#obsessed with season one promo and also this tagline

[seasononesam]

scary just got sexy

[thekatebridgerton]

The Rokesby books, the Smythe-Smith Quartet and the two short story books from the Bridgerton-verse were right there to be adapted but they wanted to do Queen Charlotte. Why? Don't know.

I was happy to just have a Kanthony honeymoon special. It didn't have to be six episodes. Just a two hour one would have been fine.

I would pay for a Kanthony honeymoon special!! And so would the rest of the fandom.

I get it, Queen Charlotte is Shonda's pet project and it's not like Bridgerton viewers did not want to see the backstory of what happened between her and King George, because we do, Queen Charlotte is an intriguing character in and on her own.

But at the same time it feels disrespectful to fans, who were waiting for the announcement of who is playing Sophie, or even a glimpse of the Polin season, only to get a lot of Queen Charlotte 'a Bridgerton story' promo material instead. Did we even get this amount of promo for Saphne or for Kantony??. last time I checked fans were given the Kanthony moving portraint AFTER s2 was released. Again, I assure you, I'm going to watch the QC spinoff, because in general I like period dramas and I think any colaboration with Julia Quinn probably has good writing (trust me, if it's as bad as Reign, you will hear my one sentence review of 'its as bad as Reign' but we all know it wont be).

Still, I'm allowed to point out this marketing strategy feels like a lot like gaslighting and taking advantage of the Bridgerton audience to push a spinoff that a lot of viewers wouldn't have felt interest in, if it didn't have 'A Bridgerton story' tacked on to it as a slogan. (Since a lot of people who don't like period dramas do watch Bridgerton, including my 40yo uncle and my grandma)

And maybe it's just me, because I've been listening to too much "slow burn" by Jmaya. But what is up with Hollywood romanticizing tragedy in love stories. It's a bit harder to watch a love story in any period drama where you know that one of them is going to either die or end up with Alzheimers. (yes I'm talking about Reign again, we all knew Mary was going to outlive Francis and we still fell for it anyway)

Which is, why I think Julia never wrote a full book for Violet and Edmund as part of the Rokesby series. Edmund dies, no amount of romance and epic storytelling will erase the enormous letdown that is knowing he dies and she has to move on with their 8 kids. But in the Bridgerton universe, Edmund and Violet's tragic love story has a purpose! It serves to give the 8 siblings something to hope for, an example of love to emulate, it's also the root of their insecurities and fears. With Queen Charlotte even that kind of payoff would not really be much of a consolation. (Yes she does get the guy and the crown, but if my history lessons don't fail me, her eldest son was..well, George IV.)

Which is why I do hope we get to see young Edmund and his older sisters Billie, Poppy and Georgiana. the whole 'going back where it all began' is the slogan for the Rokesby series anyway. It's kinda weird that Queen Charlotte is getting the tagline.

As a show it does look good, there is a certain snazzy romantic vibe to the trailer that I love, also Michelle Fairley is on it!. And we all know that any show where Michelle plays a disproving matriarch obsessed with upholding tradition, is going to be attention worthy. I am sure that once I watch it I will have lots of positive things to say about it.

But I would be able to enjoy Queen Charlotte as a stand alone so much more, if I didn't know Shonda and Netflix was purposefully starving the fans for Bridgerton content in order to create more interest in the spinoff. Like a cheap trick in a magic show, it makes the whole thing a lot less dreamy.

And that's the tea

[thatseventiesbitch]

I think we agree in a general sense, that there are certainly some similar archetypes in T90S and T70S. T90S’s tagline is “Sex, drugs, and rock n roll never die, they just change clothes,” so I tend to believe those allusions are intentional. I don’t think each character in ‘90s is directly based on a character from ‘70s, though. I get the sense that T90S will be its own show with its own characters, kind of like T80S.

That said, we know almost n o t h i n g about these characters yet. I can’t make these kinds of judgments without seeing a promo first. Hell, even a photo of them in-character! Right now this is all speculation based on a few very brief descriptions. And we know things have already changed since those descriptions were first released, so *shrug*.

