Arrow: Sacrifice Look Ahead

In case you were somewhere hidden under a rock yesterday and did not come across the new Arrow promo for the next 5 and final episodes of this season, well, here it is:

So… it looks insane!!! First things first (for all Olicity fans out there): IT APPEARS IT IS FINALLY GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!

Oh yeah, Felicity and Oliver, finally.

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On other news, someone will try to kill Roy – I’ll be very mad if they succeed…

Oliver will team up with Ray to protect the city.

Oliver will try to break Roy out of prison – lets all hope he’s alive until then.

Oliver will say yes to the offer and join the league – not really a big surprise given that in The Flash promo photos he’s wearing the league uniform.

Thea vs. Ra’s Al Ghul… not a chance in hell, but very cool anyway!

Again… Felicity and Oliver! I can’t stress enough how happy I am about this, I do hope they don’t screw it up, and that it’s not a dream or fantasy or something of the sorts… Also, Ray does look so disappointed…

This Week on TV (23-29 Mar)

Scorpion: Young Hearts Spark Fire

While trying to rescue a group of hikers from a mountain, team Scorpion’s helicopter crashes, eventually causing a wildfire. While Sylvester stays behind with the pilot, the rest of the team goes and tries to find the hikers.

My favorite bits of this episode involved Toby. First, Toby diagram with the explanation on why he knows that Walter is in love Paige, to which Walter denies (though not very convincingly). Then there’s all those wonderful interactions between Toby and Happy… after their kiss last week, he’s acting all protective of her (though she thinks it’s annoying) and ends up telling her that he’s in love with her. I was so glad that she did not run!!!!

   

The Flash: Rogue Time

After the all the distress that was last week, when Barry finds himself on the day before, he decides to change a few things up and arrest the Weather Wizard before he’s able to do any real damage. Dr. Wells warns him of the consequences, but really how could this day be any worse than the previous one?!

Well, Captain Cold and Heat Wave return (with Cold’s sister), they kidnap Cisco and his brother and force him to disclose the Flash’s true identity. Meanwhile Barry, so sure now of Iris feelings, decides to make a HUGE move on her, only to be punched by Eddie – sorry dude, but you totally deserved that!

In the end Barry has a talk with Cold, where he considers that he doesn’t have to kill people to get what he wants and then he decides to relocate… all very civil! I get why they did this, they’re clearly paving the way for the new show, but although I can comprehend that Cold doesn’t really have to hurt people, he really likes to be in control, I don’t see Heatwave playing by the same rules… so it will be definitely fun to watch how that plays out.

There was a nice parallel between Cisco and Well’s talk this week and the last. In both Well’s told Cisco that he saw him as a son and was proud of him, but this week he did not kill him!!! Hurray for that! He does kill someone though, Iris’s boss, which leads Barry to suspect that something is up with Wells. Well done Barry, it only took you 16 episodes!!!!

By the way, the time in which Cisco can build 3 extremely different guns out of someone’s house – not a lab – is amazing… more over if you consider that one of those guns fires gold (?!).

   

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Love in the Time of Hydra

Remember when we were all worrying about Mac when he was stuck in the city?! Oh, well, not I’m wishing he had died right away, maybe that way we could have kept Tripp. The “Real SHIELD” unveiled itself this week to Hunter, they say that stand for truth and honesty and transparency, Coulson, like Fury, keeps way too many secrets and that’s not how SHIELD should run.

Hunter (luckily) is having none of it – I always liked Hunter, but now I love him, and I can’t believe how Mac and Morse are acting… though I still have a slight hope that Morse is indeed a double agent and that she will side with Coulson in the end. Hunter managed to escape this new SHIELD, though he’s unable to contact Coulson.

