#arrow rewatch 21

[cogentranting]

Way back in episode 2 the thing that really sets Oliver off is when he’s being swarmed by paparazzi. He’s typically very good at hiding his reactions to things but when the paparazzi come in that’s when he gets visibly tense and uncomfortable, almost to the point of freak out (like when he steals the car and leaves both Diggle and Tommy behind). 

And then, fast forward six years, when he comes back from prison, its crowds of paparazzi that are shown causing him to shut down again. And it kind of makes me think that maybe that’s something he never got okay with, the crowds like that just stopped happening as much. Sure maybe he got better at hiding his reaction, but I bet those kinds of crowds swarming him for attention always set him off. Being crowded without escape routes, having all that attention on him when hiding in the shadows is how he’s protected himself, people touching him when he’s had so many people hurt him, being trapped and exposed all at once. I bet it always sets off his sense of danger and makes him uncomfortable. 

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x12 Rewatch

My girl McKenna!

Lincoln Lee is going through a rough patch. Being a manic drug lord. 

WAIT THAT’S SINGH. THE COUNT JUST KILLED CAPTAIN SINGH. 

I just realized that this episode has two major Fringe actors: Lincoln/The Count and December/Alexei

“Thea is just like I remember Sara” “That is NOT how I remember your sister” of course not. Thea is much better than Sara. Don’t even compare them. 

“Thea’s been through a lot. She lost a father and a brother” and a stepfather. 

Ah the first Anatoly name drop

Wait. Thea’s deal was 500 hours of community service and 2 years probation. Which would take her to mid season 3 getting off of probation. BUT. She leaves the country at the end of season 2. Which is not allowed when you’re on probation. 

Arguing Thea out of going to jail to spite Moira by arguing that Moira isn’t the one who cheated is a weird approach. It seems inherently more natural to argue against ruining your own life to spite someone you hate. 

I like that after getting dosed with Vertigo and rushing back to the Foundry, Oliver stripped off his jacket and shirt, but left his shoes on. 

ohhh if only Quentin knew that Oliver was a member of the Russian mob. 

Don’t worry, Oliver. One day Quentin will love you like a son. 

“I was trying to help.” “By running around with the Russian mob- are you out of your mind?!” “Mom, believe me, this is not the worst thing I’ve done with the Russian mob.” 

Look at my darling tearing his way through a building full of thugs, unarmed and stumbling because he’s drugged, and still making it look easy. 

Wait was that Dr. Schwartz? She appears this early? 

The lighting in this scene where Felicity meets with Oliver-- the warm light through the rain spattered windows-- is SO pretty. Very romantic. 

“You’ve dropped some fairly ridiculous lies on me and yet I still feel like I can trust you. Why is that?” “I have one of those faces...the face of your future husband and the father of your children.” 

Gosh Oliver sounds choked up and almost scared when he asks where Walter got his copy of the list. 

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x11 Liveblog

Oliver and Diggle fight in later seasons but the biggest difference seen here is that Oliver doesn’t really go behind Diggle’s back or anything. He just dismisses the fact that Diggle doesn’t agree about going after Gaynor and expects him to fall into line. He’s treating more as employee than a team member or friend. 

“I never said that I found it on the island” Diggle is surprised but that’s not the main thing his face shows. It’s distrust. This is another thing that Oliver is hiding from him or lying to him about. And followed after Oliver sort of commanding him to stand down and ignoring his insistence that Gaynor is innocent, in Diggle’s eyes this just cements that there isn’t trust between him and Oliver.  For Oliver’s part though even that much of an admission is big at this point. He’s doesn’t like admitting that he was off the island during those years and he doesn’t like talking about his father, so he IS making efforts to show he trusts Diggle. He’s trying to convince Diggle of how sure he is and why Diggle should trust him and the list. He wants Diggle on his side and he’s making an effort even though trust is very hard for him. The problem is Oliver’s capacity for trust has pretty strict limits on it at this point, to the degree that it doesn’t even look like trust to other people, and he’s bad at connection to the point that his communication with Diggle just comes out angry and aggressive. And that’s really indicative of a lot of what Oliver does this episode. He’s technically right about a lot of things, BUT he goes about dealing with that situation in all the most aggressive ways and inadvertently pushes Diggle away. 

“She’s hooking up with Tommy’s dad” “That’s insane.” ... “Mom never would have cheated on dad” ohhhhh Oliver. If only you knew. 

And then when Oliver confronts Moira about it and says that Thea suspects the affair started when Robert was alive, Moira has the AUDACITY to talk about how “Robert was unfaithful to me. Repeatedly.” Which is TRUE but the nerve to use that to distract from Thea being on to her history with Thea’s real father is just...

In the new timeline Tommy gets a dog and names it Arthur just like he wanted to as a little kid and that’s canon. 