Gwen is already my favorite character, lol. Sounds like she’s a little spitfire with pink hair, a riot grrrrl, and into punk rock. She’s already characterized as the loyal rebel, so you’re right, I can see a shade of Hyde in her. I think she also becomes Leia’s best friend. Gwen and Nate are half-siblings, I believe, and we don’t know much about their family other than that they live next door to the Forman’s. Maybe she does have a troubled home life, and ends up spending a lot of time at Red and Kitty’s. Maybe she’s the resident stoner. Maybe, maybe. I’d need to see it first.

I don’t know if Jay is a nerd. He’s not described that way - he’s described as always carrying a camera and filming his friends (remember that this was The Real World era), and being a hopeless romantic/flirty/always trying to be charming. Maybe he’s also nerdy? But we don’t know that yet. Either way, he doesn’t sound like Eric 2.0. We know he doesn’t have a domineering “Red-like” dad, either…

I’m not sure what Nate’s deal is yet. His description sets him up to be the opposite of his half-sister Gwen - he’s easy-going, takes life as it comes, very typical midwestern. He also appeals to his girlfriend Nikki/Nisha’s rebellious streak, so there’s some more to his character that I can’t discern yet. Maybe he’s goofy and dumb like Kelso, but it doesn’t seem like they’re setting him up to be a womanizing cheater. Nate “loves Garth Brooks, his family, and his girlfriend.” Sounds pretty wholesome, tbh.

Nikki (originally Nisha) comes from a family of overachievers. She seems like the type who is set to become a doctor or lawyer, and she spends a lot of time volunteering. But she has a rebellious side, and Nate brings it out. I can see shades of season 1 Jackie in Nikki (like when Jackie did her homework on a Saturday), but I don’t see a lot of other similarities yet. There's still a lot we don’t know about Nikki’s personality from this description. Is she loud? Obsessed with superficial things? Pushing Nate for more commitment? Maybe. I need to see it first.

Ozzie is Gwen’s best friend. He could be similar to Fez in that he’s used for cheap comic relief and one-liners. But a lot of Fez’s early storylines focused on his well-meaning misinterpretation of American culture, and nothing about Ozzie’s description indicates that he’s foreign-born or would have the same misunderstandings. His description says he’s “gay and impatient with people who aren’t as accepting as his friends are”. I see what you mean that this makes him the odd one out, or different from the rest of the gang. It doesn’t feel like a redux of Fez’s character, though. I’m sure Ozzie will have storylines about dealing with homophobia, and maybe navigating dating as a young gay man in an era that wasn’t very accepting.

In short - I do see similarities. I do agree that they are trying to recreate the gang, with more ‘90’s era archetypes. I have not been convinced that this is merely going to be That 70’s Show 2.0, though. The characters seem to be set up to have their own unique struggles and storylines. I look forward to learning more!

The T9S gang. Not necessarily a copy/paste, but…

@thatseventiesbitch, because I apparently needed two essays to vomit out my thoughts.

Leia- The main character, but with a smart, adventurous edge. Like both Eric and Donna, but since she and Jay are an item, I think she falls more into the Donna category. The most nuanced, but the others…

Gwen- The rebel, with loyalty and heart. Aka Hyde, but more ambitious. Jay- The nerd. Just a photography nerd, not a fandom nerd. Aka Eric. Nate- The goofball. He even has a van. Aka Kelso. Nikki- The ambitious, "frustrated debutante," with more lingering underneath. Aka Jackie. Ozzie- The true oddball out (I don't know what to classify Fez as, other than the foreigner?). Aka Fez.

Yeah, it's mostly the gang of six, but with some basic edits. But two-thirds of the gang of six's personalities are firmly intact, which…eh? Seems a bit lazy. They even put the Eric and the Donna and the Jackie and the Kelso together. *Sarcastically cheers*

[hellyeahomeland]

"The episode that chances everything. The latest Homeland will leave you speechless". What is this all about? Have they always promoted the final chapters in this way?

Today I’m introducing a new feature which I’ll call FANDOM HISTORY WITH SARA. Please take a seat and grab a cup of coffee (or glass of wine) and let me take you on a brief history of finale promotion for our dear little show.