After May and Coulson talk, he decides to bring Skye to a secure and secret location, where she can be safe and work on her powers… she feels like she’s in prison, but really, amazing timing. Simmons delivers Coulson a new pair of gloves for Skye, that will minimize the effects of her powers, but she’s feeling conflicted about it. Fitz, for his hand, thinks that there’s nothing wrong with Skye, or him for that matter, the real one on the wrong there is Simmons, she has given up to her fears and insecurities and is too much changed. He’s so on the nose with this one, Simmons IS changed for the worst and her new behavior unfortunately falls right in line with the new SHIELD.

The Ward and Agent 33 storyline was just plain weird… I liked that it involved Talbot, but that was it… I found it utterly dispensable.

    

Arrow: Suicidal Tendencies

Now I’m officially not getting Felicity, I mean, she’s right with all that “I want someone who’s not afraid to be happy”, but after Ray doubted her in that way, I was a little disappointed that she did not give him any crap – she has no trouble doing so with Oliver, so why was she so ready to be all lovey dovey with Ray?!

They better start fixing it!

I get that Captain Lance is hurt with his daughter and everything, he has the right to be, but he’s going a bit off the rails…

And Maseo?! WTF?! Now you’re imitating the Arrow too?! I’m so disappointed, I like(d) him so much.

I will miss Deadshot!

Diggle and Lila’s wedding was wonderful, but I wish we could have seen a bit more of it… maybe Oliver’s best man speech?! Felicity catching the bouquet and glancing at Ollie?!

   

Law & Order: SVU: Parole Violations

This week the episode dealt with the abuse and power that Parole Officers have upon the parolees, it finally introduced some background and family for Carisi and dealt with the fact that men can be raped by women.

I don’t think they had ever gone there in 17 years, and I’m so glad they finally did. Rape in itself is a taboo, but somehow, when it’s the fact that men can in fact be raped by women, there’s more than a taboo, there’s a huge disbelief. Not so long ago I was having a talk with my mother (highly intelligent and liberal woman) and we were talking about rape and for some reason I brought up this particular subject (men being raped by women) and she (intelligent, worldly woman) said that she did not think it was possible for such a thing to happen… So I’m glad that they finally took on a case that not only shows that it happens, it can happen, and unfortunately how unlikely it is to be acknowledge.

   

Supernatural: Paint it Black

How can they still put a new spin on old ghost stories still amazes me. Dean, confession, church and nuns?! Funny as usual.

   

Criminal Minds: Rock Creek Park

The case this week was a bit f* up, even though it wasn’t at all creepy or weird or deadly. But the fact that those 2 people had such a twisted view of things… wow…

But there’s only one thing that matters in this episode (besides the fact that Kate is already showing), was that little bit in the end… REID GOT A DATE!!!! I’m so happy for him!!!

Ray Palmer suits up! Atom suit revealed!!! =D

Arrow has just released the first photo of Brandon Routh in full Atom exosuit and damn, it looks good!

Ray Palmer will first wear his Atom suit on episode 15. I’m truly excited about this :D! I think he looks better with this than with theSuperman costume 😉 .

Flash and Arrow and damn… I was surprised this week.

It’s always incredible when a 22/24 episode per season show can still pull the rug out from under you on the middle of the season. Be warned, they will be spoilers!

Lets start with The Flash and that amazing episode. The villain was intriguing, Cisco and Caitlin were hilarious and sweet and funny (as usual). But Wells, oh man, Harrison Wells!!! We had all figured it out a while back that he was the man on the yellow suit, but now he’s not only gazing at his suit, he’s speeding. Oh yeah people, Wells is running (Flash running) and leaving behind a red lighting. But something is wrong though, he’s not able to maintain the speed and in fact, for a moment there, he’s not even able to stand up. This beg the question, is he really the “Reverse Flash” we saw a couple of episodes ago? Or they are in fact the same person at different moments in time?!

Damn it, it looks like The Flash writers really know what they’re doing. Perfect moments come whenever Joe and Barry share the same space, their relationship is just magic – and Joe might just be my favourite character on this show. Even Iris was pretty OK this week.

