#felicittysqueen

[jbuffyangel]

The New Eve: Arrow 7x16 Review (Star City 2040)

“Star City 2040” is a backdoor pilot and I loooooooooved it! GIMME.

Let’s dig in…

Mia, Felicity and William

The nice thing about backdoor pilots is if the episode is not announced as a backdoor pilot and the show isn’t picked up or doesn’t happen for some reason, then the episode can just be a regular episode. However, if the spin off does get picked up, then the audience will point to this “regular episode” as the one that launched the new show.

This is the situation we find ourselves in for “Star City 2040” and Mia Smoak. There’s no official word yet, but there’s been some buzz about a potential spin off centering on Katherine McNamara’s character and Beth Schwartz signed an overall development deal with the WB. Throw in this episode, add it all up and it spells

“Star City 2040” is setting up Mia’s backstory and the writers don’t waste any time. We open on Felicity delivering the PRINCESS THAT WAS PROMISED (yes that is her nickname) in the Olicity love cabin. Y’all I want the back story on this love cabin. How long did Oliver and Felicity stay there? How much sex did they have?  I’m only asking for the important details. For science.

There is a beautiful shot in the mirror as the camera pans into the room where Felicity is laboring. 

Source:  feilcityqueen

Oliver’s bent forehead is resting against Felicity’s head as she struggles to bring their daughter into the world. Labor and delivery is one of those deeply intimate moments in life no matter who is in the room with the mother. It’s such a simple yet profound moment of devotion from Oliver.  

Maybe it means even more because we know Oliver is missing in the future. Felicity is going to raise Mia entirely on her own, but in this time and place Oliver is here, witnessing the birth of their daughter. He is loving and supporting Felicity any way he can. In this moment she is not alone and they are in this together.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Facts. Your affection towards the man who impregnated you dramatically increases once labor and delivery is over. During delivery it may be a different story. For me it was weeks upon weeks of never ending pain, so by the time the doctors knocked me out for the c-section I was pretty much done with everyone.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Felicity squeezes Oliver’s hand tight, her wedding ring shining in the sun, as she pushes one final time. This image of them holding hands as she brings Mia into this world is a powerful symbol of where their story began and what their love created.

The reason we wear wedding rings is because they are an endless circles. The commitment we are making to our spouse is forever.  We wear our ring on our fourth finger of our left hand because the Romans believed the vein in this finger lead directly to a person’s heart.  Love is eternal.

Their daughter is entering the endless loop of love that resides within Oliver and Felicity’s relationship, the commitment they’ve made to each other and their children. 

Source: oliverxfelicity

Mia will always be wanted and adored. Oliver and Felicity’s marriage is forever and, as we’ll soon learn, there’s nothing they won’t do to keep their family safe.

Source: oliverxfelicity

This child represents so much of what Oliver believed he could never have. He was a lost soul who thought life was merely about survival and he didn't deserve one worth living for. Oliver couldn’t fathom being worthy of love let alone creating new life from that love. 

And yet he found himself hoping and dreaming.  Mia is the final piece of the Queen family and Oliver Queen puzzle. She is proof sometimes dreams come true.

Of course, Oliver and Felicity’s daughter is born in the morning with the sunlight brightly shining on them. 

It’s always the light. Oliver lost his innocence long ago, but this child is a new beginning. We can recapture what was lost because children open and fill places in our hearts we never knew existed. Mia shines her light the moment she was born. This is why children are a gift.

Felicity whispers a soft and perfect, “Hi,” as she welcomes her daughter to the world. As the tagline in the 7x16 promo said, “A hero’s legacy is born.”  This is how the story continues. What Oliver and Felicity built can live beyond them through Mia. She has her own hero’s journey to walk, but this is how the light never fades.  

Source: oliverxfelicity

We watch as Mia grows from a small child, to a tween 

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and finally into a young woman through a series of training scenes with NYSSA AL GHUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Source: ebett

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! 

I screamed with delight over Nyssa training Mia. Do you believe Mia is a badass? Damn right you do because she was trained by the best. Nyssa trained Sara, who was under her tutelage with the League of Assassins for years. 

Mia spent even longer training with Nyssa than Sara did. She has something no other character on Arrow has, including Oliver. Mia was trained to fight almost as soon as she could walk.

Arrow has a bad habit of characters learning skill sets it took other characters (cough*Oliver/Sara*cough) years to learn in a few short months. I’m not just talking about L*urel. Thea and Roy were guilty of this treatment too. However, Oliver trained Roy and Malcolm trained Thea. It took a slightly smaller logic leap to believe those characters could get up to speed in a few months because of their instructors.

L*urel was a mess though. BOXING?

She went from barely being able to throw a bunch, falling off cars and incapable of handling one guy with a knife to taking down five assassins in a matter of a couple weeks. REALLY?

The only mildly believable explanation for her newly acquired skill set was Nyssa trained her OFF SCREEN. 

We watched more training with Mia than we ever saw with L*urel and it occurred in a believable time frame. Way to learn the lesson, Arrow writers. BRAVO.

Ready for some petty? I legit cackled, yes CACKLED, they went out of their way to bring back Katrina Law so Nyssa could train Mia. Katrina has another television show and just had a baby. One would think it’d be easier to use an actress already contracted with the show.  So many of the antis were convinced Bl*ck S*ren trained Mia or maybe even raised her. After all, Felicity and L*urel have a burgeoning friendship in Season 7, but noooooope! Classic.

I love the shot of Felicity holding a cup of coffee and watching little Mia intently as she trains with Nyssa in the backyard of the Olicity love cabin. 

Source:  hollandrooden

First, her hair is long again and swept up like it was in 2x08 and I LOVE THAT HAIR STYLE. 

Fair warning, Felicity’s hair is really important to me this episode. I’m bizarrely excited she grows it long again in the future.

Second, keeping Mia safe requires more than keeping her hidden. Felicity turning to Nyssa to train her daughter so Mia can protect herself is a direct result of everything she went through with William while Oliver was in prison. 

Witness protection wasn’t enough. The bad guys always find a way. When Diaz came for Felicity and William they barely escaped with their lives. Felicity gave as good as she got and saved William, but the only reason she survived was because A.R.G.U.S. showed up.

Felicity Smoak is a badass in many ways, but her fighting skills don’t compare to Oliver’s. That’s just facts. Felicity was never more acutely aware of this fact than when her husband sacrificed himself, went to prison, and left his family wide open for the wolves to feed on. 

Felicity can’t depend on the love cabin to keep her daughter safe anymore than she could depend on A.R.G.U.S. or Witness Protection. If Mia has to deal with all the dangerous consequences of being Oliver Queen’s daughter than her mother is going to make damn sure their daughter can fight like her father.

Source:  felicittysqueen

This might make me the stupidest person on the planet, but I was really jazzed when Nyssa broke out the bow and arrow. 

Source:  ebett

We haven’t seen Mia with a bow yet, so I wasn’t entirely sure what her choice of weaponry would be.  Listen, sometimes I don’t know stuff and am easily surprised by this show. It happens. 

Mia had to work her way up to the bow. She learned all the hand to hand combat first. I feel like it went in the opposite order for Oliver. Didn’t he learn the bow first from Yao Fei and then Slade taught him how to fight later? I need to rewatch Season 1… and maybe write some reviews (ducks as people throw things at me).

Honestly, Mia’s life with Felicity in the love cabin seems almost idyllic in many ways. I’m not saying Oliver missing is unimportant. Of course, he is a huge gaping wound, but when you think about all the ways the writers could have written a miserable childhood for this girl I was surprised by how regular it seemed. The character descriptions for Mia included a wildly unpleasant sounding past, but essentially she grows up in a small town and doesn’t ever venture into the city.

Neither does Felicity. She runs Smoak Tech from home because she is a mind blowing genius who can run can operate a multi billion dollar corporation from a forest.  

Felicity’s aging makeup is practically nonexistent 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

because if you came from the gene pool of the immortal Donna Smoak you’d look banging at fifty one too. 

Also, Felicity Smoak is the Queen of DCTV and as such it is mandatory she look amazing in any timeline.

How much do I love her hair let me count the ways? It has a very Moira Queen vibe and I dig that. 

I questioned if it was Emily’s real hair for a second, but @callistawolf assured me it’s a wig. So it is possible for Arrow to create good wigs. This might be one of the seven signs of the apocalypse. PREPARE YOUR SOULS.

Future Felicity is very… chill. There’s a reserve to her twenty years later. It’s almost a quiet calmness. Still waters run deep sort of vibe. There’s less babble and exuberant cheerfulness, but she’s still Felicity. 

Source:  lucyyh

She talks boys with her daughter, weaving in all the Wizard of Oz references, without missing a beat in her rapid fire delivery, but there’s a measured tone to it. This is older and, if possible, even wiser Felicity. Life has taken its toll, but it hasn’t stolen her light. Felicity is still our girl and she’s created some kind of happy life with Mia. No matter where Oliver is this is what he would want for his wife.

But Mia is getting antsy to spread her wings beyond the small town of Bloomfield as young women often do. If Oliver was the hero Felicity claims then why does she have to keep it secret? Why can’t she scream she’s Mia Queen from the mountain tops? Yeah, I wanna know that too. Unfortunately, we aren’t offered an answer other than Felicity ticking the “It’s complicated” box.

Source:  olicitygifs

Mia shatters a photo of Oliver and Felicity holding her as a newborn. One perfect, happy moment when life seemed limitless and their family felt complete captured on film and frozen forever. The arrow goes through the apple Mia was aiming for and straight through the glass picture frame. 

This photo constantly reminds Felicity what she’s fighting for, which is why it leads to the Overwatch lair. Extremely on brand Ms. Smoak. I totally fist pumped when the arrow short circuited the tech and revealed the secret door GoGo Gadjet style. The whole room has a very Dr. Claw vibe, except we know Felicity is not evil, so it’s more like Penny grew up and got herself a do-gooder lair once her uncle retired or something.

The screen savers on the two computer screens are photographs – one of Oliver dressed as the Green Arrow and the other of William with Felicity. The same photograph Oliver kept with him in prison at the beginning of the season. 

If you feared William was out of sight and out of mind think again. He was with her every moment of every day.  Everything Felicity lost and is fighting to get back encompassed in two photographs. Both are powerful images and we realize how much Mia doesn’t know about her mother.

I love the shot of Mia sitting down at the computer. She is sitting directly in the middle of the split between screens like a missing puzzle piece. The past meets the present and Mia is split between the seam. For the first time all members of the Queen family are represented in one room. The screens are connected and angled at a point. It almost looks like the photos and screens make the shape of an arrowhead and Mia is the shaft.

Mia tries to get into the system and immediately an image of old man Rene and resident Flash Forward bad buy Kevin Dale. We first met Dale in 7x10. Rene had a meeting with Dale to inform him the Canaries have “the plans” and questioned him about Felicity Smoak’s death. More on Rene later though.

The system starts to shut down and Felicity overrides the self destruct protocols. The cat is out of the proverbial bag and Felicity tells Mia she’s been trying to take down a corrupt company in the city as Overwatch. Except, she’s not Overwatch because there’s no team so it’s a totally different thing!

Yeah Mia ain’t buying that either.  She gets angry fast and furious style. There are multiple levels to Mia’s anger, which took me a couple viewings to understand because the writers were throwing so much information at us so quickly.

Bottom line is Mia feels betrayed. Oliver being a vigilante is the entire reason Mia was never able to go to a normal school or go anywhere outside Bloomfield. It’s also the reason she grew up without a father. Oliver wasn’t killed in a car crash. He isn’t living in Zurich with his new wife and family. Regardless of what happened to him we know it was vigilante related because that’s the show.

Now her mother, who is the only person in the world Mia loves, is engaging in the same type of behavior that cost Mia her father annnnnnd Felicity lied about it. 

Just switch hacking with snorting cocaine. It’s like Mia walked in on Felicity doing a line. Extremely dangerous behavior Mia thought her mother had left behind. She thinks Felicity is a vigilante junkie.

Source:  olicitygifs

Of course, we know different. We know being a hero is who Felicity truly is, but to Mia she’s just Mom and she feels betrayed. Felicity tries to explain the promise she made with Oliver, but she can’t really get into what she’s trying to save beyond “the city.” 

Listen, I get saving Star City is the entire mission of Arrow, but it doesn’t really pack the same punch as, “I’m trying to save the city so we can be reunited with your brother.” Am I right? Unfortunately, William is another secret Felicity is keeping from Mia. I am confident all of these decisions are to keep the kids safe, but the lies can’t stop the relationship between mother and daughter from cracking.

Mia cannot understand why the lies are necessary if being a vigilante is so honorable. She’s starting to believe the “propaganda” as Felicity calls it, which is more evidence that Oliver working with the police and the city accepting Team Arrow doesn’t last long. Eventually, the city turns against Oliver AGAIN. Ungrateful twats.

Mia is fed up with being kept on the sidelines while her mother plays vigilante. She feels like Felicity has lied for her entire life. Eh.  I mean… kind of? 

I love Mia but I’m automatically programmed to defend Felicity Megan Smoak at all costs. The writers needed Mia to separate from Felicity, run off to the city, and become a bitter and cynical soul to throw us off the Olicity baby scent. This scene doesn’t entirely work for me in terms of creating a wedge between mother and daughter. It feels a little bit like Mia throwing a temper tantrum, which hey happens with the youths sometimes. I had far less issues with this scene once the episode ended and I’ll explain why in a bit.

Just to play devil’s advocate with my own brain (cause it’s fun), Mia’s reaction isn’t any different than Tommy, Quentin or even Diggle’s when they found Oliver was The Hood. All three were spectacularly ticked off and did not view Oliver’s nightly extracurricular activity as a good thing. Of course, they all came around (some faster than others) and viewed Oliver as the hero he truly is.

Mia is struggling with what she sees and what she’s been told in the same way. She’s been told vigilantes are heroes by her mother, but everyone else is telling her vigilantes are to blame for all the misery.  It’s not a difficult to understand why Mia would start to believe vigilantism is to blame for everything wrong in her life too. Also, Felicity lied and her daughter is just ticked off about it.

She runs away from home and writes Felicity a letter that’s basically a neon sign blinking “MY HERO’S JOURNEY STARTS NOW.” We meet a rougher, darker and far more depressing Mia in Star City.

Source:  ebett

She chooses the name Blackstar because she wants to be erased. Whatever light we see in Mia isn’t really there. It’s already faded to black.

Yeesh, girl. You don’t need to be as broody as your old man. At least Mia hasn’t skinned anyone for practice, but she’s getting a tattoo and is generally pessimistic about life. Close enough. The cage fighting pays homage to Oliver’s Bratva initiation. The writers want to make sure we really see the parallels because OLIVER AND MIA ARE THE SAME.

In case you missed the Bratva parallel, they follow it up with two more. Mia is doing handstand push ups and she pulls her bow from the case just like Oliver did in the pilot. But they aren’t thinking about a spin off. Nope. Nothing to see here!

Source: mia-smoak-gifs

William and Mia join forces for another brother/sister team up. First up is scaling the wall to enter into The Glades undetected. 

Source:  ebett

I feel William on a spiritual level in this scene.