SEASON 1: 

The year, 2011. We’ve just been treated to the literal abomination on my SOUL that is “The Vest.” Can you even fuckin’ believe that episode exists?? Anyway, can you also believe that the episode promo Showtime released for “Marine One” which remains Homeland’s best episode and also one of the single greatest pieces of television ever was THIS? They gave away the whole fuckin’ thing!! That’s where my aversion to spoilers starts. FUN FACT: When I was originally binging slash becoming obsessed with our dear show I watched it all on Showtime OnDemand and they showed some version/semblance of that as a promo for S2. That is, while I was watching mid-season one episodes in which Brody’s fate is at question they’re showing clips of him PULLING THE FUCKING VEST TRIGGER AND IT FAILING. TAGLINE: “THE TELEVISION EVENT OF THE FALL. QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED. SECRETS WILL BE REVEALED. AND NOTHING. WILL EVER. BE THE SAME. PREPARE. TO BE. BLOWN AWAY [BADUM CH].” (accurate, accurate, and very very accurate) 

SEASON 2: 

The year, 2012. We’ve just been treated to the literal train wreck that is “Broken Hearts” and the first half of “In Memoriam” (the original title of that episode, by the way, was “The Motherfucker in the Turban”… wonder why they changed it). ANYWAY the promo for that finale was a minute long and basically gives away the entire plot. I have very fond memories of watching that promo about 400,000 times. TAGLINE: NOTHING. WILL. PREPARE. YOU. (accurate)

SEASON 3: 

The year, 2013. At this point I guess SHO has caught on because the promo for this finale was a) completely unrevealing and b) depressing as shit, in keeping with other 2013 promotional gems such as “The One that Ruined To Build a Home” and “The One that Almost Ruined Adele.” (Oh, 2013. We had a time.) ANYWAY this one features music from Mass Effect which I’m told is a popular video game but all I’ll really remember is how the music swells when Carrie walks into the church and the strength of my convictions after watching that Brody was toast. For a trip down memory lane check this post in which I, spoiler-free, predict the meaning of that title and recount the shifting nature of Showtime’s promos; or this one, inspired by the voiceover. ALSO in lieu of a proper finale we got Claire IN A BUN (this was the origin of HAIR IN A BUN btw) being goofy in Morocco. 

SEASON 4: 

The year, 2014. The year that gave us “don’t touch my fucking gun!” among other things. The mood is not exactly right for a Mass Effect trailer so they go for more cryptic instead and craft something that had me panicking for a week that Dar was gonna fuck everything up (guess I was two years early). That promo was fairly uneventful but lemme tell you the story of two photos and one magazine that turned the HL fandom upside down:

Phantom Hand. Oh, phantom hand. The fandom went literally crazy trying to determine whose hand is there coming out of the left side of the frame. Was it Saul? Dar? Max? Virgil? Brody, risen from the dead? MUST BE KHAN! Turned out to be Quinn, which is the most logical explanation actually.

Bench. People also flipped their shit over this photo of Carrie sitting on a bench. Who is she waiting for? Is Quinn just out of frame? There aren’t enough bodiless hands here for our comfort!! 

But the story doesn’t get REALLY good until two days before the finale, December 19, 2014. That would be the day that dalliance anon entered our lives. To get the full picture, you’ve really gotta start from Point A. (Dalliance anon then became a meme in this fandom because every few months or so someone would write into the blog with a salacious bit of non-news and sign off with “this is the dalliance anon” until I told dalliance anon not to come back because it was affecting my health.)

SEASON 5:

The year, 2015. tbh I don’t really remember much about this promo. I don’t even remember if people were freaking out about Quinn possibly dying. 2015 was a weird year… what I do remember is that in the days leading up to the finale AG gave a series of interviews–obviously to avoid post-episode press–in which Quinn’s fate was mentioned zero times. The big promo photo freakout took place over Carrie and Otto at his cabin (if you’re wondering when that happened the answer is it DID NOT and fandom freaked out for nothing… kinda). TAGLINE: ONLY. ONE. EPISODE. LEFT. (accurate)

[jbuffyangel]

The Season 2 Effect

Something's been gnawing on me the last couple days. Well, for most of Season 5, but it reached a high point after I read the TVLine Winter preview. It mentioned the new character, SCPD Detective Tina Boland. TVLine said she and Oliver would form a “connection” (TVLine’s words - not Wendy’s. That’s an important distinction) because (and these are Wendy’s words), “she has been through her own hell, her own sort of ‘island.”

