Arrow Arrow Season 3, Episode 5 "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" General Discussion

[Mike Murdock]

lol at people actually biting on Roy killing Sara. He wasn't brainwashed either. He is having guilt nightmares from going nuts and killing the cop. Guessing their were some effects from the mirakuru or the cure.

I think that's a good point. It might be very well that. Of course, I'll point out that Sara did want to kill Roy last season.

You really think they are revealing who killed Sara in a Felicity centric episode? Come on.

Well, that I think they could do (even if I don't think they did). A lot of people here didn't like the episode (as I guessed they wouldn't). Particularly for people who don't like Felicity. To make up for that and give something for everything, they do something to advance the plot right at the end. I think that's very plausible. In a show that's a bit more serialized like Arrow, it's not uncommon to swing focus at the last second to something else.

 

[The Sage]

Okay episode. Thought the stuff with Felicity and her mom didn't get enough time and felt forced when they had their spat in the apartment. It lacked build up. That ending...maybe it is a hallucination. Or not...

 

[king666]

5/10

Really didn't like it.

The Good:
The twist at the end was like "OOOOOOOOH BOY". And the Brother Eye stuff was kinda fun.

The Bad:
I feel like they're trying to make me empathize with the characters via family drama, but this family drama is usually awful and forced. It drags the whole show down.
The goth Felicity stuff was terrible. Straight out of 2003, Evanescence stuff.
"OMG so Coop was behind Brother Eye after all!" Oh yeah, I totally didn't see that coming.

Definitely my least favorite episode since mid season 1.

 

[chamber-music]

I think everyone saw Cooper being brother eye coming a mile off.

The biggest problem with Roy is that he doesn't have much personality I think. He is either woe is me over Thea, or woe is me over the drug. I want him to have a more fun and mischievous personality in contrast to Ollies personality.

I agree. Roy definitely needs a personality injection. I don't know if it is the writers or Colton Hayes fault but his characters default setting seems to be either angry, upset or worried. It would be nice if he showed a more light hearted side at some point.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I thought it was a solid ep but the weakest in a long time. I liked getting some Felicity back story and despite the goth hacker stuff being a bit cliche I think it gelled well with who she is now, after the tragedy she reinvented herself visually as the complete opposite of the wannabe rebel, and her nervy, often fast way of talking plays into how she is a somewhat jittery person due to her past.

The stuff with her Mom didn't work so well but that was not the fault of the actresses, I though Emily and Charlotte Ross played the scenes well, but pacing-wise they crammed way too much in, it should been a slower arc between the two across the season.

I did love the scenes with Ollie and Thea though, her new pad is sweet and Ollie moving in with her is going to create some interesting situations as they hide their secrets from each other.

Hopefully Brother Eye was just the beginning of a bigger plot and I get the feeling Felicity's dad is going to be a villain.

As for the Roy dream, not sure what to make of it, it would explain why Sara seemed surprised by the person who shot her and didn't react like she was trained to. I'm going with Nyssa as the killer though.

 

[John Locke]

Routh is great. Give her him his own show.

Anyone else notice Cooper was wearing a Starro shirt when he got arrested.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I think Felicity is hotter as a blonde

 

[luis4u]

2.62 million viewers and 1.0 demo

 

[Loki882]

So that look that Merlyn had on his face when he saw Oliver and Thea watching TV (which the camera quite deliberately lingered on) is interesting. It's sort of hard to read what that's supposed to mean. Is it worry that he's "losing" Thea again, anger at Oliver, contemplation that "the plan" is working, or something else?

 

[gohei_]

First off; I really enjoyed the opening, and I especially loled when it cut to Felicity doing sit-ups t: But who the hell drinks their coffee right after brushing your teeth
Thought Routh was good in all his scenes.
The ending really had me going "Whaaaat?" out loud and it will be interesting to see if that's what really happened, it clearly did not play out exactly like the dream though cuz we could hear that the killer used a bow.

 

[zenith16]

So that look that Merlyn had on his face when he saw Oliver and Thea watching TV (which the camera quite deliberately lingered on) is interesting. It's sort of hard to read what that's supposed to mean. Is it worry that he's "losing" Thea again, anger at Oliver, contemplation that "the plan" is working, or something else?

more like he doesn't know what to make of it cause there's strain between him and Ollie . & he doesn't know if their next encouter they will try to waste each other and thea will be the victim of if by being in the crossfire. or what ever plan he had for thea will be ruined.

