Arrow Arrow S3 E1 The Calm

[Verick808]

I'm not overly upset. I originally didn't even expect her to make past the second season anyway. She was marked for death from the beginning.

 

[Mikelus]

If it was Nyssa that killed her,I could buy it- maybe.But I seriously can't see her trusting anyone that implicitly,with a possible exception of a lover.

You're so biased... just admit you didn't want Sara to die, it would be more honest. They could've decapitated her from behind and you would still whining about how unfair blahblah... just move on.

 

[Human Torch]

You're so biased... just admit you didn't want Sara to die, it would be more honest. They could've decapitated her from behind and you would still whining about how unfair blahblah... just move on.

Eh,like you're not biased in wanting her killed off.She could've been run over by a 90 year old cab driver and you'd be satisfied.

If they had to kill her off,they could've done something supremely more satisfying than sticking her in the last 2 minutes of an episode that had nothing to do with her and make her go out like a punk.It's flipping the biggest bird to Sara fans,that it's not even funny.

 

[KenK]

Why they gotta deprive me of Caity's fine @$$!!!!! How am I supposed to go on!

 

[Mikelus]

Eh,like you're not biased in wanting her killed off.She could've been run over by a 90 year old cab driver and you'd be satisfied.

No, I think they had other options, like her leaving the LOA by faking her death, a new identity... curiously, the producers originally wanted Sara to be the Ravager:

Isabel was the one thing that we weren’t entirely sure about as we were developing the season,” Kreisberg admitted. “Truthfully, there was a very early iteration of the series where Sara started the season as Ravager and then we switched over..."

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2014/04/arrow-spoilers-andrew-kreisberg-on-what-laurel-knows-a-f-cking-i/

 

[AspieXLDS]

Well, I took a break from this forum since I wanted to work on some other stuff. Took a break from every forum, actually. Now the show is back on, and thus I return.

Firstly: the way they handled the Olicity issue here is, IMO, the writers and showrunners speaking to the people who do the "Olicity *heartshape*" trolling on social media, and if that is the case, BRAVO! I know that Felicity will probably be together with Oliver at some point, but there's none of this whole 'OTP' stuff in Arrow despite what some would hope (regardless of pairing).

Secondly: In a way, they handled the final moments for Sara very well. We all knew it would eventually come, but I would have kept her around if only to see if Laurel worked out as a successor. We don't know if she will, so I'm (for once) hoping that they are going to have Ra's with a Lazarus Pit, just in case.

As for Sara's killer: It could've been Ra's, Komodo, or Merlyn, as far as I'm concerned, but take note of something. When she turned, she asked whoever it was what they were doing there. She knew them, and what's more, she trusted them, because her expression after she receives the first arrow is one of betrayal.

 

[Loki882]

They bungled Isabel's character last season, most people seem to agree about that. It's puzzling that they'd specifically introduce her if they didn't at least have some idea of where her character was going. As to Sara's death, I can understand if some people are upset about how she died. Killing her off, not necessarily a bad thing. Making it a "who done it" mystery, ok that could be interesting. But her actual DEATH SCENE was rather underwhelming. She gets shot and fell off a roof. They could have at least had her put up more of a fight. It was such an underwhelming ending for such a cool character who they'd built up as such a badass. Hell, Isabel put up more of a fight than Sara.

 

[DrCosmic]

As for Sara's killer: It could've been Ra's, Komodo, or Merlyn, as far as I'm concerned, but take note of something. When she turned, she asked whoever it was what they were doing there. She knew them, and what's more, she trusted them, because her expression after she receives the first arrow is one of betrayal.

That questioning moment was actually what gives the killing credibility. It's not just that she turned around and saw an assassin (?) she knew and forgot to put her guard up, she was genuinely surprised at their identity, not just their presence, and was almost curious, needing to find out what they were doing before making any other reactions. That's why her guard was still down. She did the same thing to Oliver when she first appeared and if she had been trying to kill him, she certainly would have succeeded, and it would not have been a slight to Oliver's skill, just him being someone who can be caught off guard given enough stimuli.

 

[godisawesome]

Very focused opening. Not as strong as the Flash pilot, but you know they intend to follow that Ollie vs Arrow plotline pretty thoroughly. Zytle's a lot more fun than Gabel's Count.