Now lets move on to Arrow and Team Arrow shines one more. For me this episode really brought Roy and Laurel up.

It’s so amazing to see Roy be a man, something he’s not often allowed the chance to be, being the youngest of them all, but here he helps Laurel come to her own, he stands up for Thea and wow, his fight choreographies are just the best.

Laurel Lance, wow, and I never thought I would say this, but wow. They are doing it so right. They are showing how not like her sister she is, but how she deserves a chance to prove that she’s capable. I’m glad she gets her ass kicked and is almost shot, and falls when she tries to jump, and that suit, ugly as hell, but hey, by the end of the episode I couldn’t help but like her a bit more (which in all honesty, was not hard at all).

Felicity finally came around, realizing that the heroes fight for those they love who are still alive and goes to help not only Team Arrow, but Ray Palmer as well. I did not like that closeness between them when she was patching his wounds, though I admit, Ray Palmer is really growing on me (and I would totally watch his would be spin-off).

Oliver is standing! Oh yeah! Did Tatsu really just treated him with traditional medicine and penicillin? And could have happen that as made Maseo leave his wife? Was he somewhat responsible for their child’s death? Just trying to guess here.

Well done Thea, though I do not approve of her relationship with her father, I did like to see her standing her ground and lecturing him, it was nice for a change to see how grown up she’s gotten. And what about that last scene, hey?! So her DJ/Wannabe Boyfriend is a member of the League?! I did not see that one coming!

The fighting on this episode was insanely good. Between the Arsenal/Black Canary team up and the flashbacks to Hong Kong with Maseo and Tatsu and Oliver fighting, and Tatsu and Maseo killing those League members like it was nothing… brutal! Amazing!

Arrow: Left Behind

Arrow is back and let me take a moment to wipe all the tears away (and now my headache just got bigger). Left behind is an incredible well chosen title… Oliver is gone and everyone is feeling a little left behind… Caution, there will be spoilers.

With Oliver gone for 3 days, Team Arrow does its best to keep the baddies of the streets, with Diggle wearing the Arrow’s costume and being a rather bad bowman. Still, Roy and Diggle raise to the challenge and do their best, while Felicity commands the troops from the Arrow cave, all the while maintaining that Ollie will be back, he has always came back before. The boys though, are not so sure and John tries to warn her that she should ready herself, that maybe this time things did not went Oliver’s way, but she’s having none of it.

It’s not until Malcolm gets there (for the second time) with the sword that killed Ollie, with his blood all over it, that she crumbles and admits that he is gone. Then, unable to process her grief, she tells off Ray on his plans for the ATOM suit, saying that she can’t lose another friend, and allows the bad guys to run off with a bunch of evidences, which will allow most of the people they had put away for the last 8 months go free, because she was afraid to lose Diggle and Roy too. This leads her to conclude that there is no “it” without Oliver, she’s DONE.

Roy is broken by the lost of his friend and mentor, and Diggle is as lost as Felicity, not knowing where to go from there. Meanwhile Laurel deals the only way she can, she puts on her sister’s Canary costume and off to the street she goes, after the bad guys that were released for lack of evidences.

Meanwhile, in the flashbacks to Hong Kong, we learn that Oliver went against Waller’s orders and helped Maseo in getting Tatsu back. And this is the reason he’s alive, Maseo takes him to Tatsu in order for her to save him (as to how, I assume we are going to learn next week). So, take a deep breath people, Oliver Queen is ALIVE!

• This was probably the first episode (ever) that I did not find Laurel insufferable. The fact that she consoled Diggle and stayed strong, made me like her a bit.

• David Ramsey and Emily Bett Rickards owed this episode!

• I loved that Thea is worried about her brother (finally), but poor girl, she can put together that her ex boyfriend is Arsenal, but can’t get to the conclusion that her brother, that is always with Roy, is in fact the Arrow?!

• Where is the hallowed ground where they fight their battles? Because they can get there in next to no time, but the weather is totally different.

