cleaver

I kind of felt that way but they killed Tommy at his loserest and it was dumb and they killed the mom at her best and it was awesome.

Kdogg

That's actually how the new Waller is portrayed in the recent DC 52 reboot.

~~ PAL ~~

The last 30 seconds actually made the beginning of the pilot episode seem kind of odd and off. Oliver was basically "rescued" when he ended up in Hong Kong. So now he gets to hang out with Waller and do some odd jobs here and there for ARGUS? There are probably more flashbacks in store next season on how he received additional trainings there, such as how to fly a plane and learning Russian, as well as whatever covert missions he was involved with. Does this also mean that the beginning of the first episode was actually just a fake rescue to cover up the fact that he wasn't really on the island for five entire years?

RocShemp

I believe that was the intent and I think it's pretty cool that Ollie's "rescue" was part of his plan to retake the city.

Jackskeleton

Yeah, The Wall is no longer the way she once was in the comics.

Superman07

I agree. There was something very compelling about the idea of Oliver stranded on the island for 5 years. Even as he said to Slade, it's a type of purgatory. For Oliver to get out of that, even for a year seems somehow wrong.

Palaver

The rescue still might be real. It wouldn't surprise me if Waller strands him back on the island after she is done with him.

I do find it interesting that Oliver's voice-over in the intro has been lying to us. He specifically says he was stranded on an island for 5 years and that clearly isn't the case.

PhantomStranger

Many of the changes in the DC reboot were explicitly made with an eye on Hollywood adaptations in the future. The older, fat Waller was a popular character but the only reason the character got changed was so Hollywood could cast a different type of actress in the role. Most of the creative changes for the New 52 were made to inform likely future versions of DC characters in the movies.

It's much harder for fanboys to cry foul when the comics themselves get altered for Hollywood's purposes. DC is not really the captain of their own ship.

greydt

They implied that in season 1: I forgot where, but even back then one of Ollie's response to someone about the island was (to paraphrase): "Who said I was always on the island?"

The "how" part was surprising for me though: since it's expected that he eventually teams up with the russian guy and becomes part of his organization, I was expecting them two to sail off the island together and it leads off into that. Hong Kong kinda throws a monkey wrench into that: Looks like how they reunite will be another story!

anomynous

He definitely said something like this

draven31

I know he mentioned it to Dig when they were meeting up with the Russian mobsters in season 1. Dig asked him where he learned to speak russian thats the first time he ever "implied" had had not always been on that island.

robin2099

I acutally like how the intro says "For five years on a hellish island" and then we find out he gets rescued from it. It almost makes it like Oliver is lying to the audience as well and not letting us know all his secrets just like he does to Felicity and Diggle.

anomynous

We've known for almost the entire show he wasn't on the island the whole time.

Draven

We marathoned the last four episodes and I thought it wrapped up pretty well.

Sorry to see Sarah go and god-fucking-dammit if handing her jacket to The Most Annoying Character On TV is the beginning of her becoming the Black Canary I will lose my mind.

I too thought calling 911 first was a little odd, but I suppose you want to get the ambulance rolling, even if there are people nearby. That's what you'd do if someone collapsed in the middle of a restaurant or something, right?

Still don't like Arrow's "no killing" rule - if Slade breaks out and kills anyone again, that's partially on Oliver. Ah well.

The fight choreography in the tunnel was great! Easily the highlight of the last few episodes.

And I liked the Hong Kong stuff, as it helps fill in the blanks on how Ollie became Arrow. Just living on the island by himself and shooting his homemade arrows every day doesn't give him the other skills he obviously has.

PhantomStranger

I don't mind if Laurel gets actual superpowers. However, I'm not sure I can buy another person getting trained by the League of Assassins. By the end of next season, Roy will be the only character that doesn't know advanced fighting techniques. I guess he can always fall back on his Parkour skills.

resinrats

I still prefer them to say 'this is a TV show, not the comics' & keep Sarah as Black Canary & Laurel never becomes BC.

Wonder how many people will find it suspicious that River just took over Ollie's company and now River ends up convienently dying. Ollie is suspected of killing her out of revenge. (they don't know she was with Slade)

actionjackson29

Didn't she die with her costume on?

Jackskeleton

Yeah, I really wish they would just leave it at Sarah being Black Canary. But I really hate Laurel.

randian

Show her body in that costume, which is the same as those the terrorists were wearing. She will be blamed for them, and nobody will suspect Oliver.

RocShemp

Axeramm

It's going to be a long 5 months with no new Felicity.

Preterite

When they gave her the jacket, I shouted: "Now put the wig on her! And the mask! Then dump her in a sack and give her to Nyssa!"

But the wrong sister still got on the boat.

RocShemp

I wonder if we'll get more of the Suicide Squad in season 3. I feel they've been underused thus far, even in their own episode.

Tom Creo

They were the best thing anout season 2.

PhantomStranger

I didn't mind the Suicide Squad in the handful of episodes they were in but it almost feels they come from a different series as a group of characters. It wouldn't surprise me to see the CW eventually spin them off into their own series with Diggle as the lead character. The only question mark would be Harley Quinn, since I imagine her television rights are tied to Batman's family of characters.