Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "The Undertaking?"

[Caught_In_The_Sun]

Oh dibs on Felicity in the red dress.

Mine!

10! Great EP. They mentioned Ted Korg...have his name popped up before? I can't remember. Blue Beetle on ARROW would be awesome.

[edit] And Felicity was awesome as always.

[NightHawk777]

Enjoyed the ep. No real complaints except for the island cliffhanger not being addressed.

Loved the casino part, and getting Walter free. I wonder if Walter suspects ollie is the hood after that.

[evaba]

Wow, this episode was such an emotional rollercoaster that I felt as exhausted and angstridden as Oliver when I got to the final scene! This was by far the best episode yet this season and I will give it my first ten out of ten.

There is so much to say about this episode, but I'll just try to cover a few things....


The scene with pre-Island Laurel and Oliver-the thing that struck me about this scene is that both of them were so different from their present selves and I think both Katie and Stephen managed to give a convincing portrayal of just how much they've changed since they were hit by disaster. Laurel, happy and trusting and (falsely) secure in her relationship with Oliver, looking forward to their future life together. Oliver on the other hand, is not only a douchebag, but a rather shifty douchebag it seems, who had probably been cheating on Laurel with her sister for quite a while (I can't imagine that he invited Sarah to come with him on the boat on the spur of the moment). He also obviously has commitment issues-as present day Laurel implied, when he suddenly decided to join his father on the boat he was clearly running away from her.

Loved the reference to "Casablanca", one of the most iconic movie love stories of all time. In fact, there are clear parallells between Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in "Casablanca" and Oliver Queen in "Arrow"; both are proprietors of upscale nightclubs and both are still in love with the woman they left behind years ago. When said woman walks into their club (Ilse/Laurel) she is involved with someone else, and both Blaine and Oliver will sacrifice their own emotional needs to try to help her stay together with that person. I don't know if the writers meant us to draw all these parallells, but it's certainly a possibility.

Felicity was surely on the move in this ep, after having spent most of the season chained to a computer in the Arrowcave! She visited Diggle in his home, turned up as "The Lady in Red" at the casino and visited Walter at the hospital, getting to know several major characters in the process. I was kind of intrigued with the scene when Oliver comes to her rescue-she looks quite shocked in that scene and I don't think it's only because she learns that Walter is dead, but also because it is the first time she sees how brutal and menacing Oliver can get when he goes into "the Vigilante mode". Felicity has been portrayed as a rather timid and socially awkward person who probably has led a very quiet life and suddenly she's thrown into this dangerous situation, where she finds the man she is (presumably) a bit smitten with behaving in a way she has never seen him do before. I may be over-analyzing as usual, but I just found this angle quite fascinating.

Concerning the question of "shipping", I personally don't feel like I have pick one of the women in Oliver's life over the other. I enjoy seeing Oliver with Felicity as well as seeing him with Laurel and I really don't understand the need to pit one of them against the other. IMHO they both have their own role to play in his life, and that is clearly (at least in my eyes) the way they are written. But then again, I guess that the whole concept of shipping as it has evolved in later years seems a bit odd and even frightening to me....

I'll finish on a shallow note...

The "douchebag" wig is far superior to the Island wig....in fact, my dislike for that poor excuse of a wig is so intense that I wish it will be left to die a painful death on the Island when the season ends!

I also wish they'd go a bit lighter on the make-up, especially when it comes to Laurel/Katie and Felicity/Emily. Both are "natural beauties", judging from their instagram photos, and they don't need all this heavy make-up. I presume that Felicity's pink lipstick is supposed to symbolize "hotness" (as opposed to the glasses, which are meant to symbolize "nerdiness"), but to me she looks like one of those saloon girls in 50's Westerns. Sorry if I have offended anyone, this is just my own opinion!

[Wall-E]

Really liked the episode, but have a nitpick aside from the conflict with the Halloween 2005 reference about Oliver's room someone mentioned earlier in the thread. They implied Laurel lived with her parents, but in episode 2 when Oliver went to see her he commented her apartment hadn't changed in 5 years. I really like this show, but I wish they'd be a little better on the continuity.