There were, of course, some immediate concerns that Oliver and Tina will be in a romantic relationship. Just to get this out of the way - no, I don’t think they will be in a romantic relationship. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m just saying I think it’s unlikely. 

First, we still haven’t ditched Susan Williams. They’d have to unravel Oliver’s relationship with her and with Felicity while starting up a new relationship with Tina all by season’s end. That’s a lot to accomplish in 5B, even by Arrow’s standards. Not impossible, but unlikely. 

Second, “connection” is an arbitrary term, which is probably why TVLine used it. It doesn’t necessarily mean romantic. 

Third, Tina has to form a connection with Oliver. She’s going to be the new Black Canary and join the team. Anyone who joins the team A) has a connection with Oliver and B) goes through some kind of “island” at one point or another. That’s the show. The fact that Tina already went through hers I’m viewing as a positive. They want to get her up and running fast. Fine by me. She’s a guest star at this point and the less time we have to spend on her character the better. I’ve had my fill of newbies right now.

But that’s not what this post it about. No, when I read the article my first thought (and what’s been gnawing on me) was, “Man this feels a lot like Season 2.”

Then I recalled something Marc told me at SDCC.  He said he hoped fans got more of a Season 1 or Season 2 vibe from Olicity. Lord, he wasn’t kidding. 

Now, I’m not saying, “Hey Arrow Season 5 is just like Season 2! Everything is wonderful! Problems solved!” Uh... no. I think those who are unhappy have valid reasons. I also think those who are happy with the season also have valid reasons. I am joyfully in Switzerland for the most part on this topic. Truthfully, I think entertainment is subjective. Everyone likes what they like (or dislike) for their own reasons. Arguing about it is as arbitrary as arguing about whether or not you like cheese. I am quite content owning my choice and believe everyone has a right to theirs. (For the record, I really like cheese.) I’m simply pointing out some similarities I’ve noticed between Season 2 and Season 5 in terms of Olicity and promotion.

I think the cast and crew get an overwhelming amount of feedback. One of the consistent things I’ve heard over the years from fans is that Season 2 is the best season. So, I have to believe that Marc, Stephen, etc have heard it to. Stephen actually made reference to Season 2 in a recent convention. He said he watched a few episodes and he thought it was “okay.” Translation: He doesn’t think Season 2 is as great as everyone remembers. Or at least that’s my interpretation of the remark.

When Marc told me he hoped fans got more of a Season 2 vibe from Olicity, I internally started screaming. I felt a little better when he said there’d be longing looks and tension, but in general I wasn’t overly jazzed. Whenever fans start screaming for S2, I am screaming just as loudly, “NOOOO!!!” Why? I don’t feel a need to return to their earlier dynamic. I liked where Olicity had evolved to. Certainly there are aspects of Season 2 I loved (Slade, OTA, action, etc) and I loved Olicity, but I don’t have a yearning for the days of yore. Season 2 was freaking STRESSFUL for me as an Olicity fan. 

I wasn’t online when Season 2 aired. No blog. I wasn’t participating in fandom. I was, for the most part, an enthusiastic viewer working her way towards obsessed. I’d been watching Arrow from the beginning and very much loved the show. I hated the L&uriver love story, adored Olicity, but wasn’t sure if Arrow was actually going to go there.

After 2x06 and 2x07, I felt confident Olicity was in the game. However, they were throwing plenty of love interests at Oliver - Isabel, Sara, Laurel and Felicity. Technically, Sara, Laurel and Felicity were all viable options for whoever “Oliver loved the most,”  which I quickly deduced was the romantic theme of the season. I was nervous. Laurel was sobering up. Oliver and Felicity had barely shared a freaking scene alone together in 2B. Maybe I was imagining what I saw between them. Maybe I was crazy. Would Arrow actually throw the Plan A love story overboard for a character that started out as a guest star? Man... I don’t know!

