also noticed by company CEO and Oliver's stepfather, Walter, who brings her in to his enquiries into the conspiracies of his wife, Moira. Sadly, his sudden disappearance puts an end to their investigation. Felicity's life is changed forever when Oliver is shot during a mission as the Hood and turns to her for help, revealing his alter ego to her in the process. Felicity returns him to his lair where he is patched up by Diggle and upon regaining consciousness he asks her to join the team. She initially agrees to help Oliver track down Walter but her initial reservations about the Hood's work are broken down as she grows more committed to the cause. But when Malcolm Merlyn succeeds in his plan to bring down the Glades, Felicity learns the hardest truth of all: sometimes the good guys lose. Abs Status: Mysterious  Colton Haynes is... ROY HARPER Growing up in the Glades, Roy soon learned the difference between the haves and the have-nots and turned to a life of petty crime, building up a long list of misdemeanours. However, a simple bag theft introduces him to Thea, who refuses to accept his pity story and challenges his world view. They start a relationship, although their different social strata proves an obstacle as Roy is too proud to accept Thea's help. But when Roy is abducted by a crazed gunman, he is forced to confront his own failings and admits that he has wasted his life. The Hood saves his life and gives it new meaning, instilling in Roy the desire to become a hero in his own right. In order to fulfil his new dream, Roy and Thea attempt to find the Hood so that Roy can join his cause. Their hunt is stalled the night of the earthquake but in the chaos Roy comes into his own, choosing to risk his own life to save those of others. As his world falls down around him, Roy learns that not all heroes wear a hood. Abs Status: Durable  Manu Bennett is... SLADE WILSON Australian Secret Intelligence Service agent Slade arrived on Lian Yu with his partner, Billy, to rescue a Chinese political prisoner, Yao Fei. On their arrival, they were captured by a mercenary force led by a man named Fyers but while Slade managed to escape with Yao Fei, Billy refused to join them and allied with Fyers instead. Slade remained stuck on the island, evading Fyers's men until he was discovered by Oliver. While he initially viewed Oliver as a liability, he was impressed with Oliver's determination to survive and began to train him in combat. Slade led Oliver on an attack on a radio tower in an attempt to call in a rescue plane and during the operation, he was forced to face Billy and killed him, although he was shot by Fyers in the process. Unable to protect himself, Slade had to rely on Oliver and became convinced with his skills in the field. Slade accepted Oliver as a partner and the two men began to work against Fyers, managing to rescue Yao Fei's daughter, Shaido. Learning that Fyers planned to start an economic crash by blowing up an aeroplane, the trio moved against him and prevented his plans, although not before he killed Yao Fei. In the aftermath, Fyers took Shaido hostage and offered Slade and Oliver passage off the island. However, Oliver refused and made Fyers the first man he killed with his bow. The trio were left stranded on the island with no apparent hope of rescue. Slade's current whereabouts are unknown. Abs Status: Threatening  Susanne Thompson is... MOIRA QUEEN When the deaths of her husband and son were reported, Moira was devastated. However, she held a terrible secret – she was complicit in their deaths, which had been arranged by Malcolm Merlyn in order to protect the Undertaking. When Oliver is discovered alive and well, she is remarried to Walter, a long-time business associate of Oliver's father. With Malcolm still fully committed to the cause, Moira feels she has no choice but to work with him. When Walter begins to investigate her ties to the boating accident, Moira allows him to be abducted by Malcolm. As the Hood starts to close in on the conspiracy, Moira's regret leads her to attempt to undermine Malcolm's plan. She allies with another of their party, Frank, but Malcolm discovers their misdeeds and executes Frank, although Moira escapes his notice. While the Hood manages to rescue Walter from his captivity, Walter has been so damaged from the experience that he walks out on Moira. Meanwhile, Oliver's suspicion mounts until he eventually has no choice but to accept his mother's guilt and in doing so he tricks Moira into revealing the truth about the Undertaking. Unable to accept being the cause of Moira's justifications, Oliver urges her to reveal the truth – pleas she listens to when she calls a press conference to announce her involvement in a conspiracy to destroy the Glades. Now charged with conspiracy, Moira sits in prison facing an uncertain future. Abs Status: Covered  Paul Blackthorne is... QUENTIN LANCE After the death of his daughter, Sarah, in the Queen's boating accident, Detective Quentin Lance became withdrawn from his family, drinking his demons away until his wife left him. With no other family left, Quentin grew very protective of his surviving daughter, Laurel. Oliver's return from the island comes as a shock and Quentin immediately holds a grudge against him for making it through the ordeal, a grudge only matched by his desire to bring the Hood to justice. However, the Hood starts to reach out to Quentin, occasionally exchanging