• So, are Malcolm and Thea going on the run? Or is she putting her foot down?!

Arrow: The Climb

This Arrow winter finale was heartbreaking and totally unexpected… there will be a lot of spoilers…

Ra’s al Ghul and The League of Assassins give Oliver 48 hours to deliver Sara’s killer to them, otherwise they will kill 50 people a day. This puts a rush on team Arrow to find the killer, which they do. The DNA from the arrow matches Oliver’s and this leads him to think that Malcom Merlin set him put. They’re able to find out that Malcom was indeed in town when Sara was killed, but more, he wasn’t alone, Thea was with him. So Oliver asks her about Merlin and she plain out lies to him. So he returns as the Arrow to ask some questions and she fights him and gets away (while defending Merlin). Soon after Merlin seeks out Oliver and shows him a video of Thea murdering Sara, while under the influence of a powerful drug that made her susceptible to suggestion and then she forgot everything. Knowing that the League will hold her guilty (even with the knowledge that Malcolm drugged her), Oliver has no other choice than to take his sister place and reveal himself as Sara’s killer to Ra’s al Ghul, Nyssa and the others and demand a trial by combat, which leaves him with 13 hours to set his affairs in order.

Oliver then says his goodbyes, warning Thea that Malcolm is not to be trusted (which she ignores completely), saying goodbye to Roy and urging him to protect Thea, declining John’s offer to accompanying him and saying goodbye to Felicity, where she asks him to kill Ra’s al Ghul and he tells her that he loves her. He then proceeds to the CLIMB, ultimately arriving to the neutral ground that Ra’s has set for their match… obviously he loses, ending up with a blade through his chest and falling from the top of the mountain…

Everywhere else, Dinah Lance arrives to town and notices right away that something isn’t right, Laurel crumbles and tell her that Sara is dead, promising to make whoever did it pay, to which Dinah is all for. Meanwhile, Ray shows Felicity his plans for the ATOM suit and asks her help to protect the people in the city.

• How could Thea defend Malcolm? No, seriously, she knows what he is and still, when Oliver is warning her she tells him not to make her choose?! WTF Thea?! Between a brother who would die for her or a father that uses her, she would have a problem choosing?!

• Thea is bad for Ollie, right? I mean, here is this guy literally dying for his sister and she, who complained so much about all the lies last year, is lying to his face? This dynamic needs to change.

• Nice tie-in with The Flash.

• Did Ra’s al Ghul just said that no one has challenged him in 67 years? How fu**ing old is he?

• How could Nyssa believe Oliver? Nissa knows him and she knew Sara, how could she ever, for a moment, believe that he would kill her… I wouldn’t find weird that she would ask, he would never do it.

• Laurel is just plain weird, so she keeps secret from dad for months, then in a matter of two days blabs about it to Thea (ironic much) and then to her mother, whom she hardly sees?!

• Oliver and Roy’s hug drove me to tears. This guy is the true Speedy!

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• However, that simple and curt handshake with John Diggle said more than hours of words would.

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• My heart literally broke when Oliver said his last “I love you” to Felicity. It was all calm and certainty and heartbreak… damn you!

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• Why is everyone so convinced that Oliver can win in his match with Ra’s is beyond me, first Malcolm Merlyn and then Felicity seem sure that he can win… fools! To Malcolm is good either way, still, it would have been better for Oliver to win.

• Maseo is in the League because something bad happened, right? He would never have join if his wife and son were not dead, so will we be seeing them murdered during the rest of the season? Tatsu can have a swordfight in every episode from now on… I approve!

• Ray is cute and all, but this episode should have been all about Oliver, Felicity and Ray just took up to much time 😦 …

• This… 😥

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• What I think will happen next: Maseo will find Oliver still alive and lie to Ra’s al Ghul, saying that he is in fact dead (because let’s not forget that Maseo clearly told him that he wanted him alive and all); the fall wasn’t as high as I originally though (as seen in the preview for the next episode), so this will mean that Ollie is alive (duh!) and he’ll probably be out of commission for a bit, but alive. No I’m gonna go and cry in the corner… January can’t come fast enough…

Arrow: Draw Back Your Bow

This week’s Arrow, Draw Back your Bow was all about relationships.