So I hit the internet. I was looking for ANY signs from the writers or cast in interviews that Olicity was a thing that was happening. I found... nothing. And I do mean nothing. There was some talk from Stephen about Oliver being domesticated. Yeah - that was about his relationship with Sara. 

In fact, I found lots of interviews and comments on Sara and Oliver’s relationship. 

Some discussion about Laurel and Oliver’s relationship (boo! hiss!!)

Stephen made some remark about how Oliver wasn’t jealous about Barry and Felicity, but “curious.”

Sure looked pretty freaking jealous to me Steve, but okay.

But as far as romance? I couldn’t find much from the writers. Heck, I didn’t even find that many comments from Stephen because I was outside the fandom and I didn’t know where to look. Whatever comments I did find seemed pretty vague.

Hmm... vague is pretty similar to ambiguous isn’t it? Yes it is.

2x23 was a mind blower for me. First, I was elated because Oliver said he loved Felicity. Then I was confused because it was all a ruse? 

Then they were smiling at each other on the beach and I didn’t know which end was up. 

I hit the internet again and found a tweet by Marc Guggenheim that said Felicity was the unthinkable act and it all made sense. 

Then the next few days were mostly Stephen doing damage control interview after interview. I settled down and rejoiced in the fact that I WASN’T crazy to see what I saw in those subtle scenes between Oliver and Felicity.

When I started this blog, someone asked me, “When Did Oliver Fall In Love With Felicity?” It is, to this day, by far, my most popular post. I thought it was an incredibly fair question. L&uriver fans were telling Olicity fans we were nuts to have hope. Oliver was asking Sara to move in with him a few episodes prior to his big confession in the finale. So, I pieced together all subtle (and not so subtle) moments that, ultimately, were the narrative thread of Oliver’s Season 2 journey with Felicity. I pieced together why that love confession made absolute sense. Arrow didn’t ignore Olicity. The beats were there. It was like following breadcrumbs along a path.

So, when Marc told me that Arrow was returning to a Season 2 vibe with Olicity, one singular word flashed in my mind, “SUBTLE.” 

I took a deep breath and buckled up because I knew we were in for a long journey. Also, Marc said it would be a long journey. Hehehe. Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting very much movement in 5A. Those wildly low expectations were met.

The moments between Oliver and Felicity have been so subtle, I’ve even thought (briefly) am I nuts? Am I seeing things? Especially during the 5x09 flashback. Some fans have been told they are crazy to have hope. It’s like a freaking time warp.

I’m not stressed out, thankfully. Season 2 was a big learning experience to me and I have Season 3 and Season 4 added to the pile. 

Arrow follows through on the narrative beats they thread in, for better or for worse. In Season 2, we didn’t have a lot to go on other than “hope” for Oliver and Felicity and those beautifully crafted scenes. Five years in we have an entire EPIC love story. Felicity Smoak is Oliver’s great love and we have more than enough story evidence to back that up.

So, I was never particularly concerned that Arrow was dropping Olicity. That said, I think some feel they are. Many anti Olicity fans feel this “Back to Basics” tagline means no more Olicity. The subtle approach to Oliver and Felicity’s scenes has these same people screaming that Arrow is done with them. Olicity fans are crazy to have hope!

Personally, I’ve never heard Marc or Wendy say anything about “Back to Basics” meaning they are done with Olicity. They haven’t even come close to saying that. Whenever they are talking “Back to Basics” it’s almost always in the context of stunts, a return to the gritty street fighting and a more “Arrow-esque” Big Bad. 

That’s not to say there’s been an overabundance of promotion, although it is different than Season 2. Now, Olicity is almost always a topic in any article written. However, the answers are very Season 2. Vague. Ambiguous. At times, Marc and Wendy are pushing the other love interests way more than they are Olicity. We’re hearing all about Susan. They couldn’t stop talking about Billy and the guy had like 10 minutes of screen time. Now, Tina is popping up. We are not hearing very much about Oliver and Felicity in terms of romance. And that feels very familiar.

