#arrow 7x15 thoughts

[allimariexf]

(Arrow 7x15 thoughts) Olicity: the team within the team (always)

I wanna apologize because MY BODY CANNOT HOLD ALL THESE EMOTIONS and I’m a mess so I”m sorry for whatever happens here

SO. MUCH. OLICITY. I had forgotten it could be like this. WHY did they withhold for so much of the season and then give us so much Olicity in a single ep? (never mind don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, right?)

“I want this partnership to be done right and to be legitimate from the beginning for our baby.” OUR BABY. and then HIS FACE!!! He’s trying to be all serious but he cannot stop that smile of happiness that’s taking over his face because he is so happy omggggg!!!!!!

subtle harp-like Olicity theme in the background is almost literally MY HEARTSTRINGS BEING PLAYED 

OH GOD THEY BRING IN “BELIEF” AND I AM DEAD HOW DARE THEY: “If you believe that this is what’s best for the city and what is ultimately best for our family, then I agree. Because we’re a team too.” and then: “Always.”

HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE HOW DARE HOW DARE THEY

CALL BACK TO EVERYTHING THEY HAVE EVER SAID TO EACH OTHER ABOUT BELIEVING IN EACH OTHER

AND ABOUT THEIR PARTNERSHIP

AND “ALWAYS”

the way she walks toward him and takes him by the lapels 😭 such a Felicity move

HIS FACE WHEN SHE DOES IT 😍 ohhhhh I have missed Oliver’s heart eyes and those are HEART EYES IN FULL FORCE

but most of all THE WAY HE IS GAZING AT HER WHEN HE SAYS “ALWAYS,” and HIS VOICE HOLY SHIT that’s a different voice from anything we’ve ever heard 

(now if only he had hair and if only he would take off that DAMN COAT like that coat is like a third wheel at this point geez it’s honestly like a built in cockblock, in fact maybe he wears it all the time because otherwise they’d never stop getting it on? Hmm new headcanon maybe 🤔)

ughhhhhh and then the kiss after the “always” MY HEART I AM DEAD

“...that we don’t tell anybody about what’s happening in here”

UM Felicity is adorable here okay??? “in here” omggg

and more importantly OLIVER CLEARLY THINKS SO TOO 😍😍😍 his eyes and smile OH GOD

and then the second kiss!!! like 

I love the adorable married going-in-for-multiple-kisses thing and 

the way she smiles going into that second kiss and then 

they just LINGER THERE like Olicity really knows how to LINGER like the 3x01 first kiss and the 3x20 goodbye kiss and now we have this, the 7x15 “better future” kiss and they just LINGER with their lips together on that thought and she breathes him in and IT’S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL someone needs to come put me back together please 😭

I am destroyed and resurrected (repeatedly) under the cut...

“...so about that tartine...”

HOW ADORABLE IS IT the way his face shifts into that smile and you just know that he has been doting on her SO MUCH and he LOVES IT HE LOVES COOKING FOR HIS WIFE AND BABY like honestly YOU KNOW IT’S HIS #1 PLEASURE IN LIFE NOW NO CONTEST

“Have I told you lately how smart you are?”

OKAY first off having Oliver actually talk to Felicity about Arrow stuff??? FUCKING FINALLY OKAY. This is the dynamic Olicity was BUILT ON and MY SOUL HAS BEEN PARCHED FOR IT. Felicity is Oliver’s #1 partner. BLESS THIS EPISODE FOR REMEMBERING THAT. FOR SHOW US THEIR PARTNERSHIP, which honestly the entire SHOW is built on.

okay and HIS FACE before he says the thing, when he’s just thinking to himself about how smart she is and how much he admires and respects her and needs her as his partner?????? It’s the perfect Olicity mix of LOVE, ADMIRATION, and RESPECT??? THAT IS WHY I LOVE OLICITY. RIGHT THERE. 

and then the way he GAZES AT HER WITH PERFECT HEART EYES after she says she “never gets tired of hearing it” because HE IS SO SMITTEN WITH HIS WIFE/PARTNER/LOVE OF HIS LIFE 😍😍😍

UGH and then his reaction to “I want mint chip” like THEY ARE SO IN SYNC he gets her 100% completely he understands and he’s 100% there for her and UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH someone stick a fork in me

because it’s THE PERFECT TRANSITION from Team Arrow to Olicity, just a seamless blend of the work and the relationship because BOTH is who they are I don’t think I will ever be over that moment ughhhhhh

“You guys go ahead, I ate something that’s not gonna mix well with alcohol.”

UM OKAY callback to the 3x01 first date or coincidence? (“The alcohol is not going to mix well with the 3 Benzos I took”) I think I’m gonna go with DELIBERATE CALLBACK.

THE WINKING OMG. LITERALLY THE CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN? MAYBE.

also Oliver looks SUPER hot in that moment, whooooboy. THAT LOOK IS 🔥🔥🔥

“I think you look exactly the same.”

EXCUSE ME BUT am I the only one who is reading wayyy into this just like, the way he says it, her smile?? It’s like a reminder of all they’ve been through together, how much they’ve grown and changed (and also yes hello callback to the season 7 Felicity arc) and yet she is still Felicity, they are still Oliver and Felicity, and like...........?????? EXCUSE ME AGAIN 😭😭😭

and then he sits down on the bed and they’re just talking on their bed like THANK YOU I NEEDED THIS IN MY SOUL

“I may have thought of a name for a girl...Mia.”

Letting us see him looking into her eyes, a little uncertain, being vulnerable with her...I AM ALIVE!

Because he knows she’s going to pick up on the fact that it’s in honor of his mother

AND MOIRA!!! JUST 

we know how important she was to Oliver, but also how complicated, how it ties in with his confused feelings for his family and his legacy, but also his deep love for his family and just how important family is to him, but it also involves this awareness of how Moira figured into Oliver and Felicity’s history, how without her having done what she did they never would have met, and his awareness and resulting hesitation because he knows Felicity didn’t get along with Moira, and THEN AND THEN her acceptance ( “I love it” ) just confirms THIS ONE ESSENTIAL FACT ABOUT OLIVER and about ARROW ITSELF: that no one is perfect, we all have our faults, but there’s love anyway: “Family is precious, and that it’s LOVE, IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING, THAT MAKES IT PRECIOUS.” 😭😭😭😭 I AM DEAD AGAIN because it’s everything y’all I don’t even have words right now

and his smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile 😭😭😭

“Regardless of whether we have a boy or a girl, I just want to make sure that she or he ends up growing up in a better and safer Star City than I did.” / “Yeah.” / “I want that for both of our children. They’ll always have each other to lean on.” “And they’ll always have us.”

THEY ARE HOLDING HANDS FOR THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION

and she strokes his face

and HE HOLDS HER GAZE FOR SO LONG after he says “both of our children” what are these teeeears!?!? 😭

(and we’re going to ignore the clearly ominous overtones because fuck that)

look at them just staring into each other’s eyes holding hands A FAMILY 💗💗💗💗💗💗

The BUNKER 

OLICITY IN THE BUNKER ALONE TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY ARE THE TEAM WITHIN THE TEAM, THE BEATING HEART OF TEAM ARROW 

AND THEN JOHN JOINS THEM to complete OTA, the core, the TRUE, perfect, COMPLETE Team Arrow and it is perfect! 

and then when Dinah and Rene show up, Oliver says: “We found a lead. Well, Felicity found a lead.” THANK YOU THANK YOU WRITERS THANK YOU I will always be grateful for every acknowledgement that Felicity is essential to Team Arrow - essential - and having it come from Oliver’s mouth is OF COURSE The Best.

OTA: FUCK. YES. “So what don’t I know about?” / “We’re having a baby.”

OLIVER’S FACE when he wants to tell John about the baby!! HE CANNOT KEEP THAT SMILE OFF HIS FACE 💗 it’s possible my life is complete UGH HE IS SO HAPPY HE CANNOT CONTAIN IT 😭

And when she says “we’re having a baby” HIS FACE actually BOTH OF THEIR FACES y’all I AM ALIVE the way they are both standing their TRYING TO CONTAIN THEIR HAPPINESS????

and they both say “Yeah” and their EYES??? 😍

but like @it-was-a-red-heeler said he’s making the 3x01 face and OH GOD WHAT A PERFECT COMPLETE CIRCLE 😭😭😭

JUST LOOK AT THEM STANDING THERE TELLING THEIR BEST FRIEND THAT THEY ARE HAVING A BABY

John, who said, “And when you meet the right person, you'll be ready for her,” who said “I think our Miss Smoak is smitten,” who said “I think you didn’t have a problem with Felicity’s performance until she met Barry Allen,” who said “not like us” regarding Oliver’s inability to express his emotions, who said “I know it must be difficult for you, seeing them together,” who said “Why don’t I, uh, give you two a second?,” who said “Maybe Felicity will change all that” and “you love her, you even told her so,” who said “You need her to be anyplace where Ray Palmer isn’t” and “You’re in the field without your head on straight” and “If that were true, you’d be with her, man” and “This thing with you and Palmer is messing with his head” and “You gotta tell her how you feel before it’s too late,” and (skipping way ahead), “I’m not the one she was going to marry,” and “I’m the guy who’s been trying to keep you two together,” so like EXCUSE ME BUT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 OKAY?