That look could mean alot of thing's. but he doesn't like the situation ollie moving in with her .

 

[kane9321]

damn roy....WTF DID U DO?

just **** laurel....get off of my tv

 

[zenith16]

damn roy....WTF DID U DO?

lol I doubt it him they left too much show it wasn't. It's too stupid it's ether make ollies team look stupid or the writers will come off worse with this story ether way unless it's to throw things off. they the already have with the lawyer talk & other mistakes like dig stopping Ollie from going after nysa after she asked about Malcolm's second kid which I saw a Mile away the she'd go after Thea to get to Merlin.

it was too obvious yet he stopped him. this show is really sloppy at times.

 

[famicommander]

This season really isn't clicking for me at all. Not as bad as the start of season one, but not close to season two and miles away from what we're getting on Flash.

Just wrap up these storylines and move the hell on:
"Lance doesn't know"
"Who killed Sara?"
"Merlyn and Thea"

They all seem really contrived. Give us more Diggle and Palmer.

 

[zenith16]

This season really isn't clicking for me at all. Not as bad as the start of season one, but not close to season two and miles away from what we're getting on Flash.

Just wrap up these storylines and move the hell on:
"Lance doesn't know"
"Who killed Sara?"
"Merlyn and Thea"

They all seem really contrived. Give us more Diggle and Palmer.

I don't know Diggle has been making some poor call's of late don't tell thea your arrow, let Nyssa kill Merlyn with stopping Ollie from oi after her & noticing what was obviously about to happen to thea cause of her question's about Merlyn's second hidden child .

 

[Mister J]

I don't buy the end twist for a second. It strikes as a red herring... a Red Arrow herring. I do wish they'd just get on with it already though.

Finally, Diggle in a mask.

The Thea duplicity is chipping away at some of the appreciation I'd built for the character. That reads corny, but after being initially unlikable, she had a deal of growth and maturity. The 'everyone is lying to me' bit even played pretty well, even though I'm usually of the mind that people should mind their own bloody business. Her latest behavior is eyeroll worthy giving the hissyfits she was throwing earlier.

Speaking of unlikeable, I'm starting to believe the writers are trolling us with Laurel. Is there really a reason so many of her decisions at this point end with a scolding from someone on how she screwed something up. Last week it was winding Nyssa up re going after Merlyn. This week, sending in a SWAT team or whatever and exacerbating matters. I hesitate to go back further because Zeus knows what I'll set off. OK, you want to show misplaced rage, eventually channeled productively and inevitably leading to fishnets. Fine. Just bloody get there without the continued backsliding.

Felicity's ex-boyfriend annoyed me at every turn, right up to and beyond the predictable reveal. Oliver could have saved himself a good amount of trouble had he just launched an arrow with a blunt edge (or something to knock him out) before announcing his presence and giving the little pratt time to mouth off. Ugh. Never bring him back.

It's already been hit on, but we need more Ray Palmer. I still don't fully know what to make of the news that Routh was being fit for some face mold, but get him more involved.

Did I make my Red Arrow herring joke? Yes? k, I'm done.

 

[Loki882]

I don't like that the writers keep flip-flopping on Laurel's character again. For example, in the Komodo episode, Oliver tells her that Sara wouldn't want her killer dead, and Laurel comes to him later and admits that he's right. But in this episode, when another suspect emerges, Oliver makes the exact same argument and Laurel's reverted back to "yes, Sara WOULD want him dead." BTW, I DO think that Sara WOULD want her killer dead, I just don't like that they're being so inconsistent about it.

And for the love of all that is Holy, TELL LANCE THAT SARA IS DEAD ALREADY!!!!!! Or have him figure it out on his own. I was never really onboard with this "keep him in the dark for his own good" plotline, but it's REALLY annoying now. Just end it already. And the show is still not doing a good job at all of selling me on why the "who killed Sara" mystery even needs to be a mystery. It's not compelling, it's getting really repetitive, and it in no way makes up for the godawful way that she was killed off in the first place. And it damn sure doesn't need to take up half the season.

 

[JC00]

This season really isn't clicking for me at all. Not as bad as the start of season one, but not close to season two and miles away from what we're getting on Flash.