This polar-opposite-yet-so-much-in-common thing between Queen siblings is really working for me. Ben Lewis is hysterical and he’s the perfect funny man to Katherine McNamara’s straight man err woman. They are way more fun than Oliver and Thea. I say this as someone who deeply loves the OG Queen siblings, but we never quite found our way to fun with those two.

I also appreciate the begrudging mutual appreciation of one another’s skills. 

William marvels at Mia’s physicality while she is thoroughly impressed with whatever tech he’s cooked up. 

Source:  ebett

Yeah, I could do this for another eight years. Sign me up.

William finally gets annoyed with Mia’s whole anti vigilante shtick. Listen, my little lemon drop love child. You are on a vigilante show. You are the offspring of vigilantes. You are going to star in a vigilante show. It’s time to get on board with vigilantism, Mia. It’s in the blood baby. Listen to your big bro.

Felicity’s coordinates lead directly to Galaxy One. Their headquarters is in The Glades and they are one of the richest and most powerful companies in the world. It’s safe to assume this is the company Felicity was trying to expose as Overwatch. 

William and Mia assume Felicity is being held there and they are gonna break her out by going undercover. YASSS! Let’s do this 1x22 style. 

Where’s the elevator shaft?

William pretends to be a CEO while Mia is his executive assistant 

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

and this is such a feels inducing and hilarious callback to Season 2 Olicity my heart almost burst. William had Oliver’s smug arrogance and pragmatic thinking down cold while Mia adamantly refuses to be anyone’s assistant. Like mother like daughter! But someone needs to tell these kids a single cup of coffee is one of the main reasons their pine tree of a father realized he was falling in love with their mother.

William, as CEO, gets through the body scan just fine, but drops bombshell information on us. HIS NAME ISN’T CLAYTON ANYMORE. IT IS HARRIS. 

I know a lot of people have been concerned with the William side of things. If Oliver and Felicity went to such great lengths to keep Mia safe why did they leave William hanging with the grandparents in Central City?

Like I’ve been saying you don’t keep two precious jewels in one spot. It seems anywhere outside Star City was safe, which is why Felicity kept Mia in Bloomfield for her entire life. If we follow that same logic then William should be fairly safe in Central City or anywhere other than Star City. Perhaps, Oliver instructed the grandparents and William to change their last name. If Olicity is afraid enough for their baby to go into hiding and not tell anyone about her existence, I’m thinking requesting a name change for their son wouldn’t be too outside the realm of possibilities.

Connor shows up at just the right time and he’s done recon on the Galaxy One building. He thinks Felicity is being held on one of the sub levels, but they need the CEO’s DNA to get through security - Kevin Dale. And it all starts connecting.

As William works Dale he reveals the name of his company is Harris Consolidated. Immediately, I feel a flood of warm fuzzies as I remember the dynasty which made the Queen family their billions. But then it hits me.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. (Yes. I type all my thoughts. I’m weird. )

William changed his name from Clayton to Harris. How much do you want to bet that when Arrow is all over William changes his last name to Queen? Perhaps he changes the name of his company to Queen Inc. It could be the reason we’ve seen the name Queen Inc. in The Flash’s future newspaper. 

All this time I thought Oliver would get the company back, but nope it’s William’s company.  I suppose Felicity and William could also merge their companies to form Queen Inc. when Arrow ends and Felicity wants to retire to Aruba with her husband. Of course I could be wrong, but the use of Consolidated in William’s company’s name feels more than just a nod to the past for me. 

As William flirts with Dale, so Mia can steal the necessary DNA, he explains the quick success of his company was due to an angel investor named City of Emerald’s Capital. I legit yelled, “It was Felicity, William,” but he couldn’t hear me. 

Source:  smoaktechs

I’m a tad disappointed a boy this bright hadn’t figured it out yet. Of course, Emerald City is a nod to Felicity’s love of the Wizard of Oz as Mia explains later, but also EMERALD = GREEN. She hung a sign out there kiddo. Pay attention.

Connor has some technology that can replicate a DNA signature and fool a full body scan. Yeah, I don’t really get it, but Connor says it works and where he goes so goes my nation. I’m sold buddy. Also, take of your shirt please while hero-ing. Why didn’t we put that in Joseph’s contract? Someone get me legal!

This feels like more technology Felicity invented and is somehow related to Archer. Diggle did say A.R.G.U.S. would love to get their hands on her technology. If the tech sounds awesome then it is safe to assume Felicity invented it.

Source:  smoaktechs

There’s some fun brother sister banter in the elevator because that’s the family way and Mia actually admits to caring about William. QUEEN SIBLINGS FOREVER.

After battling their way through some security goons the trio finally finds Felicity. It is such a great reveal.

Mia: Mom.

William: You are alive.

Felicity: I told you not to come!

Me:

QUEEN OF DCTV IS ALIVE AND IN THE FLASH FORWARDS.

Dear antis and annoying anons in my inbox insisting Felicity is dead,

These writers would rather write the show in the depths of hell while burning in eternal torment than kill Felicity Smoak.

Love,

Me

The Flash Forwards immediately felt 800% more hopeful with Felicity’s presence. God I missed her. The writers must never again keep her out of a timeline for sixteen episodes. It is just wrong and hurts my soul. There are only a few episodes left and I demand my goddess in all show timelines. I shall not be deprived of Felicity Smoak goodness any longer. Yes, I am saying this in my very best Scarlett O’Hara voice.

Of course, she gives the classic mom response which immediately ticks Mia off, but it is William’s reaction to Felicity that touched me the most. 

He hugs her and his forgiveness is almost immediate. 

Source:  felicittysqueen

William truly believed Felicity was dead (thanks for nothing Dinah), so whatever mistakes she made seem smaller in comparison. William is so much like her. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is guided by his compassion as much as intelligence. Felicity never forgot her son. She watched over him and has been fighting every day to be part of his life again. This hug is twenty years in the making.

Twenty years apart is awful. I agree Oliver and Felicity deserved to raise their children in peace together. But this is Arrow and the story is not going to end without a big sacrifice because there is always sacrifice in a hero’s story. Oliver hasn’t “deserved” any of the horrible things that have happened to him. That’s not really the point. 

The point is suffering can be redemptive. Good things can come from bad things happening. The upside is the really bad thing already happened. Oliver and Felicity have made their sacrifice, so there’s no way the future isn’t going to end happily for them.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the reunions in the future knowing this family has been separated for so long, but I found myself quite affected by William and Felicity’s hug. I didn’t have to live through the twenty years. They’ve been separated for a couple of episodes in terms of actual hours spent watching Arrow.  I don’t know if relieved is the right word, but as I watched Felicity and William reunite I thought, “Okay. They are together now. They can at least begin rebuilding whatever damage has been done to this family.”

Source: arrowdaily

As Mia watches her mother hug her brother there’s a mixture of feelings on her face. She is happy, angry and maybe even a little jealous. Mia can’t forgive as easily as William and I think part of her envies the way he can access all of his emotions so easily. Mia doesn’t know how to do that yet. It’s almost as if she shut down a part of her heart after her fight with Felicity because the betrayal hurt too much. Sound like someone we know?

Mia is furious Felicity wants to stay and dismantle the bombs because, once again, she is choosing being a vigilante over her family. 

Felicity doesn’t deny sacrificing her safety and her family for the greater good. That’s the job. 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

Being a hero is who Felicity Smoak is and selflessness requires sacrifice. She can’t shut that part of her down because she’d only be half alive. This isn’t just Oliver’s hero’s journey. It’s Felicity’s too.

Yes, Felicity is a mother, but her love for her children is not all she is. It’s okay Felicity has a purpose beyond her family because women are not just one thing. Fighting for Star City is what fuels Felicity and it is the life she chose. It’s why we love her. Felicity does what others can’t or refuse to do. It’s what makes her a hero.

William, as Felicity 2.0, chooses to help his mother stop the bombs. It is a team up worth waiting twenty years for. Not so long ago, Felicity was explaining to William what it was like loving a hero, the strength it requires and the sacrifice. 

As furious as young William was at Oliver for being the Green Arrow and being unable to provide the normal life he craved, he also understood who his father was. Oliver’s heroism is what William loves most about his father and what he hates most. It’s the same with Felicity.

Derek: You stood in front of a bullet for me. I know why you do all of it. It’s what I love about you.

Meredith: And what you hate about me.

Derek: Yeah.

I love these lines from Grey’s Anatomy so much, and I quote them often in these reviews, because it perfectly encapsulates what it is like to love a hero.  William and Mia love their parents very much, but it doesn’t mean loving them is easy.

Rene shows up to tell the team the bombs have already been moved off site. I thought it was weird how he used the phrase “impeccable genetics” when describing his daughter, but then I realized the writers wrote it so Felicity could use the same terminology when she dropped the bomb on Rene.

Source:  feilcityqueen

LINE. OF. THE. SEASON.

Felicity needs to destroy the brain of the bomb, which is the cube Dale was fidgeting with during the meeting with William. Rene gets the team into the masquerade party in The Glades where Dale will be.  Everyone wears a hooded cape and mask, which is a fun homage to Mia Dearden’s superhero suit in the comics.

Felicity and William track Dale

Source: ebett

and Mia zeroes in on him prepared to take him out all on her own. 

Source:  dcmultiverse

This is another one of those “this feels like a pilot” moments, because Mia’s fight with Dale and his goons is almost exactly like Oliver’s fight in Adam Hunt’s office in the Arrow pilot. 

They even turned the lights off. It’s a great scene and proves Mia is just as capable of taking down twenty guys just like Oliver Queen. Plus she gets to throw on her cape in a very superhero way at the end, which is just nifty.

Dale escapes so Team Arrow ditches the capes and a fight breaks out in order to find him. Mia zeroes in on Dale and Connor tosses her the bow.

Source:  felicittysqueen

The lights of the party stream behind her as she takes aim at Dale. Mia Smoak looks like a star and she’s anything but faded. 

Source:  mia-smoak-gifs

The light seems to stretch out infinitely as it guides the arrow along its path. She destroys the cube and stops the bombs from detonating just as the party fireworks explode in the night sky. 

Source:  lucyyh

Once again, Mia is illuminated like a star in the night sky and looks like the hero she is destined to be – just like her parents.

The bomb plot is foiled, but the team still needs to take down Galaxy One from the inside. Rene will continue to play patsy and has issued a dead or alive reward of ten million dollars to capture Arsenal, Bl*ck C*nary and The Calculator. Galaxy One’s plan was to remake Star City just like The Glades, so they could expand Archer globally which is like Skynet launching the nukes. We don’t want computer programs going global. It always ends badly in television shows and movies.

Felicity thanks William for holding on to the hozen and answering her prayer. 

Source:  feilcityqueen

It’s a little too much emotional family bonding and makes Mia uncomfortable, so she walks off in classic Felicity Smoak style 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

fueled by her Oliver Queen genetic broodiness. I love this kid.

Mia and Felicity have an outstanding mother and daughter scene where they hash out all their issues. Mia hated vigilantes because she hated her mother. She hated her mother because Felicity lied to her. But no matter how much Mia hated the lie, she also understood why Felicity did it.

It’s reminiscent of the hospital scene in 5x20 when Felicity forgave Oliver for lying about William. 

Felicity had to walk in Oliver’s shoes to understand his perspective (and vice versus), which is exactly what happened with Mia in “Star City 2040.” She walked in her mother’s heroic shoes. Mia finally understands the danger, responsibility and sacrifice this life requires, which is how she finally reaches compassion. 

Source:  oliverxfelicity

Because after everything her parents sacrificed, including a peaceful life with their children, the city turned their backs on vigilantes. Welcome to the Star City Is A Bunch of Ungrateful Twats Club Mia. Have another scotch, honey.

The break in Mia’s wall gives Felicity the opportunity to tell her what we’ve all thought and needs to be said. 

Mia Smoak is just like her dad – a stubborn, lethal, compassionate, badass with a heart of gold. Mia loves deeply and when she’s hurt it cuts just as deep, so she shuts down. But she cannot wall her heart off forever anymore than Oliver could because love is what fuels the fire in Mia. Her light is not extinguished. It shines brighter than she ever realized possible because of course it does. Mia is Oliver and Felicity’s girl.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

As independent as Mia claims to be, she also yearns for what any child wants. We all want our parents to be proud of us. As much as Felicity wishes she could keep Mia away from this life and these choices, she also recognizes it is her daughter’s decision to make. At the end of the day, Mia stepped up. She is so much like both her parents. As Felicity and Mia find some healing between them, somehow it feels like Oliver is in the room with them too.

Quite frankly, I am floored they resolved the fissure in Felicity and Mia’s relationship so quickly. I was mentally prepared for Mia to hate her mother at least for all of Season 7 and perhaps well into Season 8. I love that I was wrong. This is the reason why I have fewer problems with their big fight. It may have felt rushed, but since it was resolved within the hour I’m bothered by it less. Now we get to watch Felicity, William and Mia become a united force and find a way together to bring Oliver back to the family he loves more than anything else.  

Maybe Oliver is dead and will be resurrected (although I really doubt the writers killed him at this point). Maybe Oliver is simply missing and cut off from his family. We may not know what happened or where he is, but we do know how this family will be reunited. Felicity told us tonight. It’s what she said to Oliver not so long ago, when they were first falling in love, and they often repeated it when whatever struggle they were facing seemed impossible.

“There’s always another way.”

The Yellow Brick Road and the Garden of Eden

There are many references to the Wizard of Oz because it is Felicity’s favorite story. Her Scarecrow remark to Roy in 3x19 wasn’t a toss away line. The reason Felicity Smoak loves the Wizard of Oz is because she loves heroes and that story is one of the great hero’s tales.  There are a lot of really important lessons in Wizard of Oz, which we can apply to “Star City 2040” and ultimately Oliver’s legacy.

The Glades/Star City is clearly Emerald City. The twist in Wizard of Oz isn’t when Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s when she pulls back the curtain and discovers there is no wizard. There is no magic man granting wishes.

All the characters already had everything they needed deep inside their souls to be exactly who they wanted to be.  William, Connor, and Mia all have what it takes to be heroes even though they may not fully realize it. 

They need to tap into what’s already there just like Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion did. Just like Felicity, Diggle, and Oliver.

Source:  lyricalarrow

The grass is not always greener on the other side, which Mia quickly discovers when she leaves Bloomfield for Star City. Dorothy realizes she had the power all along to go back home. She simply had to choose the people she loves. Mia makes the same choice as Dorothy when she forgives her mother and accepts what Felicity has been telling her about vigilantes is true.

The Yellow Brick Road is symbolism that lacks any real subtle because it’s literally the road Dorothy walks on her hero’s journey. It can’t get much clearer. Dorothy never wavers on the road. She is determined to find the Wizard so she can go home, despite all the trials and tribulations the Wicked Witch throws her way. Felicity is Mia’s home. She will always be home and Mia stopped at nothing to get her mother back.

Trust is another massive component to Dorothy’s story. She made friends in the unlikeliest of places and their success was truly a team effort. Each person had special gifts, which proved vital in the defeat of the Witch and ultimately the salvation of Emerald City. Mia is so much like Oliver and she is always ready to go it alone, however she couldn’t this time. She needed William and Connor to help save Felicity. And she will need the whole team to save Star City and her father too.