Delicity: “Morning sickness or not, Felicity, you have not missed a beat. You were absolutely amazing out there, your tech was phenomenal.”

It’s a little clunky but if this is the final ironing out of all their issues, I’ll accept it. (I’m easy.)

I AM HERE FOR ALL THE ADMIRATION AND RESPECT FOR FELICITY SMOAK (in her hero/genius/badass capacity).

I ESPECIALLY AM HERE FOR the acknowledgement that she can be both a pregnant woman and a hero/badass/vigilante. (And I am going to take that as assurance that they WILL NOT FORGET THIS FACT.)

also blahblahblah foreshadowing.

Overwatch/ Team Arrow

first off: OVERWATCH!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK. YES. My show is back.

second of all: Every time Oliver touches his comm and says “Overwatch” it’s like a virtual orgasm and we were coming all.night.long. friends 😂 I mean there were like 4 times, right?? OH GOD YESSSSSSSSS

but I am SO SERIOUS: Team in the field and Overwatch on the comms IS ARROW and I have missed it soooooo much and now I LIVE!

and yes the SCPD scenes were all freaking HILARIOUS especially Felicity’s reaction to the tech + her “loopholes” + Oliver and Felicity doing a side mission on their own 😍😍😍 (we will not comment on the ridiculousness of the random boiling hydrochloric acid nor the fact that they clearly would have known that evidence gathered in such a manner would be inadmissible)

meanwhile I loved Felicity’s line in the Master Chef scene: “This partnership’s not going to work if she forgets who she’s hired.” PERFECTION. HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. EXACTLY. THANK YOU.

Other stuff

Am I the only one getting excited because it feels like only a matter of time before we completely shed NTA? They just feel sooo unnecessary at this point (I mean they always did but now they just seem like even an inconvenience to the writers)

I truly COULD. NOT. CARE. LESS. about Dinah’s storyline. Like, I’m sorry. I like Juliana. But they’ve never made me love Dinah, as much as I wanted to, and then after s6 honestly she is the member of NTA that I disliked the most, and I have always fucking hated that stupid Canary Cry (again, I much preferred Sara as the Canary, how badass she was as a fighter and the Cry was just an added bonus, and it wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as it later became with Laurel and then Dinah. UGH. At least that’s gone.) The one thing I appreciated about this storyline was the conclusion that the Cry is not an essential part of the Canary. DUH.

Ben Turner’s kid as Connor Hawke: I called it like one minute before the reveal lol. I like it, though I kinda wanted more Ben Turner, and this makes me think he’s gonna die :(

Flash Forwards/William and Mia: yessssssss 💗💗💗

though I still think there’s more on that micro-cassette. The missed messages from Oliver and Felicity. More clues from future Felicity. Meanwhile hearing Felicity’s message to her children just DESTROYS 😭😭😭😭😭

THE PROMO OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I AM NOT READY

Um I think that’s all the freakout I can fit in one post. I’m a mess. Someone needs to pick my pieces up off the floor and put me together again, please. 

[faegal04]

Training Day, Arrow 7x15/My Thoughts

With the news last week, I didn't have high hopes for last nights episode! I was wrong! It was fabulous! Everything about it screamed "This is the show you fell in love with!"

SCPD Training: Oliver kicking ass, Felicity cringing (and nauseous) at the tech and Digg sleeping during tactical training-Awesome!

Oliver's smile at Rene's comment "He does know we have our own uniforms, right?" - Priceless

OTA are dressed better so far in these SCPD rookie uniforms than they have been all season!

For a hot second when they waked into the apartment, I thought Oliver got a new coat - cue sad face now!

Oliver saying "Our baby" -I swear to God my ovaries whimpered and then proceeded to explode!

2 kisses in one scene!!!!!

Absolutely love the fade scene from Oliver to William

Okay, what the hell is up with Laurels pants? If they take some of the extra material they need for those god awful shoulder pads it would make things better! Because getting a glimpse of those bird legs

Oliver looks HOT in that SWAT uniform - that is all

When Dinah went to use the cry for the first time - I was all

But then it went to

How embarrassing!!!

Felicity's outrage over antiquated equipment is my aesthetic!

This deal sucks! Let Oliver do his thing!

Felicity's wicked witch babble and Oliver's gentle "Hey, hey" to bring her back on target LOVING it! Olicity at its core!!!!

Dinah's rant- OVER IT! You don't like it there's the door, don't let it hit you in the ass on the way out.

Seriously Curtis is gone, so Dinah if you gots to go. Go! Bye Felicia! Then we only need to rid ourselves from Rene.

The next two I'm putting together for the same reason:

The sexy, growl voice is back y'all!!!! We got

"You have failed this city" &

"Suit Up"

Yup

Clean up on aisle 7!!!

So Turner is Connor Hawkes daddy! Now we know how he ends up being adopted by Digg and Lyla because I'm sure Dante/Emiko kill Turner for talking to Laurel.

BUNKER!!!!!

Of course they tell Digg about the baby, he is their family!!!

Digg droppin' yodaisms again brings me life! Welcome back my sweet summer child!

The gender/ID parallels between Mia/Oliver and William/Felicity is fabulous!!!!

Is that the whooshing of arrows thru the air again? Sweet, sweet music to my ears!

🤔How did Oliver shoot Midas through the side of the arm when he comes up behind them?🤔

^^^melts my insides

Delicity moment - squealing like a fangirl

I hope Laurel and Emiko kill each other in "Lost Canary". 🤷

Baby names - he says Mia in his Felicity voice - come fight me!

I truly love Will and Mia bonding! I would definitely watch a spin off of this duo!

Felicity's message - *sobs* "We" did because we love you." - Oliver is alive! I will fight anyone who says different!

Promo for next week! RIP me!

"A hero's legacy is born" *ugly sobbing*

[igotnothingclever]

Arrow 7x15: no filler here

It was a very good episode. The pacing was solid. The story was taut. And there were no filler scenes. It was all good.

Things I enjoyed:

Oliver’s and Diggle’s arms and shoulders. Felicity in combat boots. I’m shallow, ok? 🤷🏽‍♀️ I even enjoyed Rene’s snark, which usually has me scanning for the exit. Is it weird that the SCPD trainee uniforms and the SWAT uniforms were more flattering than Oliver’s wardrobe this season? No? Just me then.

Felicity was physically pained by the SCPD’s antediluvian systems. 😂 Her Elphaba imitation was spot-on but wow (!) talk about not reading the room. :) In true Felicity style she blazed ahead with a little helpful nudge from Oliver.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the Team Arrow and the SCPD. In terms of leadership styles, skills, and team dynamics. It was clear from the get go that the SCPD’s training box was too small for Team Arrow and Oliver’s self-effacement in an effort to make things work wasn’t going to get them very far. Having said that, it was a clever back-and-forth -- neither team could continue as they had before so they had to re-write the playbook. Team Arrow as the SCPD’s black ops team was the best outcome.

I interpreted the story as a play on identity: who we were and who we become once we lose things that defined us. Dinah losing her canary cry, getting caught in the painful tug-of-war between Police Captain and the Black Canary was the first surface layer. The SCPD’s stance on the vigilantes was another; Team Arrow’s new in the light and legally sanctioned play was another; and the dynamic between Mia and Will was yet another. Full marks to the writers for handling each of these deftly. What was brilliant to see was the resurgence of OTA in the midst of this and Olicity as the nucleus of this new dynamic.

I danced in delight at the OTA call back. Yoda Diggle is back. Olicity are pulling together. *Take it it in. Pause. Enjoy. Hold breath for Arrow Writers to lower the boom.

Olicity reliving their greatest hits was delicious. There was eye contact. There was physical contact. Their moments had a fullness that has been missing since Oliver’s release from Slabside. No awkward cutaways or camera angles.

