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

[Dark Raven]

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.

Not only that, but she didn't even rinse her mouth after spitting out the toothpaste. Traces of it would still be in her mouth, which she would now wash down with the coffee. Do people really brush like her?

 

[Boy Scout]

You guys.

 

[Bwahaha!]

Not only that, but she didn't even rinse her mouth after spitting out the toothpaste. Traces of it would still be in her mouth, which she would now wash down with the coffee. Do people really brush like her?

Don't know if you're joking, but I have to admit that I was thinking the exact same thing. Euuuuwww that toothpaste flavored coffee would be gross. Lol

 

[Obsidian Idea]

Too funny how we were all sitting there thinking the same thing with the brushing teeth scene...that breath ain't fresh yo...still luv Felicity though. I liked the episode.

 

[gohei_]

Not only that, but she didn't even rinse her mouth after spitting out the toothpaste. Traces of it would still be in her mouth, which she would now wash down with the coffee. Do people really brush like her?

You know, my first though was actually "What are you doing Felicity? Your body is catabolic right now and needs protein!" t: because I though she wasn't gonna eat anything post-wo. But what she did was even more gross

 

[HanShotFirst]

Meh episode except for the ending. This season needs someone like Deathstroke or Merlyn needs more screen time.

 

[b_boy]

Liked the training scene at the begning and the twist at the end. I didn't have a problem with the "Who Killed Sara" storyline so far, but I think that now with that ending they need to resolve who killed her in the next episode and not drag it any further, even if it was not him, then they should shift the focus to who did it.

The attack at the bank was kind silly. "Lots of ppl are trying to break in to the bank and we should not send the police because it will get worst". Like, really? And the anti-riot police will just stand there and not use smoke bombs? They need the Arrow and Arsenal to use smoke bombs arrows? I didn't like they had Laurel going angry "I'm telling you to send them", they should just cut this part of her this episode and leave her with the training only.

Finally Diggle covering his face. Plus you see how big he is when he's carrying his baby and the baby is the size of his hand.

So far I'm liking the Ray Palmer \ Felicity's interaction, it does seem interesting and like he wants something more form her (I'm not talking about love angle) and it's interesting to see what that really is (although if he just has a crush on her and that's all it would be disapointing).

I may be in the minority here but I'm really liking Thea storyline this season, not taking any **** from Oliver when he tries to tell her what to do, trying to open that door to the basement, she's not silly anymore.

 

[Dark Raven]

You know, my first though was actually "What are you doing Felicity? Your body is catabolic right now and needs protein!" t: because I though she wasn't gonna eat anything post-wo. But what she did was even more gross

Was the director lazy and just couldn't be bothered to have a little extra scene lasting a mere second where Felicity rinsed? Or are all of them ok with doing what she did and didn't see anything wrong with it and it didn't occur to them that people might be grossed out? She just basically spits and then swallows.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

Confession: sometimes I don't rinse either. My feeling is that the residual particles of toothpaste act as insurance against mid-morning stank breath. Cool mint coffee is the price I pay.

The reality is that a second showing her rinse is a second wasted. Plus it's gross and boring. same reason no one ever says "bye" when they get off the phone in movies/tv. Those seconds add up.

 

[Omegabat]

So I thought Ra's was behind Sara's murder,but now I'm starting to think it was Thea, first of all Merlyn was in Starling when Sara was following him,but the first time we see him this season he is in Corto Maltese,that's seems weird to me,unless both he and Thea both took a short trip for some financial reason.
Thea also has access to Roy,and she saw him in his Mirakuru rage.
Most importantly she has an incentive to kill Sara and that's to protect Merlyn.

 

[Dark Raven]

Confession: sometimes I don't rinse either. My feeling is that the residual particles of toothpaste act as insurance against mid-morning stank breath. Cool mint coffee is the price I pay.

The reality is that a second showing her rinse is a second wasted. Plus it's gross and boring. same reason no one ever says "bye" when they get off the phone in movies/tv. Those seconds add up.

How is it gross to show that? If that cup of coffee had been water she could've just spat it out at the sink with her back turned in mid conversation without any seconds being wasted. She can multi task. It's different from saying bye because here it's all happening simultaneously.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

Hint: there is no toothpaste. If there is never a spitting/rinsing scene in a movie or tv show ever that will be just fine.

 

[DrCosmic]

How is it gross to show that? If that cup of coffee had been water she could've just spat it out at the sink with her back turned in mid conversation without any seconds being wasted. She can multi task. It's different from saying bye because here it's all happening simultaneously.

I dunno man, why waste time showing Felicity's mundane morning routine by having her back to us while another actor is speaking,w hen you can be showing more about Felicity's character development and emotional state by having her facing towards the camera, even obliquely to the same dialogue. If you are also are telling the story about how Felicity JDGAF about toothpaste, well... not a huuuge surprise there.

 

[Boy Scout]

I don't think it matters either way (though when you really get down to it, spitting and then swallowing is pretty gross). They could've taken a second to show her rinsing her mouth out and made it funny, which would've contributed to the comedic tone of the scene. To say that it would've been a wasted second is silly.