Honesty is freedom. Once Dorothy pulled back the curtain the Wizard was free of the lie. He no longer had to live behind the curtain hidden away. I view Oliver as the Wizard because what happened to him is shrouded in so much mystery. However, the Wizard is just a man who wants to return to his normal life like Dorothy does. The Wizard wants to be free of the curtain as much as he needs it. This is no different than Oliver needing the hood and wanting to be free of it someday.

Mia: I need to find out the truth about everything. About who our family really is. What I’m meant to do with my life. I can’t hold back anymore. I need to forge my own path.

Mia may mourn for what was lost like Oliver does, but she is at the beginning of her Yellow Brick Road whereas Oliver is at the end. Salvation for Star City is not the eradication of crime. There will always be another Wicked Witch. So, there must always be a hero lighting the road in the dark.

The gift Oliver Queen will give the citizens of Star City is hope. His legacy will live on when someone else chooses to become that hope.  And then Oliver will be free to find his happiness at the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

This brings me to Galaxy One being a front for Eden Corps, which is a supposedly defunct terrorist organization that nuked cities at some point. Since Dante funds terrorist organization I feel the Chart of Evil will ultimately connect from Dante to Eden Corps to Galaxy One. It’s all fruit of the same poison tree.

The name Eden is not coincidental. Mia shatters the family photo aiming for an apple. The arrow goes through the apple and directly into the family photograph, which opens Felicity’s secret lair. Eden is from the Garden of Eden or the paradise Adam and Eve lived in until they disobeyed God’s command. They ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil after being tempted by the Devil. Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened and were cast out of paradise.

Galaxy One’s goal is to eradicate vigilantes and create a new world order with the Archer program. This new world is promised to be a paradise behind walls and Galaxy One/Eden Corps decide who lives or dies. It’s like extermination based on zip code rather than religion/ethnicity like the Nazis did in World War II. This biblical reference feels somewhat similar to Damien Darhk’s Genesis plan in Season 4. It is mass genocide in exchange for paradise. Not unlike Malcolm Merlyn’s Undertaking in Season 1. The ends justify the means to these villains.

No one can say with 100% accuracy what kind of fruit Adam and Eve ate, but the apple is the fruit most commonly depicted in popular culture. Mia shoots an arrow through the apple and it immediately launches her hero’s journey.  She discovers Felicity’s lair, they fight, and she leaves for Star City. Then she must enter The Glades to save her mother. Mia’s eyes are opened to the truth about her mother even though she doesn’t fully grasp what that truth means in the moment. She leaves her idyllic life in Bloomfield for the harsh reality of Star City.

Mia is essentially at a crossroads in “Star City 2040.” She can either continue alone as a fading star or she can embrace the truth of her past and let it lead her towards a righteous path. The greatest gift God gave us is free will. Every hero has to decide to be a hero at some point.

I often say superheroes are Christ like figures because of their pure hearts and willingness to sacrifice for others at the expense of their own happiness and/or lives. I’ve been teasingly calling Oliver Jesus this season because he is a fully realized superhero. We are witnessing an evolved Oliver who has grown leaps and bounds from the man we first met in the pilot.

Oliver no longer lives in a black and white world. He sees the grey and operates from a true sense of justice where killing has no real place. He lives openly as the Green Arrow, which means no more lies. Oliver has embraced his team and is leading from example. He is far more patient, understanding and accepting of others, particularly when it comes to opinions which differ from his. Oliver has accepted he deserves love and has embraced it. He’s living life fully as a husband, father, brother and friend. Most importantly, Oliver is trying to save his city by instilling hope and honor through his example. His light shines on the darkest corners of Star City.

Do you know what Jesus is also called? The New Adam. Christians believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again in fulfillment of God’s promise that one day we’d be delivered from the sin Adam and Eve introduced into our world. Our souls are saved because God loved us so much that he sacrificed his only son. Jesus’ mother Mary is sometimes called the New Eve. She was born free of original sin and remained sinless until ascending body and soul to heaven.

But this a superhero story, so it’s not going to be an apples to apples comparison (HA! Get it?), particularly since this is coming from the CW and not the Vatican. However, the writers are using biblical symbolism for a reason. Star City has gone to hell in a hand basket without Oliver. Eden Corps is essentially the Devil and Star City needs their superhero-Christ-like-figure to deliver their souls from the eternal torment of hell. Cool right? Oliver is that deliverance. He is the Christ like figure. Oliver Queen is the New Adam.

Arrow is not stopping with Oliver Queen. Saving Star City will be a family effort. It’s impossible for Oliver to eradicate crime just like we can never truly eradicate the evil Adam and Eve’s sin allowed into the world. But there is promised salvation.

Oliver may save the city, but he cannot be the Green Arrow forever. He doesn’t want to be the Green Arrow forever. What Oliver wants more than anything is to hang up the hood and live his life in peace. However, in order to do that he needs someone to take up the mantle of Protector of Star City. There must be a new superhero waiting in the wings. Not the New Adam, but the New Eve like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

Mia.

SmoakNHawke

DID Y’ALL HEAR THAT? IT’S THE SOUND OF MY SHIP SETTING SAIL! 

Connor gets Mia through security scan because he’s AGENT Hawke. Umm… say what? Honestly, I don’t know why I was so shocked by this. Both of his parents were A.R.G.U.S. agents, but I’m wildly excited and dumbfounded when any of these children pick up their parents’ tools of the trade. I AM JUST SO HAPPY FAM! I’m overwhelmed by the wealth of goodies.

Connor started working on credentials and clearance once he realized Mia and William would be heading directly into the belly of the whale. It’s 100% apparent Connor is going to be the planner in this group. He obtained a pass to Galaxy One as an agent for Knightwatch, which is the good version of A.R.G.U.S. It seems A.R.G.U.S. goes all evil no matter what timeline we’re in.  

The details on Connor and Knightwatch are fuzzy for a reason because the writers don’t want to fill all the blanks in the backdoor pilot. Then there’s no show. However, I think it’s safe to assume Knightwatch may be perceived as anti vigilante, otherwise why would the Galaxy One security guard release Mia into Connor’s custody? However, the reality may be Knightwatch is operating on some kind of undercover/double cross capacity.

Long story short – Connor is one of the good guys and he has a badge. So he’s hot and useful. Excellent.

He apologizes for not telling Mia the truth and she responds by slamming him up against a wall. 

Oh my friends, scenes like this are how ships are made. Get it girl. I was not expecting this line to come out of Mia’s mouth though -

Source:  mia-smoak-gifs

WHAT DID YOU SAY CHILD? DID YOU SAY “WAS ANY OF IT REAL?” MEANING Y’ALL WERE HOOKING UP? IS THAT THE REAL WE’RE DISCUSSING? JUST SO I AM CLEAR – REAL IS A EUPHEMISM FOR SEX?

SmoakNHawke is definitely a go and more importantly THEY’VE ALREADY HAD SEX. You could hear my screams for miles.

Yeah, I know we didn’t get to see anything YET. Listen cupcakes, this is what the spin-off is for. They’ll fill in the blanks. Arrow uses flashbacks and flash forwards. The probability is high the spin-off will too. I ain’t worried about it.

The backdoor pilot just gave us a canon ship to root for without a disastrous backstory like sleeping with sisters or foster siblings hooking up. I wasn’t expecting SmoakNHawke to happen this quickly. The OTA babies falling in love is a wonderful idea the fandom cooked up and I was sure the writers would either ignore completely like most of our good ideas or let it simmer for years on end. We just went from zero to sixty with one sentence. This is a moment to rejoice.

More importantly, if the spinoff doesn’t happen, and this is where the story ends for the Flash Forward characters too, then the writers made damn sure Mia and Connor were a thing before Arrow went off air. They understand the importance of Diggle’s son and Oliver’s daughter being together. It’s Christmas y’all. All we do is win.

Connor assures Mia “all of it” was real and I’m swooning. Felicity asks what Mia’s type is in a later scene and I yelled, “HER TYPE IS CONNOR HAWKE.”

As angry and hurt as Mia is, she still couldn’t let Connor get his ass beat and saves him from a couple of the security goons. I love this flip of gender dynamics.  Not that Olicity remain rooted in traditional roles, quite the contrary. However, it’s not all that often we see a female hero saving a male.

Mia is too angry with Felicity’s choices to help her with the bombs.  William leaves with their mother, but Connor stays with Mia. He is ride or die. If she wants to help then he’s there. If she wants to leave then he’s cool with that.

They have a pretty epic fight too. Mia can’t decide if she’s angrier about the lying or Connor believing she needed protection.

Mia defines whatever is between her and Connor as a relationship, so I feel they are more than just a hook up, but short of boyfriend and girlfriend. Connor is sorry he lied, but he’s not sorry he stuck around and kept an eye on Mia just like his father instructed because he truly cares about her.

“When you like someone, proximity is a good thing, regardless of how they feel about you." (Pacey Witter, Dawson’s Creek)

They sure fight like they are boyfriend and girlfriend. Connor gives a fairly epic speech about choosing to be a hero and learning how to selflessly share their superhero parents with the world. 

Connor didn’t like Diggle and Lyla choosing the city above their family time and again, but as he grew older it became something he admired in his parents. Their sacrifices only made Connor love them more.

Source:  oliverxfelicity

I’m curious about Connor’s backstory because he says he chose to be a superhero in training whereas it was more or less forced upon Mia. But today is the day she can make the choice for herself. If Mia walks out on Galaxy One then it is her decision. She can’t put the responsibility on Felicity this time.

Mia simply doesn’t trust Connor anymore and believes he has an ulterior motive just like Felicity and William. So, he uses a little reverse psychology. Mia walking away from danger is exactly what her mother wants and doing directly opposite of what Felicity wants is extremely appealing to Mia right now. God bless the rebellious youth. I swear Diggle must have discussed with Connor how to manage a Queen. This is straight out of the Yoda playbook.

Connor has to earn Mia’s trust back, but their story is just beginning and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Roy, Dinah and Rene

Once again I am the least interested in Team Newbie. Yeah, they are still Newbies after twenty years. I wish I could be more positive about Roy, but he listened to Dinah’s nonsense about Felicity being evil and dead. It’s swell they are all happy Felicity is alive and one of the good guys, but none of them get any points because they believed the worst about their friend who has proven to be a spectacular human being time and again. Dinah’s first inclination should have been Felicity is pretending to be evil to infiltrate a Big Bad because DUH. Morons.

They decide to finally look into Felicity’s death in EPISODE 16 and discover the shock of all shocks, “The case files are a mess.” YEAH BECAUSE SHE ISN’T REALLY DEAD YOU DINKLE TWITS!

Rene confessing he knew about the bombs isn’t a shock because we knew he was in on some kind of plan in 7x10. Galaxy One can expand The Glades in a fraction of the time and he thought Star City would be evacuated before the bombs. Rene being the biggest dumbass to ever live isn’t a shock. That’s just a regular Arrow Monday.

Rene aligned himself with Galaxy because he liked feeling powerful and respected. He was no longer living in the shadow of Oliver Queen. Now he was the mayor who saved the city. Unfortunately, aligning with the Big Bad at any point requires a redemptive arc. It’s great Rene is working undercover with Team Arrow now, but I am not expecting him to survive Season 8.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Dinah is thrilled to see Felicity alive, but she is not overwhelmed with joy over seeing Dinah. Felicity almost looks distrustful as Dinah hugs her. At the very least she’s ticked off Dinah believed she went all evil. There’s definitely more to the story and everything is not one hundred percent between these two.

The only other piece which interests me is Roy’s rage issues. It’s not Mirakuru related, but it’s completely possible he took a dip in the Lazarus Pit and banished himself to Lian Yu because he couldn’t control the rage. The fact Nyssa is available to train Mia for several years means the Lazarus Pit mission was over. Thea is LOA trained and Oliver’s sister. She would have been Felicity’s first choice to train their daughter, but instead it was Nyssa. This does not bode well for Thea’s fate. Everyone mentally prepare. Thea is dead.

Stray Thoughts…

It’s like Mia was tailor made for us. I will never tire of Arrow sticking it to comic book fans with lines like this. Yes, that’s right folks. The non comic book couple is canon on the TV show and they spawned a non comic book character to carry on the Green Arrow’s legacy. Suck it.  Source:  oliverxfelicity

It’s a little odd Mia’s first question wasn’t, “Hey! Who is the kid in the photo?” but given the potential canyon sized plot holes this storyline could have I’ll let it slide.

Itty bitty Mia was played by Bam’s daughter. I was wondering where you find a mini ninja and of course she is BABY BAM. Source: ebett

Clary Fray was a pretty physical role on Shadowhunters, but Katherine has really had to step it up as Mia and she’s doing a fantastic job with the stunts. She’s no Stephen, but he’s insane so we won’t grade her on that level of madness.

Oliver’s Yao Fei box keeps showing up everywhere. First it’s on Lian Yu and William digs it up. Now it’s in the backyard of the Olicity love cabin. This thing gets more miles than Delta.

WHAT DOES THE KEY TATTOO MEAN?

Where the friggin frack is Bloomfield? I’m sure there’s some comic book explanation.

The pairing of Mia and Connor romantically makes me smile because I always said Diggle was Oliver’s first wife. Hehehehe.

“Oh good now there are two of you.” William is Felicity 2.0 officially. It’s canon now.

Felicity’s mask was sparkly green. I was wildly excited about this color choice.

I love how Felicity pesters Mia about boys because Donna used to do the same thing to Felicity and it drove her nuts, which is proof we all become our mothers someday. Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

I’m still not over Mia’s loft being the same set as Olicity’s loft back in Season 4.

“No one gets to kill my mom except me.” I have a super great relationship with my mother, but I don’t know any woman who can’t relate to this line on some level. Sometimes your mom just drives you nuts, but she’s still your mom and only you get to murder her. Nobody else can mess with her.

Rene didn’t think Roy was alive. Thinking people are dead is like an epidemic with the Newbies. Not blown away by their powers of deduction.

So much same William. Source:  mei-pellegrino

Felicity blames herself for Galaxy One and Eden Corps because she invented Archer and somehow the bad guys get their hands on it. However, I do not think Felicity is blaming herself for Oliver. There’s two different trains moving at the same time on parallel tracks. There’s Dante/Eden Corps/the Ninth Circle/Archer and there’s the promise Oliver made to the Monitor. I believe the reason Oliver is missing/presumed dead etc is because of the deal he made with the Monitor. Perhaps Archer is a hurdle when Oliver is finally free to come home to Star City, but I don’t believe it’s the reason Oliver is gone. The reason Oliver was not around to help protect Felicity and Mia from Dante/Eden Corps/the Ninth Circle/Archer is because of his promise to the Monitor and Felicity had nothing to do with that. Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 7x16 gifs credited.

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[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 7x16 brain dump

So another episode, another triumph!! Star City 2040 was AMAZING!! The episode was almost all I had hoped for and so much more to boot! We got Mia  Smoak’s origin story, and got brought somewhat up to date with the future storyline, whilst still leaving plenty of unanswered questions. The episode could easily be seen as a backdoor pilot episode for a next gen spin-off, that no doubt is in the works for when Arrow comes to a close. There is lots to deal with from this week’s offering, so without further ado….