So much sqee over the straight from fanfic scenes: Felicity craving Mint Chip and Oliver’s serious yes-say-no-more-nod! MasterChefOliver! Tartine! Broccolini! The end-of-the-day chat on the bed. It was gold. 

The FFs didn’t pain me. I know, damning with faint praise much. But it’s not a storyline I’m invested in. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the way Will and Mia channeled Felicity and Oliver while building their own relationship. I felt like I was seeing more than just the ‘damage’ their parents abandonment has inflicted. They are no longer only united in their pain but also by their love (unspoken & unacknowledged though it might be) for their parents and their friendship.

Hello Bronze Tiger! Hello little Hawk! A hardcover by Dumas. I see what you did there Arrow. 

The new bunker looks like the deck of a spaceship. Shiny! 

I laughed myself silly when Mia says Oliver’s “You Have Failed This City” line is DUMB! Hahhahahhahahha. I don’t think Will knows whether to laugh or cry.

All the rest:

Black Siren really needs to buy some comfortable shoes! Maybe boots? Or wedges? Clearly stilettos aren’t her thing. Neither are drainpipe trousers.

She menaced Emiko and Emiko menaced her right back. Which, I’m not sure, how that works. BS is a meta and Emiko is not. Ok, I guess?

It seems Emiko is the trojan horse for the S.7/S.8 big bad. Poor Oliver, family found is always a risk for him. Maybe this time will be different?

Diggle and Felicity are OK. It was nice to see him acknowledge their closeness and his shitty choices in the last ep and this one. I wasn’t expecting more. I’ll take them being OTA once more! 🙏🏼

The Archer programme was field tested successfully. Smoak Tech can’t be too far behind. The beginning of the end Arrow style.

How did Oliver shoot an arrow through the bad dude’s arm when he came up from behind him?

A solid, no-filler episode. Worth a re-watch.

[hope-for-olicity]

My Thoughts Arrow 7x15

This gif is perfect how I felt before I watched and then as soon as it began. Suffice it to say I am the only person not happy with this episode.  I know many are upset with the news Arrow is ending, that’s how I’ve felt ever since I heard Felicity is pregnant - not helped at all by endless dislike of Mia. 

What I liked

- Felicity’s clothes, even the puke coloured sweater wasn’t so bad. I like the heels.

- Felicity making jokes

- So nice to see the lair back - less appealing once thy revealed what would be at the end of the episode.

- Oliver didn’t become overbearly protective

So many issues

- Let’s start with the most obvious one - we are forgetting everything since 7x10? Everything is sunshine and roses! Touching and kissing and as though it never happened. No one is suffering from trauma, no one is going to talk about Oliver not looking at or touching his wife for months and Felicity and Diggle are besties now...did I miss anything? Be careful you might trip over that rug you swept everything under.

- Vigilantes working for the cops MAKES NO SENSE. IT’S STUPID.

- Can’t stand Mia, she really needs to get over herself

- Can’t enjoy any of the cutesy baby stuff because they never talked and we know that Felicity has to give up her life for this baby according to the flash forwards

- Wasted too much time on Dinah and Rene

- Oliver being so determine to work in the light for his children. First, gag me. Second, WHY?? He was a hero as a vigilante. Felicity needs to remind him. I’m so tired of him taking orders from Dinah and it seems it will continue. This is such BS.

- Speaking of BS, Emiko killed Diaz, I really wish I could bring myself to care...I just don’t

- Felicity is naming her baby after Moria, I woman she called diabolical at her funeral

Even though I expected them to sweep everything under the rug, it didn’t make it suck any less. 

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 7x15 brain dump

Oh my gosh this episode was an absolute gift!!  Especially after the news we got last week, this fluffy beast of an episode could not have come at a better time (for me, at least)!  I’m not sure if part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was that we didn’t really see it coming?  I thought it would be sort of a filler episode that we typically get around this point in a season, that the OTA snippets we saw in the trailer would be about it, but boy was I wrong hahaha!!  I am still a mess!  There is so much to unpack here, I can’t form fully cohesive thoughts still, and this is shaping up to be another whopper, sorry 😬😬😬….

Olicity

Fresh off the pregnancy reveal to Oliver from last week, our ship is still a-sailing!! The heart eyes are back, the eye contact full-stop is back, the supportiveness (”We’re a team, too” “Always”😭😭😭) , the united front.  The little touches are getting there (we’re working up to that sex scene, I can feel it 🤞🤞🤞).  Oliver even looks better in this episode!!  Now, this could be the SCPD-issue tight t-shirt (it’s certainly not the hair), or just his more all-round peaceful demeanour that he seems to have achieved through baby/Felicity joy.

Source:plotbunnyshipper

Continued below the cut.

We got so much Olicity this week!  Multiple times! Olicity, all the time!  The first proper Olicity scene, has Oliver being all Zen-like over the SCPD set-up, meanwhile, Felicity already knows it’s gonna be a shit show.  Our girl is a genius, what more needs to be said? Turns out Oliver is so gung-ho with the SCPD because he wants to do everything he can to make their city a safe place for “our baby” (complete with little adorable smile) HCOJIDNFJKDNVJBDBV!!! This scene also has Oliver offering to make food for our starving/nauseous pregnant Felicity (squeeeee) and a DOUBLE KISS!!!!

Source: oliverxfelicity

Then we got a scene with an increasingly-frustrated Oliver (the Zen didn’t last too long) over the aforementioned inevitable SCPD shit show.  Where Felicity got to give a pep-talk resulting in this delightful exchange:

Source: oliverxfelicity

We got the eyes, the compliments, THE MINT CHIP!!  Scenes out of fanfic have arrived people!!  We see that Felicity has been busy getting the Arrow Cave back up and running, and we get some quality Green Arrow/Overwatch comms action too!!

Then, we get the absolute heart-warming/breaking scene at the end of the episode, which again the fandom could have written for us!!  Felicity is adorably checking out her non-existent bump, asking Oliver if she’s showing, to which he wisely says no 😂  Then they talk about baby names!!  Who would have thought this day would come??!?!!  Oliver is adorable in offering up the name Mia, as many predicted, in tribute to Moira.  I loved how Felicity had a far-away look in her eye, describing the name as “sweet and fiery” (well we got fiery, and a little bit of sweet haha).  Oliver just made me weep in his earnestness and sincerity here; all he wants is to make his children’s lives better than his has been. 

Source:olicitygifs

Then they lament how the children will “always have each other and they’ll always have us”.  Well if that didn’t shoot me straight in the gut!!  Because we have seen the future and 😭😭😭 *ugly sobbing ensues*.

Flash Forwards

These just keep getting better and better.  I know they’re still a bit divisive, but I’m seeing more and more people squeeing along with the likes of me at them haha!!  This week focused entirely on William and Mia (YAAAASSSS), and sees them at the Star City Bazaar doing a spot of Antique shopping, namely looking for a cassette player to play their “old tape from the 80s” 😂😂😂. Wow, way to make me feel ancient lol.  Will being the naïve cupcake that he is, bungles the transaction leaving Mia to go and beat up the vendor.  I loved seeing William hold her back, hilarious!  SO MUCH OLIVER!!  This is something Will tells her after, and it absolutely devastated me (and Mia, by the looks of her reaction) that she didn’t know the iconic “You have failed this city” line.  How is this not a thing of legend in Star City???  The answer to that hurts me too much so I will skip over for now!

Source: oliverxfelicity

Anyway, thanks to William’s techy genius (“like, literally” 😍 he is such a mini Felicity), they manage to cause a distraction, allowing Mia to knock out the vendor and for William to get the tape player.  That’s team work, guys!  Bonus lolz to Will’s saccharine “thank you” as he walks off 😂  Back at Mia’s base they eventually decide to play Felicity’s tape (“What are you waiting for?” “I dunno, what are you waiting for?” I STAN THESE SIBLINGS SO HARD)  And then here is where I died.  Firstly, Will’s nerves at hearing Felicity’s voice after 20 years 😭, Mia’s reassurance that they will listen together, and then Felicity’s message itself.  

Source:feilcityqueen

Felicity is alive bitches!!  After a delightful Felicity-ramble, she apologies to them both for keeping them apart, stating that “We did it because we love you” WE!!! Present tense!!!  Oliver lives too!!!  This is my happy place and I am staying here for as.long.as.I.possibly.can.  