Ok so Laurel met Tommy and Oliver sometime past age 8. 

“After what happened to me on the Island, it’s hard for me to trust... anything. But you do. That’s why I chose you to be my partner. You see the best in people.” Oliver casually breaking my heart. Just think about the number of times he got betrayed, the number of people trying to kill him in those five years. So he just sees the world as backstabbers and evil-doers. But he met Diggle and he trusted him. He sees Diggle whose noble and trustworthy and kind and he just latches on to that even as he can’t be those things himself and can’t yet be the partner Diggle deserves. 

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x10

So Thea comes in with the “maybe Walter’s not taken or dead, maybe he’s runoff and had a midlife crisis” theory, and its one of the scenes where she sounds the youngest. She sounds like a teenage girl who has already been through this once before, seen her loved ones disappear, waited for word to know if they were alive or dead and gradually been forced to give up hope, who can’t bear to lose another father. And I wonder if this desperate attempt to believe Walter’s okay is something she learned from Oliver’s miraculous return, or if she did it the first time too. Did little 12 year old Thea, sit on the edge of the bed as her mother refused to get up, and insist that her dad and her brother weren’t dead, that they probably just got lost or were shipwrecked somewhere and they’d be home any day now. “They’ll be home soon” for weeks until she gave up hope too. 

“I needed to believe that what happened to Sara wasn’t just an accident” Okay but... when does Laurel actually find out that Malcolm sank the Gambit? I don’t remember that conversation ever happening on screen but I’m sure she eventually knew that. 

I mean Quentin was practically begging for Laurel to steal that phone

“I know I shouldn’t have” “Stolen evidence? Yeah you probably shouldn’t have” 

Oliver: *gets beaten in a fight* Oliver: This reminds me of the first time I killed a man

(Honestly though I think the association they’re trying to make is Oliver feeling out of his depth and vulnerable in a way that he hasn’t in a long time. Like having something to lose and fearing what might happen to him in a way that he sort of lost along the way, reminds him of being that scared kid in the woods, running from people trying to kill him for the first time, with no idea what he was doing) 

“are you and I seriously having this discussion?” “Well we’re friends” No Oliver. Not all friends have to discuss all things. And you should definitely not be the person Laurel discusses her relationship troubles with. That’s a line that should be drawn for multiple reasons. 

“What was the Nodell Tower?” “How do you not remember that?” How do YOU not remember Oliver Queen dying in a shipwreck and then coming back from the dead five years later.

“Well being dead kinda rules him out as a murder suspect” Oh Diggle. Never assume that. 

“Afraid of what would happen to those people in my life if they lost me, again.” But honestly it’s a big deal for Oliver to be able to think this way-- to recognize that people care about him and want him alive. Because there are plenty of times both before and after this moment where Oliver does not have a firm grasp of that and treats his own life as disposable. 

Oliver don’t walk up WHILE Tommy and Laurel are kissing. wait 5 seconds. 

“I’m not afraid to die.” “I know. You’re afraid to live.” Which doesn’t totally match up with what we’ve seen from Oliver this episode but is definitely something he relates to in general. And you could take the stance that part of what spooked Oliver so bad is something that I mentioned on the last liveblog-- that Oliver wanting to celebrate Christmas was a big deal. He was trying to be normal, trying to enjoy life and be happy. And then he nearly died that same night. So if you juxtapose those two things, what Oliver’s really feeling is the first true instance of a long running conflict for him: can I actually live a life and be the Arrow at the same time and he’s afraid to try for fear of having that life taken from him. 

Look at flashback Oliver wearing a spiffy new shirt!

[cogentranting]

Arrow Rewatch 1x09

“I hear St. Nick has a list of his own. I’ll wager your in the nice column.” Why, Diggle? Oliver’s kinda murdery. 

I know this episode pretty well, have watched it multiple times. I have no memory of the Yao Fei capturing Fyers plot line. I don’t know how that ends. 

“People forget that Robin Hood was actually a criminal” no dude. No one forgets that. He’s just also a heroic figure. (Also there’s the whole thing about Richard the Lionheart being the True king, and Robin Hood being loyal to him, and Prince John being a usurper, which reframes Robin Hood as not really a criminal by the standards of the time, if I’m getting my details straight. I haven’t watched an even semi-faithful Robin Hood adaptation in a long time and I’ve never read it)

Okay but Malcolm’s little quip about the vigilante being called “the Green Arrow” raises the question-- did Oliver remember that moment when he renamed himself? If so, why did he go with the name that one of his main nemeses suggested? 

Thea has just. Terrible taste in guys. This Shane guy manages to be absolutely awful with only like 3 lines.  (Alex is fine. And Thea and Roy are great together but when she falls for him, he’s a surly aggressive guy who tried to rob her.) 