Olicty and Mia

This will be short and sweet as we only got a minute-long flash of them as a family unit.  But OMG THE BIRTH!! HDVKVHWDGRFJLBHSDNVSDLK!!!!!!  My heart was so full, even in that short scene 😍 I had always had reservations about seeing a Felicity pregnancy storyline during the show run, but it seems like Beth has crafted the story so cleverly as for the pregnancy to not be so much of a focus-puller from the main story arcs for the season and for Felicity herself. This is what a talented and female-driven writing team does people!!! We will get the bulk of the pregnancy falling over hiatus, and the birth we have seen already here, and still get to keep some fluffy fanfic-y moments between her and Oliver in the present day. This is win-win as far as I’m concerned! But I digress…the birth!! We hear Felicity’s labour-screams (*shudders* 😬), whilst we get a tour of their new home, and Oliver is right there by her side!!!! Holding her hand, they exchange “I love you so much” and I diieeeeedddd!!! 

Source: oliverxfelicity

This was so adorable, and then Oliver’s little chuckle at Felicity’s joke? GAAAAHHHH!! Mia is handed back to them by Nurse Random, and the happiness on both of their faces, along with Felicity’s tiny “hi”, and the forehead kiss (I love a forehead kiss) just broke me!!  Tears, all the tears! No drama, just a beautiful family moment.

Source: feilcityqueen

Continued under the cut

The “abandoned farmhouse��� I thought we’d get, based on the trailer this time last week, in fact turned out to be a beautiful, warm, secluded family home, obviously lovingly furnished and lived in for a while by Oliver and Felicity. I guess this begs the question of when do they leave Star City for this new home, given that the team never knew about Felicity’s pregnancy? I think Olicity will leave by the end of the season for sure. And then that’s it for Olicity, and Oliver in this episode. Personally, I never expected to see Oliver in this episode. I don’t expect to see him in the future scenes before the end of the season, or even at all, as any future timeline reveals would scupper whatever tomfoolery they intend on cooking up in the next crossover *rolls eyes*.

Mia’s montage

Gosh I just love a montage! We immediately snap from new-born Mia to the most adorable toddler badass ninja Mia!!

Source: ebett

Look at that little face!! It was a stroke of genius casting James Bamford’s daughter here, as she already has some killer little fighting moves!  I am in love 😍 She then transitions seamlessly into a slightly older version, before the teen/adult Mia that we already know.  Can I just say that I adore the fact that she always has a little blonde ponytail just like Mama...my heart!!! Oh and who is her trainer?? Only Nyssa fracking Al Ghul!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS!!!

Source: felicittysqueen

What a fantastic surprise! I squealed! I stan one set of sister wives and their daughter! Much like finding Connor’s true identity last week, just this little twist was so exciting! I love spoiler-free season 7!!

Felicity/Mia

Agggghhhh these two! We finally got a little more insight as to why Mia seemingly hated Felicity so much. She seems to have been relatively well adjusted, if not feeling both isolated and suffocated in her small town (all this as well as having been trained to be a ninja by Auntie Nyssa), prior to leaving for Star City. Her relationship with her mother looked easy and loving, and I loved how her protective instincts kicked in when she returned home and Felicity didn’t reply.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how chill Felicity is when Mia nearly attacks her! The way Emily has chosen to portray Future!Felicity with a new-found calm and poise is fabulous. She is such a boss (as if there was ever any doubt), with echoes of Moira but still all of ‘our’ Felicity’s heart. I loved her slipping back into her babbles over the comms over Mia’s ‘type’; Nana Donna would be so proud!!

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

The turning point in their relationship comes when Mia stumbles upon Felicity’s secret bunker, compete with desktop pics of Oliver as GA and William pictures 😭😭 Two of the people that Felicity loves most and has seemingly lost? 😭😭This discovery leads Mia to realise that Felicity is still partaking in some vigilante side-action, which is the crux of their relationship breakdown. Vigilante’s have been outlawed, and painted as the ultimate big bads, something Felicity has obviously tried to make Mia see sense of.  But Mia has clearly seen and heard all of the propaganda surrounding them, we don’t know where Oliver is, but we know he and Felicity have vowed to continue saving people, taking them away from Mia, and in turn, making her grow to resent the vigilantes irrespective of the heroic stories her mother has told her. Felicity keeping her own present vigilantism from Mia is the last straw for her. She is young, unworldly at this point, and clearly has strong feelings of abandonment from both parents, and the idea of Felicity being caught as a vigilante and taken away from her makes her snap. Cue Mia escaping to Star City to get her freedom, and to ‘find herself’ in cage fighting (the obvious career choice haha), and generally be a broody teenager. There she ‘learned’ even more about Vigilantes, only with the government spin on it, further driving that wedge and distance from Felicity and developing her hatred for them. This is where we see their relationship at as they reunite, a few years later, by the sounds of it.

Felicity being the empathetic angel that she is, has absorbed all of Mia’s hatred and disappointment, which I think is why she seemingly just ‘takes’ all of Mia’s attitude. Felicity also knows all too well the disappointment of being lied to by the person you love the most (looking at you S4 Oliver). She loves her so much and sees so much of Oliver in her, that it must be heartbreaking for her to know how she has disappointed her. That line where she tells William “I’m used to being a disappointment to her” is a gut punch. Yet she is so so proud of her! 😭😭

Source: olicitygifs

Felicity realises that she should have told Mia the truth, and immediately apologises, but it takes the rest of the episode’s events to unfold before Mia really starts to understand the situation Felicity and Oliver were put in, why they made the choices that they did, and allows her to accept Felicity’s apology and start to mend fences. The final scene with them had me in tears for the 46232th time this episode, and you can really see how much they love each other, and their bond that still remains.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

I know she has been divisive so far, but I love Mia, and can understand where she is coming from in her attitude.  This is a girl who is 20 years old, remember, and whereby in some ways she has had to grow up incredibly fast, she is still very naïve and emotionally unaware as well. I see so much of Oliver in her, as does Felicity.

Source: olicitygifs

Her reaction to danger, physicality etc (hellooo handstand press-ups!) is down to training, yes. Her brooding, rash decision making and acting alone are character traits straight from Oliver. Her rage/anger reaction to the lies from Felicity and Connor scream S1 Oliver to me.

This is my take anyway haha, I know some will disagree, but I am officially a Mia Smoak stan!!!

William/Felicity/Mia

William didn’t take centre-stage this week, but he still had so many amazing moments. Ugh I love this boy so much!! His relationship with Mia continues to grow and be the cutest thing ever! Like I said last week, I love seeing William draw the light out in Mia, in the same way as Felicity always does with Oliver. All the little sibling moments that they share are so heart warming I could dieeeee! The “show off” line, “you’re just more useful to me not dead”, “oh good now there are two of you”, “now I got a sister to hate instead” the list goes on!! And then Will making Mia pose as his EA, and her distain at that are a hilarious call-back to their parents…Olicity S2 ftw!!

Source: smoaktechs

I clearly have already spoken about her, but let’s just take a moment to appreciate that FELICITY IS ALIVE BITCHES!!!

We saw that Felicity had been looking out for William all along, investing in his start-up under the pseudonym City of Emeralds Capital, see my Wizard of Oz meta here. Then we finally got to see the reunion between her and both of her children, and it was epic. Her and William just murdered me.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

I love that he just went to her and embraced her straight away 😭💗😭 William had every reason to hate Felicity, something she acknowledges, but the love he still has for her after all these years, ad the profound effect she had on him in the short time they were together in our time just had me in tears so hard.  Every time I scroll by a gif of this moment, I tear up (awkward when I’m ninja-tumblring at work 😬)! William, being that bit older than Mia, and having known Felicity and Oliver at an earlier point in time, allowed him to understand and forgive her pretty much immediately. I’m glad; we only have the energy for one broody Olicity baby! And once reunited, William and Felicity are a force to be reckoned with!

Source: ebett

I loved seeing them hack together at the Gala! And then in their last scene together, when Felicity thanks him for keeping faith in her and holding on to the Hozen for all this time ruined me yet again.

Mia/Connor

SmoaknHawke has arrived people!!

Connor following (following, not stalking) Mia and William all the way to Galaxy One to save their arses was so cute!! He is a good little Diggle and will always have his (girl)friend’s back, whether she is crazy pissed at him or not! Tiny Mia getting him up against the wall was a total mood haha! We discover that Connor is in fact Agent Hawke 🔥🔥, working for Nightwatch…a good version of ARGUS?? Is this where Dig is at? I want to see Dig! David Spoiler Ramsay already told us that he’d be in the FFs, so that was my only disappointment of the episode, that we didn’t see him.

But back to my newest OTP!! Mia was still so mad with Connor (and the world) for lying to her about his identity, then again for following her, and again for being a secret agent. He is so apologetic…that boy is GONE!! He just wants to keep her in his life! The “because I care about you”, “entire relationship is based on a lie” exchange was so charged!!! 

Source: mia-smoak-gifs

I loved Connor talking up the heroes to Mia, whilst still acknowledging her pain. Connor’s compassion is straight up John Diggle, adopted or no. This also led into the ultimate shade, with Mia’s iconic line:

Source: oliverxfelicity

😂😂😂 Mia’s very existence as a child of Olicity already angers a certain comic-loving demographic, so this line was extra satisfying for me.

If a next gen series does happen, I will be so excited to see where these guys go…especially will the addition of William (and to a lesser extent, Zoe). The FTA scenes and lift/fight sequence was so so good!!

FF storyline

I suppose I should actually cover this haha! Lots of new stuff. We saw Rene interact with the Team…and reveal he thought Roy was dead!! Dinah’s line about Rene getting all the age but no wisdom was just 😂😂😂 There is mention of a terrorist organisation called Edencore, now going under the alias of Galaxy One, who Rene is directly working with in the Glades. They, along with Rene (hello new, crappy version of Malcolm), are planning on setting off a clusterfuck of bombs to level Star City so they can rebuild in their image. To cover their evil arses, they plan on placing the blame on vigilantes, namely Felicity. Anyway, once everyone is reunited (with a bit of an awkward hug between Felicity/Dinah…not sure if that was intended or not?) and introduced (“This is Mia, these are mine and Oliver’s impeccable genetics” gahhhh!) they deduce that the bombs are scheduled to detonate at an event that night, where everyone is in hoods and masks…how very convenient haha!

Felicity wearing a green mask is just 😭😍😭

Source: noonecanknowmysecret

Her and William are an unstoppable hacking duo as they seek out the slimy bad guy (forgot his name) so Mia can go kick his arse!! I almost HAD ANOTHER LITTLE CRY WHEN Felicty say to Dinah “No-one’s called me overwatch in a very long time” waaaahhh!! Mia obviously runs in half-cocked and on her own (like father like daughter) to confront the slimeball, and just when it looks like she’s in trouble and massively outnumbered, she takes down the whole fracking room on her own! “Oh this will be fun” YAAAASSSS!!!

She is AMAZING in the field (a total badass, as Felicity later tells her). That cape move she did was 🔥🔥🔥 She loses Slimer in the kerfuffle, following him out into the crowd, that Rene has stirred up by announcing the vigilantes “show them what heroes look like” yaaaasss! Then, with no time to spare, Mia shoots the inch-square detonator out of his hands with an arrow in the most epic shot everrrrrr! I feel like if the new series does happen, this could be the opening title sequence shot!

Source: felicittysqueen

The fight stunts/effects this episode were amazeballs! I think this episode needed to be ‘big’, due to the absence of Oliver and the mixed reactions to the FFs so far, and it totally delivered!

Other folk

Roy! Future Roy continues to do things for me…so hot 🔥🔥 He seems to be enjoying being back with a team again, but we still have little-to-no idea of his past 20 years. He gets scary angry out of nowhere whilst interrogating one of Dinah’s contacts, and beats the crap out of him. I cut a whole Roy/Edencore/present/FF spec from this review and put it here if anyone feels like a laugh!

Rene continues to have terrible hair, unlike when Oliver was mayor….oh those were good hair days….*sighs dreamily*. He is complicit in the plan to level the city, but is talked around by Zoe, who he finally realises is one of the Canaries (well, duh). He ends the episode still playing the role of evil mayor, but is he really ‘good’ again now?

I’m not keen so far on adult Zoe, but maybe we just need to see more of her? Or maybe we can just forget her, like her Dad? She will surely form part of the next generation team if a spin-off happens, so I guess we will see her interacting with FTA soon.

Dinah doesn’t have much going on, other than fight scenes, and awkward hugs.

Legacy

The overarching theme of this season is legacy, and this episode is the most blatant about that I think. We see here, Oliver and Felicity’s literal biological legacies in William and Mia, and how being their children has affected their outcomes. Will is a flourishing CEO and tech wiz, thanks largely to his time with Felicity, and maybe the fact that he’s been able to succeed so well in a somewhat normal life is down to their absence from his life post-S7, but he missed out on growing up with his parents 😭 Mia on the other hand, grew up with Felicity (at least, if not Oliver for some of it), who had to have her trained in order to protect her, should the day ever come that her identity is revealed. So Mia had the parental love growing up, but was otherwise isolated from the world, no schooling, never left the town etc.

We also see Oliver’s legacy as a hero manifesting in his children. We see them finding their way on this journey, finding their own reasons and routes of being heroes. William didn’t need asking twice to join Felicity, and stand up to help. Mia was far more reluctant, with her fears of losing people, and (at the time) still in the belief that Vigilantes weren’t the heroes Felicity claimed them to be. Despite taking more convincing, the hero blood runs strong in her veins, and we went from the ‘I don’t want this life, heroes are bad’ mentality to “Let’s go save the City” in no time.

On the flip side, we see the future state of Star City, and way people have been affected in future shows Oliver to have left behind more than one type of legacy, not all good. Was he right in his choices to save the city/world? Of course! Or his way of going about doing it? Possibly not.

By the end of the episode we find ourselves with the ultimate OTA legacy. An FTA comprising of the same skillsets as OTA; Mia as leader (no doubt) and skilled fighter, William running the tech and the brains of the operation, and Connor with the tactical experience, government ties, and all the Diggle Yoda-wisdom.

Source: smoakmonster

And that’s that, sorry this was another whopper….

Thank you to the beautiful gif-makers, as always! You guys put the sparkle in my ruby slippers 💗💗

[halsteadsass]

i was tagged by lina and chels ( @jackmullhern and @romanticqs) . thank you both so much!!

rules: bold the ones that apply to you and tag 15 people when you’re done!!