Just wrap up these storylines and move the hell on:
"Lance doesn't know"
"Who killed Sara?"
"Merlyn and Thea"

They all seem really contrived

First off Flash is miles away? Come on. Those two episodes after the pilot were borderline cookie cutter, paint by numbers VotW episodes.

Contrived?

"Lance doesn't know"
That's somewhat logical that Laurel doesn't want to tell her dad right now with his health the way it is. It's actually one of the most logical things the character has done in 2+ seasons.

"Who killed Sara"
This is only technically contrived because the who and why are a total mystery right now.

"Merlyn and Thea"
Actually I'm not going to argue this complaint. I can see why some people feel this is contrived. Thea was super pissed at her mother for months because of what Merlyn did and then became mad at Oliver because he didn't tell her Merlyn was her dad which he had only known for like 2 weeks. Yet we are suppose to believe that she would just jump in a car and leave with a mass murderer because she saw some arrows at Roy's place and "didn't want to be hurt anymore". I mean this storyline is going to be completely pointless if she doesn't go full villain.

 

[Boy Scout]

I really doubt she's going to become a villain. I can see her eventually assisting Merlyn in missions and (including, but not limited to, fighting The Arrow), but once everyone's cards are on the table and there truly are no more secrets, Thea will be portrayed as a misguided youth who didn't technically know that she'd done anything wrong.

 

[Paradox1]

I really doubt she's going to become a villain. I can see her eventually assisting Merlyn in missions and (including, but not limited to, fighting The Arrow), but once everyone's cards are on the table and there truly are no more secrets, Thea will be portrayed as a misguided youth who didn't technically know that she'd done anything wrong.

I see Thea becoming more of a antihero type.The girl has little interest for the lives of others if it doesn't serve her purpose in some way.

 

[Hunter Rider]

The Laurel/Cassidy mega fan gives the Felicity-centric ep 1 out of 10, there's a shocker.

I'm not as enamored with Palmer as some seem to be, Routh's attempt at charm comes off as smarmy rather than charming to me, plus who he becomes is not a character that interests me.

The Sara murder mystery needs a tighter focus but I'm loving the Ollie/Thea/Merlyn stuff.

 

[Whatupman]

Well, this was a terrible episode. Felicity should only be in small doses. I feels like she's crying in every episode nowadays. Get a grip, girl! The only good thing was Routh. And Thea looking amazing.

 

[JC00]

The Laurel/Cassidy mega fan gives the Felicity-centric ep 1 out of 10, there's a shocker.

You'd figure it would be a tad bit higher just on the fact that the episode had Laurel and Ted training and that "definitely black" dialogue.

Although i'm guessing breaking it down the Laurel stuff was a 10 and the other stuff was a negative 9 making the overall rating 1/10

 

[Loki882]

First off Flash is miles away? Come on. Those two episodes after the pilot were borderline cookie cutter, paint by numbers VotW episodes.

Contrived?

"Lance doesn't know"
That's somewhat logical that Laurel doesn't want to tell her dad right now with his health the way it is. It's actually one of the most logical things the character has done in 2+ seasons.

"Who killed Sara"
This is only technically contrived because the who and why are a total mystery right now.

"Merlyn and Thea"
Actually I'm not going to argue this complaint. I can see why some people feel this is contrived. Thea was super pissed at her mother for months because of what Merlyn did and then became mad at Oliver because he didn't tell her Merlyn was her dad which he had only known for like 2 weeks. Yet we are suppose to believe that she would just jump in a car and leave with a mass murderer because she saw some arrows at Roy's place and "didn't want to be hurt anymore". I mean this storyline is going to be completely pointless if she doesn't go full villain.

Except she has no way of knowing if his health will improve. For all she knows, he'll have that heart condition for the rest of his life. So is she just going to never tell him and hope that he never catches on? Oh and I think that him finding out that his not only is one of his daughter's dead, but that his other daughter was keeping it from him/lying right to his face all this time might very well be even WORSE for his health than if she just told him the truth. It's manufactured drama purely for it's own sake.

 

[Silliminite]

Not bad, but definitely filler. My favourite parts were the Palmer scenes and the ending scene. I think, as someone already said, it's a false memory implanted in his head to throw Team Arrow offtrack.