She then directs them to give the team some coordinates then get the hell outta Star City.  I loved how there was no deliberation at all from the siblings, “So we’re ignoring her?” “Definitely”.  And they’re off to The Glades...duh duh duuuuuhhhhh!!!

OTA/Delicity

OTA is well and truly back this episode, following Dig’s apology last week.  There wasn’t masses of Diggle in this episode, and that is one thing I would have liked to have seen from this episode, but to be fair we have been so well fed that I will not complain!!

They told dig!!!!!!

Dig can tell that there is something Olicity aren’t telling him, and the kind of bashful joy on Oliver’s face is just so beautiful and heart-warming! 

Source:oliverxfelicity

Dig is so pleased for them!!  I love Uncle Dig!  And as always Uncy John has some sage advice for our OTP.  He tells them that in order to clean up the city for their family, without sending Oliver back to the Big House, that they have to find another way.  This is a motto that Arrow lives and dies by, but it felt all the more poignant here for some reason, maybe because OTA were finally coming back together?  Maybe because we’re aware now that the team as we know it is soon going to drastically change?  Maybe because the fracking show is ending soon HFDOVHUIERGBVSDVIFDVJDSHVODNVKODW!!!  Anyway, I had feelings about this whole scene (cue Beccie in floods of tears, again).  *whispers I would’ve really liked a hug here ok*

As if that beautiful OTA scene wasn’t fabulous enough, we got bonus Delicity!! I think this was so needed, given their particular distance so far this the season. Dig is still kissing arse a little bit (rightfully so), and not only offers felicity some sweets to help her morning sickness 😍 but offers her some reassurance that she’s got this.  “You were absolutely amazing out there, your tech was phenomenal”.  My Delicity heart is soaring!!  He goes on to point out just how brilliant her security system is (extra kudos for Felicity shading Curtis lol), and that it could be the basis for something much bigger….Smoak Technologies anyone??

Source:felicitysmoakgifs

Team Arrow/SCPD storyline

The training montage at the start of the episode was everything!!  Felicity’s in particular facial expressions were absolutely hilarious; the utter horror of not being able to hack, and using outdated computer systems were just delightful! Even Wild Dog got a quality quip in there about having their own uniforms.  

I really wasn’t looking forward to this aspect of the episode, as I just find the whole SCPD angle annoying and ridiculous this season.  Luckily, this episode was a means to an end, and finally addressed the problematic nature of mixing the Police with the Vigilantes in this way.

The SCPD didn’t seem to want to learn anything from Team Arrow.  Where is the sense in having these people join the force if they aren’t going to provide some unique skills and training?  And the first thing they do is strip them of their weapons and their suits (ahh, if only literally….*ahem*).  They do have a point when it comes to gathering evidence legally, not using coercive ‘interview’ techniques and so on, but presumably, by some kind of TV magic, they were able to successfully convict plenty of criminals caught by Team Arrow previously…so what has changed?  

The evil little Mayor keeps popping up this season, trying to undermine the Team. Oliver never seemed to have this much clout with the SCPD when he was Mayor Handsome.  So why does Mayor Tiny spend so much time there?  Clear off!  Her interference, and the apparent loss of Dinah’s cry, leads to Dinah having a crisis of confidence, briefly picking the SCPD over the Team.  Wild Dog gets all up in her face with a sense-making motivational speech, which he seems to be doing a lot of this season…who knew he had it in him??  Anyhow, Dinah eventually comes to terms with losing her cry, and decides to continue being the Black Canary.  This plot point seemed superfluous to me.  Sara nor Laurel had a meta-cry, and they turned out alright as Canaries…..wait….never mind.  If only they had some friends with medical and meta-human expert knowledge and technology (looking at you Larry)?!?!

Anyway, I enjoyed the twist that Team Arrow had actually been working with the SCPD during the final mission scene, following Dig’s advice that they needed to become ‘something else’.  DD blackmailed dirty Mayor tiny into giving Team Arrow free-rein under the SCPD umbrella still, and repealing the anti-vigilante law.  Yay team Arrow!!  No more SCPD storyline!  All’s well that ends well!

Black Siren/Emiko

I think they took up an acceptably small portion of the episode, and it was just about enough for my liking.  This reaffirmed that I only really care about BS when she’s in scenes with Felicity, but it was nice seeing her try to do the right thing with solving Diaz’s murder.  As many predicted, Emiko killed Lizard Boy, as she is working for Dante.  Even doing this didn’t endear me to Emiko any more I’m afraid.  I just don’t care about her, sorry.  The showdown between BS and Emiko has potential to be interesting, and could lead to conflict between BS/Felicity/Oliver/Emiko in coming episodes, but my babies don’t need any more conflict, just let them be pleeeaaaase!!

The surprise that no one saw coming (I didn’t see anyone call it; well done Boss Beth!), was the appearance of baby Bronze Tiger, Connor ‘Hawke’ Turner.  Connor Hawke from the FFs is Bronze Tiger’s son, adopted by Dig and Lyla?!?!?!  Fab idea, writers!  This likely means that Ben Turner is going to die imminently, which is such a shame because he had so much potential in the prison arc!!  I loved seeing him again in this episode!

Looking ahead

THAT TRAILER GUYS!!!!!  MSDOI;’#GFHGSD;VNSD’K[GSDJVANVNFDK!!!!!!! I was not ready.  None of us were ready it seems!!!  We’re gonna see Mia’s birth this season!!!!  Oliver will be there!!  There’s a photo of Olicity and baby Mia!!!!  AAAAAAAAAGHGHAGHAGHAGHA!!!

Source:olicitygifs

The Team is back!!  But now we see this joint ‘black ops’ type scenario joining Team Arrow and the SCPD together, along with the repealing of the Anti-Vigilante law, the landscape isn’t tying in with the FFs. How do we get to the point where Vigilantes are utterly outlawed and hated by society, when they have done so much to help the city over the years?  What changes?  Is this why Oliver is ‘gone’?  Why Felicity appears to have to give birth to Mia in some abandoned farmhouse somewhere? Where Mia has to be kept hidden? Where Mia and William can’t know of each other’s existence, or be spoken of in the same sentence (seriously….the TEARS!!)?  Where Mia can’t even go by the name Queen for her own safety?  I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!  I think Emiko could be at the bottom of this somehow.  She’s literally doing nothing else interesting.

Either Oliver and Felicity, or Rene and Dinah must be on the outs from the Team soon, to explain the latter’s unawareness of Mia.  Could this be this why only Rene and Dinah have been set up in the FFs so far, because this is the only place we will see them next season? (Assuming they are coming back for S9).

I am so unbelievably excited for next week now.  It’s gonna be dark, I know, but I’m hoping we get a decent amount of questions answered, and see Future Felicity and Diggle!!  (I’d love to see future Oliver, but not holding out hope for that just yet).  I was looking forward to the all-future episode anyway, as I’m living for Mia and William right now, but now???  Bring.it.on!

As always, huge thanks to the amazingly talented gif-makers in our fandom. Kisses and jazzy-hugs all round 😘😘😘🤗🤗🤗

[storyteller0311]

Decoding Arrow 7x15, AKA *OMG, Guys, OMG*

Hi.

Everyone OK? 

So, today’s my birthday and tonight’s episode, while anxiety inducing, was awesome. AND THAT PROMO! (In the words of Cristina Yang: “Somebody sedate me!”)

Anyway...

Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Last week, when the promo for 7x15 aired I was kind of ambivalent about the episode since it (as we now know) was almost a complete misdirect of what the episode actually ended up being. And, oh boy, did it end up being something else.

I don’t even know where to begin, so I’m just going to go for it. Sorry if this is confusing.

The Road to the End and How Last Week’s Announcement Effects the Future Storyline

Due to last week’s announcement that Arrow is officially coming to an end with a shortened 8th season, I think it is necessary to reevaluate where this train is headed. I could be completely wrong, but I’m not convinced that anything up until the announcement of Arrow’s fate was written in stone. I believe that the Flash Forwards were introduced primarily as a launching point for a post-Stephen Amell version of Arrow, where the action would be firmly entrenched in 2040, allowing for a version of the series starring Ben, Kat, the actors that play Zoe and Connor, Juliana, Rick, Colton, and maybe David as regulars. 

Now that Arrow is ending, I’m not as convinced that the fate of the story will remain the same as it would have if Arrow would have remained on the air. While the speculation of Oliver’s possible death being reversed would still have been very possible if Arrow continued past 8x10, I don’t know that it would make as much sense in terms of the seeds being sewn this season for a possible continuation in the future storyline.