APPEARANCE:

I’m over 5’5” // I wear glasses/contacts // I have blonde hair // I prefer loose clothing to tight clothing  // I have one or more piercings // I have at least one tattoo // I have blue eyes // I have dyed or highlighted my hair // I have gotten plastic surgery // I have or had braces // I sunburn easily // I have freckles // I paint my nails // I typically wear makeup// I don’t often smile // I am pleased with how I look // I prefer Nike to Adidas // I wear baseball hats backward

HOBBIES AND TALENTS:

I play a sport // I can play an instrument // I am artistic // I know more than one language// I have won a trophy in some sort of competition // I can cook or bake without a recipe // I know how to swim // I enjoy writing // I can do origami // I prefer movies to tv shows // I can execute a perfect somersault // I enjoy singing // I could survive in the wild on my own // I have read a new book series this year // I enjoy spending time with friends // I travel during school or work breaks // I can do a handstand

RELATIONSHIPS:

I am in a relationship // I have been single for over a year // I have a crush // I have a best friend I have known for ten years // My parents are together // I have dated my best friend // I am adopted // My crush has confessed to me // I have a long distance relationship // I am an only child // I give advice to my friends // I have made an online friend // I met up with someone I have met online

AESTHETICS:

I have heard the ocean in a conch shell // I have watched the sun rise // I enjoy rainy days // I have slept under the stars // I meditate outside // The sound of chirping calms me // I enjoy the smell of the beach // I know what snow tastes like // I listen to music to fall asleep // I enjoy thunderstorms // I enjoy cloud watching // I have attended a bonfire // I pay close attention to colours // I find mystery in the ocean // I enjoy hiking on nature paths// Autumn is my favourite season

MISCELLANEOUS:

I can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // I am the mom friend // I live by a certain quote // I like the smell of sharpies // I am involved in extracurricular activities // I enjoy Mexican food // I can drive a stick-shift // I believe in true love // I make up scenarios to fall asleep// I sing in the shower // I wish I lived in a video game // I have a canopy above my bed // I am multiracial // I am a redhead // I own at least three animals

tagging: @blakelivey @harryandallie @clarkesbell @evabrighis @evamohns @summerfitzy @bellamyblak @thesocietystan @klutzygirl @sebastianstans @924inlegend @merlinss @queenstephaniaa @felicittysqueen @playingfugitivenothingelse @itsshallie @helenavvu

[caelestis1989]

Review: Arrow 7x16 “Star City 2040″

Esse episódio poderia ter sido facilmente chamado por The Secret Origin of Mia Smoak.

Esse episódio me traz vibrações do 3x05. Só que a diferença é que Mia é muito mais parecida com seu pai, mesmo que em algumas das escassas cenas da infância dela, não parece ou eles querem nos fazer acreditar que o Oliver não viu sua filhinha crescer. E um novo recorde foi estabelecido, com esse é o 4º episódio em sequência que manteve uma narrativa sólida. Mas mesmo assim eu fiquei sentindo que uma peça faltava pra tornar o episódio incrivelmente maravilhoso. Oliver Queen. Um episódio de Arrow sempre sofre alguns tropeços quando eles nos negam mais cenas com o protagonista da série. 

Esse episódio também teve um ar de introdução a um spin-off. E eu tenho a impressão que a série vai se chamar Star City 2040, não só pelo título do episódio como o trabalho que eles tiveram para fazerem jaquetas escritas com esse nome (que vimos em fotos de bastidores). Eles nunca criaram jaquetas com nomes de títulos de episódios anteriormente. Não acho que isso seja algo aleatório. Não tem como eles chamarem esse spin-off de Legacie porque esse nome já foi tomado pelo spin-off de TVD e TO. 

Começo dos Flashbacks

Infelizmente a cena do nascimento da Mia foi tão curta.

Nunca vi o Oliver tão feliz como esse momento. Foi o maior sorriso que vi no rosto do nosso menino. 

Crédito: @oliverxfelicity @lucyyh

Baby Mia é cópia fiel dos pais. O bebê mais fofo e adorável. Tenho a ligeira impressão que eles nos mostraram a cena do nascimento da Mia agora porque eles pretendem começar a última temporada já com a baby Mia nascida. Não acho que eles vão mostrar a cena do nascimento de novo. E isso me faz acreditar que sim, a baby Mia foi concebida no 7x08 e ela nasceu em setembro.

A única coisa que não encaixa na minha cabeça é como os olhos da Mia deixaram de ser azuis e se tornaram verdes escuros quando ela chegou a idade adulta. Não me conformo por eles deixarem um detalhe desse passar. Não custava nada a atriz colocar lentes azuis nas cenas, pelo menos naquelas em que a iluminação é mais clara. Até o Ben Lewis colocou lentes azuis, eu sei disso porque já fui procurar fotos do ator no google e os olhos dele me parece castanhos. 

Eu fui totalmente pega de surpresa ao ver que Nyssa foi a responsável pelo treinamento da Mia desde a infância. Eu gostei! Na hora em que vi essa cena eu pensei: “Faz sentido, elas são esposas-irmãs”. 

É lógico que Mia seria fodona, foi treinada por um membro da Liga dos Assassinos, e não é qualquer membro, é a filha do finado Ra’s Al Ghul. Isso me lembra da época em que o Oliver durante um curto período de tempo, passou treinando com Talia Al Ghul (irmã mais velha da Nyssa). E foi Talia quem deu ao Oliver seu primeiro arco, aquele em que ele começou sua jornada em Star City. A diferença é que Mia teve todo o seu treinamento com Nyssa desde a infância, aposto que ela ainda vai superar as habilidades do pai. 

Crédito: @plotbunnyshipper

E ela recebe seu primeiro arco das mãos de um membro da família Al Ghul. Arrow ama seus paralelos. 

Crédito: @ebett

Eu gostei desse arco, ele parece ser mais prático e discreto porque a Mia não precisa carregar sua aljava nas costas. Isso chamaria muita atenção indesejada de uma cidade que odeia qualquer atividade que os lembre dos vigilantes.

Eu gostaria de ter visto a Felicity interagir com a Mini-Mia. Ela é tão fofa. 

E sabemos que ela é filha do James Bamford. Achei bacana porque eles unem o útil ao agradável, já que de qualquer forma em algum momento quem trabalha na série precisa trazer seus filhos para o set. 

Mia chega em casa com novidades. Ela trouxe o queijo favorito da mãe, aquele que fede. Ela fica chamando pela mãe e encontra o silêncio. Ela fica preocupada e pega uma faca achando que tinha um intruso dentro da casa. Já falei que adorei essa cabana?! Ela parece muito mais como uma casa que todos aqueles apartamentos que Olicity morou até agora. Desculpe, pelo devaneio. 

Crédito: @felicittysqueen

A coisa que mais me impressionou nessa cena foi o comportamento blasé da Felicity. Ela quase teve sua garganta cortada e estava muito orgulhosa dos reflexos impressionantes da filha. 

Crédito: @felicitysmoakgifs

Senhora Carver é a fofoqueira do bairro. Ela também tentou empurrar seu filho mais velho pra cima da Mia. Ela seria a versão 2.0 daquela vizinha intrometida de Ivy Town. Felicity e Mia fazem referências a personagens do livro O mágico de Oz. 

Eu já disse que amo O Mágico de Oz?! Eu juro que já chorei lendo esse livro, ele é tão especial pra mim. São personagens que buscam na Cidade Esmeralda algo que eles já tem em sua essência, no decorrer do caminho. O Leão covarde busca coragem, mas é o mais corajoso do grupo. O Espantalho busca um cérebro mas é o mais inteligente, as melhores ideias vem dele. O Homem de lata busca um coração mas é o mais amoroso, tão cheio de compaixão. E a Dorothy só quer voltar pra casa. Eu acho que a Mia é a Dorothy nessa história. 

Mia tenta convencer a mãe a sair pela cidade um pouco. Ela até usa o amor que Felicity tem pela Smoak Tech pra isso. Eu compreendo que Mia queira explorar o mundo além daquela cabana. Fico imaginando o quão frustrante foi pra alguém da personalidade dela ter que seguir as regras da mãe, à risca. Me impressiona o fato dela não ter fugido de casa antes. Pra uma criança deve ser angustiante ficar presa em casa o tempo todo. Eu lembro que minha irmã e eu costumávamos aproveitar quando minha mãe dormia pra fugir pela janela e poder brincar, já que ela trancava a porta. E isso levando uma vida comum. Agora imagina quando você é filha de vigilantes. Connor tem razão, isso é um saco!

Mia quer um pouco de liberdade. Felicity diz que elas não podem ir pra Star City porque elas não estão seguras lá. E pelo que a Mia falou, a Felicity comanda a empresa remotamente da cabana. Isso nem chega a ser uma surpresa já que a Felicity já fez isso com a Palmer Tech de Ivy Town. Mia diz que segundo sua mãe, seu pai era um grande herói, e que elas simplesmente poderiam dizer isso pra todos. Só que não é tão simples assim. Achei fofa a ingenuidade da Mia. As duas até esse momento pareciam ter uma relação boa de mãe e filha, até ela descobrir que Felicity ainda estava agindo como vigilante. 

Mia tentou persuadir a mãe dizendo que poderia se proteger porque ela (Felicity) providenciou pra que isso fosse possível. 

Crédito: @lucyyh

Ao ver a filha chateada por não conseguir esticar mais um pouco sua liberdade, Felicity propõe que as duas tivessem uma maratona de filmes. Mia topa o momento Mãe e Filha. As coisas estavam bem até um porta retrato digital ser destruído por uma flecha. Até agora me pergunto quanto disso foi um acidente. Não faz muito sentido a Mia praticar arquearia dentro de casa e usar uma maçã como alvo bem na frente de um porta retrato com as fotos da família. Essa menina tem muitas emoções reprimidas. Ela é tão Oliver!

Crédito: @olicitygifs

Felicity nunca mentiu sobre o passado dela e do Oliver, ela só escondeu que continuava sendo Overwatch. Mia fica ressentida porque ela sabe que esse tempo todo precisou se esconder na cabana por causa das atividades do pai como Arqueiro Verde, e descobre que sua mãe continuou fazendo o mesmo todo esse tempo. 

Mia se sentiu traída pela mãe por causa dos segredos. Os segredos nunca param. Lógico que não deve ser fácil pra ela engolir que sua mãe sempre tenha a cidade como prioridade, e é isso que fica evidente no decorrer do episódio, mesmo depois do tempo que ela ficou afastada da mãe. Ela fugiu pra descobrir por conta própria quem é sua família, ou o que ela faria da vida dela. Ela fugiu do controle que Felicity tinha sobre ela. Acho que Mia só permitia todo esse controle por amar muito sua mãe e porque na época a Felicity contava o que era conveniente, isso tentando proteger a Mia de todo o fardo da vida vigilante. Mas nunca é fácil descobrir que alguém que você ama vem mentindo pra você a vida toda. 

“Ninguém mais pode me segurar. Eu preciso forjar meu próprio caminho.”

E finalmente descobrimos a origem do codinome Blackstar. E é claro que o significado vem dos momentos de Mia com sua mãe. 

“A minha mãe me disse uma vez que todas as luzes de estrelas que vemos viajam tanto que a estrela em si nem existem mais, Eventualmente, todas somem na escuridão. Apagadas. É pra onde quero ir.”

Crédito: @ebett

No começo de sua jornada, Mia estava em busca da luz, da verdade. Em algum momento essa busca para a luz mudou, e deve ter sido quando ela ouviu de todo mundo que os vigilantes acabaram com a cidade. E isso fez com que a Mia não quisesse mais ir em direção a luz, mas agora em direção a escuridão. É como se ela tivesse fugindo dos problemas, porque ela acredita que a verdade não vai libertá-la. Não é à toa que ela se escondeu naquela gaiola. Lutando pra se manter, pra sobreviver nesse mundo durante muito tempo, desconhecido pra ela. Um mundo sombrio, com verdades feias. Com meias-verdades e meias-mentiras. Um mundo onde seus pais são odiados. 

E agora faz todo sentido ela não usar o sobrenome Queen. Porque além desse sobrenome ser um alvo em suas costas, ainda tem o auto-ódio pelas suas origens, porque ela acredita que seus pais arruinaram Star City. Ela também não quer enfrentar as consequências se alguém descobrir quem são seus pais. Acho que a única exceção em sua lista de contatos para quem ela disse que era Mia Smoak foi o Connor, porque eles tiveram um relacionamento. Mas pra todos os outros ela só deve dizer seu codinome. Isso porque ela não confia em ninguém, e é uma garota inteligente pra não sair por aí dando seu verdadeiro nome pra qualquer um, sabendo que as pessoas podem pesquisar a fundo quem ela é. 

Enquanto estava sendo tatuada, Mia perguntou o que era toda aquela movimentação na gaiola. A tatuadora diz que eles estão lutando. Mia pergunta quanto eles pagam por isso. A tatuadora diz que eles pagam milhares se você ganhar a luta. Mia diz que nunca perde. Bem, ela continua invicta. Engraçado, ela não sabe muito sobre o pai mas é tão parecida com ele. Essa Mia me faz lembrar da época em que o Oliver participava do Clube da Luta na Russia. 

Apareceu um homem com o mesmo físico do Oliver lutando na gaiola enquanto a Mia estava sendo tatuada. A teoria do momento no tumblr é que esse homem pode ser o Oliver. Eu sempre vou preferir uma teoria do Oliver vivo do que um Oliver morto.

Fim dos Flashbacks

Crédito: @smoakmonster

William não está nem um pouco preparados pra arriscar suas vidas invandindo os Glades. Mia não tem nada melhor pra fazer. Tão blasé. Adoro!

Tal pai, tal filha!

Crédito: @arrowdaily

William propõe que Mia finja ser sua assistente executiva como disfarce. 

Crédito: @felicitysmoakgifs

A resposta dela é tão Felicity. Só que o problema nem é esse. Mia diz que eles são filhos de vigilantes e no momento em que eles passarem pelo escaneamento, serão pegos. William diz que não usa mais o sobrenome Clayton. Pelo menos essa parte do mistério sobre como o William conseguiu passar todos esses anos sem ser importunado pelos haters dos pais foi respondido. Mas fiquei curiosa pra saber que sobrenome ele está usando agora. William consegue passar pelo escaneamento, Mia não. Acho que ela nem deve estar registrada em qualquer banco de dados do governo. Ela é filha de uma super hacker, se tem alguém que pode apagar qualquer dado sobre a Mia é Felicity Smoak. 

Connor aparece pra salvar a pele da Mia. Ele é um agente da Knigtwatch (a versão boa da ARGUS). Depois de passar pela vigilância, Connor se desculpa por não ter contado a verdade pra ela. Ele diz que não teve escolha. 

Crédito: @smoakmonster

William se coloca numa posição como mediador e diz que por mais que ele adore um drama de relacionamento que não seja o dele, eles precisam parar pra não acabar com todo o disfarce. 

Pra ter acesso a todo o prédio eles precisam do DNA do chefão da empresa. Kevin Dale (aliado do Rene). William tem uma reunião marcada com Kevin, só que ele não sabe como roubar o DNA dele furtivamente. Sorte dele é que sua irmãzinha pode fazer isso e enquanto ele está flertando com o CEO, Mia pega a amostra do DNA dele da xícara. Connor chega com uma máquina que replica DNA, e eles conseguem passar por lugares restritos dentro da empresa. 

No elevador, Mia diz para William que ele não pode sair do elevador. William diz que está gostando desses momentos entre irmãos. Mia diz que ele é mais útil, pra ela vivo. William percebe que essa é a maneira da Mia de dizer que se importa com ele.

E Mia revela que sua mãe é o anjo investidor que financiou a empresa do William. 

Crédito: @smoaktechs

Felicity sempre esteve olhando e ajudando o William esse tempo todo. Ela tinha uma foto dos dois em uma das telas de seu computador na cabana, e do lado tinha a foto do pai deles usando o traje GA. 

Mia tem a mesma mania do pai em flechar a perna das pessoas. Ela deixa um guarda inconsciente usando seu arco. Papai ficaria muito orgulhoso. E dentro daquela sala protegida eles encontram Felicity. Felicity não fica muito feliz com eles resgatando ela. As coordenadas que ela mandou foi para as bombas, uma missão do Roy e da Dinah. 

Essa cena mexeu comigo.

Tantos anos que os dois não se vêem. E corta o meu coração de assistir que a Felicity temia que o seu filho do coração talvez não quisesse vê-la novamente. 