I will say that Sara's death scene seems far more symptomatic of the chaos and inconsistent handling of the Laurel plotlines than anything relating to her own story arcs. Last year, it was clear they let Sara's story build organically, similar to Felicity's arc. This gave her more range and focus. However, because Laurel is contractually defined as the future Black Canary and female lead, Sara was rendered extraneous and inconvenient. With one possible usurpation of the female lead (Felicity) and with a clear problem for Laurel's arcs stemming from a lack of space and barely tangible connections to the A-plots, Sara needed to go. Thus we get the head scratching optimism of the jacket scene from last year and the bridging of Sara to start off this year. They need the status quo to be different, so they changed it quickly.

I myself would have argued that Sara should have had one or two more "real-time" episodes to establish how the whole "rejoin last seasons B-arc villains" thing was going, and that she probably should have had a last fight worth something. But it's over now, so here's hoping they make the most out of her flashback appearances.

 

[Mysteryman]

Why they gotta deprive me of Caity's fine @$$!!!!! How am I supposed to go on!

1Flashbacks.
2.Reruns
3.Netflix

 

[TheNextNolan22]

1Flashbacks.
2.Reruns
3.Netflix

4.Google images

 

[Mike Murdock]

I guess I'll say this, although I'm still not happy about her death. I always realized that the more she appeared, the greater likelihood of death. When she got out of Starling City, I breathed a sigh of relief. But given that, I was being kind of selfish. I didn't want her to die, but I was essentially requiring her to be written out of the show in some other way. But in TV terms, that's essentially the same as death. At least a death will serve useful plot purposes on Laurel's journey. I can't fault that, even though I'm saddened because Sara may have been my favorite character last season.

 

[blksuperman2]

Wow. I was surprised to see Brandon Routh. I guess I'm getting pretty good at avoiding spoilers and I was pleasantly surprised. Sara's death also through me for a loop. I figured she'd go but It would have been more fitting if it were at the hands of Deathstroke.

 

[haephestus]

I was not a fan of this episode.

There were the minor odd things which I didn't understand, like why Felicity was the only one of the four members of Team Arrow who had to get a "day job". How were Oliver, Roy and Diggle paying their bills? Even if Oliver is living in the Arrow Cave, he still needs to eat, buy new equipment, etc. And speaking of the Arrow Cave, wasn't it compromised and destroyed at the end of last season? I thought they would need a new secret headquarters, especially if the nightclub is being operated by someone else who may want to use the basement for storage.

And then there was the bizarre Oliver/Felicity match-up which seemed completely out of place to me. Last season Oliver was heavily invested in Sara. I know they broke up and then she left Starling City forever to return to Nyssa and the League of Assassins, but I really don't feel as though they established the "love" that Oliver and Felicity shared without showing the missing nine months. I hope that storyline is done and dusted.

Count Vertigo/Scarecrow was quite a dull villain and I didn't understand why he was such a challenge for the Arrow. Or was Oliver getting too arrogant which is why Count Vertigo was even able to throw down with the Arrow for as long as he did? Also, someone needs to tell villains to stop talking to the heroes while the heroes are in a weakened state or otherwise distracted and just shoot them instead!

Finally, the very end. That was just terrible. I admit, I was lulled into a false sense of security when the Canary survived last season and sailed off into the sunrise with Nyssa and their band of super-ninjas, but I really wasn't expecting them to kill of Sara or to do it in such a rushed and unsatisfactory way. I get that Sara was obviously killed by someone she trusted or at least wasn't threatened by, but it was still sad to see. I'll hold out hope for a possible Lazarus Pit return, with Sara thereafter adopting a new moniker and handing the (Black) Canary identity to Laurel, but I don't see that happening.

The good was Ray Palmer. Routh was great and the scenes with Ray Palmer were a breath of fresh air. The few moments with Diggle and Lyla and the brief scenes between Diggle and Oliver were also good.

 

[ajc5349]

As for Sara's killer: It could've been Ra's, Komodo, or Merlyn, as far as I'm concerned, but take note of something. When she turned, she asked whoever it was what they were doing there. She knew them, and what's more, she trusted them, because her expression after she receives the first arrow is one of betrayal.

Agreed. I think too many of you aren't giving the writers enough credit here. Yes, it sucked to see her die, and to die like that. But I think they know what they're doing. It was obvious she was surprised to see who it was and if it was someone who was a legit threat, she would've bolted or got in a fighting stance....or perhaps it was a legit threat and she was simply shocked/scared to see him/her.