On a side note, I can’t tell you how happy I am that Arrow will end with Stephen’s departure. Even though I’ll miss it, I think it’s for the best.

The State of Star City and Vigilantes in 2040

One of the big mysteries that the Flash Forwards have created this season revolves around Star City’s grim fate and the criminality and hatred of vigilantes in 2040. Until tonight, the solution to that mystery seemed pretty straight forward. In fact, I was speculating that the discord between the SCPD and Team Arrow tonight (with Dinah siding with the SCPD) was the beginning of the end for the redemption of vigilantes in the eyes of Star City (and the SCPD/Mayor Pollard) and the beginning of the end of Dinah and Rene’s relationship.

But, just as quickly as I thought that, Diggle came through with words of wisdom and moderation and reminded our parents-to-be that going to the other extreme of defying everything they’d worked for wasn’t the way to go. So, by the end of the episode, a truce has been reached between the SCPD and Team Arrow and Mayor Pollard is ready to repeal the anti-vigilante law. This does not match up to the future we’re seeing in 2040.

So, what gives? What happens next that causes such a reversal? 

I don’t know for sure, but all signs are pointing towards wherever the storyline with Dante/Emiko is going.

The item that I’m battling with right now, particularly after the information we’ve been given last week, tonight, and in the promo for next week have made me wonder whether we’re putting way too much stock in Crisis on Infinite Earths providing all the answers to out questions. (And that goes beyond the mystery of Oliver’s fate.)

The reason for this is that, assuming there won’t be an unexpected time jump and that the 2019 Crossover will happen in November/December, the timelines at this moment don’t match up for Crisis to be the all-consuming answer.

Plus, Arrow (and the rest of the Arrowverse) generally try to ground their series in their own independent storylines without relying too much on crossover since not everyone watches every show. Again, not saying Crisis is not going to play a major role, that but as we learn more information, we’re possibly ignoring what’s going on NOW in favor of putting all our eggs in the Crisis basket.

Felicity’s pregnancy is in an early stage, so probably pre-12 weeks if we’re going by traditional rubrics. She manages to keep it a secret while in Star City and then finds a way to legitimately leave Star City and have the baby with no one but Oliver and Diggle knowing. 

It’s reasonable to assume that Star City’s condition continues to deteriorate or reaches a turning point as Season 7 comes to a close. Whether that’s all due to Dante or also something happens with the SCPD truce remains to be seen. But, something drastic has to happen to cause Oliver and Felicity to believe that their only option is to hide Mia away.

I’m also assuming that it is around the same time that Olicity decide that it is better to let William think they abandoned him in order to keep him safe.

Unless there’s a time jump, Mia will not be born before the end of the season. So, something major has to be coming and soon. What that is though, I don’t know. 

Who Is the Real Big Bad? (And Is Diaz Really Dead?)

Last week’s episode left Emiko’s loyalties ambiguous, even though they placed heavy doubt on them. Tonight, however, I think there is more evidence in the camp that Emiko is indeed one of this season’s villains. (Though that doesn’t mean she can’t/won’t be redeemed by season’s end.)

My speculation is that Diaz is really dead and that Emiko was sent by Dante to Slabside to tie up that loose end. While of course the comics-based speculation that Diaz could be reborn through some kind of ritual within the Ninth Circle, I think Dante sees him as a liability that needed to be snuffed out. (Much like how Dante simply shot everyone else in that meeting where Diaz went rogue.)

There’s no doubt that Dante, the Ninth Circle, and Emiko to a certain extent are the Season 7 Big Bad.

What remains to be seen, however, is how exactly they relate to the future we’re seeing in 2040.

Emiko vs. Black Siren

Based on tonight’s episode, the title of a future episode, and a post made by Katie Cassidy, I am speculating that Black Siren dies within the next few episodes. I could be totally wrong, or only wrong that Black Siren dies and doesn’t just leave a redeemed person. But, the title “Lost Canary” combined with Katie Cassidy cutting her hair pretty short, and the newly established animosity between Emiko and Black Siren is interesting...

It could also be a reason why vigilantes are once again in the crosshairs, since Black Siren is technically the DA.

Olicity and Baby Mia

I covered most of this above, but OMG THAT PROMO!!!!

I think next week is going to be doozy. I can’t even begin to verbalize what I think we’ll be talking about at this time next Monday.

So...what do you all think? Where are we headed from here?

[twdmusicboxmystery]

9x07: Details

Okay, let's talk about details.

***As always, spoilers abound for 9x07. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned!!!***

Rosita/Eugene

I talked yesterday about Rosita running out in the woods alone about how we didn't see where she left Eugene behind. I'll talk about this more tomorrow because I'm going to do a predictions post, but this whole situation is still super suspicious to me.

We also saw her try to drink from empty water bottle. We've seen a lot of water bottles over the seasons that were all similar. I still have been wanting to do a post about all of them, but haven't gotten around to it. But remember that we did see a lot of all-around death. At the very least.

Jesus and Aaron find Rosita and she tells them she left Eugene in the barn. I think this is super-significant guys, but I will talk more about tomorrow in my predictions post. For now, just know that the barn reference and everything about Eugene being there is important.

Hilltop:

Hilltop is thriving under Tara and Jesus’s leadership. I don't know why Tara just doesn't take over as leader. I get that Jesus might be a figurehead for people because he was Maggie's right-hand guy, but Tara is obviously better at logistical aspects and the day-to-day running of things, so she might as well just take over that part of it.

At one point, she said they had a noise complaint from trailer seven. This is a very minor detail, but the noise came from a kazoo which is technically a musical instrument or noisemaker and seven, in terms of biblical numerology, also caught my attention.

Aaron and Jesus training out in the woods together, which I think is kind of cool. I noticed at one point, one of them said "Same boat, my friend." So, another boat reference, but also a call back to episode 6x13, which was called The Same Boat. It was one about Carol and Maggie being kidnapped by the saviors. Not sure what to make of this reference, but it's interesting. (I actually have some theories, but this is such a minor point, I’m gonna wait to see what happens next episode first.)

Tara tells Jesus that Rosita will be okay. She was just dehydrated and on IV. They said almost the exact same thing about Yumiko last episode when she got hurt, and I compared it to Beth. Just feels like more Grady parallels to me. Also in this part, Tara says of Maggie, "She's not here. You are." We could relate that to the “here” symbolism and especially Morgan's Here’s Not Here episode. I won't say too much more about that except that we’ve seen these themes before.

Music/Magna’s Group:

Michonne breaks the violin while guarding Magna's group. I do still think that the musical instrument could represent Beth being shot, and I’ll talk about possible implications of that tomorrow.

The musical discussion the group has is really interesting. It’s kind of a rehash of the discussion Beth and Edwards had at Grady, but more detailed. Edwards says art is transcendent and not about survival, and Beth suggests it’s something they can and should still do. (“I still sing.”) So this was the first suggestion of this idea that, despite needing to put survival first in this world, art and transcendence are still important for the survival of the human race.

Luke says the same thing here. “They came together as an answer to defeat. They sat around a campfire. They shared their stories with each other in the form of music, and paintings. And they created a common identity. And then they, you know, built communities. And then, as thy grew, Neanderthal retreated, and then after a while they just died out…this is the one thing that separates us from the animals. For better or for worse, it brings us together. And if we’re trying to rebuild something, you can’t ignore that.” So we have a major parallel between this and episode and Slabtown.

At one point on the road with Magna’s group, we heard frogs. So just frog symbolism and more callbacks to Them.

Daryl/Carol/Henry

 By far most of the details I saw came from Daryl’s scenes. (Naturally 😉)

Daryl’s camp is pockmarked with walker traps. Many of them are pits in the ground that the walkers step in and get caught. That reminded me a lot of the fire pit the Beth dug in Still.

Carol says, "You haven't fixed the boat since last time?" We’ve ever seen Daryl with a boat before, so I'm thinking this has something to do with the 6 year time jump that we don't entirely understand. But, I also can't help but remember the boats that were so prevalent in 5b at Alexandria. Sam played with one, there was one on the water with a red balloon when Rick stood beside the pond. I always thought that was a Beth thing, having to do with all the water and ship symbolism we seen around her, though we don't quite know what it means yet.

I mean, if nothing else, Daryl is pretty much living on a boat, now. Given all the boat/ocean/sailor/water imagery we’ve seen, that’s super-important.

We also saw a “wrecked” boat in 7x15 near Oceanside. There was definitely some Beth symbolism going on there, so if Daryl’s boat is “broken” it could be the same symbolism.