[Enxtheone]

hot girls

Hey, first sorry for my bad english

It was a great episode!
There were 2 hot girl in the casino, know someone his names? In imdb the were no information.
The first is te asian girl in pink clothe, next to Felicity in the black jack table.
The second girl can see when the guard take Felicity to his boss. The girl is in purple cloth, and his hair is a bit purple too

[badraven]

Wow, this episode was such an emotional rollercoaster that I felt as exhausted and angstridden as Oliver when I got to the final scene! This was by far the best episode yet this season and I will give it my first ten out of ten.

There is so much to say about this episode, but I'll just try to cover a few things....


The scene with pre-Island Laurel and Oliver-the thing that struck me about this scene is that both of them were so different from their present selves and I think both Katie and Stephen managed to give a convincing portrayal of just how much they've changed since they were hit by disaster. Laurel, happy and trusting and (falsely) secure in her relationship with Oliver, looking forward to their future life together. Oliver on the other hand, is not only a douchebag, but a rather shifty douchebag it seems, who has probably been cheating on Laurel with her sister for quite a while (I can't imagine that he invited Sarah to come with him on the boat totally out of the blue). He also obviously has commitment issues-as present day Laurel implied, when he suddenly decided to join his father on the boat he was clearly running away from her.

Loved the reference to "Casablanca", one of the most iconic movie love stories of all time. In fact, there are clear parallells between Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in "Casablanca" and Oliver Queen in "Arrow"; both are proprietors of upscale nightclubs and both are still in love with the woman they left behind years ago. When said woman walks into their club (Ilse/Laurel) she is involved with someone else, and both Blaine and Oliver will sacrifice their own emotional needs to try to help her stay together with that person. I don't know if the writers meant us to draw all these parallells, but it's certainly a possibility.

Felicity was surely on the move in this ep, after having spent most of the season chained to a computer in the Arrowcave! She visited Diggle in his home, turned up as "The Lady in Red" at the casino and visited Walter at the hospital, getting to know several major characters in the process. I was kind of intrigued with the scene when Oliver comes to her rescue-she looks quite shocked in that scene and I don't think it's only because she learns that Walter is dead, but also because it is the first time she sees how brutal and menacing Oliver can get when he goes into "the Vigilante mode". Felicity has been portrayed as a rather timid and socially awkward person who probably has led a very quiet life and suddenly she's thrown into this dangerous situation, where she finds the man she is (presumably) a bit smitten with behaving in a way she has never seen him do before. I may be over-analyzing as usual, but I just found this angle quite fascinating.

Concerning the question of "shipping", I personally don't feel like I have pick one of the women in Oliver's life over the other. I enjoy seeing Oliver with Felicity as well as seeing him with Laurel and I really don't see the need to pit one of them against the other. IMHO they both have their own role to play in his life, and that is clearly (at least in my eyes) the way they are written. But then again, I guess that the whole concept of shipping as it has evolved in later years seems a bit odd and even frightening to me....

I'll finish on a shallow note...

The "douchebag" wig is far superior to the Island wig....in fact, my dislike for that poor excuse of a wig is so intense that I wish it will be left to die a painful death on the Island when the season ends!

I also wish they'd go a bit lighter on the make-up, especially when it comes to Laurel/Katie and Felicity/Emily. Both are "natural beauties", judging from their instagram photos, and they don't need all this heavy make-up. I presume that Felicity's pink lipstick is supposed to symbolize "hotness" (as opposed to the glasses, which are meant to symbolize "nerdiness"), but to me she looks like one of those saloon girls in 50's Westerns. Sorry if I have offended anyone, this is just my own opinion!

Great post!

[bychance]

Loved it! The acting was so great from everyone, and the action was thrilling. I love episodes where the loose ends tie everything together.

[indy1jones2]

It was great all around loved it. Felcity looked awesome.

[NightHawk777]

Did anyone else notice Ollies expressions through the episode? In the last few scenes, he seems to be barely able to control his emotions.
Of course, when Malcolm came up behind him, he looked like he was going to explode, but then when he turned he had reverted to his poker face.
When the family was in the hospital with Walter, he looked as if he was trying to contain strong emotions.
And when he and Felicity were told Walter was dead in the casino, neither of them cried but Felicity seems to be holding back tears. Ollie looked in shock.
And when he told Moira and Thea that Walter was dead, he seem to really hold back from breaking down.