But I think the most likely reason was it was someone she knew and trusted, b/c she did seem shocked when she first got shot.

If I had to guess, I'd say it was Ra's

 

[DrCosmic]

Ra's would make the most sense and make the best story, so yeah, it's probably him.

 

[The Guard]

Only comic book fans would demand a sudden, surprising, undignified death to be "satisfactory".

 

[Jericho]

Only comic book fans would demand a sudden, surprising, undignified death to be "satisfactory".

Thank you.

I came here last night after getting around to finishing The Calm on my DVR last night for some consoling and instead I found a bunch of nerds (a term I normally use affectionately and include myself in) dissecting and draining the the show of any emotion whatsoever.... going on about contracts, "No surprise, been expecting this," and stuff like the above referenced in the quote.

Sara's death was shocking, brutal, and dismissive. Satisfactory? If you are thinking in those terms you completely missed the point. Whoever killed Sara dispensed with her as if they were throwing out trash. That was the point. It should have left you feeling empty and punched in the gut. That she didn't get a big, ceremonious send-off makes it that much more tragic and unexpected.

Sara's Black Canary was one of the best things about the 2nd Season with her entrance using her Canary Cry to save Oliver being one of the most exciting moments in the show. She deserves more reverence than the fixation on the expectation of Laurel taking over as the Canary. It's about the journey, folks.. not just getting to your expectations.

 

[The Guard]

Exactly.

 

[DOBSON10]

I thought the episode was decent. Disappointed in how The Count/Peter Stormare was used. Not much development for his character and weak dialogue for the most part. I think they wasted Robert Knepper and Stormare, though I obviously don't know if either actor would have wanted to become more of a regular cast member. Both are very good actors IMO and should have played villains with longer story arch's.

I didn't have a problem with how they handled Sara's death and I think it's obvious that it will open up a few new storyline's that are a direct result of her death and how it happened. Obviously one of those storyline's being who did it and why. Never really was a fan of her character or the actress and never liked that she was the Canary before Dinah (or that they don't call her Dinah to begin with).

My guess is that Laurel will be very upset about Sara's death and want to be involved with the investigation/take down of the killer. She'll probably want to help Team Arrow track down the killer, Oliver will say it's too dangerous and try to talk her down. So she'll seek out Ted Grant to help her train so she can track down/take on the killer. They'll end up boning for alittle while and eventually break up after he helps her become the new Black Canary. Then eventually she'll join Team Arrow, which will lead to her and Oliver getting back together.

 

[Loki882]

I can just picture the writer's meeting:

"Hey, we need to get rid of Sara in order to make our pet charac...I mean Laurel become Black Canary."

"Didn't we already do that last season?"

"Now, she needs to REALLY be gone."

"Ok, kill her off in the premiere."

"How?"

"Umm, let's have her show back up out of nowhere, shoot her, and throw her off of a roof, done and done."

"That sounds kind of lame. Shouldn't we give this character that we've spent so much time building up as a badass, and who's really popular, a more fitting death? You know, let her put up SOME kind of fight, especially since we alreadt killed off Shado in a pretty undignified manner last season?"

"Nah, the fans won't notice."

 

[Boy Scout]

Only comic book fans would demand a sudden, surprising, undignified death to be "satisfactory".

Point = missed.

 

[Mikelus]

Now someone is whining about Shado's death... god forbids someone dies in an unexpected but realistic way, only a fight to the death cliché is acceptable!!

 

[Human Torch]

If you want the "Shock" death,you don't go for it with a character like Sara.Now,if Felicity were to die that way (yeah,never happen) it would be understandable because her character is:

Vulnerable
Inexperienced
Trusting
A bit naive

How does any of that apply to Sara?

It's like taking Oliver and letting some lucky punk get a shot on him at the end of the series and saying "Well,all that training does you no good.Things like this happen."

When you have a character known for their skill go down without a fight,it cheapens everything.

Now,can they salvage it? I certainly hope so.The only thing I can see working is if it was Ra's,(who is the only person she would be intimidated by and would probably lose a fight with) and she had reason to believe she was still in his good graces.It's a tough sell still,but if she went down to anyone but Ra's,I still say it's a fail.

 

[DigificWriter]

When you have a character known for their skill go down without a fight,it cheapens everything.

No, it doesn't. You could be the most proficient fighter in the known world, and it wouldn't make you invincible or stop you from getting killed in the most random of circumstances.