As I seem them all the Fyers scenes are familiar but I can’t remember what comes next

“Felicity. You’re remarkable.” “Thank you for remarking on it.” 

Ugh. Tommy wanting to be there for Laurel through the holidays. And bringing that picture of Laurel and Sara and Quentin as a present (making Quentin eat his words). And now in the new timeline there’s a future where Quentin probably comes to appreciate Tommy and that’s his son and law and then they go through losing Laurel together. 

This Christmas party plot line hurts because it’s Oliver visibly making an effort to support his family and do normal things and enjoy regular life-- and we don’t see him try to do something like this again until like season 4, so it’s a big deal that Oliver takes an active interest in something like a Christmas party-- and his family just gives him nothing and then kind of blames him for it going badly. 

“There wasn’t anything on the Island that wasn’t twice as dangerous as this pretender” actually I’d dare to say that the only thing more dangerous than Malcolm on the Island was Slade. 

OH NOW I remember these flashbacks

One day flashback Oliver will get to change his shirt. One day...

“I know about the List, and the man who authored it wants you dead!” Well then get to it Malcolm. You could have if you didn’t stop to be sadistic. You had him down. 

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x08 Rewatch

Oliver extending some professional curtesy to Chien Na Wei and keeping her from getting killed (the least he can do really, since she keeps his secret). They go way back. 

Carly is judging Oliver so hard. and Pretty much always does that. Meaning she’s officially on the list of people who I would love to see their reaction when Oliver’s secret identity went public. ESPECIALLY because it would have to be followed up by a call to Diggle 

Oliver’s defense of Helena is another one of those times when he’s desperate to redeem someone so that he can believe that there’s redemption available for himself. “She’s a killer” Diggle says. And Oliver is surely feeling the weight of all the people he killed while in the Bratva, even if he doesn’t realize that that guilt is what’s driving him right now. Helena’s crusade against the Bertinelli’s bears a LOT of resemblance to Oliver’s mission to take down Kovar. 

“I haven’t changed, Walter. I’m still the woman you fell in love with and married. That person is just a very secretive manipulative shady person.” 

Ok but imagine an AU where Helena is aligned with her father and Oliver is still active with the Bratva and you just have a very complicated mob love story

“I started sleeping with Sara and I brought her on the yacht with me” okay so that phrasing definitely indicates that it was not a one time thing and it didn’t start with the yacht trip. Interesting. 

*flirtatious archery* 

Helena: Well any associate of Oliver’s- Diggle: Is absolutely nothing to you. Ma’am.  Savage Diggle is amazing. And Oliver sits there and grins. 

So in the season 7 episode where Oliver dreams up Tommy, Tommy says something about “angry face” or something similar and I saw people saying that didn’t sound like Tommy, it sounded too much like Felicity (some as a criticism, some saying it was Oliver’s subconscious pulling elements from different people) BUT in this episode Tommy says “you have thinky face. Why do you have thinky face?” long before Felicity says anything similar. So. It is in fact in character for Tommy to say that.

“Making me have dinner with the love of your life” YOU SUGGESTED IT HELENA. And Oliver and Tommy were clearly uncomfortable with it but you and Laurel insisted. 

“That kind of love doesn’t die” Oh it will Helena. Just not for you. 

Look at Tommy and Laurel communicating well, and expressing their emotional needs, and talking through the problem and apologizing to each other. They’re so good together. 

And then Tommy coming and being honest and vulnerable with Oliver and also refusing to just start using Oliver’s money and instead deciding to step up. Just. Tommy Merlyn. 

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x07 Rewatch

Oliver is meeting Moira for lunch when the shooting happens, then he chases after the motorcycle and loses them, and then goes to check in with Moira at the hospital ... at night? and she’s just finishing up with the doctor? 

“Your mother is shot at, nearly killed, and the way you process that emotionally is by going undercover in the mob?” “I’m not trying to process it emotionally”  “Oliver, I’m literally begging you to try processing any of your emotions because you have a lot of them” 

Also Oliver last time you tried joining a mob as a form of therapy it led to a pretty sharp decline in your moral character and you started to like killing so...

“and Diggle, when I find out who this guy is, he’s a dead man” noooo Oliver. You’re gonna date her. 

Helena, you don’t need a full face of makeup under a motorcycle helmet to go murder people. Save the effort. 

ayyy it’s Tahmoh Penikett

“Aren’t you getting sick of his lies?” “Thea, we all have secrets. We all have things we want to keep to ourselves.” Oh DO we Moira? Those little ordinary secrets like... how your husband was murdered? Or how Thea isn’t Robert’s daughter? Or how your ex-lover is planning to level the Glades? Or how you had your son kidnapped and tortured? Or how your son has kid that you hid from him? Or how your husband had a secret child? Those kind of secrets that we all have? 