information to help each other complete their goals. When his ex-wife, Dinah, returns to Starling City under the belief that Sarah is alive, Quentin refuses to join her in her investigations. Laurel attempts to resolve their conflicts, leading Dinah to reveal that she allowed Sarah to join Oliver on the boat. Quentin and Dinah manage to find closure and part amiably. Quentin's hunt for the Hood continues but when it comes to light that Malcolm Merlyn is planning to level the Glades, Quentin chooses to aid the Hood in his attempts to prevent it. Quentin tells his lieutenant about his connection to the Hood, giving up his job in order to save the people in the Glades. While officially taken off the case, the Hood calls on him to prevent the triggering of Malcolm's earthquake device and so Quentin races through the underground. When it appears that his efforts will be in vain he contacts Laurel with a tearful farewell but Felicity pulls through with advice and he is able to deactivate the trigger – although a second device ensures the success of Malcolm's plans. With his decreased status at the police department, Quentin now finds himself with less authority and his loyalties remain torn. Abs Status: Unpredictable Deadpool posted:Hello Arrow thread. You guys were really good last season so though I don't feel I need to add any dumb rules like in the S.H.I.E.L.D. thread I do want to try and make sure the comic talk stays controllable this season. Most of you have heard about the show ramping up the comic related stuff this season. And that's cool, it's definitely something we'll want to talk about. But let's try to remember this is a TV show and not a comic book. No need to bring in lots of backstory from the comic when it may be of no relation to the show. Also no posting comic book panels unless it's in direct relation to the show. Talking about cool little nods to the comics is fine. And Arrow seems to do that a lot. Just keep it like last year's thread and everything will be fine. But please let's not turn this into the mess that the S.H.I.E.L.D. thread became after the first episode. Nobody wants that. Lest We Forget   A good man   BARROWMAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!
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Oct 3, 2013 02:40
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 03:48 |
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There's such a thing as running a joke into the ground 
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Oct 3, 2013 02:59
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Aphrodite posted:For shame, sir. Godammit 
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Oct 3, 2013 03:05
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Aphrodite posted:But anyway, good OP. It might be a good idea to at least mention who a character's comic counterpart is though (if they have one), because what I've gathered from interviews is that the creators expect you to know that stuff already. Yeah, I had thought about that but when Deadpool said he was going to add a comment about comic chat I decided not to just to play it safe. If he thinks it's ok I'd absolutely add it to the OP.
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Oct 3, 2013 03:15
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Aphrodite posted:It's a TV show about people with superpowers and has Lucifer from Supernatural as the bad guy. And the lead actor is Stephen Amell's cousin
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Oct 10, 2013 00:38
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I'm so glad Arrow is back. It was pretty much everything I could have ever hoped for  Rocksicles posted:Awesome season opener... Whoever is ragging on Laurel's clothing needs a pimp slap. Thank you for your insightful criticism. 
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Oct 10, 2013 12:15
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Look at dat gorgeous cliffhanger
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Oct 17, 2013 03:08
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I'm so glad we've reached a point as a society where we're making gifs of a woman's rear end. The 21st century is a beautiful place.
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Oct 17, 2013 15:42
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omg chael crash posted:The annoying doctor from Firefly is coming to Starling City as Shrapnel. They'd better give him a scene with Summer Glau's character
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Oct 23, 2013 23:30
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This loving show man I swear to god e: If this show can get Dylan Bruce then can they please get Tatiana Maslany too?
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Oct 24, 2013 03:09
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So happy to see the Count coming back. He has a proper Rogues Gallery now 
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Oct 30, 2013 14:43
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Sarah knows Slade! Shooting grenades! Weapon swapping! Sin! Brother Blood! There's no "This goddam show " big enough. Really liked the Mayor as well, sad he's not gonna be coming back some time. And as a villain who apparently isn't in the comics (as my wiki search tells me) they did a great job making him feel like he came from there.