I said yesterday that pretty much everything I said in my dog post was confirmed here, right? Well, it occurred to me when Carol asked Daryl when he’d eaten last, and Daryl replied, "the dog ate yesterday," that was him associating himself with the dog. She asked when he ate, and he answered by talking about the dog. So, very similar to Buttons, Daryl pretty much named himself the dog. So, everything I said before, (black dog equals Daryl, white dog equals Beth) is definitely true.

Daryl shot a snake! Yep, an actual snake. I thought this was a combination of two things from Still. In Still, he tried to shoot a squirrel on a tree and missed, breaking one of his arrows. Later, he kills the snake slithering on the ground with his knife. In this case, he actually did kill the animal on the tree, but it was the snake. Then he cut its head off with his knife, similar to what he did in Still. So, I'm wondering if we should be reading into the differences as well as the similarities. Maybe Daryl missing squirrel in Still in some way foreshadowed his and Beth's arc. Like that he would lose her in some way, so the squirrel escaped. Something like that. But in this case, he hits it dead on, maybe because things will be better for him this time around. I don’t know. Just throwing out ideas.

I also noticed that Daryl specifically doesn’t bury walkers. He kills one of them and Carol asked if he’s just going to leave it there. He says yes, because it keeps animals away. So this is completely the opposite of what he was in 4B. Remember Beth taught him that it was important to bury people, even walkers and people they didn't know. This started out with the Rich Bitch lady, and he helped Beth cover her. We saw it extended after Lenny was killed by the Claimers. But now, he doesn't care at all. He’s just leaving walkers where they fall.

He also refuses to protect people. At least at the beginning. Carol asks him to go protect Henry and he flat out refuses. In a lot of ways, Henry is very similar to how Beth was when she and Daryl left the prison. He’s strong and can take care of himself, but he's also very young and very new to being outside the walls. So was Beth. So, this would be very similar to if, when the prison went down, Daryl simply refused to watch over Beth. I think that's only important to show that he's sort of in the opposite place he was in S4.

Daryl also skins the snake, just like Still. We haven't seen him do this since 4x12 so this is very significant. Also, kind of a fun reversal of 7x10, when Carol cooked for him. I’m sure they were calling back to that here a little bit as well.

Then we have Carol cutting his hair with a knife. Okay, a couple of important things to recognize here. I thought it was really significant that they specifically did not have her use scissors. We know they had scissors in Alexandria because Jesse used them to cut hair and killed kill a she-wolf. And I'm sure the Kingdom has them as well. Maybe Carol just decided on the spur of the moment to cut Daryl's hair, but even so, they could have her pull out a pair scissors or even had Daryl have one in his camp and it wouldn't have been unrealistic. But they specifically have her use a knife rather than scissors to cut his hair.

Why is that important? I think it's because scissors are Beth symbol. Tptb use them very specifically in the show for stuff about Beth and Grady, and they very specifically did not want to put that symbol in here because it was not applicable to the situation. If we’re totally crazy and reading into the symbolism way too much, Carol would've just used a pair of scissors. She didn't, which means the scissors are important and specifically could not be used in the scene.

@frangipanilove also made an amazing observation about this scene. Certain shippers are freaking out because Carol touched Daryl’s hair and face and their misconstruing that as romantic. But 

1) we talked in our group about how that was very much about his scar. The show is trying to draw attention to it, and Carol playing with the hair right over it gave us an excellent look. 

2) @frangipanilove pointed out that this is a PERFECT parallel to the scene in Them (5x10) where Carol gives Daryl Beth’s knife. Think about it. That was a tender moment between them too. She played his hair. And there was a knife present. That’s awesome! Not only is it a callback to a Beth scene, but I’ll talk in a minute about Henry/Beth parallels, so this works well with those as well. And then there’s my predictions post tomorrow. It works well as evidence for all three. Go @frangipanilove!

 We also found out that Daryl originally went out there to look for Rick's body. That's a super-tragic development because it means that when Daryl walked away at the end of 9x05, he was already going out to look for Rick's body. That makes my heart hurt.

Carol tells him, “You have to let that go.” And I think that’s super-interesting considering he told Rick to let Carl go just before the bridge blew, and now he hasn’t really stopped looking for Rick’s body. He never let it go, any more than he ever let Beth go. Just proves that even though he was preaching that, he doesn’t let things go himself.

It's also super significant in a TD way. We’ve said for years that Daryl looked for Beth's body and couldn't find it, and eventually Rick made the whole group move on. So, it's yet another parallel between Rick and Beth where Daryl looked for the body and never found it. And, you know, Rick's alive so…

Let's talk about Daryl scars. Henry asked about the scar on his face, and Daryl is very standoffish about it. He refuses to answer and then gets up to look for his dog, sending the message that he'd rather hang with his dog than with Henry.

Later, we see Daryl's back and find that he has several new scars, including a prominent X scar on his top right shoulder, two parallel lines further down, and then another X scar in exactly the same place as Michonne’s. Yeah, that’s weird. The top X may have already been there. Back in S3, he has something similar, and they may have just changed it so it looks more prominent now. But he definitely didn’t have the same X as Michonne or the parallel lines. As I said yesterday, these are way too clean and even to be normal battle scars.

Several people have suggested they might be brands. If that's the case, we have no idea what they are, or where they came from. Who the hell could have branded Michonne and Daryl of all people? It's not like the two of them would have sat still for it. So, we really don't know what this is pointing to, but it’s quite bizarre.

Daryl’s dog (Dog) gets caught in one of his walker traps. This had major callbacks to Alone, not only because it was dark, and the dog was barking with walkers around, but because Henry's foot got caught in the trap, too, just like when Beth’s foot got caught in the small game trap.

Henry moved to kill a walker (just like Beth did) and his foot got caught in the trap like her. We even had Daryl helping Henry pull his foot out, getting him unstuck. 

Which is exactly what he did with Beth. Then he asks if he's okay. Henry says yes, it's just a scratch, which parallels to Daryl asking Beth if she can move it in her saying yes.

We also had some missing foot symbolism in this scene because the walker Henry kills is originally caught in the trap and trying to pull itself out. When it does, it pulls it’s own foot off. That’s why Henry had to jump in and help him. Remember that two of the major times we saw the symbolism, specifically an unattached foot, was in Inmates when Beth saw the unattached foot by the train tracks and then with Rick and Michonne in 7x12, which was also a major retelling of Still.

Then of course Daryl says to Henry, "I told you to stay back," which pretty much everyone in the entire fandom picked up on. These parallels are pretty undeniable at this point.

Henry even shows Beth’s sarcasm. Beth said, “Thanks for the help,” while Henry says, “Yeah, you’re welcome.” Again, the fact that they’re strong and get right back in Daryl’s face makes him respect them more.

This is where things get really interesting with Henry and Daryl. Very much like with Beth, once Daryl goes through an experience with Henry, where they survive together, and especially when he can see that Henry strong, he instantly has more respect for him. The dynamic between Daryl and Henry here was very similar to Beth and Daryl’s in Still and Alone. At first, Daryl is very robotic and closed off to Henry, but after Henry helped save his dog, and Daryl himself, Daryl sat down and opened up to Henry without being prompted, telling to him about how the dog checked walker traps and thanking Henry for his help.

Then, also like Beth, Henry kind of calls Daryl on his crap. When Daryl says that if Carol needs him, she knows where to find him, Henry says she shouldn't have to. Daryl then asks if Henry truly wants Daryl looking over his shoulder all the time.

(Oh, I forgot to mention the whole chaperone thing. The Beth razzed Daryl about being her chaperone at the moonshine shack, and they use the same verbology here with Henry asking Carol if she thinks he needs a chaperone. So yet another parallel there.)

 Henry replies that it's not just about him, which seems to impress Daryl. Henry really doesn't want a chaperone, but he'll do it so Carol has peace of mind, and I think Daryl seems impressed by that. 

So, much like Beth, Henry and his goodness and innocence pulls Daryl out of his robotic survival state and kind of guilts him into being a human being again, which brings them back to civilization. Major, MAJOR parallels here. I’ll talk more about where we think this Daryl/Henry arc may be headed tomorrow.

Another thing to note, though it’s not specifically a TD thing, is that Carol allowed Daryl and Henry to interact on their own. She was always in the background, watching, but didn’t tell them she was there. I think that’s significant for a couple of reasons. 