“When I didn’t feel lost I felt free? More than one. Those are the days I miss.” This is about feeling free of his family influence on the island and its interesting and very much ties into a post I made I think around the time of the season 5 finale, about how as awful as those five years were, in some ways Lian Yu was home to Oliver. 

Also that’s one of the reasons I do really like the Helena arc. Because there is an interesting level of connection between them. There are parts of him that Helena understands that no one else does. 

“I wish we had just met and that all this was new and that there wasn’t so much of me that I wish that you’d forget” Again, sweet Tommy is the best Tommy, and THIS is why Merlance is the superior Laurel ship. 

Malcolm walking into Moira’s bedroom to talk to her is a powerplay. She’s not expecting him, she’s in her nightgown, she’s lying down, and he invites himself into her private space, doesn’t give her a chance to compose herself, and comes and sits on the bed over her. It’s completely about putting her at a disadvantage and demonstrating his control. And making sure she’s still under his thumb. 

“He seems like a real stand-up mobster” and Oliver would know. 

Oliver stopping Salvati from shaking down the restaurant owner is extra interesting when you realize that Oliver has been in the opposite position. He’s been the mob enforcer. Not that long ago. 

Awww look at Quentin being all concerned about Oliver dating a mob boss’s daughter. That’s right Quentin, look out for your son. Keep him from making bad dating decisions. 

But honestly, why now? Why did Malcolm suddenly decide to cut Tommy off? 

They really did a bad job tying Oliver up, he didn’t even need to dislocate his thumbs

Did Helena just snap that guy’s neck with a punch to the face? 

Oliver you can’t just snap that guy’s neck in front of Helena and expect her to not realize somethings up

Helena has like 6 candles burning in her bathroom and that’s very extra of her. But I guess being extra is pretty typical of her. 

[cogentranting]

Arrow 1x06 Rewatch

Oh look Derek Reston is that guy who’s in... apparently like everything. The Mentalist. House. THe Rookie. Fringe. Grimm. Titans. Agent Carter. Longmire. Castle. Monk. Not Supernatural though, which is honestly a little surprising. 

Thea and Oliver’s united hatred of Carter Bowen is my favorite part of this episode

Even without the eventual reveal that Tommy is her half brother, Thea’s conviction that her brother’s best friend who is ten years older than her is secretly in love with her is painfully awkward. 

Diggle getting that guy transferred to the better hospital and then offering to have Oliver pay the bill and forcing him into it is just absolutely iconic. I like to think that Diggle did stuff like that all the time after this and continued to do so with Moira, Felicity and Tommy after Oliver’s death. Every now and then and then they just get a text from Diggle saying “I told so so and you’re paying for this” and they just shake their heads and pretend to be annoyed and do it. 

“You’re the hero Carter” Oliver says with the most long suffering, patronizing tone. And suddenly I would kill to see Carter Bowen’s reaction to finding out that Oliver was the Arrow. 

Tommy’s explanation of why he decided to pursue a relationship with Laurel in earnest is interesting. It’s the whole thing about going home with a girl and suddenly realizing that he’s been with her before and didn’t remember. And how when he was with Laurel it was “more than just fun”. And in general, I think in season 1 Tommy is searching for something real and meaningful because he hasn’t had that before. In his relationship with Laurel, in his job, trying to fix things with Malcolm. Its sad that he never really got the chance to find who he wanted to be. Except of course that Oliver fixed things so this time around he did. 

“I thought we agreed that you were going to call me before you did something stupid.... Thea you are amazing but you’re also like my sister, my baby sister.” I want so much more of sibling Thea and Tommy. Both back during the time Oliver was “dead” and  in the new timeline where Tommy lives and actually gets to know Thea as his sister. Just imagine Tommy at Thea and Roy’s wedding...

Tommy and Laurel hating Carter Bowen together is also a great part of this episode. 

Tommy gets insecure over Carter, and then is being a sweet attentive older brother to Thea, and Laurel gets heart eyes because sweet thoughtful Tommy is the best Tommy and she’s into it

“Please don’t hate me” “Never” Thea and Tommy, my heart. So glad they get a new happy ending

“Oliver, what went down wasn’t your fault.” “I didn’t say it was.” “it wasn’t your fault.” Diggle. Coming in and giving Oliver the support he needs. Actually telling him that not everything is his fault. Encouraging Oliver and seeing that he’s a good man who cares about people. Diggle’s great. 

“You and I used to talk. I used to know what you were thinking.” I wonder if in the timeline where Moira survived past revealing that she knew Oliver was the Arrow, he went back to talking with her and sharing his problems with her or if her secrets were still too damaging, and he was still too different from everything he’d been through

The scene of Oliver and Moira at Big Belly Burger is a great moment