Crédito: @arrowdaily

Connor interrompe o reencontro familiar e diz que eles precisam sair dali antes que os outros descubram o que eles fizeram com os guardas. Felicity diz que não vai sair até resolver o problema com as bombas. Mia diz: “Você acabou de sair do perigo e quer voltar pra ele? Típico! ... Você prefere ir brincar de herói ao invés de fazer o melhor pra sua filha!” William chama a atenção de Mia e ela diz pra ele ficar fora disso. “Pelo menos uma vez na sua vida, mãe, coloque sua família em primeiro lugar.”

Felicity diz que é por isso que ela tentou protegê-la das atividades de vigilante, pra Mia não ter que tomar esse tipo de decisão. 

Crédito: @felicitysmoakgifs

Felicity diz que ser heroína é seu propósito e por isso não pode sair de lá. Eu entendo que ela não queria que eles destruam a cidade mas agora dizer que ser uma heroína é seu propósito de vida, eu achei essa frase muito brega. Felicity teve outras prioridades quando se tornou mãe, ao invés de ficar tentando salvar uma cidade que nunca vai reconhecer os esforços deles. Como você salva alguém que não quer ser salvo?

Não estou dizendo que Felicity não é uma heroína por todas as coisas que já fez por Star City, o meu problema é que não vejo mais motivação pra continuar fazendo isso. Acho que já estou farta de ver eles tentando lutar por uma cidade que nunca deu valor para os seus sacrifícios. Por mim, o Oliver e a Felicity deveriam pegar seus filhos e ir morar em Ivy Town. Eles merecem um pouco de paz depois de tanta abnegação por uma cidade ingrata que votou a favor da lei anti-vigilante.  

Eu posso compreender que a motivação da Felicity pra continuar fazendo isso é porque o programa Archer é uma criação dela e ela se sente responsável pelas consequências de como o programa foi usado. Por isso que disse em uma review passada que por mais que a tecnologia dela fosse impressionante e ela tivesse boas intenções quando criou, isso não muda o fato de que nem todos que usarem esse programa vão fazer com as melhores intenções. Que uma coisa que aparentemente pode dar a ligeira impressão de segurança pode se transformar em controle social. O programa Archer nas mãos de alguém como Kevin Dale é como brincar de Deus. O plano dele era destruir os Glades da mesma forma que o resto de Star City foi destruída pra provar um ponto e colocar o programa pra ser vendido globalmente. 

É a famosa regra de 3:

Você cria o problema;

Oferece a solução;

E lucra com isso.

William decide ficar com a Felicity e impedir que eles explodam os Glades. Engraçado que eu achei que o plano era acabar de bombardear a cidade fora dos muros. No meio do caminho, William pergunta se Felicity está bem e ela diz que já está acostumada a ser uma decepção pra filha. 

Eles encontram Zoe, Dinah e Roy no meio do caminho. Dinah diz estar agradecida por ela estar viva. Nossa, que falsidade. As duas nunca tiveram esse tipo de relação. Fora, os momentos em que a Dinah disse tantas vezes que a Felicity foi para o lado negro da força. Sendo que ela mal sabia sobre a Felicity para fazer tal julgamento. Felicity diz que se infiltrar dentro da organização fez parte do plano para impedir que eles destruíssem a cidade. Ela também se desculpa por não falar com eles sobre a Mia. Eu acho que ela não deve nenhuma explicação a qualquer um deles. 

Mia não quer participar e decide ir embora. Connor diz para Mia que está ali para apoiá-la. Mia desconfia e diz que ele só está lá porque ele fez uma promessa ao pai dele. Ela diz que não sabe o que é pior: Ele mentir pra ela todo esse tempo, fazendo ela perceber que todo o relacionamento dos dois foi baseado numa mentira ou, ele acreditar que ela precisava de proteção. Connor sabe que ela pode se proteger mas ele só ficou porque se importa com ela. 

Connor diz que houve um tempo que também se ressentia com os pais por eles estarem sempre estarem ausentes. Mas com o tempo ele percebeu que precisava aprender a compartilhar os pais com os outros, que ele precisava ser abnegado. Mia diz que Connor aprendeu isso desde pequeno e é muito típico dele falar algo assim. Connor diz que ela também aprendeu isso desde a infância, a diferença é que ele pôde escolher e ela nunca teve essa escolha, até agora. Mia acha que finalmente ele mostrou seu objetivo em se aproximar dela, manipulá-la sobre isso. E quando Mia se aproxima do elevador, Connor diz que se ela sair por aquela porta estará fazendo exatamente o que Felicity quer que ela faça. Ir embora de Star City. E ele está certo! Ele diz que ela não pode tomar essa decisão baseado nos erros da mãe.  E Mia decide finalmente participar da missão de impedir que a cidade seja explodida. E foi nessa cena que eu finalmente vi a magia de um romance nascer, agora eu posso dizer que me incluo no time dos shippers SmoakHawke. 

O Connor ainda citou a fala do Tio Ben de Homem Aranha. “Com grandes poderes vêm grandes responsabilidades”. 

Esse garoto já me conquistou. 

Crédito: @feilcityqueen  @oliverxfelicity

Rene finalmente percebe que seu principal aliado é um vilão que quer destruir a cidade, e que nunca teve um protocolo para evacuar a cidade. Nossa, como esse Rene é lerdo! Ele tem um plano para colocá-los dentro da festa de máscaras. Felicity diz que tem como desativar as bombas porque tem um dispositivo que é como se fosse um cérebro da bomba, o William entende o que ela quer dizer.  E a Mia não perde tempo em implicar com seu irmão e com sua mãe, dizendo sarcasticamente “Que legal, agora tem dois deles”. Ela também faz um comentário afiado sobre como todos vão se enturmar numa festa com máscaras, com exceção do William. 

Crédito: @lucyyh @ebett

Nem parece que esses dois passaram tanto tempo longe um do outro. Eu sempre vou amar a relação de mãe e filho. O Oliver continua presente em pequenas coisas que a Felicity faz. Ela continua usando a aliança de casamento, na festa usou uma máscara verde e o nome do seu principal programa é Archer. 

Mia é a estrela da equipe e rouba a cena. Ela é a única que destrói o mini-cubo que o Kevin Dale vivia carregando consigo, o tal cérebro das bombas. 

Crédito: @felicittysqueen

Ela também consegue lidar com 10 homens igual ao pai, e ainda veste a capa em grande estilo. Ela não nega que é um membro da família Queen. Até agora são 4 arqueiros na família, incluindo a bastarda. 

Dinah diz que foi bom juntar a equipe de novo. Cadê o Oliver??? Felicity diz que eles precisam agradecer o William, se não fosse ele nada disso seria possível. Já que ela tinha muita esperança e rezava pra que ele tivesse guardado o hozen com ele esse tempo todo, e ela ficou incrivelmente surpresa e emocionada por ele ter guardado. Ela diz que sabe que não merceia toda essa consideração. William diz: “Fico feliz que não tenha te odiado completamente. Agora eu tenho uma irmã pra odiar ao invés disso.”

Mia diz que precisa tomar um ar e vai embora. William diz que o relacionamento dos dois ainda não chegou nessa fase. Felicity acalma o coração do seu filho e diz que o problema não é com ele. Connor se oferece pra conversar com Mia e Felicity descarta. Ela vai procurar sua filha.

Felicity passa a mão nas coisas e constata que a filha continua não sendo muito fã de limpeza. Eu ri. Mia fica emburrada e pergunta se ela vai começar a conversa pegando no pé dela. Felicity diz que como ela é sua mãe, faz parte do acordo pegar no seu pé. 

Mia pergunta se ela está ali para convencê-la a ajudar o time arqueiro com o Galaxy. Parece que o Connor conhece muito mais a Felicity que a Mia. Se dependesse da Felicity, ela levaria a filha para bem longe disso tudo, ela não quer que Mia se envolva nisso, mas sabe que ela não pode tomar essa decisão, só a Mia. E depois de muitos anos, Felicity abre mão do controle, ela dá a filha o livre arbítrio de escolher por si mesma. 

Mia: “Sabe, quando eu saí de casa, eu tava tão brava com você. Eu aprendi tudo o que sabia sobre vigilantes. Eu desenterrei reportagens antigas sobre como eles destruíram Star City... Eu me convenci... Eu me convenci de que era verdade. De que você tinha mentido pra mim a minha infância inteira... De que suas histórias sobre heroísmo do time arqueiro eram só porque você não queria que eu pensasse mal de você. Ou sobre o papai. Eu passei esses últimos anos odiando vigilantes... Porque eu odiava você. (Felicity não a culpa por isso) Eu entendo porque você quis mentir pra mim, pra me proteger. Não consigo nem imaginar como deve ter sido a cidade inteira se virando contra vocês. Contra o papai...”

Crédito: @ebett

Mia percebe que sua mãe levou toda essa coisa com o Galaxy para o lado pessoal e pergunta se isso tem alguma relação com seu pai. Felicity diz que não, que tem a ver com ela. Eu achei essa resposta curta demais, ela parece ser bem complexa pra uma simples negativa. 

Bônus: 

Crédito: @oliverxfelicity

Engulam essa, haters!

[marvelslut-fan]

The entire fandom during #arrow 3x10 and #arrow 3x11 when oliver was wounded after his duel with Ra’s Al Ghul.

@olicity-i-believe-in-you @oliverdant @olicity @oliverfelicitygifs @felicittysqueen @promeytheus @arrow-crack

[924inlegend]

S4 AU: Training session

Happy birthday @felicittysqueen​ !

[hope-for-olicity]

ONE WEEK!!!!

One week (or there abouts depending on where you are) until Arrow!!! Anyone else excited to see these peeps?!

SO SO EXCITED to see this again!!

Thanks to @songbin @felicittysqueen @felicityqueen @vintagesilverwolf and @olicity-i-believe-in-you for making the lovely gifs!

Tagging the Happy Bubble!!!

@mel-loves-all @almondblossomme @emmaamelia95 @oliverfel4 @stygian-omada-fan @vaelisamaza @miriam1779 @felicity-said--yes @nalla-madness @somewhatinvisible @coal000 @laurabelle2930 @lalawo1 @spaztronautwriter @eloquence-of-felicities @diggo26 @truemyth @memcjo @charlinert @pleasantfanandstudent @captainolicitysbedroom @befitandchase @supersillyanddorky06 @scu11y22 @sophie1973 @smkkbert @quiveringbunny @quant-um-fizzx @olicityandsteroline @kitkat0723 @cndyprfumegirl @ccdimples88 @tdgal1 @storyteller0311 @mammashof @geneshaven @tinaday3w @joverwatch

[lunasravenclaw]

happy birthday hun, hope you had an awesome day!

thank you!

[katmcnamara]

Happy Birthday hun, hope you have a fantastic day!

thank you so much :)

[jbuffyangel]

It Ain't Nothing but a Family Thing: Arrow 7x17 Review (Inheritance)

“Inheritance” is equal parts necessary exposition and filler episode. Not quite sure how the writers accomplished that, but they did.

Let’s dig in…

Emiko and Oliver

Soooo… here’s the problem guys. I don’t really care about Emiko. The whole time I’m watching this plot line unfold I am thinking, “Couldn’t Thea have gone all evil?” 

Take a pause and give that a good think. How awesome would it have been for Thea to take a deep dive down the evil hole? It would have been amazing, which is why I loudly demanded it for the six years Willa Holland was on the show. 

Watching Oliver try to pull Thea away from the Ninth Circle would have been a good time.

Not so much with Replacement Thea. The problem is I just met Emiko this season. I understand that’s typically the case when it comes to Arrow villains, but I’m supposed to bond with her character as Oliver’s sister and then be horrified when she turns out to be a villain.

Arrow even tried to fast track my bonding by making Emiko into Oliver 2.0.  I’m not really seeing the individualism except for evil. Every week the writers were hanging a sign out that said, “SEE? SHE’S JUST LIKE OLIVER!” by mimicking previous OG Oliver Queen scenes. Just in case you missed any of the visual cues or copied verbatim scenes, the other characters are here to verbally proclaim Emiko is just like her brother. 

Eh… keep it. Unfortunately, none of this has accomplished Arrow’s intended goal which is for me to give a crap about Emiko.

It should be noted that when Arrow does the “SEE? SHE’S JUST LIKE OLIVER” with Mia or “SEE? HE’S JUST LIKE FELICITY!” with William (and vice versus) I love it. Yes, I am aware this is a double standard. Maybe it’s because the kids have more personality than cardboard. Sorry Emiko. Facts are facts. Maybe it’s because they are Olicity’s kids and therefore my investment is virtually guaranteed. I don’t know. I don’t care. It’s Season 7 and I’m gonna do me.

The only thing keeping me mildly entertained with Emiko is that she is evil. I’m not really interested in watching her be redeemed either. I know I know. The season theme is redemption, but come on! Someone has to burn in the fires of Hades for all eternity. It doesn’t mean anything if every character is redeemed.

Typically, I am down for Robert Queen flashbacks whenever possible, but in order to make this storyline work they had to turn Oliver’s father into a tremendous pile of stinking douchebag. Robert was always kind of a douchebag what with the whole killing a man by accident, lying about it and then getting embroiled in Merlyn’s plot to destroy half the city because of his guilt. 

But he had gravitas. The class of an elder statesman. Maybe it’s the silver hair and grumbly grandpa voice I pray Oliver Queen will have some day. Maybe it’s because he put a bullet in his head to save his son. Annnnd… also murdered someone else in the process. Alright. Robert was a douchebag, but he was a mildly noble douchebag and I love him okay? I DON’T KNOW WHY!

But the Robert Queen in “Inheritance” is a misogynistic, slimy, cheating, coward who kicks his mistress and love child out of the swanky apartment he was putting them up at and tells his daughter, “Life isn’t fair. We don’t always get what we want.” Wow. 

That’s a great way to create a villain, Robert. Watch Batman or Star Wars or ANY HERO STORY EVER and learn fool.

Emiko worked hard to get her father’s approval or acknowledgement of her existence to the world. She wanted to run Queen Consolidated, but nope that’s a man’s job sweetie. Oliver Queen and his penis, which was whoring its way through Starling City at the time, are destined for CEO.  Emiko takes Robert’s misogyny in stride and simply asks him to back a company of her own, but he balks at that too. This is the last straw in a very long line of straws.

Unfortunately, Emiko doesn’t tell her father where to stick it and cut off all contact. No, that would be reasonable. Instead, she decides to go super villain on him. She impresses Dante after stealing from him and he agrees to train her. Emiko vacillates between being a Queen and joining the Ninth Circle for years, but the final brush off from Robert is the tipping point. She decides Dante is right and the Ninth Circle is her real family.

Oliver follows Emiko after Bl*ck S*ren warns she may not be playing for the home team and he sees her with Dante. Oliver confronts Emiko and she sings some song and dance about not knowing who the real Dante was when she signed up with him. Now she’s trapped. It works. Oliver buys it hook line and sinker, because blindly ignoring blatant warning signs is what he does when it comes to the Queen family.

He smartens up once he figures out Emiko sabotaged Felicity’s Archer program to protect Dante’s location. DO NOT MESS WITH THE WIFEY’S TOYS. 

Oliver and Emiko face off in a fight that’s a lot about her ponytail. It had a life of its own.