What was successful about the Season 2 promotion was that it maintained the 2x23 surprise. I think one of the reasons I loved 2x23 so much was because I was legitimately surprised. 

I am a spoiler hound by nature, but even I can admit we were spoiled too much in Season 3 and Season 4. There wasn’t a big moment for Olicity that we didn’t know was coming - either from the promos or leaks. I do feel like Arrow is cracking down on spoilers and returning to a format that helped them maintain a level of surprise. Hence, all the vague non answers about Olicity from Marc and Wendy.

Now, I’m not saying the approach is working. Especially from a promotional standpoint. Olicity was coming off a very poorly received S4 storyline. Our beautifully organic couple was broken up in an inorganic way. 

It left many fans nervous, distrustful and angry... and it’s okay to feel that way. The “off hands” approach to the marketing certainly hasn’t helped cement confidence. Furthermore, going from Season 3 and Season 4 where Olicity’s romance was a primary focus (front and center), to a more subtle approach in Season 5, has been jarring for many.

It, however, is not Un-Arrow. At least not to me, because it’s an approach they’ve tried before and it was successful -- universally praised by fans. I think the writers chose to go back to the more subtle approach because they were trying to slow Olicity down and it worked for the narrative this season. I also think they believed it would be well received because... it was well received before. All they hear is how much fans love Season 2. 

Let’s look at it from a purely Felicity standpoint. Felicity was back burned in 5A. There’s really no other way to describe it. She had virtually no independent storyline outside of Team Arrow and a boyfriend that, to be honest, I still can’t figure out the point of... yet. She was back to being comic relief. No more CEO. No more mom or dad. Any independent storylines (other than the boyfriend) all, but disappeared. Even her PTSD storyline was fairly Rory focused. 

This is not unlike Season 2. Felicity had no independent storylines. Her scenes revolved around Team Arrow and Oliver. She was frequently the comic relief. There was the pseudo boyfriend moment with Barry, but that was all intended to push Oliver’s buttons. 

Here’s the problem, while I understand why the writers may have believed the return to these Season 2 elements would be well received, the characters have evolved past that. Felicity is now the female lead. She was not in Season 2. She has grown leaps and bounds in her role on Arrow. Felicity Smoak was always more than comic relief, and I think the writers know that. However, they expanded on the character so much in Season 3 and Season 4 that this hands off approach feels ridiculous. It’s left a gaping hole in the first half of Arrow’s fifth season.  

If there is anything Season 3 taught us with John Diggle, back burning any of the core three is always a colossal mistake. 

The saving grace is, thus far, it’s only been half a season. Diggle languished on the bench for a full season and I don’t think they are intending to do that with Felicity. He was also the only character back burned in Season 3. Felicity has Lance and Thea to keep her company.

That’s not to say Felicity’s “independent” storylines are in abundance in any other season. At the end of the day, this is Oliver’s show and Felicity is a supporting character just like anyone else. But if I’m comparing seasons, then... yeah. I think 5A pulled focus off Felicity more than S3 or S4. 

And why did all of this happen? I don’t think it’s out of any desire to get rid of Felicity. I think Arrow overdid it on the new characters so much that even their female freaking lead got benched. 

Like the newbies or not - they required screen time because Arrow had to build the characters. Lance, Thea and Felicity all took a hit. Certainly, Felicity played a major role in managing those newbiews (and did a fantastic job), but it felt primarily supportive in pushing Oliver’s and the newbies’ storylines forward. 

I also think Arrow may have pulled back on Felicity’s more independent storylines like the company and her parents because they are trying to drive her to a darker place. I think the intention has been to isolate Felicity a bit more, so she reaches this point where she’ll do “morally questionable” things. That remains to be seen. That will require a full season to know if I’m right. I also believe we don’t get handed everything in the first half. Felicity’s company is going to be a big part of her arc and, while the writers are taking their sweet time getting there, I do think they have a plan for this character. 

As for all the love interests, this feels like the same white noise as Season 2. More so than Season 3, because the only other viable love interest was Ray and that was a singularly focused storyline. Season 5 has Susan, Billy, maybe Tina and heck they might even squeeze in another one for Felicity. Who knows? 