Carol knows both these guys can handle themselves, but she’s still around, being Mama Carol and making sure they’re okay. But I think she knew going into this that she wouldn’t be able to convince Daryl to go to Hilltop on her own. She’s not the one who changes his mind about stuff. (Think Beth: “What changed your mind.”) But Carol was hoping that Henry could change Daryl’s mind, and he did. This might be an indication of the insight Carol has into Beth and Daryl’s relationship, or if not that, into Daryl himself. She knows the effect people like Beth and Henry have on Daryl and was banking on Henry getting through to him. That’s why she didn’t interfere, and also why she was smiling when Daryl agreed to go at the end of the episode: she was right.

So at the end, we get Daryl and Carol finally getting to hilltop and kind of reuniting with some people. Michonne isn’t actually there yet, but she probably will be by the time Daryl, Jesus, and Aaron get back with Eugene, so we'll have a reunion of sorts.

So the structure of this arc is feeling very much like 4b to me. After the prison fell, everybody was divided into little groups, right? We had the same thing here. Michonne in Alexandria, Carol at the Kingdom, Tara at hilltop, Maggie off with the Commonwealth. And, of course, Daryl out on his own.

So this confirms @thegloriouscollectorlady’s 4 Arcs for 4 Communities theory. I’m also thinking about the fact that in 4x15/4x16, all the little groups reunited at Terminus. Now we’re seeing something of a reunion in 9x08 and a further introduction of a bad group (the Whisperers) to mirror the Termites.

So, we might argue that if 9x07/9x08 mirrors 4x15/16, well, we didn’t actually see Beth until four episodes after that in 5x04. So, maybe they’ll give us something in the MSF, or maybe they’ll make us wait until 9b or the finale to see her. As always we will just have to wait and see.

Okay, I’ll stop there. I have a lot more to say but it’s more about where we think these arcs may be going. I’ll talk about that tomorrow. Anything I missed?

[igotnothingclever]

Beware spoilers: Arrow 7x15

Guys, guys, Arrow 7x15 was good. I think they may have broken their post mid-season slump streak. It definitely deserves a re-watch. More coherent thoughts to follow then. But for now:

Loved how the tension between the SCPD and the new recruits ratcheted up. Something had to give and it did. It was clearly an untenable situation. The SCPD has its own constraints and the vigilantes have their own style of working. Silencing Oliver’s leadership, not taking advantage of his strategic thinking and skills was always going to backfire. I enjoyed how he struggled to toe the SCPD’s line only to break away then regroup coming up with a better model. A gold star for his display of strategic thinking. I’m down for the vigilantes acting as the SCPD’s blac-ops division. Brilliant. 

OTA in the bunker talking to Diggle gave me ALL THE MUSHY FEELS.

The pace picked up! It’s as though up to this moment we were inching up a very steep incline but now we’re teetering at the zenith and it’s all screaming and flailing downhill rush from here on. I felt the adrenaline.

Like @machawicket I’m enjoying the fact that there is a Clayton, 2 Smoaks and a Queen in the house. Down with the patriarchy. And we know that Smoak Tech is bringing the future.

Tartine! Broccolini! Mint Chip! Ohhh fond memories of the Souffle and Omelette days! Olicity brought their A-game. It was a rare (for this season) but so lovely to see the camera linger on the soft moments, the angles weren’t awkward and olicity made eye contact. Whoo!

Rene had some good insights and lines especially in his convos with Oliver and Dinah. Rene displaying emotional intelligence: who knew!

William and Mia: hilarious. But also kind of sweet.

[allimariexf]

As many of you know, I was at the Arrow 7x22 filming that took place in North Vancouver on Tuesday, April 9 at the “Olicity cabin.”

It ended up being an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am still processing. Those of you who are on the Olicity Discord channel (want to join us? read more about it here) shared this experience with me in real-time, but I also wanted to share with the wider fandom on tumblr. So, what follows is a bare-bones rundown of what happened. (I AM GOING TO TRY TO BE SUPER BRIEF HERE. Sorry ahead of time for when I inevitably fail.)

So my husband saw the filming notice on Twitter (which I had already seen of course) and he messaged me: “wanna jet up to Vancouver?” He was only half serious, but you know once the idea was in my head, there was no other option. Anyway, we only live 3 hours (and one country) from the filming location, so we left late Monday night, got a little sleep, and were at the filming location by 8:30 on Tuesday morning. There weren’t really any crew around at that point, so I snapped a few photos (just sharing a few here to save space).

When the crew came over to where we were, they talked to us (they were super nice all day!) and I assured them I was there to see what I could see, and we planned to follow the rules. I asked about photos, they said “NOPE,” and I didn’t take any more photos on set that day (except for the one below 😏 which was fully authorized).

Cutting for length. There is much, much more under the cut.

So we were hanging out with a great view of the Olicity cabin and the fence around the property. We could see into the property too, and there we saw an archery target set up in the cabin’s backyard. (That might be a spoiler, but Canadagraphs or whatever that site is already leaked photos of it  so whatever).

The actors were brought onto set in tinted-window SUVs that would drive up, turn around in the narrow street, and back up onto the property to let them out. I didn’t realize that actors were being dropped off the first 2 times it happened, so I missed the first two actors that got dropped off. I am pretty sure one of them was Stephen, because I never saw him arrive. I did see Emily arrive!

AND - this has been leaked by that paparazzi dude, too, so I might as well share - I saw LaMonica Garrett arrive. Discord friends can attest that I freaked the fuck out. Because FUCK. The second I saw him walk out of his SUV, I was just like 😱😱😱

The morning was basically spent watching the crew, and hearing what was happening filming-wise: when they blocked, rehearsed, and filmed, the entire crew would yell out the direction so that everyone always knew what was happening and people knew to be quiet. It was really cool.

During the “morning” (until I walked up to get lunch around 3:30), 4 or 5 - I think 5 - scenes were shot. I’m pretty sure they were all indoor. I was able to hear details about who were in the scenes and where they were for some of the scenes, but I wasn’t able to watch because everything was inside or behind the fence. Around 1 PM we heard them say that David was due on set, but hadn’t arrived yet. At that point, I started getting concerned about exactly who he was and wasn’t going to film with and what it would all mean.

Throughout the day, Stephen and Emily (and LaMonica in the whole Monitor get-up!) would occasionally walk out. It was very cool, and also bittersweet, because it was Emily’s last day filming.

The crew was super welcoming all day. People kept wandering over and talking to us, and they saw how freezing cold my husband and I were - especially me - and they brought us hand and body warmers! Several of them said they would let the actors know that we were out there so that they could some say hi, which was so nice! But I didn’t want to get my hopes up, seeing as it was Emily’s last day and not only was everyone super emotional, but they had farewell events planned, and a bunch of guests coming on set to be a part of it:

At one point a woman arrived and introduced herself to the crew as “Diane” - it was Emily’s mom. Later, Stephen left the set, walking up the hill to the road, and when he came back, Stephen and Emily’s friend Carina was with him. At some point his wife and daughter arrived, too.  

Around 3 or 3:30, everyone (cast and crew and guests) gathered around in the cabin’s backyard (behind a fence, alas) and I could tell that Emily was speaking, but I couldn’t hear what she said. Probably other people spoke too. There were intermittent rounds of applause.

After that, Stephen came over to me and my husband and chatted with us and we took a photo:

After that, a lot of the crew seemed to take a break, and it was clear they were preparing to shoot outside the house (they took down a lot of the equipment that was attached to the house for the indoor shoot). We took the opportunity to walk up the hill to this cool little “general store”/cafe, where we got lunch. (Later from Carina’s instrgram I saw that Emily and Carina had been there just a few minutes before us.) I took a couple selfies there to document the experience ;)

By then it was maybe 4:00 or so and we kinda thought that Stephen was done filming for the day, but a crewmember had confirmed that Emily would still be shooting for the rest of the day, so we went back down to the set to see what we could see. I can’t remember if David had shown up at that point, but we knew he was still going to be filming, and I was crossing my fingers like crazy that he was going to film with both Emily and Stephen, but I was worried it might only be Emily.

When we got back to “our” spot outside the set, they had removed all the cables and equipment that previously had bordered the property. A second later, we found out why when a crewmember walked over - they were going to be filming outside, including the area where we had been standing all day.

And then they invited us to come on set.

SO WE WENT ON SET.

MY FRIENDS. THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW AMAZING IT WAS.