Sadly, this is one of the worst fights I’ve seen in Arrow’s history. I really hope Sea Shimooka isn’t taking acting tips from KC, because it sure looks like it. 

WHO IS SHE LOOKING AT? I’m not putting all the blame at her feet. Stephen upped his cheese factor about ten notches too. The whole scene felt awkward, choppy and forced.

Source: smoakmonster 

Diggle sits Oliver down for a much needed Yoda talk. John warns him not to be so invested in Emiko’s redemption that he ignores the threat she poses. Ah yes, the evil sibling plot line also happened in Season 4 with Diggle and Andy. 

Yeesh, alright it’s time for this show to end. John’s need to save his brother ultimately cost L*urel her life and he doesn’t want Oliver to make the same mistake. 

It’s time you left yourself off the hook on that one, Diggle. 

It was all win from where I sat, so stop being so hard on yourself.

UGH.  I tell the man to be Jesus and then he starts acting like Jesus!!! The nerve. Oliver, being a fully realized superhero doesn’t mean you save EVERYONE. Jesus didn’t save every – never mind. The point is, after seven seasons, now the pine tree listens to me? He could’ve popped the question in Season 3 and I’d be on my way to a second set of triplets, but nooooo.

Oliver wants to redeem Emiko because then it means he’s redeemed the family in some way. 

Source: olivergifs 

Why isn’t enough that you’ve redeemed yourself Oliver? You’re a Queen. You count. Yes, you were a massive douchebag once upon a time, but you stopped sleeping with Lance sisters (thank God), fell in love with sunshine, and embraced monogamy & commitment like the squishy teddy bear with abs we always knew you were. You also fight for the city, save lives, and cook your pregnant wife yummy veggies to munch on. You’re evolved dude. Cut yourself a break. And Thea isn’t exactly the Mistress of Satan. She’s off saving the world too. Two out of three ain’t bad.

This whole “Right my wrongs” needs clarification. First it was the list, but it morphed into saving the Glades. Then Tommy died and things kind of snowballed. So, how many wrongs are we talking Bobby? Let’s get specific. We’ve only got 15 episodes left. Did you sell Iran nuclear weapons? Use Moira’s toothbrush and not tell her? Steal candy from babies? Are there a dozen more Robert Queen kiddos intent on world destruction? 

Time is a wasting. I have a spin off coming and it needs to not be about your bullshit man.

Team Arrow ultimately foils Emiko’s plan. Well… kind of. They miss one drone, but no worries! It was just a demonstration. They’re worried about the next time, when it’s not a demonstration, but I was more focused on the few extra tidbits delivered in the final moments of the episode

Not only does Emiko choose the Ninth Circle, she is their leader.

She is also targeting the Archer program, which means nothing good for Oliver, Felicity and their children. Despite, my frustrations with Emiko’s character I am glad they are tying this all back to Robert and the Queens. Family is where this story began and it’s where it should end. 

Dante gave Emiko a gift when she was struggling between being a Queen or joining the Ninth Circle. It was the most hilariously unrealistic looking invoice from Merlyn Global, but it showed the location of the bombs on the Queen’s Gambit. Emiko knew about Merlyn’s plan and she could have saved her father’s life if she simply passed on the information at their meeting. But he rejected her once more, so Emiko sent Robert to his death and unknowingly condemned her brother to five years of hell. Damn.

What Emiko doesn’t realize is that by keeping quiet about the bombs on the Queen’s Gambit she helped set her brother on a path to become someone who can stop her. In the immortal words of Leo McGarry, “ "It ain't nothing but a family thing.”

Felicity Smoak

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Felicity wins Walter White. 

This is something many fans have been saying for years, including yours truly, so I am quite happy the writers agree.  

Felicity continues to slay at all three, but a key part to “having it all” is knowing when you need help. Felicity asks her friend Alena to join the company as CTO.  Look how excited this human rainbow is. She melts my heart.  

Source:  felicittysqueen

Unfortunately, I don’t really trust Alena. Yes, I know she’s helped Felicity in the past, but I still feel uneasy about her. Perhaps that distrust is unnecessary and her interactions with Felicity will continue to be adorable and on the up and up. But Archer is corrupted somehow in the future and I’m keeping an eye on Alena in present day.

Concerns aside, I did have myself a petty little cackle. Technically speaking, Felicity had a built in CTO for Smoak Tech on Team Arrow – Curtis Holt. Instead, the writers ship him off to D.C. and bring in Alena who, shady or not, is far preferable to Curtis. I just didn’t think Beth would agree with me. She’s like friggin Santa Claus.

The biggest issue I had with the spinal technology was it didn’t really connect to the Team Arrow storyline. A character feels isolated on their own show whenever that happens. My concern was Felicity’s great individual storyline was going to cut her off from the action. 

The genius of this season, and the retooling of Felicity’s company, is the writers have found a way to weave it in with the vigilante storyline. Smoak Tech no longer feels like an island they are placing Felicity on, but rather it permeates almost every facet of the show – both past and present. This means Felicity permeates every facet of the show.

Last, but certainly not least, Felicity continues to be a bad ass wife as she manages more Queen family drama.  The man is an Adonis who cooks, but oy does he come with family baggage. At least, Oliver’s reaction to this type of drama is predictable and Felicity doesn’t miss a beat.

When he comes back from the field empty handed Felicity knows immediately how to make him smile.

Source: olicitygifs

She tells Oliver he’s hot. That’s it. That’s how Felicity cheers him up.

He compartmentalizes and hyper focuses on stopping Emiko, but Felicity tells Oliver to take a beat and process. 

Source: olicitygifs

Of course, Oliver ignores her and becomes frustrated with the team when they aren’t moving fast enough. So, Felicity tells him to cool it. 

He ignores her AGAIN, but at least we are blessed with this glorious response. 

Source: oliverxfelicity

Where has this gif been for the last seven years? If Oliver is going to be a stubborn ass then at the very least his wife is going to drag him for it with some patented Felicity Smoak snark.

I think Felicity and Diggle have a system for deciding who talks to Oliver. Maybe it depends on circumstance. Diggle seems like the obvious choice because he had an evil sibling too. Maybe they rock paper scissors. Whatever the system, it was Diggle talking down their boy this week. 

We did, however, get some quality husband and wife crime fighting team work. YOUR OTP WOULD NEVER.

Source: olivergifs

After a long day of supporting her husband, incubating their child and stopping criminals, Felicity returns to the loft to work on Archer with Alena. And this was a light Felicity Smoak episode. Damn. Queen of DCTV is right.

Sweet holy Moses, how are we going to do ten episodes without her? 

I love Oliver Queen. He is my favorite character, but I think we can all agree Felicity Smoak makes him infinitely more tolerable. Oliver can be stubborn, grumpy pine tree left to his own devices. Hopefully, he’s evolved enough that all of Felicity’s hard work doesn’t go down the tubes the moment they are separated. He is supposed to be Jesus now. I think Slabside is evidence it won’t, but ten episodes without Felicity Smoak feels like a daunting task. It feels like climbing a mountain...

only to get stabbed in the chest and chucked off the edge once we reach the top.

Bl*ck S*ren

BS decides to follow Emiko and gets spliced with an arrow because she sucks at covert ops. 

Source:  nyssaalghl

She goes to Olicity’s apartment to speak to Felicity about her Emiko suspicions, but unfortunately the wifey isn’t home. Bl*ck S*ren turns to leave when she realizes the only person available to discuss her suspicions with is Oliver. I believe there's 0% chance of L*urel falling in love with Oliver and 99.99% chance she's already in love with Felicity.

Not to be outdone, Oliver offers to bandage up her bleeding wound. He takes out antibiotic and gauze and SETS. IT. ON. THE. KITCHEN. COUNTER. 

It’s a very large kitchen counter too, so it creates the wide berth these two require to stand being in a room together.  

 Source:  nyssaalghl 

We’ve gone from main love interest to stay on your side of the room. I died. 

I don’t know how we got here family, but we’re here and it’s fabulous. 

The writers are more anti L*uriver than I am, which is an impressive level of hate - if I’m being honest.

I need to put on a sweater whenever Stephen and KC film a scene because brr it’s cold! 

The L*uriver fans expecting sexy bandage time must have been deeply disappointed. Or at least the two fans left were deeply disappointed.

Of course, Oliver doesn’t believe BS because duh. My dog could’ve called that one. He tells her to mind her own business and pretty much kicks her out the apartment. Obviously, L*urel is right about Emiko, but Oliver telling her to shove it never gets old under any circumstances.

Then Dinah accuses her of murdering a witness 

Source:  nyssaalghl 

and L&urel is righteously indignant.

Of course, L*urel is right. It’s not like she has ever murdered before. Why on earth would anyone ever think that? 

Dinah even has the nerve to bring up her dead boyfriend again. She really needs to let this Vince thing go because L*urel played lawyer for the last seven months and helped get Oliver out of a jail. See? All better.

BS is redeemed now, so Dinah really needs to stop bitching. Arrow is my life tutor, so following that same logic I’m going to murder a baby and then buy a puppy because it will even the cosmic balance. 

The best moment is when Emiko releases images of Savior of the World L*urel L*nce meeting with Ricardo Diaz. 

Source:  nyssaalghl 

It’s going to be pretty tough for BS to keep up the pretense she is law abiding, justice yielding District Attorney L&urel L*nce when she’s hanging out with one of Star City’s most notorious criminals.  I take it back. Emiko is awesome.

Of course, I’m not delusional enough to believe Arrow is going to give BS an arc that actually qualifies as redemptive. Helping Felicity was a good start, but it doesn’t wipe the slate clean for me. Not by a long shot. Neither does being a fake lawyer. I would like to see L*urel pay for her crimes the same way Oliver paid for his by going to PRISON, but I doubt the writers will give me that much Christmas. I am very curious to see how “Lost Canary” shakes out. That said, I have very little doubt BS will betray her one true love.

Stray Thoughts

“Which doesn’t mean she’s bad.” I told you Olicity wouldn’t care Emiko killed Diaz. They brought the marshmallows to his bonfire party.

“On your own.” Stephen read that line super diva and it cracked me up.

“Being a father is more than just blood.” I hate to agree with a villain but damn he’s right.

Every time Felicity touches her stomach I happy clap. Source: olicitygifs

L*urel’s shoulder pads have to be stopped. Just say no wardrobe department.

Forcing me to go without this adorableness for an additional ten episodes is not oka. I’ll go through Felicity Smoak withdrawal which is hazardous.  Source: ebett

Does Emiko visiting her father’s grave make a damn bit of sense now that we know she played a role in his death? Nope. Didn’t think so.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 7x17 gifs credited.

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

[metthewdaddario]

32, 50 & 71

32 - Top 3 aesthetics

1. anything that’s coloring pleasing/matching

2. beautiful bookshelfs

3. matthew daddario

50 - Top 3 pet peeves

1. someone biting their nails

2. board scratching 

3. loud lauging/ talking in class

71 - Top 3 songs of this month

1. Cheap Thrills by Sia

2. Don’t threaten me with a good time by Panic! at the disco

3. Pink Lemonade by The Wombats

Send me Top 3 anything

[savingsciles]

✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔

ack gigi!!!! i miss you

send me a “✔” if i’m one of your favorite blogs

[caelestis1989]

Review: Arrow 7x22 “You Have Saved This City” Season Finale

Depois do 7x19 eu desanimei totalmente de continuar escrevendo meus pensamentos sobre os episódios. Fiquei extremamente descontente com a trama principal. A única trama que conseguiu segurar essa temporada foi a do futuro. Era a única coisa que prendia a atenção. A pergunta sobre como a cidade chegou a esse ponto. 

Agora em relação a Emiko, eu achei um tremendo erro transformá-la em vilã da temporada. Ela tá no topo da minha lista de pior “Big Bad” da série. Eu nunca vi nenhum sentido dela se tornar líder do Nono Círculo, essa história inteira foi tão atrapalhada e mal escrita. Cheia de furos! Fora a maneira ridícula que eles lidaram com o Dante, e eles desperdiçaram um personagem que poderia ser um vilão incrível. A motivação do Dante para matar a mãe da Emiko foi ridícula. Nem acredito que a Beth perdeu a chance de fazê-lo trair a Emiko só pra tomar o lugar dela na organização criminosa. Que desperdício! Essa foi a minha maior decepção na temporada. Eu esperava mais!

Dito isto, não estou mais interessada em abordar sobre algo que nem vale mais a pena ser mencionado. 

Sem mais delongas...

TUDO O QUE IMPORTA!!!

Oliver & Felicity

Os únicos momentos que salvam esse episódio são os últimos momentos da família Queen tanto no presente quanto no futuro. 

Os dois se despedem do bunker. Foi a última missão dos dois juntos. Já é a hora de aposentar o capuz, mesmo que o Oliver precise abrir uma exceção para o crossover. Pela primeira vez em muito tempo ele prioriza a família, e não tinha como ser diferente, ainda existe a ameaça do Nono Círculo. Eles precisam proteger a carga preciosa. 

A única equipe que eu respeito pra ter esse momento de contemplação do fim de uma era é OTA. 

Crédito: @arrowdaily

John com a ajuda dos recursos da ARGUS, consegue arrumar uma casa afastada de tudo num lugar reservado só para ex membros da CIA e DEA. Felicity sabe que não é nenhuma Ivy Town mas vai servir. O plano é que essa residência seja uma coisa temporária, até o Nono Círculo não ser mais uma ameça para a baby Mia. Eles dizem para John que vão ter uma menina. A cena é linda, o John é o único digno dos aliados que merece saber, só que eu não acho que a gravidez da Felicity esteja avançada o suficiente pra eles já saberem o sexo da criança. 

 Crédito: @seeing-red-arrow

John diz que eles estão fazendo o que é certo. Priorizando a família. Não tem como discordar sobre isso. A temporada começou com os membros da família pagando o preço pelo auto-sacrifício do Oliver. Nessa brincadeira, os dois perderam o William. A verdade é que a vida vigilante tem tirado muitas coisas dos nossos heróis Oliver e Felicity. Eles merecem um pouco de paz. Infelizmente, essa paz não dura mais que alguns meses. 

Felicity fica muito emotiva ao se despedir de John. Pelo que sabemos, é a última vez que veremos esses dois juntos. Eles merecem uma despedida especial.

Crédito: @supagirl

Felicity pede para John cuidar do seu bunker, e que ninguém coma nada em cima dos seus computadores. Segundo ela, não há nada pior que farelos no teclado. Concordo totalmente, ainda mais quando se usa um laptop. 

Eu não consigo lidar com a forma como o Oliver fica olhando para a Felicity enquanto ela fala com o John. A forma como ele olha pra Felicity nunca vai mudar. 

Crédito: @lucyyh

Ela pergunta o que eles farão agora. Oliver diz que não é nenhum paraíso tropical mas eles nunca tiveram a chance de ter uma Lua de Mel. 

Os meses passam. Vemos o nascimento da Mia mais uma vez. 

Não tem como não babar assistindo o Oliver segurando sua doce garotinha. Esses momentos precisam ser apreciados porque não vão durar. Acredito que o Oliver só conseguiu ter sua filhinha por 2 meses antes de ser recrutado pelo Monitor. 