Just a quick recap:

• A crazy fangirl named Cupid is dropping bodies to get the attention of Arrow, her one true love… she’s cray-cray and ends up on the right place for her;

• Thea is opening the club and has a new douche DJ/love interest (I like Austin Butler, but did like him as Chase);

• Ray Palmer asks Felicity out on a platonic non-date diner, that ends up being not platonic at all – it starts with him on the salmon ladder and ends up with a steamy kiss. Ray, the salmon ladder is not yours… and Felicity, don’t get blinded by diamonds worth 10M$ or couture dresses… you love Ollie, don’t ever forget that!!!

• Oliver is not happy about Felicity’s love life, I fell for the guy. After Diggle tells him that if he doesn’t move, he’ll lose her, he goes there to tell her and finds Felicity kissing the other dude… not cool!!!

• Diggle suddenly is everyone’s counsel, he tries to tell Felicity how Ollie fells, and then manages to get Ollie talking – good for him. The last scene was particularly nice, with Roy and Oliver showing up at Lyla and Diggle’s house for a late diner, showing how much they are now the family that the 2 guys don’t have… also to illustrate the gap that’s going on with Felicity and Ollive right now, she wasn’t there… instead, she was craving for more kisses from Mister Ray Palmer.

• Meanwhile in the island, sorry, Hong Kong, Maseo goes out for an assignment and fails to deliver news for over 9 hours. Worried about him, Tatsu wants to go after him and so does Oliver. So they both go, leaving their differences aside for a moment and providing a good moment of bonding between the two, which I guess was the whole point of the flashback… When Oliver asks her: “Why did you leave Japan?”, my first thought was: “Well, she went after Logan (Wolverine), didn’t she?!!” =P

• Katana is a fitting name for Tatsu in deed!

• On a happier note: no Laurel this week!!! =D

Now I’m up to date on Arrow!

I’m finally up to date with Arrow. Season 3 has been strong so far, here are some thoughts on the episodes until now:

• It’s great to see them as a team – a real team!

• Serious Oliver?! You have a problem with baby Sara being in the secret lair? Diggle is right: “who is she gonna tell?”??? Are you really uncomfortable around babies?

• BTW, Ollie, I like you better with a bow and arrow, though I must admit that you DO know how to use a gun 😉

• I like kickass Thea a lot, but for one who game her brother and mother such backlash because they were keeping secrets from her, shouldn’t she be behaviouring kind of different? I know Malcom is her dad n’all, but flat out lying like that? That’s not good!

• Can someone take Laurel away ASAP?! What’s she doing in the show anyway? She’s angry all the time and does nothing more than mess up all the time. She’s lying to her dad!!!! She’s just not a good character… Can we trade her for grown-up Sara?

• Felicity, I love you girl, but you have to stop crying. Since the season begun, I think you cried in every single episode… come on…

• Still on you Felicity: so, Ollie basically tells you (AGAIN) that he loves you, and you go “oh, look at the time… better dash!” ?!?!?!?! Seriously?! No talk or anything? The boy was trying…

• By the way, I want an apartment just like Felicity’s… or Thea’s, I would be OK either way…

• Ray Palmer… I wasn’t expecting to like him, but I do, a lot. A lot a lot. To the point where I wouldn’t mind if he and Felicity got together… but not for long, ok?! Ollie is still number one in her (and mine) heart!

• No way Roy is involved in Sara’s death, right? He can’t be. Not now, that he’s so in sync with the Arrow and everything – seriously, how many hours a day does the guy trains, because he’s kicking ass!

• How cute is Diggle with that baby, right?!