 

[Steyin]

So I thought Ra's was behind Sara's murder,but now I'm starting to think it was Thea, first of all Merlyn was in Starling when Sara was following him,but the first time we see him this season he is in Corto Maltese,that's seems weird to me,unless both he and Thea both took a short trip for some financial reason.
Thea also has access to Roy,and she saw him in his Mirakuru rage.
Most importantly she has an incentive to kill Sara and that's to protect Merlyn.

Gonna agree. I suspected Thea since we first saw Sara's death. I think she's playing Ollie (and everyone for that matter) for a fool and is on Malcolm's side big time.

 

[Dark Raven]

I dunno man, why waste time showing Felicity's mundane morning routine by having her back to us while another actor is speaking,w hen you can be showing more about Felicity's character development and emotional state by having her facing towards the camera, even obliquely to the same dialogue. If you are also are telling the story about how Felicity JDGAF about toothpaste, well... not a huuuge surprise there.

But then why even waste time showing Felicity spitting her toothpaste out in the first place? That wasted a second showing her doing her mundane routine and she had her back to us for a second when it could've shown more character development. She should've just not spat at all but swallowed and kept on with what she was doing.

 

[DrCosmic]

But then why even waste time showing Felicity spitting her toothpaste out in the first place? That wasted a second showing her doing her mundane routine and she had her back to us for a second when it could've shown more character development. She should've just not spat at all but swallowed and kept on with what she was doing.

A bit extreme, eh? If she doesn't rinse every last bit out, she might as well just swallow it wholesale? No gray area in your book?

The point was to show her being interrupted, and that she is mundane. Without the toothpaste gag, you lose that story moment. But, if you have her swallow, then the whole audience is like WTF, instead of just you. They found a good middleground where most people don't notice and most that do are like 'yeah, sometimes you don't rinse, big whoop.' It becomes a bit of a nitpick, like... why did Oliver not see big black jacket creepy guy who he's worried about hurting Thea Mia standing outside across the street in broad daylight?

... perhaps the same out of character way Sara didn't see her killer loading the arrows into his bow, lol!

...Too soon?

 

[Dark Raven]

A bit extreme, eh? If she doesn't rinse every last bit out, she might as well just swallow it wholesale? No gray area in your book?

The point was to show her being interrupted, and that she is mundane. Without the toothpaste gag, you lose that story moment. But, if you have her swallow, then the whole audience is like WTF, instead of just you. They found a good middleground where most people don't notice and most that do are like 'yeah, sometimes you don't rinse, big whoop.' It becomes a bit of a nitpick, like... why did Oliver not see big black jacket creepy guy who he's worried about hurting Thea Mia standing outside across the street in broad daylight?

... perhaps the same out of character way Sara didn't see her killer loading the arrows into his bow, lol!

...Too soon?

My point isn't about no grey area. My point is that when she spat out the toothpaste it didn't waste any time whatsoever with the story even when she had her back to us for a mere second. So if she turned her back again for another second just to rinse, even just after she spat out, that wouldn't have disrupted the scene at all.

But on the other hand, if people think that this extra second of her rinsing would've been so disruptive, then that's what I'm saying about her maybe not even bothering to spit in the first place because by their same reasoning that would even seem disruptive to the scene and is already wasting precious time, neither of which I think is the case at all, hence the smiley.

 

[BattleCat]

Pretty terrible episode, except for the ending. No more villain of the week b.s

 

[KillerMcQueen]

Didn't expect the biggest discussion this episode would spark to be Felicity's toothbrushing habits. Kinda meh on this episode though, didn't dislike it but couldn't really get into it either apart from a few cool moments.

 

[DrCosmic]

My point isn't about no grey area. My point is that when she spat out the toothpaste it didn't waste any time whatsoever with the story even when she had her back to us for a mere second. So if she turned her back again for another second just to rinse, even just after she spat out, that wouldn't have disrupted the scene at all.

But on the other hand, if people think that this extra second of her rinsing would've been so disruptive, then that's what I'm saying about her maybe not even bothering to spit in the first place because by their same reasoning that would even seem disruptive to the scene and is already wasting precious time, neither of which I think is the case at all, hence the smiley.

I reject all sarcasm!!!!

It's not about disruption, it's just not as important as what she was doing instead. Her swallowing toothpaste is more important than what she was doing, according to all of our toothpaste bottles (and anyone who's ever done it). If I'm doing something important, I don't do a bunch of other unrelated less important things just because they're not disruptive.

 

[king666]

"An Essay on Toothpaste and effective Storytelling"

 

[SpideyVille]

Didn't expect the biggest discussion this episode would spark to be Felicity's toothbrushing habits. Kinda meh on this episode though, didn't dislike it but couldn't really get into it either apart from a few cool moments.

Same here

 

[the dmg]

Lol...you guys and the toothpaste. I think since she was shocked at the intrusion and wasn't thinking, she missed a step in her daily routine. It happens.

As for the ending, I was wondering if there would be long term side effects left over from Mirakuru, so I'm glad it's being explored as opposed to ignored.

 

[Herolee10]

So to sum up the last few posts, the big topic that's being brought up in this debate is whether Felicity spits or swallows?