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Oct 31, 2013 03:20
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Nobody's mentioned that Ollie's prison buddy is Russian. What are the bets he's in the Mafia? 
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Oct 31, 2013 11:24
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Crunk Abortion posted:There's absolutely no way. Tommy is this show's Uncle Ben. Uncle Ben came back.
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Oct 31, 2013 21:13
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Ingram posted:From Stephen Amell's Facebook: So what he's saying is that the next episode is even better than the last two? 
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Nov 2, 2013 01:40
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Oasx posted:The only thing i don't like about this season is that everyone is making major life changing decisions because Tommy died. I just remember him as a minor character for most of the first season, and towards the end he was just a major douche. I really don't care that the character is gone. How does it feel to be dead inside?
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Nov 2, 2013 12:55
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Yeah, with the quality of the show I don't think they'd pull a sudden switch to turn Laurel into a badass fighter without giving her a long period of training. Just look at Roy and how much he still gets his rear end kicked.
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Nov 2, 2013 20:01
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Caity Lotz and Paul Blackthorne are absolutely fantastic. Their poo poo wrecked me. Can we please just get some twist where Laurel dies and Sarah is forced to assume her identity because drat.
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Nov 7, 2013 04:10
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dodob posted:I was almost sure Officer Lance in that last scene would drop a hint that he knew Arrow's true identity (because like you said, after Felicity and Sarah, how could he not?) But something tells me he knows but he wants to leave it alone. At this point I think they're building to a heartwarming scene where the Arrow is rushing off to risk his life and Lance lets on that he knows as he's going.
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Nov 7, 2013 16:02
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Phylodox posted:I'll be seriously disappointed if Summer Glau doesn't end up being the child of Ghul. Isobel Ruchev is a separate DC character, so it's unlikely but still possible I guess.
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Nov 7, 2013 22:59
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Phylodox posted:Not really. She's just a weird, square peg in a round hole. The writers don't seem to have any idea what to do with her until she takes over as Black Canary, so she ends up just wasting time, getting stuck with a lot of melodramatic side-plots that don't really have much to do with anything else, stick out like a sore thumb, and slow down the otherwise breakneck pace of the show. See, I don't think that's the case. I think everything that's happening to her is taking her to the emotional place she needs to be to do that spoiler and that's absolutely fine. It's just Caity Lotz is really really REALLY good, man.
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Nov 9, 2013 06:30
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Aphrodite posted:Serialization on television is usually bad for ratings. The Walking Dead Narcissus1916 posted:By contrast, even Agents of SHIELD's best episodes are basically passable monster-of-the-week plots. The show has a distressing lack of serialization or ANY ongoing plot whatsoever. Do you even watch that show? Cause it sure don't sound like it. Rarity fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 20:03
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Shakugan posted:To be fair, I imagine it's not fun to be an actor and essentially have fan reaction push you out of the of the primary love interest role to be replaced with someone who was supposed to be a one off character (i.e. Felicity). One would imagine it would be hard to be really excited about a show when so many fans despise your role in it. Especially when that's pretty much exactly what happened to her on Supernatural.
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Nov 16, 2013 18:55
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Looks like you guys are the only ones.
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Nov 17, 2013 05:56
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You guys, this show has been really awesome so far but I'm going to judge upcoming episodes before I've seen them because reasons!
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Nov 19, 2013 19:04
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Sober posted:Network execs? Maybe trying DC trying to unify their TV/movie characters together so they don't confuse people when they try to match Marvel. Or how about the show writers actually want to expand their universe? Imagine that 
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Nov 19, 2013 22:31
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HOLY poo poo YOU GUYS WHAT WHAT WHAT THE gently caress This. loving. Show.
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Nov 21, 2013 03:56
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This was right up there with the season finale for best episode of the series. Seth Gabel was fantastic and I really really really hope the Count's not properly dead cause they can't just let a villain so awesome go. Thea punching Roy was heartbreaking thanks to Willa Holland, Laurel went through an understandable arc and god drat those two bombs in the final scene.