Those of you who are on the Discord server can (or have) read more about it, but honestly words can never do justice to how cool it was. So instead I’m just gonna list some things:

we were there for a total of one hour

I obviously didn’t get any photos because they made us put our phones away, of course

the crew was SO FRIENDLY and awesome, and I am so indebted to them for the experience of a lifetime

we got introduced to a BUNCH of crewmembers. The one crewmember who had sort of “adopted” us kept going out of her way to introduce us to literally everyone who stopped by - and we were right in the middle of the action so many many people stopped by. One person we got to talk to was Rebecca Rosenberg, the co-writer of both 7x15 and this episode, 7x22. So cool! She was very nice.

we also got introduced to actors, including:

David Ramsey!!!!! who talked to us and shook our hands

Caity Lotz! (Whose presence I wouldn’t have spoiled except that Carina already spoiled it on her instagram account, so I might as well share it now). She also shook our hands and talked to us.

they let us stay and watch while they filmed a scene. (I’ve decided not to generally spoil anything about the scene, because the crew were honestly so nice, and just in case, I don’t want to get any of them in trouble. Sorry. 😛) They positioned us in a spot where we could see:

two monitors that showed what the camera saw as it filmed

the camera itself, so we could see the camera as it filmed (honestly so cool)

the actual area and actors as they filmed the scene (so we could watch it “in real life” and on the screen at the same time!)

the director (Bam Bam!) and all the associated people, and we could hear all his directions straight from his mouth.

since we were right in the middle of the action for an hour, we saw a bunch of people coming and going, and standing around right next to us, including all the actors mentioned above, and Stephen, and his family (wife and daughter who, along with Caity, were seated right next to us for awhile - you can actually see on Carina’s instagram video the exact spot where we were standing - right by the metal leg of the pop-up canopy), and Emily! (more on that below)

the crewmember who had adopted us asked us if we had tried craft service, and when we said “no,” she basically insisted (lol) that we go to the craft service table and partake. (Seriously, they were so nice!). AND GUESS WHAT?? (Aside from watching the filming this is the other thing I will NEVER BE OVER). EMILY’S GOODBYE CAKE WAS THERE and they told us to have some!!! (The cake had a piece of chocolate on it with writing on it that said “Thanks for 7 Smoakin years” 😭😭😭😭) SO. YOU GUYS. I CUT A PIECE OF CAKE FOR MYSELF FROM EMILY’S CAKE. I TOOK A SLICE OF EMILY’S GOODBYE CAKE. I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE IT.)

but I did not eat the cake right away, because I knew the instant it was in my hand that I had to take a picture 😂 But I couldn’t take any pictures on set, obviously, so I just held onto it for an hour!! 😂😂😂

at one point after we had our cake, Emily walked by and looked at us and I kinda smiled at her and she said, “I heard it’s good!” (So, while I never did get to talk to her or get a photo, she did talk to me lol)

after the scene was filmed, they came over and told us that, because they were going to be filming dialogue next, we had to leave.

Here’s the photo of the cake, before I ate it. (I ATE A PIECE OF EMILY’S GOODBYE CAKE OMG).

That’s basically it. We stayed another hour or so after that, and we watched another scene be filmed from afar, but after that they needed us to go up the hill to get out of the shot, and we couldn’t see anything anymore. By then it had been a very, very long day and we had already had an amazing experience, so we decided to leave without trying to wait for Emily. We figured she was having an emotionally exhausting day, not to mention a busy day, with a full day of filming plus friends and family on set, so we decided the odds of us actually getting to see her were probably small anyway. So, with only that one regret, we left.

And that is the story of one of the most unexpectedly amazing days of my life, when I got to witness the filming of Arrow 7x22.

Special shout-out to the FAM who lived it vicariously with me - it wouldn’t have been half as fun without you! @msbeccieboo @lucyyh @faegal04 @1-crazy-dreamer @puck038 @stephswims @bookolicitynessa @chrissykins-for-the-win @it-was-a-red-heeler @tangled23works @mirkakaroliina and all of the Discord FAM. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! 💗💗💗💗

(and extra special shout out to @1-crazy-dreamer who just saved my ass with screencaps of this post when tumblr fucked up and ate a third of it - my hero!!)

[allimariexf]

preparing for 7x16 like...

I know I have been quiet on here lately. It’s the result of a lot of things:

mostly, my extreme emotional confusion as a result of all the Arrow stuff that’s happening (7x14, then The Announcement, then 7x15, then TONIGHT!!) and I have a million things to say and it’s too much to wrap my heart and mind around, so I’ve been mostly silent. Which, itself, is driving me crazy because I would honestly feel so much better if I could just sort out and share my thoughts).

and all of this happened at a time when my real life has gotten super crazy, like really overwhelmingly a) BUSY and b) uh...bad? like, I guess the chickens have come home to roost? which is especially unfortunate because usually Arrow and Olicity is my major escape and comfort, but unfortunately the fact that the Arrow world is kinda turning upside down means that it’s not a great refuge for me right now...instead I’m just ending up even more emotionally overwhelmed. 😝

add to that the fact that I’ve been trying to stay involved in the Olicity Discord (which is suuuuuuper awesome - yall should join us!), which means that (because I get overwhelmed very easily) my focus is more going over there than here right now, which I never meant to have happen! and hopefully when things calm down a bit I’ll be better at managing both

but anyway my point is: I LOVE YOU FAM and those of you I haven’t spoken to as much lately as a result of my diminished presence on tumblr, I MISS YOU!! SO MUCH!! (including those of you who might not miss me LOOOL I mean I get it this is tumblr which has a way of skewing perception)

and I just really miss hashing out my thoughts and hearing all yours, and please don’t think that if I haven’t interacted as much lately it’s because I am less interested - believe me, I’m sooo interested in hearing everyone else’s thoughts on Arrow, Olicity, and everything else! And I’ll sort myself out and be back to full participation soon, I hope. 

So, big fandom hugs and squeezes to you all! I have no idea what tonight’s going to bring: I’m half excited, half nervous, and 100% not ready. But I know we have each other and no matter what that’s frackin amazing!

tagging some of you just to let you know I’m with you in spirit for 7x16, regardless of when you watch or what you think (under the cut):

@lucyyh @faegal04 @hope-for-olicity @msbeccieboo @babblingblondegenius @jules85 @tangled23works @stephswims @vaelisamaza @scu11y22 @dmichellewrites @blondeeoneexox @swordandarrow @smoaking-greenarrow @1-crazy-dreamer @smoakmonster @feilcityqueen (thanks for the lovely gif 😘) @bookolicitynessa @ruwithmeguys @booklove22 @supersillyanddorky06 @ixxmcmxciv @pleasantfanandstudent @it-was-a-red-heeler @befitandchase @miriam1779 @michie8 @felicityollies @turtlejustice @cruzrogue @memcjo @olicityotp-always @geneshaven 

[hope-for-olicity]

Arrow and the Gaping Holes - 7x15 & 7x16

Arrow seems to always put plot before character development or you know, explaining things...hence why fanfic is so desperately needed.

We all come at the show from different life experiences and with different expectations. 

Up until S6 I was willing to fill in those holes in my head with what I thought the writers meant - my best guess that made me feel better and made the show make sense to me.

I’m not willing to do this anymore. I think that’s what 7x15 upset me so much it explained NOTHING just threw everything I wanted at me with no reason as to why everything was suddenly perfect. So I wrote a story to try to fix this - I wrote a story - so again it was just my opinions filling the holes.

7x16 was filled with holes as well. Some of which I expected - like where the hell is your lead character? - others - I hoped would not happen. I have not been a fan of Mia Smoak even before she was Mia Smoak - but I thought this was because I didn’t understand her.  All she does is hit stuff and be mean. There must be a reason for that, maybe I could understand once I know her background. Last night was the opportunity for that and again it left HUGE HOLES. Some people are filling these holes with she had a terrible upbringing and survived to be the kickass hero. This is just one valid perspective. There are countless others.

I find myself searching to see Oliver and Felicity in this tiny woman full of rage. Oliver has been full of rage at time and so has Felicity, but they also had big hearts. I looked for anything that reminded me of them. No matter how many times they said Mia was like her father, I didn’t see it, other than when she she did her upside down handstand. They made sure she used her parents words but that’s where the similarities ended for me. 

I wish the show I bothered to fill in some of the holes like - Why does Mia hate vigilantes? Why does Felicity allow herself to be constantly disrespected by her daughter? Why did Felicity lie to her daughter? How bad was Mia’s childhood?

Finally, I wish they could have explained Mia without tearing down Felicity. Mother/daughter relationships are complicated and there are usually rights and wrongs on either side. 

So while I really don’t like Mia and some of you may love her - neither of us is wrong and the HUGE HOLES help no one.