So this is making me think that he is going to be reckless in the next couple episodes. He really needs Diggle, and he seemed to be really having a hard time keeping his poker face with Diggle as well.

In the earlier episodes, he was a master at keeping his expressions and emotions in check. He seems to be slowly losing that ability.

[Who]

Awesome episode. I was hoping we would get more pre island Ollie and more backstory and this episode delivered. Also hoping we would see more of Ollie's dad. Ollie finding out about Moira and Malcolm kidnapping Walter was a great moment. Also Tommy dropping the Ollie Love Bomb on Lauren was another great moment and Ollie confirming it in the end. Liked the fight scenes. Felicity was great as always. Liked that she is meeting more people in Ollie's life. Ollie was struggling big time to keep Arrow inside with Malcolm in the end. Liked Ollie/Diggle conversation at the end.
I'm confused about Ollie/Laurel though. In the beginning of the episode he mentions not talking enough when they were together before. In the flashbacks they seem perfectly happy together. Makes me wonder why he was seeing Laurel's sister (whom I not convinced is dead).

[southrnbygrace]

This episode may have moved into my favorite episode of the series. So much drama and action! Loved seeing Oliver find out about his psycho mother. I think the writers are expecting me to feel something other than hate for Moira but I can't. The scene a couple of week ago with her crying in the car after Frank was killed, didn't move me in the least. If she ends up with an arrow in the chest, from either Oliver or Malcolm, it won't be less than what she deserves. I'll be interested to see what Oliver does with his knowledge of her and Malcolm's exploits going forward.

So Oliver still loves Laurel? When exactly was that shown because I must have missed that scene. I know Oliver still cares for her. As well he should. His guilt ate at him for 5 years and I think he still wants to try and make it up to her (and her father) for Sarah's death. But love? I mean real romantic "she's the only girl for me" type of love? I've not seen that at all. Of course, I'm willing to go with it for the time being.

So so so happy that Walter is alive!! I have missed him. The first half of the season he was one of my fav characters, so it'll be fun to watch where he goes from here.

Best part of the episode for me, however, would be Oliver and Felicity's growing friendship. I really do adore the Oliver he is when she's around. She's the only person on this show (besides his sister) that can bring a real honest to goodness smile to his face. I love that she was pretty calm cool and collected when she was undercover this time (hilarious sexual innuendo comments notwithstanding). I love that she was fearless....she knew Oliver would come for her the minute that guy stepped on her ear bud. And she all this for Walter. A man who was just 'nice' to her. I wonder if it's crossed Oliver's mind that since Walter is home, Felicity's 'terms' of employment with his little team are over? Does he realize, she's now supposed to go back to being a "dull IT girl"? It was also interesting that Felicity went from "she's setting up my internet" to "This is Felcity...she's my friend" in the course of one episode. I look so forward to more amazing scenes between these two.

[Halberdier17]

Awesome episode. I was hoping we would get more pre island Ollie and more backstory and this episode delivered. Also hoping we would see more of Ollie's dad. Ollie finding out about Moira and Malcolm kidnapping Walter was a great moment. Also Tommy dropping the Ollie Love Bomb on Lauren was another great moment and Ollie confirming it in the end. Liked the fight scenes. Felicity was great as always. Liked that she is meeting more people in Ollie's life. Ollie was struggling big time to keep Arrow inside with Malcolm in the end. Liked Ollie/Diggle conversation at the end.
I'm confused about Ollie/Laurel though. In the beginning of the episode he mentions not talking enough when they were together before. In the flashbacks they seem perfectly happy together. Makes me wonder why he was seeing Laurel's sister (whom I not convinced is dead).

He said he was sort of scared to move in with Laurel so he decided to sleep with her sister to break it off since he didn't really want to move in but couldn't say it to her face until 5 years later.