There’s a lot of love interest options at the moment and that feels very Season 2. We aren’t suppose to know which way is up so that when Oliver and Felicity do find their way back to one another it feels more surprising than predictable. That’s just my guess.

@louiseblue1 and I often say figuring out the pacing on Arrow is next to impossible. However, even the pacing from an Olicity perspective is feeling very Season 2. We’ve had three very significant scenes early on:

Green Light - 5x02

Is it Real? - 5x05

Mortal Lock - 5x05

The nature of these scenes are completely different from what Oliver and Felicity discussed in 2x06

and 2x07 

but the narrative beat feels similar. By that I mean the placing of the plot points, even though the plot points are wildly different.

Then, we shifted into some other love interest drama in the mid season finale.

2x09 - Barry coming between them

5x09 - Billy coming between them 

Concluding with a series of shots and dialogue that point to Felicity as the person Oliver loves.

2x09

5x09

All very similar! I’m not saying this automatically makes all the storylines good in Season 5. I’m not saying people who are unhappy don’t have reason to be. That said, I’ve really enjoyed Olicity’s scenes this season when we get them. My point is simply that Marc’s remark about Season 5 Olicity feeling like Season 2 Olicity is turning out to be more on the nose than I thought it would be.

It gives me a lot of hope for 5B. We know how Season 2 ended, so if there are similarities between the seasons I think it can be a good thing. Yes, even if all those similarities have led to some unsuccessful aspects. There is one difference between Season 2 and Season 5 that gets me excited about the back half of the season. In Season 2, Olicity’s focus was primarily in the first half. After 2x10 the writers backed way off and things didn’t get revving again until 2x21. I feel like the writers backed off in 5A, so I’m hoping things get revving again in 5B. Hopefully, the stronger focus is coming in the back half of the season. Time will tell. 

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if we languished a bit in the middle of the season. As much as I hem and haw about Arrow’s pacing, after five years, I do think there is a pattern to how the writers break down the season.

Episodes 1 - 7: Tie up loose ends from previous season’s storylines, set up new season storylines.

Episode 8: Crossover (this is new as of Season 3 of course). Although Barry did make his first appearance in 2x08.

Episode 9 (Mid Season Finale) - This is when something “big” happens to launch the next half of the season. Big Bad is revealed in some way.

Episodes 10-17: Deal with the fallout from the mid season finale & the storylines it launched.

Episodes 18-20: Something “big” happens which launches the final three episodes.

Episodes 21-23: Deal with the fallout from the last big event and race to the finish line.

Now, I don’t want anyone screaming at me about how events are taking place at different episode numbers than I listed this season. This is a FLUID pattern y’all. I’m not laying out hard and fast rules, but a generic “high level” musing. But for anyone expecting big Olicity movement in the 10-14 zone... I’d really get comfortable with the idea that this will be a season long journey.

Now, I know many will argue that going back to any type of Season 2 dynamic is repetitive. Other love interests are repetitive. Sure, that’s a fair complaint and I can understand why some feel that way. However, there are repetitive aspects of Arrow every season for me, just like there are storylines I love and ones I hate every season. That goes for a lot of television shows for that matter. So, that’s not necessarily a deal breaker for me. 

Nor am I ready to deep six the other love interests quite yet because I haven’t watched the full story yet. That said, I’m not loving them - although I wasn’t really expecting to. I was definitely hoping for more with Billy. If he’s Prometheus - great! If he’s simply the little wind that blew down the house of cards... okay. I can probably accept that. I do see some growth with Oliver, so I’m less cranky about Susan. That has nothing to do with Susan though. That’s just about Oliver being hopeful & trying to move on. We could insert any love interest and get that. I think it’s pretty stupid that Oliver is dating the reporter that has tried to bring him down, but 90% of the show’s drama is derived from Oliver doing stupid things. I also think Oliver and Felicity are dating the anti-Oliver (Billy) and anti-Felicity (Susan) for a reason.

But I’m getting off topic. Anyways, I’m sure others have pointed out all of these things before, but I just wanted to put them down on paper for my own sanity. We shall see if these similarities pan out all the way to the end of the season.