No momento em que o Oliver levantou a baby Mia eu lembrei da cena em que o Simba é levantado pelo macaco e apresentado para todos os animais do reino de seu pai Mufasa em O Rei Leão. 

O momento mais adorável de todos é esse. Não tem como não suspirar com essa cena.

Baby Mia é tão fofa, e quando ela vê sua mãe é como se tivesse olhando para o sol. Nem os bebês estão imunes a adorabilidade de EBR. Ela até desvia o olhar quando percebe que a atenção de sua mamãe está em outro lugar. 

Crédito: @olicitygifs

Oliver diz a Felicity que está pensando em pedir aos avós do William a guarda compartilhada. Esse era o plano! Felicity adora a ideia, Mia precisa do seu irmão mais velho. Infelizmente, isso nunca é concretizado porque o tempo do Oliver está esgotando rapidamente. O Monitor aparece para levar o Oliver com ele essa noite. É tão triste saber que essa é a última noite do Oliver ao lado da sua família. Isso não é justo!

Oliver recepciona o Monitor com uma faca apontada para seu pescoço, isso me lembra da cena em que Mia faz a mesma coisa quando chega em casa e não vê sua mãe em lugar algum. Felicity responde com um sorriso e elogia a filha por seus bons instintos. 

Tal pai, tal filha!

Crédito: @ebett​ @felicittysqueen

Pobre, Oliver! Ele achou que tinha mais tempo até a Crise chegar. Eu compartilho da mesma tristeza. 

Eu não entendo muito bem o tipo de barganha que o Oliver fez ao Monitor. Pelo que eu vi da cena, parece que ele pediu pra esticar um pouco o tempo. A parte confusa é qual o lado do Monitor nessa barganha, porque pela passagem de tempo, eles já chegaram em novembro de 2019. É o momento do crossover acontecer. Pelo que o Monitor disse, parece que ele queria que o Oliver o auxiliasse com os preparativos da Crise. Mas pelas informações das outras séries, o Oliver não foi o único a ser recrutado naquela noite. 

Oliver desconfia que o Monitor não está contando tudo a ele. O Monitor diz que viu o futuro dele. Oliver vai morrer na crise, isso é inevitável. É como um soco no estômago. Felicity entra na frente do marido e diz que não vai permitir que ele leve o Oliver embora. Oliver diz que o que está vindo é maior que os dois. O universo está em grande risco. O Monitor diz que não está ali pra machucar nem ela e nem a filha dos dois. Ele diz algo importante. O mundo precisa dela. Eu só me pergunto que papel a Mia vai ter no futuro. Pra salvar tanto ela quanto a Mia o Oliver precisa ir com ele nesta noite. 

E Felicity faz o maior questionamento do Arrowverse.

Crédito: @blackelivey

Por que tem que ser sempre o Oliver a se sacrificar por todos? O que mais o Oliver tem que provar pra ser reconhecido como o herói que ele é? 

E o pior disso tudo é que nem mesmo depois do seu sacrifício pra salvar o multiverso aquela maldita cidade ingrata reconhece o seu valor. Nem sua família é bem aceita em Star City. Não me conformo com isso. Não é à toa que a cidade terminou dessa forma. Uma cidade que é incapaz de reconhecer seus heróis merece ruir. 

E chega o momento mais desolador. O tempo da despedida. 

Crédito: @littlegirlinvisible

É tudo tão triste. O Oliver nunca teve a oportunidade de ver sua filhinha crescer. Que justiça há nisso??? Essa família merecia muito mais do que deram a eles. Oliver foi pra guerra e nunca mais voltou. E ainda teve seu nome manchado pela propaganda anti-vigilante anos depois. 

Felicity diz que é por isso que eles nunca terão uma vida normal. Sempre haverá uma ameaça lá fora. Seus filhos nunca terão alguma normalidade. Oliver quer que Felicity prometa que fará tudo o que tiver ao seu alcance para proteger William e Mia, independente do que acontecer com ele. Fico me perguntando o que passou pela cabeça do Oliver para precisar pedir que ela prometa algo assim. Acho que no fundo ele sabia que seria um peso enorme que ela carregaria sozinha. E nada disso é justo. O plano era os dois criarem seus filhos juntos. E sempre haveriam consequências por suas atividades como vigilantes, não existe mais anonimato. O coelho saiu da cartola. 

Crédito: @plotbunnyshipper

Ela relembra os votos do Oliver no casamento dos dois, ele disse que ela era a melhor parte dele. Felicity completa dizendo que eles são as melhores partes um do outro. 

Crédito: @olicitygifs

O que os dois tem é muito maior que a droga do universo. 

Nem o tempo, nem a distância vai mudar o quanto o amor dos dois é eterno. Felicity carregou a aliança com ela todos esses anos, porque ninguém  poderia ocupar o lugar do Oliver em sua casa e em seu coração. Ela não estava brincando quando disse que iria esperar por ele.

Meu coração não aguenta. Ele repetiu as mesmas palavras de quando ela declarou seus sentimentos ao Oliver em Nanda Parbat (3x20). 

“Quando voltei pra Star City pra começar a minha missão, eu não achei que era capaz ou digno de amar... Meu único arrependimento é não ter dito Eu te amo mais cedo” 

Sim, foi por isso que ele demorou tanto pra se dar uma chance de levar seu relacionamento além da parceria team arrow. Ele se odiava, por todos os erros que cometeu com seus entes queridos no passado. Ele achava que no máximo poderia ter um relacionamento casual, seria o máximo que ele conseguiria em sua vida. Ele nunca imaginou que formaria uma família. Porque ele sempre achou que tudo que tocasse seria destruído. Também foi por isso que ele desistiu tão rápido depois que o primeiro encontro dos dois explodiu. Era como se aquilo fosse uma confirmação dos medos que ele tinha. 

No 2x06 ele disse que com a vida perigosa que ele levava nunca poderia estar com alguém que ele realmente se importasse. Porque era inevitável que essa pessoa pagaria o preço por estar conectado com ele. Ela sempre carregaria um alvo em suas costas. 

Acho que foi nesse momento que ele se deu conta do quanto ela era importante pra ele. 

Talvez esse tenha sido o momento que ele percebeu que a amava. O medo que ele sentiu só pela possibilidade de perdê-la. 

E ele acaba comigo quando pede pra ela dizer a Mia que a ama todos os dias. 

A Beth não estava exagerando quando disse que sempre quando assistia essas últimas cenas chorava. Toda vez que assisto os últimos minutos desse episódio derreto igual uma manteiga. 

Crédito: @olicitygifs

O último beijo e o último toque. Ele se afasta e ela ainda tenta segurar sua mão até o limite. Quando a conexão do toque é quebrado e ele se afasta ela desaba no chão. 

Esse momento de pura emoção é o que faltou na última cena dos dois no 6x23. Stephen e Emily arrasaram nas suas últimas cenas juntos. E a música The Other Side - Ruelle (Link da música aqui) encaixou perfeitamente com essa despedida. 

No 6x23 ainda tinha a esperança de tê-lo de volta, agora pareceu tão definitivo, ele nunca mais voltaria, por isso, essa despedida de todas as formas é a mais triste de todas. Ela teria que viver sem ele, ela teve que se virar sozinha para criar a filha deles. Acho que se não fosse a Mia na vida dela, ela já teria desistido. Foi a Mia, foi a promessa que ela fez ao Oliver que a segurou. 

E no momento em que ela viu que os filhos não precisavam mais dela, foi o momento em que ela decidiu ir encontrar o Oliver, depois de 21 anos de espera. 

Crédito: @plotbunnyshipper

Mesmo agora, eu não consigo controlar as minhas lágrimas.

Vai levar um tempo pra eu superar isso!

Não era esse final que eu queria para o meu casal. Eu queria que eles tivessem uma vida plena e feliz, que pudessem aproveitar a aposentadoria e passasse o manto para os seus filhos. Esse é o legado!

FLASHFORWARD:

Mia - William - Felicity

Para proteger a filha, Felicity decidiu apagar o registro do seu DNA Smoak-Queen dos registros do programa Archer. Em teoria, ela acha que se a Mia usar seu DNA no programa Archer pode servir como um vírus e destruir o programa. Eles tentam isso só que o programa só foi reiniciado. O que me lembra que ela já chegou a passar pelo programa e teve o acesso negado no ém importante  fosele7x16. Eles só conseguiram se safar porque o Connor apareceu como agese algunte da Knightwatch (a versão boa da ARGUS), isso porque ele alegou que o DNA dela não estava registrado por eles estarem sob disfarce, mas não vejo como isso pode ser uma explicação boa o suficiente para o DNA dela não está no registro. Pensei que eles já tinham sacado que o DNA dela foi apagado naquele episódio. 

E obviamente que tanto a Mia quanto o William tiveram a resistência da Felicity em participar ativamente da missão. Mesmo com a informação de que a Mia seria essencial para salvar o mundo a Felicity tentou ao máximo afastá-la da vida vigilante. É claro que não deu certo, porque era o destino dela. Não tem como um membro Smoak-Queen levar uma vida normal. 

Mesmo o William que na adolescência preferiu se afastar dos pais por causa dos perigos da vida que os dois levavam não conseguiu se manter afastado definitivamente. Acho que na vida adulta, ele entendeu que talvez essa era a única forma que a família poderia se manter unida. 

Eu entendo o ressentimento do William com tudo isso. Quando ele decidiu morar com os avós, em momento nenhum foi estabelecido que ele não queria mais o contato dos dois. Faz sentido ele ter se sentido rejeitado, porque a Felicity nunca tentou entrar em contato com ele novamente, mesmo depois da “morte” do Oliver. Acho que ele começou a duvidar que ele não era alguém importante pra Felicity. Lembrando que ela vivia isolada naquela casa na floresta. Eu acho que ele deve ter pensado que se ela quisesse encontrar ele já teria feito. Caramba, se passaram 20 anos, isso é tempo demais. 

Eu até entendo que a intenção da Felicity era protegê-los, eu só não acho que isso explica o fato dela não ter dito ao William que ela tinha uma irmã. Ele tinha o direito de saber disso. Ela acabou cometendo o mesmo erro do Oliver quando ele escondeu que tinha um filho, e por isso ela terminou o noivado. Só que no caso dela esse segredo durou quase que uma vida. Não acho que ela tinha o direito de esconder isso dele. Por isso entendo a revolta dele quando ele a acusou de excluí-lo da família, mesmo duas décadas depois. Ele trocaria o dinheiro que ela investiu na empresa dele, só pra ter a presença dela na vida dele. 

Pelo menos ela reconhece que cometeu um erro ao não contatá-lo antes. Mia merecia ter conhecido seu irmão mais velho há muito tempo atrás. 

Felicity se despede dos filhos em frente a lápide do Oliver.

William e Mia a encontram ali. William pergunta porque ela decidiu ter aquela conversa naquele lugar. Felicity quis reunir a família uma última vez. Foi a maneira dela de incluir o Oliver naquele momento. Mia fica confusa, mesmo que a mãe seja considerada uma fugitiva, isso não quer dizer que o contato tenha que ser cortado definitivamente. 

Crédito: @feilcityqueen

Felicity diz que dessa vez vai ser diferente porque eles não precisam mais dela. 

Mia diz: “Você é nossa mãe! Nós ainda queremos você nas nossas vidas.”

Felicity: “Eu prometi para o pais de vocês que eu protegeria vocês dois até que não precisassem mais de mim...

Mais um motivo pra eu odiar que o Oliver tenha que fazer esse grande sacrifício. A Mia nunca teve a oportunidade de conhecer seu pai. 

Mesmo crescendo sem o pai, Mia é igualzinha ao Oliver. Acho que esse deve ter sido um alento para a Felicity lidar com a ausência do Oliver todo esse tempo. Ela tem toda razão. Uma parte do Oliver sempre vai estar nos filhos. LEGADO. 

E Felicity se despede dos filhos da mesma forma que o marido. Ela quer que os dois prometam que vão cuidar um do outro. 

Crédito: @felicitysmoakgifs

E a sua nova jornada é se reunir ao marido seja lá onde ele estiver. 

Crédito: @feilcityqueen

Aonde quer que o Oliver está, não parece que esteja morto (literalmente), já que a Felicity passou pelo portal em carne e osso. 

Minhas teorias para a última temporada:

Acredito que a maior parte da trama da season 8 irá passar entre 2040 ou 2049. Acho que li em algum lugar que os FF da última temporada terá uma passagem de tempo para 2049. Eu tinha toda uma teoria que Mia, William e Nora iriam se juntar para trazer os pais de volta, só que essa teoria caiu por terra quando descobri a pouco que a Nora acabou apagando sua própria existência quando destruiu a adaga do Cicada. E por consequência o Flash Reverso acabou se libertando da prisão. Só não entendo o que a adaga tem a ver com isso. 

Outra teoria é que talvez o Monitor se dê conta que o mundo é um lugar melhor com o Oliver nele, e decida dar uma segunda chance para o Oliver poder voltar pra sua família e continuar protegendo a cidade. 

É que tudo isso parece tão previsível, desde o Elseworlds todo mundo especulou que o Oliver iria morrer. E se os escritores estão brincando com o público? Até agora sabemos de fato que tanto o Oliver como o Barry não voltam depois do crossover. Eu não acompanho Supergirl, então não tem como eu ter certeza, mas eu acho que o único destino que não foi traçado tragicamente foi o dela. Sem contar que ainda tem o Superman na equação. 

Na quarta temporada os escritores jogaram um monte de sinais enganosos pra um monte de gente acreditar e temer que a personagem que estaria naquela sepultura era a Felicity. E no 18º episódio quem morreu foi Laurel Lance. Muitos fãs da personagem ainda acreditavam que ela seria ressuscitada. O poço de Lázaro foi destruído justamente pra que essa morte fosse definitiva. 

Enfim, eu só acho estranho que a Beth tenha entregado o final da série no último episódio da penúltima temporada. Arrow nunca foi o tipo de série que mostrava algo sobre o futuro. E é interessante ver no que a cidade se transformou sem o Oliver. Será que todo esse cenário distópico não é pra mostrar que a morte dele é um grande erro? 

E mais, a série sempre pareceu que seguiria o caminho de no final fazer do Oliver um herói realizado. Só que o futuro mostra justamente o contrário, depois de todo o caminho espinhoso, ele ainda não tem nenhum reconhecimento da sua cidade natal. Ele ajudou a salvar o unverso, pelo amor de Deus!

Quando eu tento montar o quebra-cabeça a última peça não encaixa. 

Se esse é o fim da série, qual a necessidade de ter mais uma temporada? Já que é como tivesse “confirmado” a morte do Oliver, algo que o próprio Monitor queria deixar bem claro, que sua morte era inevitável e inexorável. 

Isso não estragaria a experiência do último grande crossover do Arrowverse???

Os escritores fizeram um baita suspense sobre Crisis on Earth-X. 

Só não faz nenhum sentido eles entregarem de bandeja as baixas (”mortes”) da Crise das Infinitas Terras com tanta antecedência. 

A não ser que seja proposital. 

Ou isso é só eu em negação!

E quando eu acho que finalmente vou me libertar de Arrow apesar de algumas decepções, eles acabam me atraindo novamente. E eu achando que não teria nenhuma esperança. Acho que sou meio masoquista. 

Lá vai um resumo da minha vida!

Pior que nem posso dizer que isso só se resume a séries ou filmes.