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Nov 21, 2013 04:28
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Drifter posted:Brother Blood's mask is really stupid, considering he literally just stands around doing gently caress all with it. At least the other island deathstroke did stuff in his mask, even though it made him look like a bobblehead. He's a famous local politician though, he needs something that fully disguises his mask and voice and he's smart enough to know green greasepaint over the eyes won't get the job done.
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Nov 21, 2013 19:44
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I really hope Ollie hallucinating his past means a special Tommy appearance
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Nov 22, 2013 03:12
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Do people who have rewatched the early episodes think that Amell needed to grow into the role or that his stiffness was an acting choice?
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Nov 24, 2013 02:28
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It's not up to anyone to decide that other people should be ok with being spoiled. If people want to talk about the show while remaining ignorant of future events they have every right to be allowed that and not to feel like they can't join in the thread. It doesn't matter if you know that Simon goes evil and turns into Thunderblarg in the comics, there's no need to bring it up in the discussion of current episodes because that knowledge doesn't change anything and you're just excluding part of the show's audience. I think the show works just as well whether you've read the comics or not and to be honest, when the people who know say "hehe, well you should be happy to know what I know so you can truly appreciate the show" it kinda comes off as condescending and makes you seem like a bit of a prick.
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Dec 2, 2013 22:45
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Rhyno posted:I know you're the boss but banning discussion of the source material is kind of ridiculous. Is discussion of past events banned in the GoT threads? Is comic discussion banned in the AoS thread? Yes.
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Dec 3, 2013 00:33
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That was such a good episode (I swear I say that every week). The introduction of Barry was superb and Grant Gustin handled him really well and made me want to watch a series about the character. Using a typical super strong tanky kinda villain is a great way of introducing powers because it's not really much of a stretch from the normal action scene. When Ollie said he's seen some crazy things on the island I like to thank that each of the five years just got more and more insane with powers to match a constant ramping insanity in the show.MrFlibble posted:And hey if the flash show doesn't get picked up he can always become a guest actor on Arrow There is no way the spinoff is not getting picked up. Rarity fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Dec 5, 2013 |
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Dec 5, 2013 04:17
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The Lord Bude posted:given that as of the conclusion to last episode Oliver is unconscious, what are the chances this happens in some sort of dream/hallucination sequence? The episode description says that Ollie is haunted by visions of the past so it's definitely a hallucination. I really hope this means we get to see Tommy again.
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Dec 11, 2013 14:14
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You guys. I can't. You guys. gently caress. Tommy came back and I almost cried. Slade is the man behind the man and I gasped. Barry got hit with lightning and I squealed with delight. This show rules.
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Dec 12, 2013 05:14
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One big game changer that's being ignored is the police being taken apart by Grundy. In one fell swoop they've made it clear there are threats to the city that the cops can't handle and killed off the rear end in a top hat Boss, leaving a vacancy at the top of the power structure. I imagine we'll see a very big shift in their attitude on the Arrow now and Lance will be the driving force behind that.
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Dec 12, 2013 14:28
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Boogaleeboo posted:By that logic Tommy is going to be brought back, as he would be the Ghost of Christmas Future. I know it won't ever happen but I really wish it would because I hadn't realised how much I missed Colin Donnell until last night 
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Dec 12, 2013 14:45
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Brother Blood explicitly said that Roy would kill for him. It's clear that he at least thinks he can control people who use the drug.
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Dec 13, 2013 17:58
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 03:48 |
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I think keeping the show grounded is a lot more about the presentation than about keeping it power-free. If the world progresses in a clear and consistent manner and every new step forward is given its proper weight then I reckon the show could end up going anywhere it wanted. The problem comes when amazing things happen without cause or consequence, that's when a show gets cartoonish (hello, Smallville!)Blackchamber posted:I'm with everyone else on keeping the 'magic' and all that crap off the show. I'm sure the show writers could tackle it since they've already been writing a pretty good show. But lets face it you cant have a world based in science like Iron Man's and then smash it together with a world that contains magic like Thor's. It just wouldn't work, nobody would watch it, and it would fail horribly. Well played, sir 
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Dec 14, 2013 17:19
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