[President_Luthor]

Continuity, character development, all things Felicity, Tommy outright rejecting any willingness to be in a destiny-stalling love triangle ( !!!), flashbacks of Ollie, Laurel and events prior to the island, Walter being alive, Ollie making peace with Diggle ... yes forward momentum in a story is a great thing and I can't believe the season finale will be soon upon us.

Now that this conspiracy has a name -- the Undertaking -- it's got me intrigued for how things will pan out in the finale and beyond. As long as Bruce Wayne has no part of it, I'm all for more Malcolm machinations:

"Moira: The son of the late Thomas Wayne is a rising star among Gotham's jet-set. Should we invite him to this undertaking?

Malcolm: Don't -- ever -- bring up the name of Wayne in my presence. Ever.

Moira: So, you're not a fan of the Waynes of Gotham. Interesting ..."

If the last episode is any indication, the finale should be something to look forward to.

[super_j_man]

Watched this episode again today and it was even better on the second viewing!

[snookie16]

The Undertaking

This was a nice character driven episode not the usual action packed episode. There were several things that stuck out me in the character growth that added another layer to them that has been growing in the episodes for. It was nice to see flashbacks that did not dealt with the island but appropriately placed for an episode that dealt more with the relationships of the characters than others:

*First was Felicity which of course it would be awkward for Felicity and Laurel to meet. I mean it this way because all Felicity has heard from Oliver was how his relationship with Laurel was before the island and last week with Oliver blowing off helping John for Laurel being the first choice. Then Felicity now with finding a lead on Walter whereabouts are to save him which was why she was helping in the first place. Then after showing Oliver what she found she had no hesitation to go out in the field to help the hood but really she was hoping not to since she went to John to get him to help when that happened she knew what she had to do. Finally Felicity with the undercover operation to get to Walter she was knew she could trust Oliver because he had her back. I liked her line to the casino owner’ “You are not going to like my partner,” it showed her trust that she will get out safe. There was a lot of trust played between Oliver and Felicity’s relationship in this episode building a strong bond.

*Second was Laurel who was going through a lot in this episode. Laurel still dealing with Tommy breaking up with her and building her friendship back with Oliver, l Laure/l still does not understand why Tommy broke up with her. So she asks Oliver what she should do and Oliver handled it maturely but saying, “Go talk to him like we never talked.” Then Laurel sees Felicity come in interrupting and compliments her in but she does not know what to think after Oliver walks off with Felicity. Then we had the nice flashback before the island with Laurel and Oliver in his room talking about commitment. The flashback showed that she always saw what Oliver could be in ideal not who he really was back then. Then she went to confront Tommy making the comment’ “wow you really look like you father.” Then Tommy being short with her saying that, “Oliver still has feelings for you,” then he walks off to his meeting. Finally in the end of the episode when she asks Oliver to go to Tommy saying, “That is not true,” Oliver turns her down basically it true he still cares. She starting to see how much Oliver has changed since he has been on the island.

*Third was Oliver who had many eye opening experiences in this episode. Oliver is dealing with the mixed signals that Laurel is giving off but building a friendship back. Oliver knows that with what he does he feels that Laurel even though he still cares so he will be honest with her. He feels if Laurel knew the truth she cannot be with him. So he is being a good friend to her supporting her relationship with Tommy. The he is dealing the with feelings he has for Felicity since she is the only one right now that supports him as the Hood. John left when he did not help with Deathshot, Helena has been gone for a while with her own agenda, and then Mckenna left after being shot so we understand why he was hesitant to have Felicity going undercover for the lead on Walter. Then he had to deal with him might being failing to find Walter who might be dead. Then him only to find out that Walter is alive being held by Malcolm and his mother knew. After he finds out about this he goes to apologize to John saying that John was right not knowing what to do.

*Fourth we find out what is all involved with the Undertaking. The Undertaking is all because Malcolm is avenging his wife’s death in the Glades. He does not care who he takes out just all to get this cancer which he calls it away for a better city. He felt that Robert was a threat so he had him taken out on the boat. He felt five years later when Oliver returned and figuring the Hood is taking people out on the list he has to be the Dark Archer to stop what the Hood is doing. Tonight we will find out more.

All in all I give this episode a 10/10 good balance and build up to the season finale.